Papers by Giovanna Coriale
Rivista di psichiatria, 2022
Patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) do not manifest homogeneous clinical symptoms. Various s... more Patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) do not manifest homogeneous clinical symptoms. Various studies described both cognitive impairments and psychiatric disorders among people with AUD. This disorder is one of the most frequent mental disorders in developed countries, due to excessive alcohol consumption. Alcohol is toxic as it increases the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and can cause dependence. This causes negative effects on brain development and cognitive functions that affect the individual's work, health, and social life. Current pharmacology treatment for alcohol addiction is based on direct action against the neurotransmitters involved in alcohol dependence. AUD patients without comorbid psychiatric disorders or severe cognitive deficits are defined as "pure alcoholics". To date, poor is known about effective treatments for this typology of AUD patients. Psychotherapy is largely used in resolving many psychiatric disorders, including substance...
... 9 ABSTRACTS (ACE) September 2007 : 723â751 747P70 PERINATAL PERIODS OF RISK (PPOR): ANALYSI... more ... 9 ABSTRACTS (ACE) September 2007 : 723â751 747P70 PERINATAL PERIODS OF RISK (PPOR): ANALYSIS OF FETO-INFANT MORTALITY IN LOUISVILLE METRO DURING 2001â2003 Kiranmayi Amancherla 1 , Sarojini Kanotra 2 , D Groves Frank 1 , 1 Department ...
Rivista di psichiatria
Gambling disorder is a frequently underdiagnosed and disabling disorder with a prevalence greatly... more Gambling disorder is a frequently underdiagnosed and disabling disorder with a prevalence greatly increased in recent decades. For various reasons, only a small part of pathological gamblers seek a support making difficult an early identification and delaying the administration of appropriate treatment. In DSM-5, the disorder has been reclassified from an "Impulse-Control Disorder not elsewhere classified" to one of the "Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders" with the intention of improve the diagnosis, to better targeting the treatment and to stimulating further research efforts directed to the disorder. This article reviews assessment techniques, psychosocial and neurobiological factors in the development of pathological gambling and treatment strategies.
Psychology and psychotherapy, Jan 10, 2015
We aimed to clarify the associations between negative emotionality, avoidant coping, and alexithy... more We aimed to clarify the associations between negative emotionality, avoidant coping, and alexithymia. We hypothesized that negative emotionality and avoidance strategies would interact negatively in associating with alexithymia. We examined, in one study conducted in Italy and another in the US (total N = 415), the associations among avoidant coping, negative emotionality, and alexithymia, using cross-sectional designs. Study 1: Participants completed paper-and-pencil measures of alexithymia, avoidant coping, and negative emotionality. Study 2: Participants completed the above-mentioned measures plus a measure of experiential avoidance (EA), by means of an online questionnaire. As expected, an antagonistic avoidant coping × negative emotionality interaction was found to relate to alexithymia in both studies. In Study 2, EA mediated the effects of such interaction on alexithymia (mediated moderation). The interaction found implied that alexithymia would be adopted as a defence agains...
Rivista di psichiatria
It is now known that exposure to alcohol in utero produces a wide spectrum of morphological and b... more It is now known that exposure to alcohol in utero produces a wide spectrum of morphological and behavioural outcomes in the offspring, commonly referred as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). A large body of literature documents cognitive deficits and behavioural-emotional difficulties in children with FASD. Researchers have found that individuals with FASD often experience a range of adverse life outcomes, called secondary disabilities, which include disrupted school experience, troubles with the law, confinement, inappropriate sexual behaviours on repeated occasions, and alcohol/drug related problems. Additionally, despite considerable data published on cognitive and behavioural disabilities in children with FASD, relatively little information is available on behavioural or pharmacological interventions for alcohol affected children. This paper will provide a comprehensive review of the neuropsychological and behavioural effects of prenatal alcohol exposure, including a discu...
Annali dell'Istituto superiore di sanità, 2006
In Italy, little is known about the problems related to alcohol drinking during pregnancy. In thi... more In Italy, little is known about the problems related to alcohol drinking during pregnancy. In this paper, the Italian literature about this subject is briefly reviewed. This first Italian experience of a field study, aimed to the assessment of the prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) in an area in the Rome province (Lazio region) is reported. This in-field study was performed in the school years 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 in cooperation with American researchers, most from University of New Mexico (Albuquerque), and Italian researchers from University "la Sapienza" of Rome. First grade children (n(o) = 1,086) of primary school were contacted to enter in the in-school study for the detection of FAS and FASD and were examined by the experts team of clinicians, pediatrics, psychologists. Preliminary consideration and the implications of this study for FASD prevention are discussed.
Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2014
Maternal risk factors for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) in Italy and Mediterranean cult... more Maternal risk factors for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) in Italy and Mediterranean cultures need clarification, as there are few studies and most are plagued by inaccurate reporting of antenatal alcohol use. Maternal interviews (n = 905) were carried out in a population-based study of the prevalence and characteristics of FASD in the Lazio region of Italy which provided data for multivariate case control comparisons and multiple correlation models. Case control findings from interviews seven years post-partum indicate that mothers of children with FASD are significantly more likely than randomly-selected controls or community mothers to: be shorter; have higher body mass indexes (BMI); be married to a man with legal problems; report more drinking three months pre-pregnancy; engage in more current drinking and drinking alone; and have alcohol problems in her family. Logistic regression analysis of multiple candidate predictors of a FASD diagnosis indicates that alcohol problems in the child's family is the most significant risk factor, making a diagnosis within the continuum of FASD 9 times more likely (95%C.I. = 1.6 to 50.7). Sequential multiple regression analysis of the child's neuropsychological performance also identifies alcohol problems in the child's family as the only significant maternal risk variable (p < .001) when controlling for other potential risk factors. Underreporting of prenatal alcohol use has been demonstrated among Italian and other Mediterranean antenatal samples, and it was suspected in this sample. Nevertheless, several significant maternal risk factors for FASD have been identified.
