IMPROVING READING SKILLS IN STUDENTS WITH DYSLEXIA: THE EFFICACY OF A RHYTHM-BASED TRAINING

La dislessia evolutiva (DE) è associata ad un deficit di elaborazione temporale degli stimoli uditivi, secondario ad un'attività oscillatoria neurale atipica, che si ritiene contribuisca alle difficoltà fonologiche e di lettura. Per favorire un entrainment più accurato alle proprietà spettro-acustiche degli stimoli uditivi negli studenti con DE, abbiamo esplorato la possibilità di sincronizzare la prosodia durante la lettura con una stimolazione ritmica uditiva. Pertanto, è stato realizzato un programma di intervento per la DE, chiamato Training Lettura Ritmica (TLR). Tre studi test-training-retest hanno mostrato l'efficacia di questa nuova metodologia nel miglioramento delle capacità di lettura in individui italiani con DE, sia in età evolutiva che adulti. Lo studio 1 ha mostrato che il TLR ha portato a miglioramenti della lettura in studenti di scuola primaria e secondaria di primo grado con DE paragonabili a quelli di un intervento risultante dalla combinazione di due trattamenti già validati per la DE, con un effetto lievemente maggiore sulla rapidità di lettura. Inoltre, la consapevolezza fonologica e la capacità di riproduzione ritmica sono migliorate. Lo studio 2 ha esplorato gli effetti a breve e medio termine del TLR, quando combinato con un allenamento uditivo specifico in bambini e preadolescenti con DE, che sono risultati comparabili a quelli di un intervento multi-componenziale personalizzato. Infine, nello studio 3 il TLR è stato applicato con successo ad una popolazione adulta, ossia studenti universitari con DE, anche quando somministrato in combinazione a neuromodulazione (tDCS), la quale aumenta la plasticità delle aree coinvolte.Developmental dyslexia (DD) is associated with deficiencies in temporal processing of auditory stimuli, depending on atypical oscillatory neural activity, that are considered to contribute to phonological and reading impairments. To induce a more accurate entrainment to the spectral properties of auditory stimuli in students with DD, we explored the possibility to synchronize speech prosody during reading with an external rhythmical auditory stimulation. Accordingly, an intervention program for DD, called Rhythmic Reading Training (RRT), was devised. Three test-training-retest studies supported the efficacy of this novel methodology on reading skills of both young and older populations of Italian individuals with DD. Study 1 showed that RRT yielded reading improvements in primary and junior high-school students with DD comparable to those of an intervention resulting from the combination of two already validated treatments for DD, with a slightly larger effect on reading speed. Moreover, phonological awareness and rhythm reproduction improved along. Study 2 explored RRT short- and medium-term effects when combined with a specific auditory training in children and preadolescents with DD, which were found to be comparable to those of a personalized multi-componential intervention. Finally, in study 3 RRT was successfully applied to an older population, namely undergraduate students with DD, also when in combination with a neuromodulation technique (namely, tDCS) boosting plasticity of the involved networks

The alleged link between creativity and dyslexia: Identifying the specific process in which dyslexic students excel

AbstractIt is often argued that individuals with developmental dyslexia (DD) are particularly creative. In order to test this claim, in Study 1 the WCR (widening, connecting and reorganizing) Creativity Test was administered to 52 junior high school students, 19 of whom diagnosed with DD. Results showed that students with DD performed significantly better in the connecting task, which consisted in carrying unusual combination of ideas out. This finding was supported by Study 2, involving a small sample of junior high school students with DD, where a negative correlation between connecting abilities and reading skills emerged. This investigation contributes to the understanding of the peculiar cognitive functioning of people with learning disabilities

Editorial: Creativity in Pathological Brain Conditions Across the Lifespan

Abstract not available

Improving reading skills in students with dyslexia: The efficacy of a sublessical training with rhythmic background

music and dyslexi

Understanding the impact of prison design on prisoners and prison staff through virtual reality: a multi-method approach

Purpose: The prison population is considered to be vulnerable to stress caused by the physical environment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychological effects of the prison’s environment on both inmates and staff. Design: We compared the psychophysiological arousal and self-report measurements of 73 participants (40 prisoners and 33 prison staff) to the prison environment through the exploration of three immersive virtual environments (the dormitory, the prison entrance, and the prison yard). Findings: There were few physiological activation differences between inmates and prison staff during the task, but significant discrepancies did arise, particularly from self-reported assessments. Compared to prison staff, prisoners demonstrated a greater decrease in finger pulse, indicating a stronger orienting response to virtual environments. While prison staff emphasized the importance of good lighting throughout the environments, prisoners focused their hatred on the furniture of the cells and on the layout and function of the prison yard. Both groups had conflicting emotions towards the virtual environments. Originality: Our study offers a realistic portrayal of the prison population's perceptions about the setting in which they are engaged in everyday life and activities. Practical implications: Hence, there are implications for both prison rehabilitation and designing prison renovations that are in line with the psychological needs of inmates and prison staff

Colorectal Cancer Stage at Diagnosis Before vs During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy

