Julie Palix

Lausanne University Hospital | CHUV · Département de psychiatrie

Purpose: Both the resting heart rate (RHR) and the callous-unemotional (CU) traits have been associated with juvenile delinquency, however the effect of their interaction is not yet clear. Methods: Four hundred and twenty-three institutionalized adolescents divided into early adolescents (10–14 years, n = 133), late adolescents (15–17 years, n = 2...

Measurement of patient-to-staff violence (PSV) is essential for the institution to prevent negative outcomes and provide effective interventions. Although there are several approaches to doing this in psychiatry, little is known about how well they adapt to different types of wards. The role of gender and age also needs further investigation. The p...

Emerging evidence suggests that the development and persistence of violent behaviors may be associated with specific physiological reactivities. However, the results are contradictory, as both biological over-activation and under-activation may be involved. For the present contribution, we will focus on two studies examining the dynamics of the two...

Objective Within a longitudinal study (10-year follow-up), we aim to examine the role of anger/irritability and limited prosocial emotion/callous-unemotional traits in predicting externalizing symptoms and adjustment problems in individuals formerly in youth residential care institutions. Method These dimensions were assessed in 203 young adults,...

Dynamics of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) are hypothesized to play a role in the emergence of interpersonal violence. In the present study, we examined continuous activities of the inhibitory parasympathetic pathway of the ANS through the root mean square of successive differences between normal heartbeats (RMSSD) in 22 male offenders who comm...

La présente étude examine la pratique expertale adaptée aux mineurs en Suisse, au moyen d’une enquête en ligne. Les réponses de 35 experts montrent que 83% d’entre eux utilisent des instruments standardisés associés à l’entretien clinique dans l’évaluation du risque, mais que seule la moitié d’entre eux évaluent la présence de facteurs de protectio...

Dynamics of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) are hypothesized to play a role in the emergence of interpersonal violence. In the present study, we examined continuous activities of the inhibitory parasympathetic pathway of the ANS through the root mean square of successive differences between normal heartbeats (RMSSD) in 22 male offenders who comm...

Purpose: Since lack of empathy is an important indicator of violent behaviors, researchers need consistent and valid measures. This study evaluated the practical significance of a potential physiological correlate of empathy compared to a traditional self-report questionnaire in 18 male violent offenders and 21 general population controls. Methods:...

Background: Adolescents in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems show high rates of substance-use disorders. Yet, little is known about the association between childhood adversities and impulsive behavior involving substance-use disorders in shared residential care in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Objective: The aim of th...

Objective Intellectual disability (ID) is described as a general slowness in behavior and an inadequacy in adaptive skills. The present study examines whether behavioral slowness in ID could originate from abnormal complexity in brain signals. Methods Participants (N=29) performed a reaction times (RTs) task assessing their individual information...

Zusammenfassung Forschungsbefunde zu Risiko- und Schutzfaktoren von persistierender Kriminalität bei Kindern und Jugendlichen in der Schweiz sind limitiert. Die vorliegende Studie basiert auf einer repräsentativen Online-Befragung von psychologischen und psychiatrischen Fachexperten in der Schweiz zur Erhebung von Prognoseeinschätzungen. Anhand der...

Résumé Introduction L’évaluation du risque de récidive est devenue centrale dans les missions dévolues aux experts judiciaires et nombre de recherches préconisent de réaliser cette évaluation en consensus afin de l’optimiser. Objectifs Cette étude vise à analyser : (a) si l’utilisation du consensus dans l’évaluation intégrée du risque est suscept...

Abstract Objective This study aims to determine whether it is possible to identify clinical profiles at risk of violent behaviors (VB) in the early phase of psychotic disorders, on the basis of the main dynamic psychopathological risk factors and describe characteristics of the groups with highest levels of violent behaviors. Method A total of 265...

Background: Substance-use disorder (SUD) was found to be an aggravating factor to delinquency and is closely related to personality disorders (PDs). Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate sex differences in the relationship between PD traits and SUD in adolescents institutionalized in child welfare and juvenile justice institutions...

Violence in correctional facilities is an important issue for both prisoners and prison staff. Risk assessment instruments have demonstrated their accuracy in predicting the risk of (re) offending and institutional violence in psychiatric settings, but less is known about their ability to predict violent misconduct in prison. The present study appl...

Background: Previous literature suggests that prevalence of cannabis use in the early phase of psychosis is high, and that early psychosis patients are at high-risk for violent behavior. However, the link between cannabis use and violent behavior in early psychosis patients is unclear. We carried out a study on a sample of early psychosis patients,...

