Neuronas Espejo y Teoría de la Mente en la explicación de la empatía

La empatía es la capacidad de una persona para vivenciar los pensamientos y sentimientos de los otros, reaccionando adecuadamente. Diferenciamos en la empatía dos componentes: cognitivo y emocional. El componente cognitivo comprende los pensamientos y sentimientos del otro. El componente afectivo comparte el estado emocional de otra persona. Comentamos dos teorías para explicar la empatía: las neuronas espejo y la Teoría de la Mente. Las neuronas espejo son un tipo particular de neuronas que se activan cuando un individuo realiza una acción, pero también cuando él observa una acción similar realizada por otro individuo Para la teoría de la mente atribuir mente a otro es una actividad teórica ya que no podemos observar su mente, pero generamos hipótesis sobre lo que está pensando o sintiendo, e interpretamos así su comportamiento. Argumentamos una continuidad genética entre ambas teorías, que se sitúan a nivel explicativo distinto: las neuronas espejo a nivel neuronal (neurociencia básica) y la teoría de la mente en el nivel cognitivo. Mostramos implicaciones de ambas teorías en la comprensión del autismo. [ABSTRACT]Empathy is a person’s ability to experiment other people’s thoughts and feelings and to react to them in an adequate manner. There are two different components within the concept of empathy: cognitive and emotional. The former implies the ability to understand thoughts and feelings of another person; the latter allows the individual to share the mental state of another person responding to his/her demands. We comment here on two theories that explain empathy: the mirror neurons and the Theory of Mind. Mirror neurons are a particular type of neurons which are activated when an individual performs an action, but also when he/she observes a similar action performed by someone else. For theory of mind, to attribute mind to another person is a theoretical activity because we cannot observe his mind, but we generate hypotheses about what he/she is thinking about or feeling, and, in this way, we interpret his/her behaviour. We deduce a genetic continuity between both theories in a different explanatory level: mirror neurons at a neuronal level (basic neuroscience) and theory of mind at a cognitive level. Implications of both theories in the explanation of autism are discussed

PSICO-A: un sistma computacional integrado para la enseñanza de la psicología

PSICO-A es un sistema informático para la enseñanza de la Psicología. Está especialmente destinado a estudiantes de Educación Secundaria y del primer curso del Grado de la especialidad. Es un sistema innovador porque es el primer sistema computacional concebido para la enseñanza de unidades didácticas de Psicología. PSICO-A integra diversas herramientas e influencias didácticas: introduce mapas conceptuales, recuperación libre del recuerdo, un mecanismo efectivo de “feedback”, simulaciones, juegos digitales e indaga sobre la capacidad metacognitiva de los alumnos. Su arquitectura computacional está organizada modularmente y posee un analizador que ayuda mucho a la recogida de datos por parte del profesor. Hemos evaluado este sistema, confirmándose una mejora significativa en numerosas variables del aprendizaje

Schoolchildren’s compensatory strategies and skills in relation to attention and executive function app training

