The Specific Levels of Functioning Scale (SLOF) has been reported to provide a measure of social function in patients with schizophrenia. The aim of this multi-center study was to determine convergent validity of the Japanese version of SLOF, and if cognitive insight would be associated with social function. Fifty-eight patients with schizophrenia participated in the study. Social function, neurocognition, and daily activity skills were evaluated by the Social Functioning Scale (SFS), Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS) and UCSD Performance-based Skills Assessment-Brief (UPSA-B), respectively. We also assessed cognitive insight with the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale (BCIS). Significant relationships were noted between scores on the SLOF vs. those of the SFS, BACS, UPSA-B, and BCIS. Specifically, the correlation between performance on the UPSA-B and SLOF scores was significantly more robust compared to the correlation between performance on the UPSA-B and scores on the SFS. Similarly, the correlation between scores on the BACS and SLOF tended to be more robust than that between the BACS and SFS. Importantly, while the correlation between scores on the BCIS and SLOF reached significance, it was not so between scores on the BCIS and SFS. The SLOF Japanese version was found to provide a measure of social consequences in patients with schizophrenia. Importantly, this study is the first to indicate the relationship between cognitive insight and social function evaluated by the SLOF. This finding is consistent with the observation that SLOF scores were considerably associated with performances on objective functional measures.

Objectives: Mindfulness is a method of training the regulation of attention with non-judgmental acceptance that is linked to beneficial effects on health. The existential approach supports the uniqueness of each individual and helps to provide meaning to their lives. In this randomized controlled trial, we examined whether mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) and the existential approach could be combined sequentially and whether they operated antagonistically or cooperatively. Methods: One hundred thirty-seven participants aged 20 years or older without any severe mental disorders were randomly assigned (1:1), via an envelope method, to receive either 8-week MBI (N = 68) or 4-week MBI followed by 4-week existential approach (EXMIND) (N = 69). Participants were first allocated to a waiting-list group and subsequently randomized to the MBI group or EXMIND group. The primary outcome was self-compassion scale (SCS) total scores at 0, 4, and 8 weeks during intervention or waiting. The analyses were performed by linear mixed models for both primary and secondary outcomes following the intention-to-treat principle. Results: Both MBI and EXMIND groups had significantly increased SCS total scores compared to those of the waiting group, with mean SCS total scores of 2.3 (SD 3.0) in the MBI group and 2.1 (2.9) in the EXMIND group versus 0.3 (2.2) in the waiting group. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that MBI followed by existential approach are not antagonistic and may have cooperative effects, suggesting that EXMIND may be a useful treatment.

We found a family with a three-generation history of FD who exhibited calcification in the brain and mental retardation. Compared to her mother, the patient described here displayed anticipation of disease onset.

These findings support our hypothesis and suggest that anxious temperament may have 'depressive proneness' whereas harm avoidance may have 'passive proneness.'

The present findings suggest a possibility that 5-day bright light exposure may increase [(18) F]FDG in the right olfactory bulb of the human brain, suggesting a possibility of neurogenesis. Further studies are warranted to directly confirm this possibility.