We studied the change of EEG alpha-band coherence between resting and motor performance ("reactivity of EEG coherence") in 18 chronic schizophrenics and 30 normal controls, examining differences between left and right hemisphere tasks. Three coherences were examined for each hemisphere. The central-parietal coherence in normals increased on the left for left hemisphere tasks, and decreased on the right for right hemisphere tasks, whereas the patients showed a decrease of both measures, more on the left side. Thus, the interhemispheric difference of central-parietal coherence reactivity was reversed for the schizophrenics (P less than 0.06) and suggested a left-sided deviation. The lateral-percentral and precentral-central coherences showed no left-right deviations of reactivity in the patients. Since coherence increase is considered to be a sign of the coupled function between the studied regions, our findings suggest a defective coordination of left central-parietal regions during a task in schizophrenics.

Female patients with IBS are categorized into the general DSM-IV category of depressive disorder, their current psychiatric severity is high compared with that of women with chronic cholelithiasis, and patients with IBS are characterized by the psychiatric syndromes of general anxiety and hypochondriasis. The implications of these findings and areas for future research are discussed.

Background: Research findings regarding the influence of psychopathology on cancer progression are not yet clear. This preliminary report investigates the severity of psychopathology assessed before biopsy in patients with invasive breast carcinoma (IBC) and its association with two follow-up outcomes: disease-free (to first recurrence) and survival periods. Method: The psychiatric assessment of 80 patients under 70 years old was established by means of an interview before biopsy. The DSM-IV criteria were used to establish the past and current psychiatric diagnoses. The Present State Examination (PSE)-Index of Definition (ID)-computer program (CATEGO) was used to define total PSE score, clusters of psychiatric symptoms (psychiatric syndromes) and current clinical severity (ID). The independent influence of biological prognostic factors and psychiatric variables on first recurrence or survival period was tested using Cox’s proportional hazards regression model. Results: After biopsy, 38 IBC patients were followed up for 3–8¹/₃ years. During this period, 8 patients died from IBC and 7 were alive with metastatic disease. Cox’s proportional hazards regression analyses showed that tumor diameter and low ID were independent significant predictors of early recurrence, whereas tumor diameter, negative estrogen receptors and low ID were independent significant predictors of survival. Conclusions: A low prebiopsy psychopathology score in IBC is a predictor of early recurrence and short survival.

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