Background: Given the importance of attention and executive functions (EF) in children’s behavior, programs aimed at improving these processes are of special interest. Nexxo-training combines the use of the Nexxo touchscreen application (inhibition and vigilance tasks) with procedural metacognitive strategies (imparted by an instructor) for all the individuals using the app, regardless of their level of ability, plus compensatory strategies based on individual child performance. This study presents an analysis of the compensatory strategies that schoolchildren (aged 6–8 years old) receive when experiencing difficulties with EF tasks, in addition to an analysis of the developmental factors and cognitive skills that may modulate EF task performance. Methods: For this study, we use data from a previous randomized active-controlled study (under review), in which forty-six typically developing children aged between 6 and 8 years old (24 girls/22 boys) were enrolled in the training group. The selected children were in the 1st grade (n = 28, Nx = 78.32 4.037 months) and 3rd grade of primary education (n = 18, Nx = 102.11 3.445). We collected data on EF training performance, compensatory strategies needed and neuropsychological assessments. Results: A total of 80.43% participants required some form of compensatory strategy during training. Regarding required compensatory strategies, those who had lower scores in EF training needed more compensatory strategies, in particular, instructional comprehension (r = -0.561, p < 0.001 for inhibition-tasks; r = -0.342, p < 0.001 for vigilance-tasks). Concerning developmental factors, age significantly predicted better performance in both EF tasks (b = 0.613, p < 0.001 for inhibition; b = 0.706, p < 0.001 for attention). As regards task performance, those with better performance in inhibition tasks also had better performance in vigilance tasks (r = 0.72, p < 0.001). Finally, regarding cognitive skills, participants with higher performance in fluid intelligence (Q1, n = 12) had higher scores (U = 14.5, p < 0.05) than the group with the lowest performance (Q4, n = 11) in vigilance Conclusion: As previous literature suggests, inhibition is one of the core processes of EF. Therefore, we should focus training on the core EF processes. Inhibition and vigilance are closely related processes. In terms of the use of compensatory strategies, these are more needed for participants with lower levels of performance in inhibition or vigilance. Regarding strategy analysis, instructional comprehension and self-instruction (goal setting and planning) seem to be the most useful strategies for those with difficulties in inhibitory and vigilance task performance. Regarding development, as expected, age moderates task performance in inhibition and attention. Finally, cognitive skills, such as fluid intelligence and cognitive flexibility, predicted better results in attention. EF training using not only an app, but also compensatory strategies based on user performance, is a new research direction offering more opportunities to generalize EF training in everyday lif

Cognitive development after a traumatic brain injury in childhood

Un traumatismo craneoencefálico (TCE) ocurrido durante la infancia puede incidir notablemente en el proceso de desarrollo cerebral del niño y, como consecuencia, en su desarrollo cognitivo y conductual. Sin embargo, la evolución de las capacidades cognitivas y conductuales tras un TCE en la infancia no es siempre igual, sino que depende de una serie de factores. Diversos estudios han revelado dos grupos principales de factores que interaccionan fuertemente entre sí, factores mórbidos y psicosociales. Esta interacción ha sido denominada hipótesis de doble riesgo, puesto que es la que determina el funcionamiento adaptativo postmórbido. Dentro del grupo de factores mórbidos se incluyen la gravedad del daño cerebral, las variables relacionadas con la edad y las características de la lesión. Entre los factores psicosociales destacan las características cognitivas y conductuales del niño previas al TCE y los factores ambientales, tales como el estatus socioeconómico, el estrés social y los recursos y el modo de funcionamiento de la familia. Por otra parte, las alteraciones que más frecuentemente se observan tras un TCE en la infancia son el enlentecimiento de la velocidad de procesamiento, así como dificultades en diversos procesos cognitivos, como la atención, la memoria, el lenguaje y las funciones ejecutivas. De entre estos procesos, las funciones ejecutivas son especialmente vulnerables, probablemente por el efecto conjunto de diversos factores –elevada prevalencia de daño focal frontal, efecto de desconexión como resultado de la lesión axonal difusa, lenta maduración de las regiones frontales–. Además de su elevada vulnerabilidad, las alteraciones en las funciones ejecutivas como consecuencia de un TCE durante la infancia son especialmente relevantes, ya que podrían estar subyaciendo a algunos de los déficits observados en los ámbitos cognitivo, psicosocial y académico; y un funcionamiento adecuado en todos estos ámbitos es esencial para lograr un comportamiento adaptado al entornoThe occurrence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) during childhood may disrupt ongoing brain development and, consequently, the development of cognitive and behavioural skills. However, cognitive and behavioural outcome after TBI is variable, depending upon morbid and psychosocial factors. The interaction between these two main groups of factors has been labelled the double hazard hypothesis, since it determines the adaptive post commorbid outcome. Morbid factors include severity of brain injury, age related variables, and the characteristics of the damage. Psychosocial factors consist of pre-TBI cognitive and behavioural functioning, socio-economic status, social stress and the family resources. Furthermore, the most frequent impairments after TBI during childhood are slower processing speed and difficulties in several cognitive processes, such as attention, memory, language and executive functions. Among the latter, executive functions are especially vulnerable, most likely due to the joint effect of several factors –high prevalence of focal frontal lesion, disconnection effect resulting from diffuse axonal injury, slow maturation of frontal regions–. Besides this high vulnerability, the impairment of executive functions as a consequence of TBI during childhood is extremely relevant, since it might underlie some of the observed deficits at the cognitive, psychosocial and academic levels. An adequate outcome at all these levels is critical to achieve an adaptive behaviourACR ha sido financiada por la Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional (AECI

