A multi-study examination of the relevance of the metacognitive beliefs about uncontrollability in emotion regulation and clinical symptoms

Transdiagnostic approaches to psychopathology have postulated that factors related to perceived control are particularly relevant to mental health. Here we focused on a specific perceived control-related construct: metacognitive beliefs about uncontrollability. Evidence suggests that dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs play a role in the activation and maintenance of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and emotional distress. Metacognitive beliefs about the uncontrollability and danger of worry are the most strongly associated with psychopathology. In this multi-study research, we hypothesized that metacognitive beliefs about uncontrollability make a specific contribution to emotion regulation strategies and clinical symptoms. We tested our hypotheses in four different studies, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally (N = 2224). Participants completed measures of metacognitive beliefs, maladaptive strategies (e.g., worry, thought suppression), and clinical symptoms (e.g., generalized anxiety, emotional distress, depressive and anxiety symptoms). Our results showed that uncontrollability beliefs were the strongest variable associated with maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and clinical symptoms (cross-sectionally), and the only ones that predicted them in the long term. We discuss the theoretical and clinical implications of these results in the light of the metacognitive model and control-related theories.Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBU

White matter injury restoration after stem cell administration in subcortical ischemic stroke

Introduction: Despite its high incidence, nerve fiber (axon and myelin) damage after cerebral infarct has not yet been extensively investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate white matter repair after adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell (ADMSC) administration in an experimental model of subcortical stroke. Furthermore, we aimed to analyze the ADMSC secretome and whether this could be implicated in this repair function. Methods: An animal model of subcortical ischemic stroke with white matter affectation was induced in rats by injection of endothelin-1. At 24 hours, 2 × 106 ADMSC were administered intravenously to the treatment group. Functional evaluation, lesion size, fiber tract integrity, cell death, proliferation, white matter repair markers (Olig-2, NF, and MBP) and NogoA were all studied after sacrifice (7 days and 28 days). ADMSC migration and implantation in the brain as well as proteomics analysis and functions of the secretome were also analyzed. Results: Neither ADMSC migration nor implantation to the brain was observed after ADMSC administration. In contrast, ADMSC implantation was detected in peripheral organs. The treatment group showed a smaller functional deficit, smaller lesion area, less cell death, more oligodendrocyte proliferation, more white matter connectivity and higher amounts of myelin formation. The treated animals also showed higher levels of white matter-associated markers in the injured area than the control group. Proteomics analysis of the ADMSC secretome identified 2,416 proteins, not all of them previously described to be involved in brain plasticity. Conclusions: White matter integrity in subcortical stroke is in part restored by ADMSC treatment; this is mediated by repair molecular factors implicated in axonal sprouting, remyelination and oligodendrogenesis. These findings are associated with improved functional recovery after strokeThis study was supported by research grants PS12/01754, PI11/00909 and INVICTUS (RD12/0014) (Spanish Neurovascular Network), SAF2010-37926, ProteoRed-PT13/0001/0017 and a Sara Borrell postdoctoral fellowship (CD12/00706, to LOO) from Research Institute Carlos III, Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain. We greatly appreciate advice from Prof. Avendaño and Dr Negredo and we thank ServingMed.com for linguistic assistance. Furthermore, TS (CP12/03121) and FC (CP14/00154) are recipients of a research contract from Miguel Servet Program of Instituto de Salud Carlos II

Caracterización magnética de polvo urbano y plantas de la Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México

