Luria’s Syndrome for Neuropsychological Rehabilitation of Adolescents

Neuropsychology, as a science, studies possible relations between psychological processes and brain in cases of normality and diverse pathologies. Such kind of relations might be established and understood by different manners. A.R. Luria proposed unique and particular way of approach by brain units. Such conceptionis not completely understood and even less used in practice of diagnosis and rehabilitation today. Neuropsychologists provide assessments of isolated functions by help of psychometric procedures. The judgment of diagnosis refers to such terms as “attention or memory disorders”, dyslexia and so on. All these terms are really far away from the conception of systemic and dynamic representation of human actions infunctional brain systems. Same or worse is the situation with rehabilitation directed to isolated operations as conductive exercises for isolated functions. The objective of our report is to share opinion of application of Luria’s methodology of syndrome analysis. Procedures of systemic functional diagnosis must conduct to systemic procedures in rehabilitation. An example of qualitative assessment of adolescent patient withbrain injury is presented. Goals, stages and examples of formation of actions in rehabilitation with results are provided. Psychological conceptions of stage by stage formation and orientation base of action and its usage for rehabilitation is taken into account. We conclude that systemic and dynamic approach in neuropsychology might be conducted in reality of assessment and rehabilitation. We discuss the necessity of establishment of bridges between psychological theory of actions instead of functions and systemic representation of actions by functional brain systems. Keywords: neuropsychological rehabilitation, concepts of neuropsychology, functional diagnosis, qualitative neuropsychology, brain injury rehabilitation

Effects of Neuropsychological Intervention in a Child with Functional Deficit in Programming and Control

Introduction. The brain’s third functional block is considered an important element in the impairment of child development, which has been conceptually linked to ADHD and learning difficulties. Its rehabilitation presents some skepticism regarding the effectiveness of the treatments. This is associated with the lack of relationshipbetween the established diagnosis and the intervention proposal, the lack of knowledge of the basic psychological needs of each age and the design of an intervention program that corresponds to the neuropsychological syndrome. Methodology. The main purpose of this paper is to present the results of a neuropsychological intervention in a 11-year-old schoolgirl from the city of Puebla-México with a functional deficit in programming and control mechanism. The intervention program was scheduled twice a week for 11 months; gauging its effectiveness with pre-post neuropsychological and electroencephalography (EEG) assessment. The EEG data revealed functional bilateral changes of origin in basal ganglia, mesencephalic and of the brainstem. The method of qualitative syndromic analysis of the functional status of the cerebral mechanisms was used, especially in mistakes made at different tasks associated with the mechanism involved. The program was elaborated based on the structure and content of the school learning activity and zone of proximal development. Results. A significant improvement was observed in the functional state of programming and control and improvement in school performance. Conclusion. Approaches to child correction like the cultural-historical are necessary in the neuropsychological field to generate methods that guarantee the psychological and neuropsychological development. Keywords: Neuropsychological syndrome, child neuropsychology, child neuropsychological intervention, developmental problems, subcortical structures

Развитие пространственных функций у школьников на основе нейропсихологического анализа графической деятельности

