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Background: The post-COVID-19 condition describes the persistence or onset of somatic symptoms (e.g. fatigue) after acute COVID-19. Based on an existing cognitive-behavioral treatment protocol, we developed a specialized group intervention for individuals with post-COVID-19 condition. The present study examines the feasibility, acceptance, and effectiveness of the program for inpatients in a neurological rehabilitation setting. Methods: The treatment program comprises eight sessions and includes psychoeducational and experience-based interventions on common psychophysiological mechanisms of persistent somatic symptoms. A feasibility trial was conducted using a one-group design in a naturalistic setting. N = 64 inpatients with a history of mild COVID-19 that fulfilled WHO criteria for post-COVID-19 condition were enrolled. After each session, evaluation forms were completed and psychometric questionnaires on somatic and psychopathological symptom burden were collected pre- and post-intervention. Results: The treatment program was well received by participants and therapists. Each session was rated as comprehensible and overall satisfaction with the sessions was high. Pre-post effect sizes (of standard rehabilitation incl. new treatment program; intention-to-treat) showed significantly reduced subjective fatigue (p < 0.05, d av = 0.33) and improved disease coping (ps < 0.05, d av = 0.33–0.49). Conclusions: Our results support the feasibility and acceptance of the newly developed cognitive-behavioral group intervention for individuals with post-COVID-19 condition. Yet, findings have to be interpreted cautiously due to the lack of a control group and follow-up measurement, the small sample size, and a relatively high drop-out rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much research has focused on executive function (EF) impairments in psychopathy, a severe personality disorder characterized by a lack of empathy, antisocial behavior, and a disregard for social norms and moral values. However, it is still unclear to what extent EF deficits are present across psychopathy factors and, more importantly, which EF domains are impaired. The current meta-analysis answers these questions by synthesizing the results of 50 studies involving 5,694 participants from 12 different countries. Using multilevel random-effects models, we pooled effect sizes (Cohen's d ) for five different EF domains: overall EF, inhibition, planning, shifting, and working memory. Moreover, differences between psychopathy factors were evaluated. Our analyses revealed small deficits in overall EF, inhibition, and planning performance. However, a closer inspection of psychopathy factors indicated that EF deficits were specific to lifestyle/antisocial traits, such as disinhibition. Conversely, interpersonal/affective traits, such as boldness, showed no deficits and in some cases even improved EF performance. These findings suggest that EF deficits are not a key feature of psychopathy per se, but rather are related to antisociality and disinhibitory traits. Potential brain correlates of these findings as well as implications for future research and treatment are discussed.

Understanding the subprocesses of risky decision making is a prerequisite for understanding (dys-)functional decisions. For the present fMRI study, we designed a novel variant of the balloon-analog-risk task (BART) that measures three phases: decision making, reward anticipation, and feedback processing. Twenty-nine healthy young adults completed the BART. We analyzed neural activity and functional connectivity. Parametric modulation allowed assessing changes in brain functioning depending on the riskiness of the decision. Our results confirm involvement of nucleus accumbens, insula, anterior cingulate cortex, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in all subprocesses of risky decision-making. In addition, subprocesses were differentiated by the strength of activation in these regions, as well as by changes in activity and nucleus accumbens-connectivity by the riskiness of the decision. The presented fMRI-BART variant allows distinguishing activity and connectivity during the subprocesses of risky decision making and shows how activation and connectivity patterns relate to the riskiness of the decision. Hence, it is a useful tool for unraveling impairments in subprocesses of risky decision making in people with high risk behavior., (© 2024 The Author(s). Psychophysiology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for Psychophysiological Research.)