Denominando caras: una revisión e integración multidisciplinar

Naming faces is a common area of study from a wide range of perspectives in social sciences, including cognitive psychology and several branches of cognitive neuroscience. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the cognitive models that have been proposed to explain the diverse aspects of face naming, taking into account face processing and language production models. In addition, a review of the neuroscientific data from event-related potential studies (when) and functional neuroimaging studies (where) is presented. Thus, an integrated view of the cognitive models and the data relating the different processes involved in naming faces to the brain activity is providedLa denominación de caras es un área de interés para diversas perspectivas en ciencias sociales, incluyendo la psicología cognitiva y diversas ramas de neurociencia cognitiva. Este artículo proporciona una revisión de los modelos cognitivos que han sido propuestos para explicar los diversos aspectos de la denominación de caras. Además, se presenta una revisión de los datos neurocientíficos de potenciales evocados (cuándo) y de estudios de neuroimagen funcional (dónde). Así, se presenta una visión integrada de los modelos cognitivos y los datos relacionando los distintos procesos implicados en la denominación de caras y la actividad cerebralThis work was financially supported by the Spanish Ministerios: Educación y Ciencia and Ciencia e Innovación (SEF2007-67964-C02-02), and the Galician Consellería de Innovación e Industria (PGIDIT07PXIB211018PR)S

Secuencia de actividad cerebral relacionada con la denominación de caras y el fenómeno de la punta de la lengua

Active brain areas and their temporal sequence of activation during the successful retrieval and naming of famous faces (KNOW) and during the tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) state were studied by means of low resolution electromagnetic tomographic analysis (LORETA) applied to event-related potentials. The results provide evidence that adequate activation of a neural network during the fi rst 500 ms following presentation of the photograph —mainly involving the posterior temporal region, the insula, lateral and medial prefrontal areas and the medial temporal lobe— is associated with successful retrieval of lexical-phonological information about the person’s name. Signifi cant differences between conditions were observed in the 538-698-ms interval; specifi cally there was greater activation of the anterior cingulate gyrus (ACC) towards the supplementary motor area (SMA) in the KNOW than in the TOT condition, possibly in relation to the motor response and as a consequence of the successful retrieval of lexical-phonological information about the personLas áreas cerebrales más activas y su secuencia de activación durante el recuerdo y la denominación exitosa de caras (Condición SI) y durante el fenómeno de la punta de la lengua (Condición PDL) fueron estimadas a partir de potenciales evocados mediante tomografías electromagnéticas de baja resolución (LORETA). Los resultados muestran evidencia de que una adecuada activación de una red neural (estando principalmente implicadas áreas temporales posteriores, insula, áreas prefrontales mediales y laterales, y áreas temporales mediales) durante los primeros 500 ms después de la presentación de la cara está relacionada con la recuperación exitosa de información léxico-fonológica sobre el nombre de la persona. Además se obtuvieron diferencias significativas entre ambas condiciones en el intervalo 538-698 ms; concretamente, el giro cingulado anterior y el área motora suplementaria mostraron una mayor activación en la Condición SI que en la Condición PDL, posiblemente relacionada con la respuesta motora y como consecuencia de la recuperación exitosa de la información léxico-fonológica sobre la personaThis work was financially supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (SEF2007-67964-C02-02), and Galician Consellería de Innovación e Industria (PGIDIT07PXIB211018PR)S

Age-related effects on event-related brain potentials in a congruence/incongruence judgment color-word Stroop task