Small-sided game-related physical performance is not influenced by the sprint and power performance of youth male soccer players

The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of sprint and power performance on physical fitness and small-sided game-related physical performance in youth male soccer players, using a median split analysis to separate faster and slower players, and powerful and weaker ones. Thirty youth male soccer players (age = 16.9 ± 1.4 years; height = 174.1 ± 7.1 cm; body mass = 63.1 ± 7.9 kg; % body fat = 15.5 ± 3.2) completed the following physical tests: 40 m linear sprint test, repeated sprint ability (RSA) test, countermovement jump (CMJ), horizontal jump (HJ) and a half-squat (HS) power test. In addition, players completed a 4 vs. 4 with goalkeepers small-sided game while external loads were recorded. According to their sprint and HS power performance, players were divided into fast and slow, and powerful and weak. Faster players performed better in 5 m sprint (p = 0.004, Effect Size (ES) = −1.158), 10 m sprint (p < 0.001, ES = −1.722), 40 m sprint (p < 0.001, ES = −3.268), RSAbest (p < 0.001, ES = −2.415), RSAtotal (p < 0.001, ES = −2.785), CMJ height (p = 0.032, ES = 0.823) and HJ distance (p < 0.001, ES = 1.589), but no significant differences (p > 0.05) were found in external loads during small-side games (SSG). In addition, no significant differences (p > 0.05) were observed between powerful and weaker players in the fitness tests and SSG-related physical performance. These results highlight the importance of grouping youth soccer players by their sprinting capacity to design specific and individualized training strategies and suggest that SSG-related physical performance is not influenced by their sprint or power performance

Impact of intrathecal cell therapy with autologous stromal cells on short-term memory binding in early Alzheimer's disease : one-year follow-up assessment of two cases

Background: We had previously reported that the administration of autologous stromal cells (ASCs) therapy to two patients with mild AD dementia led to a global increase in cerebral glucose metabolism which was accompanied by significant improvement of visual short-term memory binding (VSTMB), a function known to be a marker of AD. We suggested that intrathecal administration of autologous ASCs could be considered a new therapeutic strategy for AD dementia (Vaquero et al., 2019). We were interested in investigating the post-intervention durability of such cognitive improvements. Methods: We studied two AD patients with cerebral beta-amyloid neuritic plaques detected with 18FFDG-PET. The patients received every three months 100 million of ASCs by intrathecal route, until a total dose of 300 million. None received any other medication for its disease at the time of receiving cell therapy. Clinical and neuroimaging studies were performed previous and after the therapy, including brain glucose metabolism by 18F-FDG-PET and assessment with the visual short-term memory binding task (VSTMBT). This task has been proposed as a preclinical marker of AD. It requires subjects to detect whether or not two combinations of shape and colour change across two sequential arrays. Here we report on the assessment of these patients one year after the therapy. We compared them with 4 AD patients who did no undergo stem cell therapy. Results: Single case statistics revealed that benefits drawn by treated patients from the therapy remained a year after. Using a more taxing version of the VSTMB test (memory load of 3 items) we observed that, after the therapy, the chance that an untreated AD patient would show more impairment was 75.45% (p= 0.24) for Case 1 and 89.23% (p=0.11) for case 2. This chance remained after 1 year post-treatment for Case 1 (75.45%, p=0.24) and increased for Case 2 (96.89%, p=0.031). Conclusion: Improvements of memory functions known to be marker for AD in patients who underwent stem cell therapy remained stable after one year post-intervention. This offers a new therapeutic strategy for AD

