The dual role of self-enhancement : protection and stigma

Despite the availability of effective treatment options for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), these treatments are highly under-utilized. One of the most cited barriers to treatment among people with PTSD symptoms is public stigma. In fact, the majority of the population experiences a potentially traumatic event (PTE) in their lifetime and should contribute to an assumption of a lack of stigma toward people with PTSD symptoms. Yet, it may be that the stigma perceived by people with PTSD symptoms is more nuanced than what is seen in stigma for other disorders. More often than not, people who experience a PTE will be resilient to its effects. Of particular interest is whether people who are resilient against PTEs may harbor stigmatizing attitudes toward people who develop PTSD. Resilience research has demonstrated that although self-enhancement—a tendency to evaluate oneself in an overly positive manner—promotes resilience and protects against PTSD development, it also leads to negative social interactions. Self-enhancers tend to focus on others’ flaws as a way of bolstering their own self-image. As such, self-enhancement may be a key variable in understanding the nature of stigma attitudes toward people with a diagnosis of PTSD. Due to the relative lack of research into public stigma behaviors toward people diagnosed with PTSD, the current study was designed to examine whether self-enhancement contributes to the creation of stigmatizing behaviors toward people diagnosed with PTSD. A total of 114 college students were randomly assigned to read one of two vignettes which varied in the perceived responsibility for the PTE, and completed measures of trauma history, PTSD symptoms, resilience, self-enhancement, personal stigma, and social distance. All participants endorsed at least one historic PTE. Selfenhancement moderated the relationship between PTE and PTSD development such that high self-enhancers with relatively few PTE experienced fewer PTSD symptoms—at high levels of PTE, the effects of self-enhancement fell away. That is, as the number of PTEs increased, high self-enhancers were just as likely to endorse PTSD symptoms as low self-enhancers. Perceived controllability moderated the relationship between selfenhancement and personal stigma, but only for females. Additionally, self-enhancement demonstrated a moderate positive relationship with personal stigma toward and desired social distance from people with PTSD symptoms. When observing others’ experience of distress, self-enhancers may view those people as weak and engage in stigmatizing behaviors as a result. These findings suggest that by tailoring anti-stigma programs to address characteristics of self-enhancement that contribute to stigmatizing attitudes, the success of such programs could be increased. Reduction of stigma could increase treatment utilization, thereby decreasing the potential impact of PTSD for the individual and society

Staying Ahead of The ASD Game: Communication Transitions

This workshop highlights major transitions in the life of a child with ASD (i.e., early intervention to school district, extended school year programs, after school support, mainstreaming, finding middle and high schools, and after school options) with concepts for improving practices for children with language and learning difficulties

Time to Get in the Game: Opportunities for More Involvement in Sport-Related Concussion Management

Many college athletes who have a sport-related concussion experience changes in cognitive-communication abilities. Unfortunately, nearly half of all sport-related concussions go unreported. Information on why collegiate athletes report or conceal their symptoms is important for improving reporting rates and increasing athletes’ access to services for cognitive-communication impairments. This study examined whether changes in cognitive-communication abilities affected college athlete’s intentions to report a sport-related concussion. Findings showed that approximately two-thirds of the college student-athletes who participated in the research were unlikely to report that they had a sport-related head injury. The study found that participants’ concerns for cognitive-communication deficits differentiated student-athletes who were more likely to report an injury from those who were less likely. This study has important clinical implications for increasing awareness and knowledge about the sequelae of sport-related concussion and the valuable role that rehabilitation specialists, such as speech-language pathologists (SLPs), can play in concussion management and prevention

Stem Cells and Organoid Technology in Precision Medicine in Inflammation: Are We There Yet?

Individualised cellular models of disease are a key tool for precision medicine to recapitulate chronic inflammatory processes. Organoid models can be derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) or from primary stem cells ex vivo. These models have been emerging over the past decade and have been used to reconstruct the respective organ-specific physiology and pathology, at an unsurpassed depth. In cancer research, patient-derived cancer organoids opened new perspectives in predicting therapy response and provided novel insights into tumour biology. In precision medicine of chronic inflammatory disorders, stem-cell based organoid models are currently being evaluated in pre-clinical pharmacodynamic studies (clinical studies in a dish) and are employed in clinical studies, e.g., by re-transplanting autologous epithelial organoids to re-establish intestinal barrier integrity. A particularly exciting feature of iPSC systems is their ability to provide insights into organ systems and inflammatory disease processes, which cannot be monitored with clinical biopsies, such as immune reactions in neurodegenerative disorders. Refinement of differentiation protocols, and next-generation co-culturing methods, aimed at generating self-organised, complex tissues in vitro, will be the next logical steps. In this mini-review, we critically discuss the current state-of-the-art stem cell and organoid technologies, as well as their future impact, potential and promises in combating immune-mediated chronic diseases

Simulation of integrate-and-fire neuron circuits using HfO₂-based ferroelectric field effect transistors

