The role of schemas in the experience of distress, burden, and wellbeing in parents and siblings of people with serious mental health difficulties.

Background: Caregivers of people with serious mental health difficulties (SMHD), such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, face various psychological challenges. It is unclear if the mechanisms underlying these challenges differ between different groups of caregivers. This study examined whether the relationship between maladaptive schemas and distress, burden, and reduced wellbeing differed between parents and siblings of people with SMHD.

Integrating Virtual Reality, Neurofeedback, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Auditory Verbal Hallucinations (Hybrid): Protocol of a Pilot, Unblinded, Single-Arm Interventional Study.

Background: Current treatments for schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders have limited efficacy, with high rates of nonresponse to "gold standard" treatments. New approaches are therefore urgently required.

Objective: The aims of this pilot study are to investigate the feasibility, acceptability, safety, and usability of Hybrid treatment (primary aim); and to explore Hybrid's treatment efficacy and engagement of treatment targets (secondary aim).

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: Risk Factors of Violence During First-Episode Psychosis.

Most people with a psychotic illness will never be violent; however, it is widely known that violence is more prevalent in this group compared to the general community, particularly during first-episode psychosis (FEP). Despite this, there is limited research into what contributes to this increased risk during FEP. The present systematic review aimed to identify whether certain risk factors are differentially associated with severity and timing of violence perpetration during FEP.

Examining Working Memory Training for Healthy Adults-A Second-Order Meta-Analysis.

Background: Enhancing working memory performance in cognitively and physically healthy individuals is a popular area of research. The results from a large number of studies have now been summarized in multiple meta-analyses. In these reviews, various training methods have been examined, including mindfulness training, adaptive working memory training, physical activity training, and video game training, to examine whether working memory capacity can be improved.

Factorial invariance of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition, across the UK, US and Australia & New Zealand.

Objectives: This study examined the factorial invariance of the factor structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V) across the UK, US and Australia & New Zealand (A&NZ). The factorial equivalence of cognitive assessments should be demonstrated before assuming cross-culture generalizability and interpretations of score comparisons.

Methods: Data were obtained from the UK, US and A&NZ normative standardizations of the WISC-V.

Early Maladaptive Schemas and Depression in Caregivers of Individuals With Schizophrenia Spectrum and Bipolar Disorders.

Objectives: Early maladaptive schemas represent unhelpful frameworks of cognitions, emotions and subsequent behavioural responses and can be associated with depressive symptoms. Caregivers of individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) frequently report experiencing depressive symptoms. It is unclear whether depressive symptoms in caregivers are influenced by schemas.

Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Rates of Violence During First-Episode Psychosis (FEP).

Background: Most people with psychotic disorders will never commit an act of violence. However, the risk of violence committed by people with schizophrenia is higher than the general population. Violence risk is also known to be highest during the first episode of psychosis compared to later stages of illness.

Psychological Distress Among Parents of Children With Chronic Health Conditions and Its Association With Unmet Supportive Care Needs and Children's Quality of Life.

Objective: To assess parent psychological distress in families of children with common chronic health conditions (CHC) and to explore relationships between parent psychological distress, unmet supportive care needs and children's quality of life (QoL).

Method: Cross-sectional study involving parents of children diagnosed with a common CHC between 0 and 12 years of age and who had received treatment within the last 5 years. Eligible parents completed an online survey, that included the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) assessing distress in parents and a 34-item assessment of unmet supportive care needs across 6 domains.

Cross-National Generalizability of WISC-V and CHC Broad Ability Constructs across France, Spain, and the US.

The Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model is based on psychometric cognitive ability research and is the most empirically supported model of cognitive ability constructs. This study is one in a series of cross-national comparisons investigating the equivalence and generalizability of psychological constructs which align with the CHC model. Previous research exploring the cross-cultural generalizability of cognitive ability measures concluded that the factor analytic models of cognitive abilities generalize across cultures and are compatible with well-established CHC constructs.

Distress, burden, and wellbeing in siblings of people with mental illness: a mixed studies systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Family members of people with mental illness (MI) may experience a host of psychological adversities such as increased stress, burden, and reduced wellbeing. However, relatively little is known about siblings. This study aimed to characterise the experience of distress (viz.

Unmet supportive care needs of families of children with chronic illness: A systematic review.

Background And Aims: Unmet supportive care needs (SCN) refer to perceived gaps in the support parents want to manage caregiving activities for children with chronic health conditions (CHC) and the support received. This review aims to systematically identify the unmet SCN of families with children living with five common paediatric CHC and characterise the assessment tools used to measure SCN.

Design: Systematic review methodology with narrative synthesis of data.

Resting state electroencephalography power correlates with individual differences in implicit sequence learning.

Neuroimaging resting state paradigms have revealed synchronised oscillatory activity is present even in the absence of completing a task or mental operation. One function of this neural activity is likely to optimise the brain's sensitivity to forthcoming information that, in turn, likely promotes subsequent learning and memory outcomes. The current study investigated whether this extends to implicit forms of learning.

Unmet supportive care needs in families of children with chronic health conditions: an Australian cross-sectional study.

Background: The aim of this study was to identify similarities and differences in the unmet supportive care needs (USCN) of families of children with major chronic health conditions (CHCs) using a universal need assessment tool.