"Investigaciones recientes han demostrado que los gases automotores contienen elementos potencialmente tóxicos, los cuales se acumulan sobre las superficies del suelo urbano (asfalto, cemento, empedrado, etc.) y se mezclan con el polvo urbano (PU). En este estudio se determinan los valores de umbrales magnéticos por medio de muestras de PU depositado en calles y hojas de plantas provenientes de zonas con diferentes tipos de usos del suelo de la Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México. Se colectaron 89 muestras de PU y un mismo número de muestras de hojas de Ficus benjamina de zonas con diferentes tipos de uso de suelo (habitacional, equipamiento, habitacional-comercial, espacios abiertos e industria). Los parámetros magnéticos determinados fueron: susceptibilidad magnética específica másica (χlf), porcentaje de la susceptibilidad dependiente de la frecuencia (χdf%), magnetización remanente isotermal a 700 mT (MRI0.7) y adicionalmente la concentración de Pb y Zn. Las curvas de magnetización vs campo magnético presentaron una saturación de la magnetización para campos magnéticos entre 200 a 300 mT y la fracción S-200 (S-200 = MRI-0.2/MRI0.7) presentó valores entre 0.7 a 1.0; este comportamiento es característico de muestras con minerales de baja coercitividad magnética (ferrimagnéticos). Las curvas termomagnéticas (κ vs T) de PU indican que la principal fase magnética es alrededor de 580 °C, lo que sugiere la presencia de titano-magnetita pobre en Ti y magnetita. Las concentraciones de Pb y Zn presentan correlación estadísticamente aceptable con los parámetros magnéticos. Los análisis discriminantes en ambos tipos de muestras (agrupación por tipos de uso del suelo, las variables χlf, χdf%, MRI0.7 y las concentraciones de Pb y Zn) dan un resultado menor al 50% en ambos casos. Por tanto, no es posible establecer diferencias significativas entre los tipos de uso de suelo, los parámetros magnéticos medidos y la concentración de Pb y Zn. La determinación de los valores umbrales magnéticos se obtuvo del polvo urbano con las menores concentraciones de Pb y Zn. Los valores umbrales para el PU fueron: MRI0.7 = 58 mAm2 kg-1 y χlf = 4.5 mm3 kg-1, en tanto que para las plantas fueron: MRI0.7 = 1.6 mAm2 kg-1 y χlf = 0.13 mm3 kg-1. Las representaciones espaciales de los valores umbrales de MRI0.7 de PU y plantas revelaron que las zonas de la parte central y sureste de la Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México son potencialmente peligrosas por su alta concentración de Pb o Zn.""Recent investigations have demonstrated that motor-vehicle gas contains particles with potentially toxic elements. These contaminating particles accumulate on the soil surface or overlying material (asphalt, stone and concrete pavements) and they are usually mixed with urban dust. In this work we determine the magnetic threshold values using urban dust and leave samples collected from different type of urban land-use soil along the metropolitan area of Mexico City and identify potentially dangerous areas considering potentially toxic elements. 89 urban dust samples deposited on the streets and same number of Ficus benjamina leaves were collected from different land-use zones (residential, equipment, residentialcommercial, open space and industry). The magnetic parameters determined were: mass especific magnetic susceptibility (χ lf), percentage frequency dependent susceptibility (χ df%), isothermal remanent magnetization at 700 mT (IRM0.7). Additionally the concentrations of Pb and Zn were also obtained. Isothermal remanence acquisition curves for dust samples yielded a saturation between 200 and 300 mT and S-200 (S-200= MRI-0.2/MRI0.7) fraction values were found between 0.7 to 1.0 - characteristic of samples with low magnetic coercivity minerals (ferrimagnetics). The κ vs T curves indicate the main magnetic phase about 580 °C which attests the presence of Ti-poor titanomagnetite or almost pure magnetite. The Pb and Zn concentrations show acceptable statistically correlation with magnetic parameters. Discriminant analyzes in both types of samples gave values low than 50% in both cases. Therefore, it is not possible to attest the significant differences between measured magnetic parameters, concentration of Pb and Zn and soil type. The threshold values for urban dust were MRI0.7 = 58 mAm2 kg-1 and χlf = 4.5 mm3 kg-1 while the plant threshold values were: MRI0.7 = 1.6 mAm2 kg-1 and χlf = 0.13 mm3 kg-1. Spatial representations of these threshold values revealed that zones from central and southeast of Valle de Mexico Metropolitan Zone are the most potentially dangerous areas considering their high concentration of Pb and Zn.