ASPECTOS TEÓRICOS ACTUALES DE LA MEMORIA A LARGO PLAZO: DE LAS DICOTOMÍAS A LOS CONTINUOS

There is some terminological disagreement between authors in the study of long term memory although they use historically the same concepts. Then, some of them attach importance to the format in which representations are stored, others to representations output format and others to the consciousness or unconsciousness of storing and retrieval. In this work both learning and memory, and coding, storing and retrieval concepts are put in relation with classic dichotomies (explicit/implicit, declarative/procedural, controlled/automatic and intentional/incidental). Nowadays, there are some investigators that support the idea of “continuum” between attention, intention and consciousness abilities in storing and retrieval during learning and memory tasks. For that reason the necessity of considering that “continuum” idea between explicit and implicit memory, controlled and automatic processing, and even between intentionality and incidentality, is proposed since there are several proposals that show different “contamination” effects among themselves.En el estudio de la memoria a largo plazo se observan discrepancias terminológicas entre los autores a pesar de que históricamente manejen los mismos términos. Así, unos dan más importancia al formato en el que se almacena la representación, otros al formato que dicha representación toma a la hora de salir del sistema y otros a la conciencia o inconsciencia, bien en el almacenamiento, bien en la recuperación. En el presente trabajo se ponen en relación, tanto los conceptos de aprendizaje y memoria, como los de codificación, almacenamiento y recuperación, con dicotomías clásicas (explícito/implícito, declarativo/procedimental, controlado/automático e intencional/incidental). En la actualidad hay varios investigadores que adoptan y apoyan una renovada idea de “cotinuum” de las capacidades de atención, intención y conciencia en el almacenamiento y en la recuperación para las tareas de aprendizaje y memoria. Por ello, se pone de manifiesto la necesidad de considerar la idea de “continuum” entre la memoria explícita y la implícita, los procesos controlados y automáticos e incluso entre intencionalidad e incidentalidad, ya que son varias las aportaciones que nos muestran los diferentes efectos de “contaminación” de unos mecanismos sobre los otros

Legislación foral de España. Derecho civil en Navarra

Tít. del lomo : Legislación foral en NavarraDigitalización. Vitoria-Gasteiz : Archivos y Bibliotecas, Mayo 199

P73 plays a role in erythroid differentiaion through GATA1 induction

The TP73 gene gives rise to transactivation domain-p73 isoforms (TAp73) as well as ΔNp73 variants with a truncated N terminus. Although TAp73α and -Β proteins are capable of inducing cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and differentiation, ΔNp73 acts in many cell types as a dominant-negative repressor of p53 and TAp73. It has been proposed that p73 is involved in myeloid differentiation, and its altered expression is involved in leukemic degeneration. However, there is little evidence as to which p73 variants (TA or ΔN) are expressed during differentiation and whether specific p73 isoforms have the capacity to induce, or hinder, this differentiation in leukemia cells. In this study we identify GATA1 as a direct transcriptional target of TAp73α. Furthermore, TAp73α induces GATA1 activity, and it is required for erythroid differentiation. Additionally, we describe a functional cooperation between TAp73 and ΔNp73 in the context of erythroid differentiation in human myeloid cells, K562 and UT-7. Moreover, the impaired expression of GATA1 and other erythroid genes in the liver of p73KO embryos, together with the moderated anemia observed in p73KO young mice, suggests a physiological role for TP73 in erythropoiesis.Peer reviewe