Inspired by neurobiological systems, Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs) are gaining an increasing interest in the field of bio-inspired machine learning. Neurons, as central processing and short-term memory units of biological neural systems, are thus at the forefront of cutting-edge research approaches. The realization of CMOS circuits replicating neuronal features, namely the integration of action potentials and firing according to the all-or-nothing law, imposes various challenges like large area and power consumption. The non-volatile storage of polarization states and accumulative switching behavior of nanoscale HfO₂ - based Ferroelectric Field-Effect Transistors (FeFETs), promise to circumvent these issues. In this paper, we propose two FeFET-based neuronal circuits emulating the Integrate-and-Fire (I&F) behavior of biological neurons on the basis of SPICE simulations. Additionally, modulating the depolarization of the FeFETs enables the replication of a biology-based concept known as membrane leakage. The presented capacitor-free implementation is crucial for the development of neuromorphic systems that allow more complex features at a given area and power constraint

Variations in Parent and Teacher Ratings of Internalizing, Externalizing, Adaptive Skills, and Behavioral Symptoms in Children with Selective Mutism

Selective mutism (SM) is an anxiety disorder that impacts communication. Children with SM present concerns to parents and teachers as they consistently do not speak in situations where there is an expectation to speak, such as at school, but speak in other settings where they feel more comfortable, such as at home. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of children with SM on behavioral rating scales and language measures. Forty-two children (22 boys and 20 girls, ranging from 2.4 to 13.8 years, with a mean age of 7.1 years) took part in this study. Parents and teachers completed the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC-3) measuring internalizing behaviors, externalizing behaviors, adaptive skills, and behavioral symptoms. Frequency of speaking and language abilities were also measured. Parents and teachers both identified withdrawal as the most prominent feature of SM but parents saw children as significantly more withdrawn than did their teachers. Both rated children similarly at-risk on scales of functional communication and social skills. Higher adaptive skills (including functional communication and social skills) were positively correlated with vocabulary, narrative language, and auditory serial memory according to teachers. Parent and teacher rating scales provide valuable information for diagnosis and progress monitoring. Children with SM can benefit from mental health practitioners who can identify and enhance their emotional well-being

Entrevista narrativa con personas en la situación de la calle con trastornos mentales: informe de experiencia

Objetivo: relatar a experiência do uso da entrevista narrativa com pessoas em situação de rua com transtornos mentais. Método: relato de experiência realizada em uma capital do Sul do Brasil. A coleta de dados ocorreu de julho a outubro de 2019. Resultados: a aplicação da entrevista narrativa desenvolveu-se em duas etapas: aproximação com o campo e seleção dos participantes; e construção da narrativa. A primeira envolveu uma inserção em um Consultório na Rua e possibilitou a identificação e o desenvolvimento de vínculo com os usuários. A segunda ocorreu com o desenvolvimento da entrevista narrativa e envolveu os seguintes passos: contato e negociação, história principal e fase de questionamentos. Conclusão: a entrevista narrativa se apresenta como ferramenta metodológica com potencial para a construção de itinerários terapêuticos de pessoas em situação de rua com transtornos mentais, contextualizando suas opções na busca pelo seu cuidado na perspectiva de suas histórias de vida. Implicação para a prática: a entrevista narrativa possibilita fazer-se ouvir em histórias frequentemente negligenciadas. Por ter como foco central a construção de sentidos por parte de quem vivencia determinada realidade, permitiu a reconstrução desses, possibilitando novos olhares e insights em relação à própria experiência de quem relatava.Objective: report the experience of using the narrative interview with homeless persons who suffer from mental disorders. Method: experience report held in a capital city in the South of Brazil. The data collection took place from July to October 2019. Results: the application of the narrative interview was developed in two stages: approach to the field and selection of participants; and construction of the narrative. The first involved an insertion in a Street Office and made it possible to identify and develop a link with the users. The second occurred with the development of the narrative interview and involved the following steps: contact and negotiation, main story and questioning phase. Conclusion: the narrative interview presents itself as a methodological tool with potential for the construction of therapeutic itineraries for homeless persons with mental disorders, contextualizing their options in the search for their care from the perspective of their life stories. Implication for practice: narrative interviewing makes it possible to make oneself heard in often neglected stories. By having as a central focus the construction of senses by those who experience a certain reality, it allowed the reconstruction of these, allowing new looks and insights in relation to the very experience of those who reported.Objetivo: relatar la experiencia de utilizar entrevistas narrativas con personas en situación callejera con trastornos mentales. Método: informe de experiencia realizado en una capital del Sur de Brasil. La recolección de datos tuvo lugar de julio a octubre de 2019. Resultados: La aplicación de la entrevista narrativa se desarrolló en dos etapas: aproximación al campo y selección de participantes; y construcción de la narrativa. La primera implicó una inserción en un Consultório na Rua y permitió identificar y desarrollar vínculos con los usuarios. La segunda ocurrió con el desarrollo de la entrevista narrativa y contó con los siguientes pasos: contacto y negociación, historia principal y fase de cuestionamientos. Conclusión: la entrevista narrativa se presenta como una poderosa herramienta metodológica para la construcción de itinerarios terapéuticos para personas en situación callejera con trastornos mentales, contextualizando sus opciones en la búsqueda de su cuidado desde la perspectiva de sus historias de vida. Implicación para la práctica: la entrevista narrativa permite hacerse oír en historias que a menudo se pasan por alto. Debido a que tiene como foco central la construcción de significados por parte de quienes experimentan una determinada realidad, permitió la reconstrucción de estos, posibilitando nuevas miradas y percepciones en relación a la propia experiencia de quien informa