Original manuscript received February 3, 2020.Revised manuscript accepted March 19, 2020.Child neuropsychology should be considered as a branch of general neuropsychology. Goals and tasks of child neuropsychology depend on a general psychological approach to the development. According to historical and cultural approach, neuropsychology as a science is directed not only towards assessing difficulties and establishing a diagnosis, but also towards creating methods for overcoming developmental problems and preventing such problems. Cultural and historical conception of development allows to study each psychological age according to a predominant type of child’s activity. In case of pre-school age, the predominant activity is a role-play. This activity is extremely useful for child’s development, but not enough for preparation to school. Play activity is performed in groups by communicative and precise material means (toys, objects and symbols). Another kind of useful activity is creative drawing as activity performed at a perceptive level and achieved by perceptive means. The aim of the article is to propose a way for introduction and gradual development of spatial orientation at a perceptive level within the content of original program for drawing. Neuropsychological analysis of drawing activity allows to specify brain mechanisms of the functional system of the action of drawing. The content of the functional system of the drawing action is presented together with the stages for introduction and formation of this action. The authors discuss the usefulness of graphic activity for the development of spatial orientation at a perceptive level. Graphic activity should be broadly used in pre-school institutions as a basic method for formation of spatial analysis and synthesis and prevention of learning disabilities at school.Детская нейропсихология должна рассматриваться как раздел общей нейропсихологии. Цели и задачи детской нейропсихологии зависят от общепсихологического подхода к развитию ребенка. В соответствии с историко-культурологическим подходом нейропсихология как наука направлена не только на оценку трудностей и постановку диагноза, но и на создание методов преодоления проблем развития ребенка и предотвращения таких проблем. Культурно-историческая концепция развития позволяет изучать каждый психологический возраст в соответствии с преобладающим видом деятельности ребенка. В случае дошкольного возраста преобладающей деятельностью является игра. Это занятие чрезвычайно полезно для развития ребенка, но недостаточно для подготовки к школе. Игровая деятельность осуществляется в группах с помощью коммуникативных и конкретных материальных средств (игрушки, предметы и символы). Другим видом полезной деятельности является творческий рисунок. Это деятельность, осуществляемая на уровне восприятия и достигаемая средствами восприятия. Цель статьи — показать способ внедрения и постепенного развития пространственной ориентации на уровне восприятия в рамках содержания оригинальной программы для рисования. Нейропсихологический анализ изобразительной деятельности позволяет уточнить мозговые механизмы функциональной системы выполнения рисунка, а также этапы формирования изобразительной деятельности. Авторы обсуждают полезность графической деятельности для развития пространственной ориентации на уровне восприятия. Графическая деятельность должна широко использоваться в дошкольных учреждениях в качестве основного метода формирования пространственного анализа, синтеза и предотвращения нарушений при дальнейшем обучении в школе

Desarrollo de simulador de negocios en la industria de sensores: estrategia y toma de decisiones

El objetivo principal del presente trabajo de obtención de grado es documentar las experiencias vividas por el equipo Baldwin en el simulador de negocios CAPSIM. En la simulación, el equipo debe elegir e implementar una estrategia para una compañía de sensores y se deben tomar decisiones en las áreas de investigación y desarrollo, promociones, ventas, producción, recursos humanos y finanzas durante ocho años fiscales. Al finalizar cada año, se genera un reporte llamado Courier donde se presentan los resultados de la compañía y su competencia. De acuerdo con estos resultados, la empresa debe evaluar si va a seguir con la estrategia elegida o va a hacer modificaciones

Revisión taxonómica del género Briza (Poaceae) en la Península Ibérica e Islas Baleares

A taxonomic treatment for the species of Briza (Poaceae) in the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands is provided, within the frame of Flora iberica project. This treatment is based on the revision of 2494 specimens from Spanish and European herbaria, and the comparative study of morphological characters of 112 specimens kept at MA, by means of the analysis of biometric variables. The final taxonomical treatment recognizes up to three species for the aforementioned territories. Besides of morphological diagnosis, additional information about chorology, ecology, chromosome number, identification key, and the illustration of Briza media are provided.Se presenta un tratamiento taxonómico para las especies del género Briza (Poaceae) en la Península Ibérica e Islas Baleares, en el ámbito del proyecto Flora iberica. Este tratamiento se fundamenta en la revisión de 2494 especímenes que proceden de diversos herbarios, tanto españoles como del resto de Europa, y en el estudio comparativo de caracteres morfológicos asociados a 112 especímenes conservados en MA, mediante el análisis de variables biométricas. Reconocemos un total de tres especies en el territorio mencionado. Además de las descripciones morfológicas, se incluye información adicional sobre su distribución, hábitat y número cromosomático, además de una clave para la determinación de las especies tratadas y una ilustración de Briza media

