Inflammation and cognitive performance in elite athletes : a cross-sectional study

Functional cognition is relevant for athletic success and interdependent with physical exercise, yet despite repeatedly demonstrated inflammatory responses to physical training, there are no studies addressing the relationship between cognition and inflammation in athletes. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between cognitive performance and selected inflammatory, and further physiological biomarkers in elite athletes. Data from 350 elite athletes regarding cognitive performance (processing speed, selective attention, working memory, cognitive flexibility), systemic inflammatory markers, metabolic hormones, growth factors, tissue damage markers, and micronutrients (e.g., ferritin, 25-OH-vitamin D), as well as physiological, subjective ratings of recovery and stress were analysed by correlative and multiple regression analyses. Results show that across all athletes variance in processing speed, selective attention, and working memory, could be best explained through a combination of metabolic hormones with physiological and psychological indicators of stress, and in cognitive flexibility through vitamin D levels. Only for the subgroup of athletes from closed-skill sports, the ratio TNF-α:IL-10 significantly contributed to explanation of variance in working memory and cognitive flexibility. In general, found correlations point to the importance of inflammatory balance and sufficient long-term nutrient supply for unaffected cognitive performance

PSY 300 Abnormal Psychology

This book is a compilation of Open Education Resources for the use in an undergraduate level abnormal psychology course at Fort Hays State University.https://scholars.fhsu.edu/all_oer/1010/thumbnail.jp

Development of the Emotional Verbal Learning Test - Spanish (EVLT-S)

Emotional disturbances are common features of clinical disorders and are often present in individuals who have neurodevelopmental or acquired brain disorders. The Hispanic population is the largest and fastest growing ethnic minority group in the United States (U.S.) and by 2050 is projected to be the largest. However, few instruments are available to evaluate emotional functioning in individuals who speak Spanish. Fewer still are available to assess cognitive disturbances resulting from brain dysfunction that impact emotion processing. Normal processing of emotion is critical for social functioning. In recent years it has become apparent that cognitive abilities specialized to process social information are crucial for adaptive functioning and differ from cognitive abilities that process non-social information in a number of important ways. Measures to assess social cognitive abilities in individuals whose primary language is Spanish are scarce and there are currently no measures available to assess emotional learning and memory. The current study addresses this matter by adapting one test of emotional verbal learning and memory for use with Spanish speaking individuals

Understanding and influencing dietary self-care in chronic illness

Objectives Coeliac Disease (CD) is a common chronic autoimmune disorder characterised by sensitivity to gluten. This study investigated the relationships between CD illness representations, coping, self-efficacy, health related quality of life, wellbeing, psychological distress and dietary self-care (following a gluten free diet) among adults with coeliac disease. Design A questionnaire-based correlation design was used to investigate the hypothesised relationships between illness representations and outcomes. Methods Ninety six adults with CD, recruited through dietician clinics, completed a single booklet of questionnaires about their beliefs, experiences and behaviour in relation to their CD. In addition serology (CD antibody levels) and clinician rated levels of dietary self-care (both taken within one month of participation) were employed as additional measures of behaviour. Results Results of regression analyses showed that some aspects of illness representation, particularly estimates of consequences and emotional impact were related to some psychosocial outcomes but not levels of dietary self-care (which was generally high among the sample). Conclusions Illness representations may be useful in explaining some psychosocial outcome for CD, but more research would be needed to assess whether they are useful in explaining dietary behaviour among this population. Findings related to coping and self-efficacy are also discussed

The Effect of Ethnicity on Neuropsychological Test Performance of Former NFL Athletes