Càncer colorectal; Pandèmia de COVID-19Cáncer colorrectal; Pandemia de COVID-19Colorectal cancer; COVID-19 pandemicImportance Delays in screening programs and the reluctance of patients to seek medical attention because of the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 could be associated with the risk of more advanced colorectal cancers at diagnosis. Objective To evaluate whether the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was associated with more advanced oncologic stage and change in clinical presentation for patients with colorectal cancer. Design, Setting, and Participants This retrospective, multicenter cohort study included all 17 938 adult patients who underwent surgery for colorectal cancer from March 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021 (pandemic period), and from January 1, 2018, to February 29, 2020 (prepandemic period), in 81 participating centers in Italy, including tertiary centers and community hospitals. Follow-up was 30 days from surgery. Exposures Any type of surgical procedure for colorectal cancer, including explorative surgery, palliative procedures, and atypical or segmental resections. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was advanced stage of colorectal cancer at diagnosis. Secondary outcomes were distant metastasis, T4 stage, aggressive biology (defined as cancer with at least 1 of the following characteristics: signet ring cells, mucinous tumor, budding, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, and lymphangitis), stenotic lesion, emergency surgery, and palliative surgery. The independent association between the pandemic period and the outcomes was assessed using multivariate random-effects logistic regression, with hospital as the cluster variable. Results A total of 17 938 patients (10 007 men [55.8%]; mean [SD] age, 70.6 [12.2] years) underwent surgery for colorectal cancer: 7796 (43.5%) during the pandemic period and 10 142 (56.5%) during the prepandemic period. Logistic regression indicated that the pandemic period was significantly associated with an increased rate of advanced-stage colorectal cancer (odds ratio [OR], 1.07; 95% CI, 1.01-1.13; P = .03), aggressive biology (OR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.15-1.53; P < .001), and stenotic lesions (OR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.01-1.31; P = .03). Conclusions and Relevance This cohort study suggests a significant association between the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the risk of a more advanced oncologic stage at diagnosis among patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer and might indicate a potential reduction of survival for these patients

Cell-to-cell and type-to-type heterogeneity of signaling networks: insights from the crowd.

Recent technological developments allow us to measure the status of dozens of proteins in individual cells. This opens the way to understand the heterogeneity of complex multi-signaling networks across cells and cell types, with important implications to understand and treat diseases such as cancer. These technologies are, however, limited to proteins for which antibodies are available and are fairly costly, making predictions of new markers and of existing markers under new conditions a valuable alternative. To assess our capacity to make such predictions and boost further methodological development, we organized the Single Cell Signaling in Breast Cancer DREAM challenge. We used a mass cytometry dataset, covering 36 markers in over 4,000 conditions totaling 80 million single cells across 67 breast cancer cell lines. Through four increasingly difficult subchallenges, the participants predicted missing markers, new conditions, and the time-course response of single cells to stimuli in the presence and absence of kinase inhibitors. The challenge results show that despite the stochastic nature of signal transduction in single cells, the signaling events are tightly controlled and machine learning methods can accurately predict new experimental data

Promoting Early Presentation intervention sustains increased breast cancer awareness in older women for three years: A randomized controlled trial

Objective In a randomized controlled trial, the Promoting Early Presentation intervention increased older women’s breast cancer awareness after two years. We investigated whether this increase was sustained at three years, and the effect on breast screening self-referral. Methods We randomly allocated 867 women attending their final invited breast screening appointment to the Promoting Early Presentation intervention or usual care. We examined breast cancer awareness after three years and breast screening self-referrals after four years. Results Women in the Promoting Early Presentation intervention arm had higher breast cancer awareness at three years than the usual care arm (odds ratio: 10.4; 95% confidence interval: 3.1 to 34.8). There were no differences in proportions self-referring for breast screening between arms, but statistical power was limited. Conclusion The Promoting Early Presentation intervention has a sustained effect on breast cancer awareness in older women. The effect on self-referral for breast screening is unclear

Public awareness and healthcare professional advice for obesity as a risk factor for cancer in the UK:a cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND: Overweight and obesity is the second biggest preventable cause of cancer after smoking, causing ~3.4 million deaths worldwide. This study provides current UK data on awareness of the link between obesity and cancer by socio-demographic factors, including BMI, and explores to what degree healthcare professionals provide weight management advice to patients. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey of 3293 adults completed an online survey in February/March 2016, weighted to be representative of the UK population aged 18+. RESULTS: Public awareness of the link between obesity and cancer is low (25.4% unprompted and 57.5% prompted). Higher levels of awareness existed for least deprived groups (P < 0.001), compared to more deprived groups. Most respondents had seen a healthcare practitioner in the past 12 months (91.6%) and 17.4% had received advice about their weight, although 48.4% of the sample were overweight/obese. CONCLUSION: Cancer is not at the forefront of people’s minds when considering health conditions associated with overweight or obesity. Socio-economic disparities exist in health knowledge across the UK population, with adults from more affluent groups being most aware. Healthcare professionals are uniquely positioned to provide advice about weight, but opportunities for intervention are currently under-utilized in healthcare settings