Current Developmental Disorders Reports, 2014
The term "fetal alcohol spectrum disorders" (FASD) denotes the broad spectrum of morphological ch... more The term "fetal alcohol spectrum disorders" (FASD) denotes the broad spectrum of morphological changes and functional deficits seen in children exposed to alcohol prenatally. While some children on the spectrum show the characteristic pattern of malformations called "fetal alcohol syndrome" (FAS), a significant proportion of alcohol-exposed children do not evidence clinically identifiable morphological alterations. The term "alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder" (ARND) is used to label the latter group. The identification of children with ARND has proven to be challenging because of the lack of clinically discernable physical signs. Therefore, some investigators have used the strategy of assessing maternal drinking during pregnancy and then tracking developmental outcomes in offspring longitudinally. Other methods that investigators have utilized to identify children with prenatal alcohol exposure in population-based studies include multi-source surveillance and active case ascertainment. In the current review, we discuss the merits and demerits of these methodologies and then present novel methods of identifying prenatal alcohol exposure (e.g., biomarkers) and subtle effects of morphological alterations and neural effects (e.g., neuroimaging).
NeuroReport, 2000
ABSTRACT The existence of separate systems for processing geometric and non-geometric spatial inf... more ABSTRACT The existence of separate systems for processing geometric and non-geometric spatial information was studied. Twelve neglect patients were asked to reorient themselves in a room using only geometric information or to integrate this information with relevant visual cues both in the presence and in the absence of transcutaneous electrical neural stimulation (TENS). In the absence of TENS, all patients were greatly impaired in coding geometric information, and they had difficulty in coding non-geometric information. TENS significantly improved the ability to code shape-based representation, but is ineffective with non-geometric representations (such as color). The data support previous findings on neglect patients suggesting the presence of separate, independent neural systems subserving different types of space representation.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2011
Objective: To determine the population-based epidemiology of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and oth... more Objective: To determine the population-based epidemiology of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and other fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) in towns representative of the general population of central Italy. Methods: Slightly revised U.S. Institute of Medicine diagnostic methods were used among children in randomly-selected OPEN ACCESS Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2011, 8 2332
Annals of Epidemiology, 2007
results were similar in the adjusted logistic regression models. The odds of learning disability ... more results were similar in the adjusted logistic regression models. The odds of learning disability among children with asthma were ORZ1.5 (95% CI 1.3, 1.7) compared to those without and adjusted for age, gender, household education, poverty, smoking, and family structure. Among children with diabetes, the odds of learning disability were OR 1.7 (95% CI 1.1, 2.9), compared to those without and adjusted for age, gender, household education, poverty, smoking, and family structure. CONCLUSION: US children under the age 18 with asthma and diabetes are significantly more likely to have learning disability than children without asthma and diabetes, indicating that learning disability is a co-morbidity among US children under the age 18 with asthma and diabetes.
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 2008
Background-Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) display many problems ranging fr... more Background-Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) display many problems ranging from deficits in intelligence to behavioral difficulties. Thus, many studies have aimed to better define the neuropsychological characteristics of children with FASD. The current article describes the neuropsychological characteristics of Italian children with severe diagnosis within FASD and compares them with controls. It was expected that intellectual functioning, language comprehension, academic skills, and inattention/hyperactivity would discriminate children with FASD from randomly-selected peers without FASD.
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 2006
Background: There has been considerable effort expended on defining neurobehavioral characteristi... more Background: There has been considerable effort expended on defining neurobehavioral characteristics of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Children with FASD display a range of cognitive deficits and behavioral problems. In this article, we report on the neurobehavioral characteristics of children with FASD in selected communities in Italy. It was expected that both inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive characteristics would discriminate children with FASD from controls and that the groups would also differ on intellectual functioning, language comprehension, and academic skills.
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 2006
Background: Accurate estimates of the prevalence and characteristics of fetal alcohol syndrome (F... more Background: Accurate estimates of the prevalence and characteristics of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) in a Western European population are lacking and are of particular interest in settings where the usual pattern of alcohol consumption is thought to be daily drinking with meals. To address these issues, an epidemiology study of FAS and other FASD was undertaken in Italian schools.
Addictive Behaviors, 2012
a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Alexithymia and avoidance coping strategies are both associ... more a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Alexithymia and avoidance coping strategies are both associated with alcohol abuse, but their effects have been seldom studied simultaneously. The present study investigated the interplay between alexithymia and avoidance coping strategies in predicting the severity of alcohol abuse in an alcohol-dependent sample. The TAS-20 and COPE-NVI questionnaires were administered to 110 alcoholic inpatients enrolled into a recovery program at . The alcohol abuse index consisted of the mean alcohol units consumed by participants and days of abstinence before being enrolled into the recovery program. Results showed that alexithymic alcoholics consumed significantly more alcohol and were less abstinent than non-alexithymic alcoholics. Concerning the relationship among alexithymia, coping strategies and alcohol abuse, data showed that alexithymia completely mediated the effects of avoidance coping strategies on alcohol abuse, suggesting that avoidance strategies have therefore an indirect effect on alcohol abuse among alcoholics. Theoretical and clinical implications of the results are discussed. (G. Coriale).
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Papers by Giovanna Coriale