Objective: To investigate the effect of ethnicity on neuropsychological test performance by specifically exploring differences between white and black former NFL athletes on subtests of the WAIS-IV. Participants and Methods: Data was derived from a de-identified database in Florida consisting of 63 former NFL athletes (Mage=50.38; SD=11.57); 28 white and 35 black. Participants completed the following subtests of the WAIS-IV: Block Design, Similarities, Digit Span, Matrix Reasoning, Arithmetic, Symbol Search, Visual Puzzles, Coding, and Cancellation. Results: One-Way ANOVA yielded a significant effect between ethnicity and performance on several subtests. Black athletes had significantly lower scaled scores than white athletes on Block Design F(1,61)=14.266, p\u3c.001, Similarities F(1,61)=5.904, p=.018, Digit Span F(1,61)=8.985, p=.004, Arithmetic F(1,61)=16.07, p\u3c.001 and Visual Puzzles F(1,61)=16.682, p\u3c .001. No effect of ethnicity was seen on performance of Matrix Reasoning F(1,61)=2.937, p=.092, Symbol Search F(1,61)=3.619, p=.062, Coding F(1,61)=3.032, p=.087 or Cancellation F(1,61)=2.289, p=.136. Conclusions: Results reveal significant differences between white and black athletes on all subtests of the WAIS-IV but those from the Processing Speed Scale and Matrix Reasoning. These findings align with previous literature that found white individuals to outperform African-Americans on verbal and non-verbal tasks after controlling for socioeconomic and demographic variables (Manly & Jacobs, 2002). These differences may also be a reflection of the WAIS-IV’s psychometric properties and it is significant to consider the normative sample used may not be appropriate for African-Americans. This study highlights the need for future research to identify how ethnicity specifically influences performance, sheds light on the importance of considering cultural factors when interpreting test results, and serves as a call to action to further understand how and why minorities may not be accurately represented in neuropsychological testing

Regional Cerebral Blood Flow Patterns in Children vs. Adults with ADHD Combined and Inattentive Types: A SPECT Study

Objective: The current study sought to determine whether ADHD Combined Type (ADHD-C) and ADHD Primarily Inattentive Type (ADHD-PI) showed differential regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) patterns in children vs. adults. Participants and Methods: The overall sample (N=1484) was effectively split into four groups: adults with ADHD-PI (n=519), adults with ADHD-C (n=405), children with ADHD-PI (n=192), children with ADHD-C (n=368). All participants were void of bipolar, schizophrenia, autism, neurocognitive disorders, and TBI. The data were collected from a de-identified archival database of individuals who underwent SPECT scans at rest. Results: Using αConclusions: Overall, the current study suggested that children may show rCBF differences between different ADHD subtypes, but adults may not. The current study did not find significance in any of the 17 brain regions examined when comparing adults with ADHD-C to adults with ADHD-PI. All significant findings were attributed to the children with ADHD-C group showing aberrant blood flow rate than at least one other group. Previous research has supported that the differentiation of these subtypes as distinctive disorders is difficult to make in adults (Sobanski et al., 2006). Other research has indicated the potential of imaging techniques to differentiate the two in children (Al-Amin, Zinchenko, & Geyer, 2018). The current findings support nuanced ways in which rCBF patterns of ADHD-C and ADHD-PI differ between children and adults