We examined the event-related brain potentials elicited by color-word stimuli in a Stroop task in which healthy participants (young and old) had to judge whether the meaning and the color of the stimulus were congruent or incongruent. The Stroop effect occurred in both age groups, with longer reaction times in the older group than in the young group for both types of stimuli, but no difference in the number of errors made by either group. Although the N2 and P3b latencies were longer in the older than in the younger group, there were no differences between groups in the latencies of earlier event-related potential components, and therefore the age-related processing slowing is not generalized. The frontal P150 amplitude was larger, and the parietal P3b amplitude was smaller, in the older than in the younger group. Furthermore, the P3b amplitude was maximal at frontal locations in older participants and at parietal locations in young participants. The age-related increase in perceptual resources and the posterior-to-anterior shift in older adults support adaptive reorganization of the neural networks involved in the processing of this Stroop-type taskThis study was financially supported by funds from the Spanish Government: Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (PSI2010-22224-C03-03); and by the Galician Government: Consellería de Economía e Industria (10 PXIB 211070 PR), and Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria (Axudas para a Consolidación e Estruturación de unidades de investigación competitivas do sistema universitario de Galicia. Ref: CN 2012/033; with FEDER funds)S

¿Cómo hemos adaptado las recomendaciones de los Proyectos Zero durante la pandemia?

El impacto negativo de la pandemia sobre las tasas de infecciones controladas ha evidenciado la necesidad de reanudar la aplicación de las recomendaciones de los Proyectos Zero (PZ). En este artículo, en primer lugar, se realiza un análisis de la situación de las unidades de cuidados intensivos de España durante la pandemia. A continuación se presenta la adaptación de las recomendaciones de cada uno de los cuatro PZ y su grado de cumplimiento y riesgo de que existan infecciones relacionadas con dispositivos invasivos y/o bacteriemias multirresistentes. Para ello, se han tenido en cuenta: 1) el documento publicado en octubre de 2020 por el Consejo Asesor del Programa de Seguridad de pacientes críticos, y 2) el estudio exploratorio realizado, un año después, por el Consejo Asesor de los PZ, junto con los líderes de los proyectos de las unidades participantes del registro ENVIN. Por último, y en base a los hallazgos encontrados, se formulan cinco recomendaciones tentativas y prioritarias.The negative impact of the pandemic on infection control rates has highlighted the need to resume the implementation of Project Zero (PZ) recommendations. This article first analyses the situation of intensive care units in Spain during the pandemic. Subsequently, it presents the adaptation of the recommendations of each of the four PZs and their degree of compliance and the risk of invasive device-related infections and/or multidrug-resistant bacteraemias. For this purpose, we have taken into account: (i) the document published in October 2020 by the Advisory Board of the Critical Patient Safety Programme, and (ii) the exploratory study conducted, one year later, by the Advisory Board of the PZs, on the leaders of the Projects of the units participating in the ENVIN registry. Finally, based on the findings, five tentative and priority recommendations are formulated

First evidence of a pro-inflammatory response to severe infection with influenza virus H1N1

The great majority of infections caused by the pandemic variant of the influenza virus (nvH1N1) are self-limited, but a small percentage of patients develop severe symptoms requiring hospitalization. Bermejo-Martin and colleagues have presented a pilot study describing the differences in the early immune response for patients both mildly and severely infected with nvH1N1. Patients who develop severe symptoms after nvH1N1 infection showed Th1 and Th17 'hypercytokinemia', compared to mildly infected patients and healthy controls. The mediators involved with the Th1 and Th17 profiles are known to be involved in antiviral, pro-inflammatory and autoimmune responses. This is the first work reporting the association of a pro-inflamatory immune response with a severe pandemic infection, although it is likely that more studies are needed to understand the detrimental or beneficial roles these cytokines play in the evolution of mild and severe nvH1N1 infection

Spatiotemporal pattern of brain electrical activity related to immediate and delayed episodic memory retrieval