Variables psicológicas implicadas en la actitud e iniciativa emprendedora (II): personalidad, cognición y emoción

El proyecto titulado: Variables implicadas en la actitud e iniciativa emprendedora (II): personalidad, cognición y emoción, es la continuidad de otro presentado en la convocatoria anterior (2016-2017) cuyo objetivo era evaluar variables psicológicas en la actitud emprendedora de los estudiantes universitarios de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM). Este segundo proyecto ha tenido por objetivo principal ampliar la evaluación a otras facultades y áreas de conocimiento de nuestra universidad a fin de obtener el mapa y perfil de la iniciativa emprendedora del universitario UCM

Examining the immune signatures of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy and the impact on neurodevelopment: Protocol of the SIGNATURE longitudinal study

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a valuable opportunity to carry out cohort studies that allow us to advance our knowledge on pathophysiological mechanisms of neuropsychiatric diseases. One of these opportunities is the study of the relationships between inflammation, brain development and an increased risk of suffering neuropsychiatric disorders. Based on the hypothesis that neuroinflammation during early stages of life is associated with neurodevelopmental disorders and confers a greater risk of developing neuropsychiatric disorders, we propose a cohort study of SARS-CoV-2-infected pregnant women and their newborns. The main objective of SIGNATURE project is to explore how the presence of prenatal SARS-CoV-2 infection and other non-infectious stressors generates an abnormal inflammatory activity in the newborn. The cohort of women during the COVID-19 pandemic will be psychological and biological monitored during their pregnancy, delivery, childbirth and postpartum. The biological information of the umbilical cord (foetus blood) and peripheral blood from the mother will be obtained after childbirth. These samples and the clinical characterisation of the cohort of mothers and newborns, are tremendously valuable at this time. This is a protocol report and no analyses have been conducted yet, being currently at, our study is in the recruitment process step. At the time of this publication, we have identified 1,060 SARS-CoV-2 infected mothers and all have already given birth. From the total of identified mothers, we have recruited 537 SARS-COV-2 infected women and all of them have completed the mental health assessment during pregnancy. We have collected biological samples from 119 mothers and babies. Additionally, we have recruited 390 non-infected pregnant women.This work has received support from the Fundación Alicia Koplowitz to realize the epigenetic wide association study and to the clinical assessment to the children. This work has also received public support from the Consejería de Salud y Familias para la financiación de la investigación, desarrollo e innovación (i + d + i) biomédica y en ciencias de la salud en Andalucía (CSyF 2021 - FEDER). Grant Grant number PECOVID- 0195-2020. Convocatoria financiada con Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) al 80% dentro del Programa Operativo de Andalucía FEDER 2014-2020. Andalucía se mueve con Europa. NG-T received payment under Rio Hortega contract CM20-00015 with the Carlos III Health Institute.Peer reviewe

El efecto del estrés y del rasgo de ansiedad en el procesamiento de la información amenazante

Los objetivos de nuestra investigación consisten en poner a prueba la relación existente entre los sesgos atencionales y la ansiedad, así como, de manera específica, estudiar las relaciones entre las variables del sujeto, el tipo de estrés, el tipo de estímulo amenazante (general vs. específico), y los niveles de procesamiento atencional

Neuropsychological and Emotional Correlates Involved in Cocaine Use: A Theoretical Review of New Findings

Cocaine is being an alarming health problem in developed countries. This issue has important implications in economic, social and public health. Currently, efforts are focused on research in metabolic, neuropsychological and emotional changes, resulting from chronic use. However, theoretical work review on this critical area is not available. The aim of our study is to review and integrate the ultimate findings and results in terms of metabolic abnormalities, neuropsychological and emotional abuse of cocaine. The results show a significant impairment of dopaminergic pathways in the frontal lobe, both in the number of recipient and depletion of the neurotransmitter, as well as an important executive function deficit in response inhibition in attention and working memory. In addition, alterations in the ability in identifying emotions, impulsiveness, decision making, anxiety and depression are proved in different studies