Effects of Diversity and Neuropsychological Performance in an NFL Cohort

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of ethnicity on neuropsychological test performance by comparing scores of white and black former NFL athletes on each subtest of the WMS. Participants and Methods: Data was derived from a de-identified database in South Florida consisting of 63 former NFL white (n=28, 44.4%) and black (n=35, 55.6%) athletes (Mage= 50.38; SD= 11.57). Participants completed the following subtests of the WMS: Logical Memory I and II, Verbal Paired Associates I and II, and Visual Reproduction I and II. Results: A One-Way ANOVA yielded significant effect between ethnicity and performance on several subtests from the WMS-IV. Black athletes had significantly lower scores compared to white athletes on Logical Memory II: F(1,61) = 4.667, p= .035, Verbal Paired Associates I: F(1,61) = 4.536, p = .037, Verbal Paired Associates: II F(1,61) = 4.677, p = .034, and Visual Reproduction I: F(1,61) = 6.562, p = .013. Conclusions: Results suggest significant differences exist between white and black athletes on neuropsychological test performance, necessitating the need for proper normative samples for each ethnic group. It is possible the differences found can be explained by the psychometric properties of the assessment and possibility of a non-representative sample for minorities, or simply individual differences. Previous literature has found white individuals to outperform African-Americans on verbal and non-verbal cognitive tasks after controlling for socioeconomic and other demographic variables (Manly & Jacobs, 2002). This highlights the need for future investigators to identify cultural factors and evaluate how ethnicity specifically plays a role on neuropsychological test performance. Notably, differences between ethnic groups can have significant implications when evaluating a sample of former athletes for cognitive impairment, as these results suggest retired NFL minorities may be more impaired compared to retired NFL white athletes

Distinguishing Performance on Tests of Executive Functions Between Those with Depression and Anxiety

Objective: To see if there are differences in executive functions between those diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and those with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).Participants and Methods: The data were chosen from a de-identified database at a neuropsychological clinic in South Florida. The sample used was adults diagnosed with MDD (n=75) and GAD (n=71) and who had taken the Halstead Category Test, Trail Making Test, Stroop Test, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Age (M=32.97, SD=11.75), gender (56.7% female), and race (52.7% White) did not differ between groups. IQ did not differ but education did (MDD=13.41 years, SD=2.45; GAD=15.11 years, SD=2.40), so it was ran as a covariate in the analyses. Six ANCOVAs were run separately with diagnosis being held as the fixed factor and executive function test scores held as dependent variables. Results: The MDD group only performed worse on the Category Test than the GAD group ([1,132]=4.022, p\u3c .05). Even though both WCST scores used were significantly different between the two groups, both analyses failed Levene’s test of Equality of Error Variances, so the data were not interpreted. Conclusions: Due to previous findings that those diagnosed with MDD perform worse on tests of executive function than normal controls (Veiel, 1997), this study wanted to compare executive function performance between those diagnosed with MDD and those with another common psychological disorder. The fact that these two groups only differed on the Category Test shows that there may not be much of a difference in executive function deficits between those with MDD and GAD. That being said, not being able to interpret the scores on the WCST test due to a lack of homogeneity of variance indicates that a larger sample size is needed to compare these two types of patients, as significant differences may be found. The results of this specific study, however, could mean that the Category Test could be used in assisting the diagnosis of a MDD patient

Desarrollo cognitivo y la atención de los estudiantes del 6to básico de una institución educativa pública de Guayaquil, 2022

La investigación realizada tuvo como objetivo determinar la influencia del desarrollo cognitivo en la atención de los estudiantes del 6to básico de una institución pública de Guayaquil en el año 2022. Esta es de enfoque cuantitativo y es de tipo experimental correspondiendo al diseño pre experimental, la muestra estudiada fue de 38 estudiantes pertenecientes sexto grado de primaria; se consideró el muestreo no probabilístico. Se empleó un test como instrumento de recojo de información debidamente validado para las variables estudiadas y sus dimensiones. En el análisis de datos se empleó estadística descriptiva, tablas de frecuencias y gráficos; así mismo, estadística inferencial que determinó el valor de significancia a través de la prueba de comparaciones de medias como es la prueba T de Student. Entre los resultados, se halló influencia del programa desarrollo cognitivo, siendo el valor de la T de Student de -4,880 para la variable atención sostenida, de -5,574, para la variable atención selectiva y de -3,586 para la atención dividida, y se encontró una alta diferencia significativa entre el pre-test y el post-test de las respectivas dimensiones

Mental Disorders

This book brings together an international array of stars of the mental health professions to create a cutting edge volume that sheds light on many important and heretofore poorly understood issues in psychopathology. Mental Disorders-Theoretical and Empirical perspectives will be an important addition to the libraries of scholars and clinicians