The year 2023 begins with good news for the Psyche & Society group of the psychology program. The leader of the group, Ana Milena Gaviria Gómez, is part of the prestigious group of authors that has just published the article: «Delusions and Hallucinations Are Associated With Greater Severity of Delirium» in the Journal of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (Q2). ).

This article analyzes the role of psychotic symptoms, hallucinations and delusions, in the clinical presentation of delirium. The results describe that patients with psychotic symptoms had a significantly higher severity of delirium. Three core processes were particularly affected by psychotic symptoms: visuospatial abilities, thought processes, and the sleep-wake cycle. Affect lability, a non-core symptom in delirium, had a high probability of being associated with psychotic symptoms.

These results indicate that psychotic symptoms could be a clinical marker of greater underlying dysfunction of the cerebral cortical neuronal circuitry in patients with delirium.

The article can be downloaded for free until March 5 at this link.