Eficacia de la intervención transdiagnóstica en los trastornos emocionales: Una revisión sistemática

La intervención cognitivo-­‐conductual para los trastornos emocionales (ansiedad y depresión) a estado dominada por una aproximación centrada en diagnósticos específicos. Aunque esta aproximación ha mostrado resultados muy positivos, también presenta algunas limitaciones: dificultades a la hora de explicar e intervenir en casos de comorbilidad o, por otra parte,dificultad para diseminar las muchas y diferentes intervenciones específicas existentes. En respuesta a estas limitaciones, las intervenciones centradas en una aproximación transdiagnóstica han recibido un gran interés en la última década. Estas intervenciones se basan en la premisa de que todos los trastornos emocionales comparten procesos explicativos comunes y que, centrando la intervención en dichos procesos, es posible desarrollar tratamientos que pueden ser aplicados a cualquier trastorno emocional, con independencia de los trastornos específicos presentes o de la presencia de comorbilidad.En este trabajo, se llevó a cabo una revisión sistemática de estudios controlados que han analizado la eficacia de intervenciones transdiagnósticas en los trastornos emocionales (trastornos de ansiedad y depresión)Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

El modelo general de los desórdenes emocionales: Una visión integradora de los problemas emocionales

A la hora de comprender y explicar los desórdenes emocionales (principalmente, los trastornos de ansiedad y depresión), la mayor parte de los esfuerzos han estado centrados en describir las características y variables etiológicas de cada uno de estos desórdenes de forma separada; es lo que se conoce como una aproximación centrada en diagnósticos específicos. Aunque esta aproximación ha dado lugar a resultados muy positivos, tales como la creación de micro-modelos que han permitido mejorar nuestro conocimientos sobre trastornos específicos, así como impulsar su investigación y formas de intervención, esta perspectiva también plantea algunas desventajas. Entre ellas, y de forma destacada, resalta el hecho de que no permite explicar la alta comorbilidad que aparece entre los diferentes desórdenes emocionales. Por otra parte, cada vez son mayores las evidencias acerca de que diferentes factores psicológicos están implicados en los problemas emocionales de forma transdiagnóstica. En este sentido, diferentes autores han sugerido la necesidad de desarrollar propuestas teóricas que permitan explicar los problemas emocionales a un nivel transdiagnóstico. En base a una revisión de las principales variables cognitivas y conductuales transdiagnósticas a los problemas emocionales, en este trabajo se presentan las características principales del Modelo General de los Desórdenes Emocionales (MGDE). El MGDE se desarrolla con el objetivo de servir de marco teórico que permita comprender y guiar la investigación en el ámbito de los problemas emocionales desde una perspectiva integradora, así como para estimular nuevas formas de intervención que den cuenta de la comorbilidad entre los desórdenes emocionalesUniversidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Metacognitive beliefs and emotional dysregulation have a specific contribution on worry and the emotional symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder.

Metacognitive beliefs and emotional dysregulation are theoretically relevant and empirically supported variables for explaining worry and emotional symptoms in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). These variables are proposed in alternative models of GAD and tested in separate research. This study first examined the relationships between metacognitive beliefs and emotional dysregulation and, second, analyzed the specific contribution of these variables to worry and emotional GAD symptoms. Correlation analyses revealed participants (n = 768) who had dysfunctional beliefs about their cognitive functioning also tended to have more difficulties with emotional regulation. Structural equation analyses revealed metacognitive beliefs and emotional dysregulation have a specific contribution to worry and emotional symptoms in GAD. We found strong correlations between metacognitive beliefs and worry, and between emotional dysregulation and emotional GAD symptoms. Moreover, the associations of metacognitive beliefs with worry and emotional symptoms remain significant when the effect of emotional dysregulation was accounted for. However, the association between emotional dysregulation and worry become non-significant when the effect of metacognitive beliefs was controlled for. These results help clarify the unique contribution of metacognition and emotional dysregulation on GAD and suggest that both variables should be integrated into a more comprehensive model and therapy for this anxiety disorder