Neurocognitive Impairment in Severe Mental Illness. Comparative study with Spanish Speaking Patients

Background. Serious mental illness (SMI) represents a category of psychiatric disorders characterized by specific difficulties of personal and social functioning, derived from suffering severe and persistent mental health problems. Aims. We wanted to look into differences in cognitive performance among different SMI patients. Methods. Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) screening was applied in one sample of SMI patients (n = 149) and another of healthy comparison participants (n = 35). Within the SMI sample, three different subsamples were formed: one with 97 patients with schizophrenia, a second with 29 patients with mood disorders, and a third with 23 patients with personality disorder. We performed a comparative study within and between groups. Results. Analysis of covariance was performed. Significant differences were found for cognitive functioning including attention and memory. Conclusions. RBANS can be recommended for the detection of neurocognitive deficits in psychiatric disorders, especially in Schizophrenia

Psychological factors and wellbeing in breast cancer patients compared to healthy women

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide, with nearly 1.7 million new cases diagnosed every year. This represents about 12% of all new cancer cases and 25% of all cancers in women (World Cancer Research Fund International, 2015). Also, it is estimated an increase of between 22.000-25.000 new cases per year. Even more, in spite of being considered a multi-causal disease, we must consider that between the 70% and the 80% breast cancer occurs in women without a likely risk factor

Virtual Reality "exergames": A promising countermeasure to improve motivation and restorative effects during long duration spaceflight missions

Long duration spaceflight missions will require novel exercise systems to protect astronaut crew from the detrimental effects of microgravity exposure. The SPRINT protocol is a novel and promising exercise prescription that combines aerobic and resistive training using a flywheel device, and it was successfully employed in a 70-day bed-rest study as well as onboard the International Space Station. Our team created a VR simulation to further augment the SPRINT protocol when using a flywheel ergometer training device (the Multi-Mode Exercise Device or M-MED). The simulation aspired to maximal realism in a virtual river setting while providing real-time biometric feedback on heart rate performance to subjects. In this pilot study, five healthy, male, physically-active subjects aged 35 +/- 9.0 years old underwent 2 weeks of SPRINT protocol, either with or without the VR simulation. After a 1-month washout period, subjects returned for a subsequent 2 weeks in the opposite VR condition. We measured physiological and cognitive variables of stress, performance, and well-being. While physiological effects did not suggest much difference with the VR condition over 2 weeks, metrics of motivation, affect, and mood restoration showed detectable differences, or trended toward more positive outcomes than exercise without VR. These results provide evidence that a well-designed VR "exergaming" simulation with biometric feedback could be a beneficial addition to exercise prescriptions, especially if users are exposed to isolation and confinement.This project was funded through an internal seed grant mechanism by the College of Engineering and the Human Clinical Research Facility at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States

The impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on human psychology and physical activity; a space analogue research perspective

Introduction Astronauts will encounter isolated, confined and extreme (ICE) conditions during future missions, and will have to be able to adapt. Until recently, however, few places on Earth could serve as acceptable space analogues (i.e., submarine and polar regions). The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19)-related lockdowns around the globe provided a good opportunity to obtain more comprehensive datasets on the impact of prolonged isolation on human functioning in a very large sample. Methods Seven hundred forty-eight individuals (Belgium 442, Spain 183, Germany 50, Italy 50, US 23; Mean age +/- SD: 41 +/- 14 years, with an age range of 18-83 years; 66% women) filled out an online survey assessing the impact of the COVID-lockdown on psychological, exercise and general health variables a first time near the beginning of the initial lockdown (hereafter 'T1'; 24 +/- 13 days after the start of the first lockdown; i.e., 3 weeks after the start of the first lockdown) and a second time a couple of weeks thereafter (hereafter 'T2'; 17 +/- 5 days after the first online survey; i.e., 6 weeks after the start of the first lockdown). Results From T1 to T2 an improvement of subjective sleep quality was observed (P = 0.003), that was related to an increase in subjective sleep efficiency and a decrease in sleep latency and disturbance (P <= 0.013). Weekly sitting time decreased, and the weekly amount of moderate and vigorous physical activity increased from T1 to T2 (P <= 0.049). No differences from T1 to T2 were observed in terms of mood, loneliness and state anxiety. A lower amount of sitting time was significantly correlated with improved subjective sleep quality (r = 0.096, P = 0.035) and with an increased amount of moderate (r = -0.126, P = 0.005) and vigorous (r = -0.110, P = 0.015) physical activity. Conclusion Compared to 3 weeks into the first COVID-imposed lockdown, 6-weeks after the start of the first COVID-imposed lockdown, physical activity and subjective sleep scores were positively impacted. The present, large sample size study further confirms exercise as a worthwhile countermeasure to psycho-physiological deconditioning during confinement