Значение теории деятельности для качественной нейропсихологии

Original manuscript received April 02, 2020. Revised manuscript accepted July 28, 2020. First published online February 08, 2021.The article analyses theoretical and methodological aspects of neuropsychology. Neuropsychology might be considered as a part of neuroscience, but also as the part of psychology. In this last choice, neuropsychology has to conceptualize the ways for studying of psychological process before passing to the level of relation, which exists between psychological processes and brain level in order to identify specific mechanisms or components of psychological processes related to the functioning of special brain zones. Such a study can be based on different general psychological theories. One of the possibilities is historical and cultural approach and activity theory. From the point of view of activity theory approach, brain functional systems might be understood as psycho-physiological dynamic mechanisms of actions and operations fulfilled by a subject. All actions of the subject are always accomplished within the context of one or another cultural activity. Neuropsychological level of analyses might be understood as the elementary functional level of human activity. Neuropsychological analysis might be organized as assessment of actions instead of assessment of isolated functions. The article shows the benefits and significance of activity theory general concept for the field of neuropsychological research and practice of assessment and rehabilitation. The discussion stresses the importance of argumentation of relation between general psychology and neuropsychology.В статье анализируются теоретико-методологические аспекты нейропсихологии. Нейропсихология может рассматриваться как часть нейробиологии и как часть психологии. Как часть психологии нейропсихология сначала должна концептуализировать пути изучения психологического процесса, а затем перейти к анализу взаимосвязи, которая существует между психологическими процессами и уровнем мозга, чтобы идентифицировать конкретные механизмы или компоненты психологических процессов, связанных с функционированием специальной зоны мозга. Такое исследование может основываться на различных общепсихологических теориях, в частности на теории деятельности. С точки зрения теории деятельности функциональные системы мозга рассматриваются как психофизиологические динамические механизмы действий и операций, выполняемых субъектом. Все действия субъекта всегда совершаются в контексте той или иной культурной деятельности. Нейропсихологический анализ можно понимать как элементарный функциональный уровень человеческой деятельности, представляющий собой оценку действий вместо оценки отдельных функций. В статье оцениваются преимущества и значение общей концепции теории деятельности для нейропсихологических исследований и практики диагностики и реабилитации. Подчеркивается важность аргументации связи между общей психологией и нейропсихологией

Statistička analiza nanokapsuliranja niskomolekularnog heparina

The objective of this study was to use Box-Behnken design (BBD) to investigate the influence of formulation variables on the properties of heparin-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)-Eudragit-RLPO (E-RLPO) nanoparticles (NP) in terms of mean diameter (as size) and drug encapsulation efficiency. The NPs were prepared by the double emulsion solvent evaporation method. The independent variables were: X1 olymer mass ratio (PLGA:E-RLPO) in the oil phase, X2 concentration of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as emulsion stabilizer, and X3 volume of the external aqueous phase (W2). Particle size (analyzed by dynamic light scattering) and encapsulation efficiency (EE, estimated by spectrophotometry) were the investigated responses. The polynomial equation obtained from regression analysis of the reduced model (p = 0.0002, F = 25.7952 and R2 = 0.96) provided an excellent fit. The optimal size for the NP was found to be 134.2 ± 16.5 nm with formulation variables of 48.2:61.8, 0.321 (%, m/V) and 263 mL for X1, X2 and X3, respectively. Probably, due to electrostatic interaction between the negatively charged drug and the positively charged E-RLPO, the percent EE of heparin was between 74.4 ± 6.5 % (lowest value) and 92.1 ± 5.3 % (highest value). The data suggest that BBD is a useful tool in rational design of heparin-loaded NPs.Box-Behnkenovo dizajniranje (BBD) primijenjeno je za praćenje utjecaja formulacijskih varijabli na svojstva nanočestica (NP) s heparinom. Za izradu nanočestica korišten je kopolimer mliječne i glikolne kiseline (PLGA) i Eudragit-RLPO (E-RLPO). Nanočestice su pripravljene metodom dvostruke evaporacije otapala iz emulzije. Nezavisne varijable bile su: X1 omjer masa polimera (PLGA : E-RLPO) u uljnoj fazi, X2 koncentracija polivinil alkohola (PVA) kao stabilizatora emulzije i X3 volumen vanjske vodene faze (W2). Zavisne varijable bile su veličina čestica (analizirana pomoću dinamičkog rasapa svjetlosti) i učinkovitost inkapsuliranja (EE) (praćena spektrofotometrijski). Polinomska jednadžba dobivena regresijskom analizom reduciranog modela odlično je odgovarala (p = 0,0002, F = 25,7952 i R2 = 0,96). Optimalna veličina nanočestica bila je 134,2 ± 16,5 nm s formulacijskim varijablama 48,2:61,8, 0,321 (%, m/V) i 263 mL for X1, X2 odnosno X3. Vjerojatno je zbog elektrostatskih interakcija između negativno nabijene ljekovite tvari i pozitivno nabijenog E-RLPO učinkovitost inkapsuliranja heparina varirala od 74,4 ± 6,5 % (najniža vrijednost) do 92,1 ± 5,3 % (najviša vrijednost). Rezultati sugeriraju da je BBD vrlo korisno u racionalnom dizajniranju nanočestica s heparinom