In the present study we used the event-related brain potentials (ERP) technique and eLORETA (exact low-resolution electromagnetic tomography) method in order to characterize and compare the performance and the spatiotemporal pattern of the brain electrical activity related to the immediate episodic retrieval of information (words) that is being learned relative to delayed episodic retrieval twenty-minutes later. For this purpose, 16 young participants carried out an old/new word recognition task with source memory (word colour). The task included an immediate memory phase (with three study-test blocks) followed (20 min later) by a delayed memory phase with one test block. The behavioural data showed progressive learning and consolidation of the information (old words) during the immediate memory phase. The ERP data to correctly identified old words for which the colour was subsequently recollected (H/H) compared to the correctly rejected new words (CR) showed: (1) a significant more positive-going potential in the 500–675 ms post-stimulus interval (parietal old/new effect, related to recollection), and (2) a more negative-going potential in the 950–1850 ms interval (LPN effect, related to retrieval and post-retrieval processes). The eLORETA data also revealed that the successful recognition of old words (and probably retrieval of their colour) was accompanied by activation of (1) left medial temporal (parahippocampal gyrus) and parietal regions involved in the recollection in both memory phases, and (2) prefrontal regions and the superior temporal gyrus (in the immediate and delayed memory phases respectively) involved in monitoring, evaluating and maintaining the retrieval products. These findings indicate that episodic memory retrieval depends on a network involving medial temporal lobe and frontal, parietal and temporal neocortical structures. That network was involved in immediate and delayed memory retrieval and during the course of memory consolidation, with greater activation of some nodes (mobilization of more processing resources) for the delayed respect to the immediate retrieval conditionThis study was supported by grants from the Spanish Government, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (PSI2014-55316-C3-3-R; PSI2017-89389-C2-2-R), with FEDER Funds; the Galician Government, Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria, Axudas para a Consolidación e Estruturación de Unidades de Investigación Competitivas do Sistema Universitario de Galicia: GRC (GI-1807-USC); Ref: ED431-2017/27, with FEDER fundsS

Influencia de la edad y el sexo en la información del paciente en fase terminal

IntroducciónLa revelación de la gravedad del diagnóstico a los pacientes afectados de enfermedades potencialmente mortales suscita opiniones encontradas al respecto. Diversos estudios han analizado las opiniones que sobre este tema tienen los pacientes no afectados de enfermedades terminales1,2. En ellos suele haber predominio de personas que afirman que desearían conocer su situación si presentasen una enfermedad incurable, aunque se ha investigado menos el conocimiento real de la situación entre los pacientes terminales.ObjetivoDeterminar si la edad o el sexo influyen en el conocimiento que de su situación médica tienen los pacientes terminales.DiseñoEstudio descriptivo, transversal.EmplazamientoSiete consultas de atención primaria rural en la provincia de Ourense.ParticipantesSe incluyó a todos los pacientes fallecidos entre 2000 y 2004, atendidos en dichas consultas, y que fueron considerados como pacientes terminals (afectados de una enfermedad incurable y con una esperanza de vida<6 meses) por sus médicos de cabecera. Se estudiaron 92 casos, de los que 7 se excluyeron por presentar demencia.Mediciones principalesCada facultative analizó las historias clínicas de sus pacientes. Se determinaron la edad en el momento del fallecimiento, el sexo, la causa y el lugar de la muerte, y el conocimiento por parte del paciente de su situación clínica.ResultadosSe estudiaron 85 casos, de los que 47 (55,3%) eran varones. La edad media al fallecimiento era de 80,2±12,1 años, 78,0±11,8 en los varones y 82,8±12,0 en las mujeres.Las principales causas de muerte fueron enfermedades cardiovasculares (43%) y enfermedades neoplásicas (20,5%). El 77,4% de las muertes se produjo en el domicilio, y entre los varones la muerte fue más frecuente en el hospital (p=0,03).Tenían un conocimiento veraz de su situación médica 34 casos (40%), sin que se encontraran diferencias significativas en función del sexo, aunque esta información era más frecuente entre los pacientes más jóvenes (intervalo de confianza IC del 95%, de la diferencia de edades, -15,1 a -5,1; p=0,005).Discusión y conclusionesEn nuestro país, estudios realizados sobre enfermos oncológicos mostraban porcentajes de pacientes que conocían de una manera u otra su enfermedad que oscilaban entre un 19 y un 70%3,4, cifras entre las que se situaría la encontrada en éste. Igualmente, la relación entre menor edad y mayor conocimiento de su diagnóstico ya fue apreciada en pacientes oncológicos, lo mismo que el hecho de un mayor conocimiento entre los varones5 que no se ha comprobado en este estudio.A pesar de que, como algún autor señala3, una buena parte de los pacientes no desea conocer su diagnóstico, sería interesante comprobar si hay diferencias en la oferta de información que se proporciona a los ancianos frente a los pacientes más jóvenes. Quizá la postura correcta sería considerar los deseos de los enfermos y no los de los familiares o el médico a la hora de decidir cuánto y cuándo debe ser informado el paciente de su situación.Que el médico dispusiera de esa información previamente al diagnóstico sería tan importante como un consentimiento para donar órganos6, y debería figurar en la historia clínica de cada ciudadano