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

El modelo funcional de atención en neuropsicología

El presente trabajo aborda el enfoque funcional de le Atención en Neuropsicología. Se ofrece una amplia perspectiva sobre los estudios y diferentes modelos de Atención hasta le feche y finalmente se aporten las bases pare la utilización clínica de un modelo multidimensional de la Atención específico. El modelo de atención de A.F. Mirsky es desarrollado y evaluado por su valía tanto clínica como teórica en Neuropsicología. Se intenta demostrar igualmente la mayor idoneidad de este modelo funcional para su aplicación en el ámbito clínico. Se proponen además las bases anatómicas, que según las recientes investigaciones llevadas a cabo, subyacen en los diferentes elementos de este modelo funcional de Atención

Evaluación de la Atención mediante el Test de Cancelación Simple y Cancelación Condicionada [Batería Neuropsicológica Sevilla (BNS)] en niños con Transtorno por Déficit de Atención e Hiperactividad (TDAH)

El objetivo del presente trabajo es determinar las diferencias obtenidas en tres grupos de niños de edades comprendidas entre los 6 y 11 años; niños con Trastorno de Déficit de atención e Hiperactividad (TDAH), niños con Dificultades de Aprendizaje y niños con buen rendimiento académico. Se prentende observar la ejecución de estos tres grupos de niños en las pruebas de cancelación simple y condicionada incluidadas en la Batería Neuropsicológica Sevilla(BNS). Los resultados obtenidos mostraron una peor ejecución por parte de los niños con TDAH en comparación con los niños con buen rendimiento académico. Los niños con TDAH obtenían mayor tasa de errores y menor tasa de aciertos. Además se incluye una revisión de la literatura al respecto de los hallazgos neurológicos en el TDAH. Se discute sobre la posible utilidad de dichas pruebas para la detección de los déficits de atención que los niños con TDAH suelen presentar

Percepción y realidad histórica

<p class="Pa1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="blk9">En el marco de la Psicología Política, el siguiente artículo describe las implicaciones que tiene el proceso de percepción en términos psicológicos generales en el procesamiento de la información. También se hace especial referencia a la manipulación mediática que se puede ejercer en dichos procesos perceptivos y el poder que de ello se deriva especialmente en la Historia Actual. Se ofrece además una breve descripción de un modelo perceptual de la interpretación de los acontecimientos históricos en la sociedad de los medios de comunicación de hoy día.</span></p><p class="Pa1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="blk9">_________________</span></p><p class="Pa1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="blk9"><strong>ABSTRACT:</strong></span></p><span class="blk9"><p class="Pa1" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="blk9">Under the framework of Political Psychology, the following article describes the implications of the perception process in general psychological terms, in the information process issue. We make an special mention to the mediatic manipulation which can be made over such perception processes and the power resulting from this manipulation, specially in the Contemporary History. We also offer a brief description of model of perception and interpretation of historic events in the today's mass media society.</span></p></span

Psicopatología y misiones espaciales tripuladas

El presente trabajo revisa y resume las principales categorías diagnósticas en psicopatología presentes en la literatura sobre aspectos psicológicos en el especial ambiente de trabajo que suponen las misiones espaciales tripuladas. Se detallan los síndromes más comunes, así como las características de algunos síndromes controvertidos en la literatura especializada como la astenia. El trabajo pionero en la materia en español ofrece una visión general de este novedoso e importante campo de investigación en psicología clínica y experimental para el avance de la carrera espacial. Finalmente se hace referencia a las implicaciones que para la salud mental pueden tener las próximas misiones espaciales de larga duración, por ejemplo a Marte