Aim Impulsive behaviours, which are frequent in young people suffering from psychosis have been linked to risky and violent behaviours and participate to the burden of psychotic illness. Given that morphological brain correlates of impulsivity in schizophrenia have been poorly investigated especially in young adults, the aim of this study was to in...

Keywords: Early psychosis, impulsivity, violent behaviour, schizophrenia ABSTRACT Background: Violent behaviour (VB) occurs in first episode of schizophrenia and can have devastating impact both on victims and patients themselves. A better knowledge of the underlying mechanisms of VB may pave the way to preventive treatments. Objectives: 1) To exp...

Aims: The objective of this study is to explore, within a sample of early psychosis patients (EPP), if subgroups regarding rate of violent behaviour (VB) against others can be identified on the basis of dynamic risk factors (treatment modifiable characteristics). Methods: In a sample of 265 EPP, treated at the Treatment and Early Intervention in...

Objectifs Une proportion importante de patients présentant un premier épisode psychotique commettent des actes violents hétéro-agressifs. L’objectif de cette étude est d’explorer l’association entre insight et comportement violent (CV) et l’évolution de l’insight durant la période de suivi. Méthode L’étude est conduite sur une cohorte prospective...

Background The present study investigates the possibilities of using heart rate variability (HRV) parameters as physiological markers that precede increase in observed behavioral excitation of intellectually disabled individuals. The ability to recognize or predict such patterns, especially in patients showing unpredictable reactions and language d...

Some actuarial and structured professional judgment (SPJ) risk-assessment instruments have already demonstrated their validity and predictive accuracy in expert criminal forensic evaluations. In contrast, little is known about the effectiveness of instruments identifying protective factors in risk of recidivism prediction. The present study was des...

The present study investigated impulsivity and its resting-EEG correlates to improve our understanding of its apparent potentiating role in the risk for violent behavior in schizophrenia and early psychosis (Witt, Van Dorn et al., 2013).

While the fire constitutes a threat and provokes avoidance by the entire animal world, its control as lighting and maintenance is inseparable from the history of humankind. For 1% of the population that use is turned to harm, repeatedly and without objective reason, responding to the historical definition of pyromania. The profile of arsonists does...

Here we present results of studies conducted by the Research Unit of Legal Psychiatry and Psychology of Lausanne about risk assessment and protective factors in the evaluation of violence recidivism. It aims to help experts in considering the relevance and use of tools at their disposal. Particular attention is given to the significance of protecti...

Cette étude pilote cherche à tester la faisabilité de l’entraînement à la cohérence cardiaque avec des personnes atteintes d’un retard intellectuel dans le cadre d’un atelier protégé. Un entraînement à la cohérence cardiaque est proposé aux participants volontaires pour une durée de deux semaines à la prise de travail, matin et après-midi. Une appr...

Purpose: To investigate the temporal dynamics of attention in visual search, we compared electrocortical activation patterns for feature and conjunction search with low and high attentional demands, respectively. Methods: Continuous EEG (125 channels) of sixteen volunteers was recorded, while subjects performed feature search (line orientation) and...

In event-related potential recordings (ERPs), the N2pc component, an enhanced negativity over parietal electrodes contralateral to the target hemifield about 270ms after stimulus onset has been earlier suggested as neurophysiological correlate for spatial shifts of visual attention (e.g. Woodman & Luck, 1999, Nature 400 :867-869). The presence of t...

Objective: To assess the feasibility of recognizing visual spatial attention frames for Brain-computer interfaces (BCI) applications. Methods: EEG data was recorded with 64 electrodes from 2 subjects executing a visual spatial attention task indicating 2 target locations. Continuous Morlet wavelet coefficients were estimated on 18 frequency compone...

Les propriétés du système visuel permettent la détection efficiente d’un élément se distinguant d’une seule primitive visuelle des éléments environnants (couleur, contraste, etc.). La recherche est inefficiente dans toute autre situation. Nos travaux, par l’utilisation de techniques diversifiées d’analyse du signal électrophysiologique enregistré s...

Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have indicated that efficient feature search (FS) and inefficient conjunction search (CS) activate partially distinct frontoparietal cortical networks. However, it remains a matter of debate whether the differences in these networks reflect differences in the early processing during FS and CS. In additi...

Working memory, the ability to store and simultaneously manipulate information, is affected in several neuropsychiatric disorders which lead to severe cognitive and functional deficits. An electrophysiological marker for this process could help identify early cerebral function abnormalities. In subjects performing working memory-specific n-back tas...

Attentional shifts precede most of the perceptual processes, and therefore their recognition may constitute an interesting process for both the study of human perception as well as the design of EEG-based Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI). Several studies have focused on EEG modulations of spatial attention, pointing out to changes in both Alpha and...