Effects of Mild Cognitive Impairment on the Event-Related Brain Potential Components Elicited in Executive Control Tasks

Published: 29 May 2018We summarize here the findings of several studies in which we analyzed the eventrelated brain potentials (ERPs) elicited in participants with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and in healthy controls during performance of executive tasks. The objective of these studies was to investigate the neural functioning associated with executive processes in MCI. With this aim, we recorded the brain electrical activity generated in response to stimuli in three executive control tasks (Stroop, Simon, and Go/NoGo) adapted for use with the ERP technique. We found that the latencies of the ERP components associated with the evaluation and categorization of the stimuli were longer in participants with amnestic MCI than in the paired controls, particularly those with multiple-domain amnestic MCI, and that the allocation of neural resources for attending to the stimuli was weaker in participants with amnestic MCI. The MCI participants also showed deficient functioning of the response selection and preparation processes demanded by each task.This study was financially supported by funds from the Spanish Government: Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (PSI2014-55316-C3-3-R); and by the Galician Government: Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria; Axudas para a Consolidación e Estruturación de Unidades de Investigación Competitivas do Sistema Universitario de Galicia: GRC (GI-1807-USC); Ref: ED431-2017/27

Periodontitis is associated with higher subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

We would like to thank the patients from the Unit of Autoimmune Diseases of the “Virgen de las Nieves” University Hospital. This investigation has not received funds from any private entity. All procedures in this were performed from the regular care, with resources of the Spanish National Health System. All authors declare no conflicts of interest, and all authors have approved the final article.Aim: To determine periodontitis prevalence in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to assess whether periodontitis in SLE patients is associated with a greater subclinical atherosclerosis. Methods: An observational case–control study was conducted in SLE (cases) and patients without any rheumatic diseases (controls), matched for sex. Sociodemographic and cardiometabolic variables were gathered, and SLE activity was assessed through several indexes. Periodontal examination registered probing pocket depth, clinical attachment level, bleeding on probing, plaque index, and tooth loss. Subclinical atherosclerosis was assessed by measuring the carotid–femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) by Doppler velocimetry, homocysteine levels, C-reactive protein (CRP), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Bivariate analyses and logistic regression were used to assess the association of any of the studied variables with SLE. Results: Seventy-one cases and 72 controls were included in the study. Thirty-nine SLE patients (54.9%) were diagnosed with periodontitis, compared with 16 controls (22.2%). High levels of PWV (≥7.7 m/s, 75th percentile) were shown by 44.3% of the cases vs. 22.4% of the controls (p = .011). Among SLE patients, those with periodontitis showed higher PWV values (8.1 ± 1.52 vs. 7.16 ± 1.11 m/s, p = .006) and higher homeostasis model assessment index (indicative of insulin resistance) (1.7 ± 0.73 vs. 2.92 ± 3.05, p = .028) compared to those with periodontal health. Logistic regression showed that waist circumference (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.01–1.12, p = .015); ESR (OR 1.09, 95% CI 1.03–1.16, p = .003); and bleeding on probing (OR 1.1, 95% CI 1.01–1.19, p = .018) were associated with the risk of SLE. Conclusion: Systemic lupus erythematosus patients showed a higher periodontitis percentage than controls. Higher PWV values were found in SLE patients with periodontitis, indicating a higher prevalence of subclinical atherosclerosis. Patients with higher gingival bleeding showed a higher risk of SLE