Faculty Bibliography

Impairments in social cognition are now recognized as core illness features in psychotic and affective disorders. Despite the significant disability caused by social cognitive abnormalities, treatments for this symptom dimension are lacking. Here, we describe the evidence demonstrating abnormalities in social cognition in schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, and bipolar disorder, as well as the neurobiology of social cognition including the role of oxytocin. We then review clinical trials of oxytocin administration in psychotic and affective disorders and the impact of this agent on social cognition. To date, several studies have demonstrated that oxytocin may improve social cognition in schizophrenia; too few studies have been conducted in affective disorders to determine the effect of oxytocin on social cognition in these disorders. Future work is needed to clarify which aspects of social cognition may be improved with oxytocin treatment in psychotic and affective disorders.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the ability of structural assessment to predict glaucomatous visual field progression. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 119 healthy eyes with suspected glaucoma and glaucomatous eyes with 5 or more optic nerve stereophotographs, optical coherence tomography (OCT), and confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (CSLO) all acquired within 6 months of each other were enrolled. Odds ratios to predict progression were determined by generalized estimating equation models. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 4.0 years (range: 1.5 to 5.7 years). Fifteen eyes progressed by glaucoma progression analysis, 20 by visual field index, and 10 by both. Baseline parameters from stereophotographs (vertical cup-to-disc ratio and Disc Damage Likelihood Scale), OCT (global, superior quadrant, and inferior quadrant retinal nerve fiber layer thickness), and CSLO (cup shape measure and mean cup depth) were significant predictors of progression. Comparing the single best parameter from all models, only the OCT superior quadrant RNFL predicted progression. CONCLUSION: Baseline stereophotographs, OCT, and CSLO measurements may be clinically useful to predict glaucomatous visual field progression.

AIMS: To determine the retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness at which visual field (VF) damage becomes detectable and associated with structural loss. METHODS: In a prospective cross-sectional study, 72 healthy and 40 glaucoma subjects (one eye per subject) recruited from an academic institution had VF examinations and spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) optic disc cube scans (Humphrey field analyser and Cirrus HD-OCT, respectively). Comparison of global mean and sectoral RNFL thicknesses with VF threshold values showed a plateau of threshold values at high RNFL thicknesses and a sharp decrease at lower RNFL thicknesses. A 'broken stick' statistical model was fitted to global and sectoral data to estimate the RNFL thickness 'tipping point' where the VF threshold values become associated with the structural measurements. The slope for the association between structure and function was computed for data above and below the tipping point. RESULTS: The mean RNFL thickness threshold for VF loss was 75.3 mum (95% CI: 68.9 to 81.8), reflecting a 17.3% RNFL thickness loss from age-matched normative value. Above the tipping point, the slope for RNFL thickness and threshold value was 0.03 dB/mum (CI: -0.02 to 0.08) and below the tipping point, it was 0.28 dB/mum (CI: 0.18 to 0.38); the difference between the slopes was statistically significant (p<0.001). A similar pattern was observed for quadrant and clock-hour analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Substantial structural loss ( approximately 17%) appears to be necessary for functional loss to be detectable using the current testing methods.