Methods: A cross-sectional online survey involving parents of children with congenital heart disease (CHD), type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D), cancer, and asthma diagnosed within the last 5 years recruited via social media and support organizations. Thirty-four items assessing the USCN across six domains (care needs, physical and social needs, informational needs, support needs, financial needs, child-related emotional needs) were responded to on a 4-point Likert scale [no need (1) to high need (4)].

The Impact of -acetylcysteine on Major Depression: Qualitative Observation and Mixed Methods Analysis of Participant Change during a 12-week Randomised Controlled Trial.

Objective: -acetylcysteine (NAC) is a novel therapeutic agent with multiple mechanisms of action in the central nervous system and a favourable side effect profile. Clinical evidence indicates that adjunctive NAC may reduce the severity of depressive symptoms in individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD).

Methods: A 12-week randomised controlled trial of 2,000 mg/day adjunctive NAC for MDD found no significant improvement at the primary endpoint (week 12) but did see improvements at the post-discontinuation interview (week 16).

Measurement invariance of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children, fifth edition, in Australian and New Zealand and U.S. standardization samples.

Measurement invariance underlies construct validity generalization in psychology and must be demonstrated prior to any cross-population comparison of means and validity correlations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the measurement invariance of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth Edition (WISC-V) across Australia and New Zealand (A&NZ) versus the U.S.

Psychological distress in siblings of people with mental illness: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: The objective of this study was to characterise the prevalence and/or severity of psychological distress (namely, depression and anxiety symptoms) in siblings of people with mental illness (MI) and to examine correlates of distress in siblings of people with MI.

Method: Studies comparing distress in individuals with and without a sibling with MI were eligible. Studies reporting on correlates of distress in siblings were also eligible.

A systematic review comparing caregiver burden and psychological functioning in caregivers of individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and bipolar disorders.

Background: Informal primary caregivers provide crucial supports to loved ones experiencing serious mental illnesses with profound outcomes for the caregivers themselves. A comprehensive understanding of how different serious mental illnesses change the caregiving experience may provide important insight into the ways in which caregivers can be better supported in their role. The aim of this review was to synthesize the comparative literature examining caregiver burden and psychological functioning (anxiety, depression, distress, and psychological wellbeing) between caregivers of people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and bipolar disorder.

Effectiveness of play therapy in enhancing psychosocial outcomes in children with chronic illness: A systematic review.

Problem: To examine the nature, quality, and effectiveness of Play Therapy (PT) interventions in children with chronic health conditions (CHC) and to identify the measures used to evaluate psychosocial outcomes.

Eligibility Criteria: Systematic searches of the databases: Medline complete, PsycINFO, CINHAL, Embase and Sport Discuss were conducted to identify peer reviewed papers reporting original studies published in English between January1990 - April 2020. Studies testing any type of PT or Filial Therapy (FT) with children with CHC aged between 3 and 11 years, or their parents if FT, where outcomes were primarily psychosocial were eligible.

Home Information and Communication Technology Use and Student Academic Performance: Encouraging Results for Uncertain Times.

This study set out to examine the associations of certain information communication technology (ICT) factors in the home environment with academic performance. We employed existing data sets collated by Pearson Clinical Assessment in 2016 which included the WIAT-III A&NZ (Wechsler Individual Achievement Test - Australian and New Zealand Standardised, Third Edition) completed by 714 students aged between 4 and 18 years old, and the home environment questionnaire (HEQ) completed by the parents of those children. Sequential multiple regression models were used to analyze the complex interactions between home ICT factors and measures of student reading, writing, mathematical, and oral ability.

Assessing cerebellar-cortical connectivity using concurrent TMS-EEG: a feasibility study.

Combined single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electroencephalography (EEG) has been used to probe the features of local networks in the cerebral cortex. Here, we investigated whether we can use this approach to explore long-range connections between the cerebellum and cerebral cortex. Ten healthy adults received single-pulse suprathreshold TMS to the cerebellum and an occipital/parietal control site with double-cone and figure-of-eight coils while cerebral activity was recorded.

Deep Brain Stimulation of the Subthalamic Nucleus in Parkinson's Disease: A Meta-Analysis of Mood Effects.

This meta-analysis examines mood changes after bilateral subthalamic deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Deep brain stimulation improves motor outcomes in Parkinson's disease but there appears to be conflicting reports as to subsequent mood outcomes. Pubmed, PsychINFO and SCOPUS were searched for studies assessing mood outcomes in PD patients who had undergone STN-DBS published between January 2003 and the end of January 2019.

Immediate Attention Enhancement and Restoration From Interactive and Immersive Technologies: A Scoping Review.

Interactive and immersive technologies such as video games, exergames, and virtual reality are typically regarded as entertainment mediums. They also offer a multitude of health and well-being benefits. They have the capacity to incorporate established well-being techniques (e.

Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation Does Not Improve Working Memory in Schizophrenia: A Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials.

Poor working memory functioning is commonly found in schizophrenia. A number of studies have now tested whether non-invasive brain stimulation can improve this aspect of cognitive functioning. This report used meta-analysis to synthesise the results of these studies to examine whether transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) or repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can improve working memory in schizophrenia.

Cerebral Cortical Activity Following Non-invasive Cerebellar Stimulation-a Systematic Review of Combined TMS and EEG Studies.

The cerebellum sends dense projections to both motor and non-motor regions of the cerebral cortex via the cerebellarthalamocortical tract. The integrity of this tract is crucial for healthy motor and cognitive function. This systematic review examines research using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the cerebellum with combined cortical electroencephalography (EEG) to explore the temporal features of cerebellar-cortical connectivity.