Aims: In the clinical assessment of alcohol use disorder (AUD), measuring tools are essential to help recognizing the condition, determining the severity of the disorder, and assessing craving and relapse after identifying potential complications. Currently, there are no measurement tools available in Hungary that can quantify the severity of alcohol dependence, the extent of alcohol craving, and the risk of relapse, or help in the early detection of complicated alcohol withdrawal syndrome (c-AWS). There for the aim of the present study was to evaluate the psychometric indicators of the Hungarian versions of the Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SAD-Q), Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS), Multidimensional Alcohol Craving Scale (MACS), Alcohol Relapse Risk Scale (ARRS), and the Prediction of Alcohol Withdrawal Severity Scale (PAWSS).

Methods: The present study was conducted among patients (n = 44) admitted to the Department of Psychiatry, University of Szeged with a diagnosis of alcohol dependence, alcohol withdrawal syndrome, or alcohol withdrawal syndrome with delirium. In addition to the aforementioned questionnaires, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) were administered. Internal consistency coefficients (Cronbach’s alpha, item-total correlation) and convergent validity indices (Spearman correlations) were calculated, Mann-Whitney test was used to assess differences in the risk of relapse for the ARRS total score, and the independent-sample t-test was used to explore differences in complicated and non- complicated withdrawal for the PAWSS total score. In addition, binomial logistic regression was performed for both scales to analyze whether total scores were good predictors of c-AWS and relapse.

Results: Cronbach’s alpha values ranged from 0.875 to 0.948, and the construct validity indices (Spearman correlations) ranged from 0.537 to 0.760. For the ARRS, significantly higher total scores were found for those who relapsed within 3 months, and for the PAWSS, significantly higher total scores were found for patients experiencing complicated withdrawal. The ARRS and PAWSS total scores are good predictors of relapse and c-AWS.

Conclusions: Based on our results, the questionnaires listed are reliable and valid measuring instruments, and their use might facilitate a more modern investigation and treatment of AUD.

Keywords: alcohol, psychometry, alcohol withdrawal syndrome, craving, relapse

Aim: The impairment of working memory is a common phenomenon after stroke and critically affects daily functioning. Transcranial direct current stimulation and computer- based cognitive training are widely used in neurorehabilitation to enhance cognitive functions. This study examined the single vs combined effect of anodal stimulation and computer-based inhibitory control training on working memory function among post-stroke patients.

Methods: Thirty-five participants were randomly allocated to receiving either active stimulation, sham stimulation with training, or active stimulation with training. Forward/ Backward Digit Span Task, Listening Span Task, Corsi Block Tapping Task, and Trail Making Test were used to assess working memory functions at baseline and after the ten-session experimental program. For statistical analysis, we performed a Linear Mixed-effects Model.

Results: A significant group-by-time interaction showed in favour of the combined group over the active stimulation group in the case of forward digit span (p=.028).

Conclusion: Results indicate that cognitive training and stimulation solely did not lead to significant improvements in working memory related functions among post-stroke patients. However, the combined application may be favourable. The effectiveness of cognitive training and transcranial direct current stimulation needs further examination.

(Neuropsychopharmacol Hung 2025; 27(2): 88–105)

Keywords: rehabilitation, stroke, transcranial direct current stimulation, cognitive training, working memory

It is becoming increasingly clear that newer chemotherapy treatments can significantly improve long-term survival rates for cancer patients. However, it is also becoming apparent that these treatments can be associated with long-term toxicities, including the possibility of cognitive decline. a number of factors may contribute to the development of cognitive impairment in cancer patients. It would seem that the symptom complex of chemotherapy-associated cognitive dysfunction, or ‘chemobrain’ as it is sometimes called in the international literature, is often underdiagnosed. This is despite the fact that it is one of the leading mental health problems in patients with malignant cancer. It is of the utmost importance that this issue is recognised and that appropriate management is put in place, as chemotherapy-associated neurocognitive impairment among people with cancer has the potential to significantly impair quality of life. In our non-systematic (narrative) summary study, we aim to provide a brief overview of the clinical picture and differential diagnosis of chemotherapy-associated neurocognitive impairment, as well as an overview of the main aspects of screening and treatment. We recognise that the characteristics of the symptomatic picture and the specific course of the disease raise a number of methodological issues that may be the subject of further empirical studies.

Keywords: chemobrain, neurocognitive dysfunction, chemotherapy, cancer, mental health

Depression is a complex, multifactorial disorder with a pathophysiology that is still not fully understood. Recent research suggests that neuroinflammation and disruption of the blood-brain barrier may play a significant role in the development of depressive symptoms. Chemokines, particularly eotaxin-1, have emerged as a key component linking peripheral immune activation to central nervous system changes. Elevated levels of eotaxin-1 have been associated with reduced neurogenesis, cognitive decline, and depression-like behavior. Stress and infections can damage the blood-brain barrier, allowing peripheral chemokines such as eotaxin-1 to enter the brain or be locally expressed, potentially triggering neuroinflammation. Overall, findings suggest that chemokine signaling following blood- brain barrier disruption may play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of depression and could offer potential targets for therapeutic intervention.

(Neuropsychopharmacol Hung 2025; 27(2): 115–120)

Keywords: blood-brain barrier, inflammation, chemokines, depression

Objectives: Over the last decades studies on the field of computational neuroscience have been striving to achieve a deeper understanding of the relationship between the pathophysiological basis, the complex brain processes involved and the behavioural characteristics of a continuously expanding circle of mental and neurodevelopmental disorders, while focusing on predictive coding accounts. The purpose of this study is to uncover the different ways of creating representations of the world (priors) by people living with autism as well as the related neurobiological and cognitive mechanisms.

Methods: The study helps to understand the implications of the theory of predictive coding by reviewing the relevant scientific literature in a systematic manner. Three dominant hypotheses stand out in the current computational neuroscientific approach of autism: the sensory precision hypothesis, the weak priors hypothesis and the rigid priors hypothesis. This study analyses the relevant research findings in the context of these hypotheses. The literature review centers on the process of prior acquisition in the analyses of related findings.

Results: The analyses found several differences within the three main fields the included studies have been assigned to. The differences in the sensory precision (precision of processing) come from the special characteristics of processing perceptual information in autism. According to the weak prior hypothesis, past experiences cannot properly influence the processing of current information, the integration of relevant information thus limiting the effective use of preexisting knowledge. Finally we direct our attention to the empirical results pointing to problems of prior acquisition and updating by autistic people that could lead to unusual responses to environmental changes.

Conclusions: The study points to different developmental trajectories of predictive abilities by neurotypical and autistic populations. To better understand the developmental process of the predictive abilities, further studies are needed, comparing these differences in various ages.

Keywords: autism, predictive coding, bayesian inference