RTMS Improves Executive Function in Kids with Schizophrenia and Autism
Researcher Stephanie Ameis reported at the 2015 meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry that following repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a treatment in which a magnetic coil placed over the scalp delivers electric pulses to the brain, children with schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders showed improvements in executive function, including working memory. The rTMS treatment targeted the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
Offspring of Bipolar Parents at High Risk for Psychiatric Disorders
Researcher Juan David Palacio reported at the 2015 meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry that compared to offspring of non-ill parents, children of parents with bipolar I disorder are at high risk for psychiatric disorders, particularly bipolar spectrum disorders and substance use disorders. They were also at risk for symptoms of anxiety disorders and conduct disorder. Palacio’s findings from Colombia mirror those from other studies of familial risk and suggest the importance of vigilance to detect these disorders early and provide appropriate treatment. Our Child Network may help.
Dopamine Partial Agonists: An Overview
Several atypical antipsychotic drugs are partial agonists of dopamine. They provide weak stimulation of dopamine receptors in the brain and prevent dopamine from overstimulating the receptors by binding to them in its place.
In contrast, most antipsychotic and antimanic drugs are dopamine antagonists, which also bind to dopamine receptors but prevent any stimulation from occurring there.
A. Aripiprazole (Abilify) was the first partial dopamine agonist approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of schizophrenia, and mania, and as an add-on treatment to antidepressants for the treatment of unipolar depression, but not bipolar depression.
B. Brexpiprazole (Rexulti) received FDA approval for the treatment of schizophrenia and as an add-on treatment to antidepressants for the treatment of unipolar depression in 2015. It is similar to aripiprazole but has weaker activity at the dopamine D2 receptor. Brexpiprazole is associated with small increases in the hormone prolactin, as opposed to the small decreases in prolactin seen with aripiprazole.
C. Cariprazine (Vraylar) is FDA-approved for schizophrenia and mania, and it also has positive placebo-controlled data in bipolar depression and as an adjunct to antidepressants in unipolar depression. It differs from the others in that it is more potent at dopamine D3 receptors than at D2 receptors. It is thought that effects on D3 receptors may provide better antidepressant effects, but this proposition has not yet been tested.
New Drug Cariprazine Approved for Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder
In late 2015, the Food and Drug Administration approved the new atypical antipsychotic drug cariprazine for the treatment of schizophrenia and mania in adults. The approval followed a series of clinical trials that showed that the drug reduced symptoms of each illness compared to placebo.
The most common side effects of cariprazine reported in the trials included tremor, slurred speech, and involuntary muscle movements.
Facial Emotion Recognition Deficient in Bipolar Disorder
In the past decade, several studies have indicated that people with bipolar disorder have less ability to recognize the emotions expressed on people’s faces than do healthy controls. A 2013 meta-analysis by Cecilia Samamé and colleagues concluded that facial emotion recognition was deficient in people with bipolar disorder regardless of their current state. A 2011 quantitative review article by Christian G. Kohler and colleagues revealed that this difficulty distinguishing emotions is general, rather than specific to any one emotion.
A 2015 study by Esther Vierck and colleagues in the journal Psychiatry Research showed that both euthymic patients with bipolar disorder and their first-degree relatives without bipolar disorder performed worse on tests of emotion recognition than did normal controls. The findings in healthy relatives suggest that the deficit may be a familial risk factor for the development of bipolar disorder.
These deficits in facial emotion recognition have also been seen in 4 out of 5 studies of children with early-onset bipolar disorder, including those who are euthymic. 2008 studies by Melissa A. Brotman and colleagues showed that even children just at high risk for bipolar disorder due to a family history of the disorder had deficient emotion recognition.
This literature indicates that deficiencies in facial emotion recognition consistently accompany bipolar disorder and may also be a sign that a child or teenager is at risk for bipolar disorder. Since these deficits can create social and interpersonal difficulties, it may be useful to teach better emotion recognition skills to people with bipolar disorder or those at high risk for the illness.
