Prospective memory in patients with relapsing remitting Multiple Sclerosis

Prospective Memory (PM) is a set of cognitive abilities that allow us to remember to perform planned actions or delayed intentions. It requires the recall of the content of the planned task in the form of an intention to be able to execute it at the 4 appropriate moment. Previous studies have yielded conflicting results as some show that MS patients have difficulty in remembering the content of intentions and others in the process of self-initiation of delayed intentions. Moreover, the relationship between PM and clinical variables also remains unclear. The aim of this study is to investigate PM in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) with two experimental tests that evaluate different aspects of the MP. Another aim of the current study was to analyse the relationship between PM and demographic variables and clinical variables. Methods: 36 outpatients with a diagnosis of RRMS attending to two centers specialized in multiple sclerosis clinics, were recruited. Thirty five healthy volunteers formed the contrast group (CG), matched for age, gender and education with the MS patients. A neuropsychological test battery that included two techniques for measuring PM was administered. The Cóndor test consists of reading a text whilst simultaneously executing many actions. In the Multitask Prospective Memory (MTPM), the participant must remember to initiate a complex intention, which was previously planned. The test yields formation scores of the intention, initiation, plan retention capacity and finally two execution scores. A depression scale (Beck Depression Inventory, BDI-II) was administered and physical disability was revealed using the Expanded Disability Status Scale. Results: In the RRMS group, the majority of patients (80.6%) had none or minimal signs of depression according to BDI-II classification criteria. Seventy five % of patients were in full- or half-time employment, 13.9% were unemployed or in occasional employment and 11.1% were house wives or retired on grounds of age. With respect to cognitive performance 47.2% of MS patients presented cognitive impairment. RRMS patients and the CG did not differ significantly on age and years of formal education. Groups showed no significant differences in distribution of Gender. Patients scored significantly lower than the CG on the Cóndor?s total score, p = 5 .007, d = 0.7. On the MTPM, the CG obtained significantly more points for intention formation than patients, p = .027, d = 0.5. Sixty-three percent of patients versus 88.5% of the CG self-initiated the intention, p = .014. Patients who obtained a higher score on Formation, self-initiated more often, p = .012. Education, disease progression and depression measure with the Beck Depression Inventory, significantly and mildly correlate with the Cóndor and the MTPM. Physical disability was only associated with the intention planning phase of MTPM. Conclusion: PM appears to be impaired in patients with RRMS. A deficit was found in planning and self-initiation of planned actions. Self-initiation was influenced by planning quality. Education, disease progression and depression were shown to influence recall and execution of future intentions. Physical disability was only associated with the intention planning phase. Some previous studies have not found a significant relationship between physical disability and cognitive measures. This study suggests that PM can be affected in patients with a low level of physical impairment. Results highlight the need for objective assessment of PM in RRMS patients to be able to detect any disorder in the initial stages of the disease and start appropriate rehabilitation. Amongst the limitations of this study, the observational, non-blind design must be acknowledged, as well as the small sample size. Also, the instruments used to assess PM are relatively new and studies of their psychometric properties are lacking. Nevertheless, the use of an instrument like El Cóndor is notable, given that it was developed for local population.Fil: Cores, Evangelina Valeria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Vanotti, Sandra Ines. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología; Argentina. Instituto de Neurociencias Buenos Aires S. A.; ArgentinaFil: Orlando, Garcea. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina; Argentina. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Agudos "Ramos Mejía"; ArgentinaFil: Osorio, Mabel. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital Interzonal de Agudos "Eva Perón"; ArgentinaFil: Politis, Daniel Gustavo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital Interzonal de Agudos "Eva Perón"; Argentin

Plutarco e la morte di Temistocle Qualche considerazione

L'articolo intende indagare la tradizione relativa alla morte di Temistocle come riportata nelle Vite di Plutarco dedicate rispettivamente a Temistocle e a Cimone. I due testi, infatti, riportano notizie non del tutto coincidenti, che sono state ampiamente discusse dalla critica sia sotto il profilo evenemenziale che cronologico. Il riesame dei testi plutarchei prende avvio dalla acclarata constatazione che il biografo spesso adatta la propria versione dei fatti al contesto biografico in cui li riferisce. Nella fattispecie, il contesto biografico cimoniano \ue8 elogiativo del protagonista della Vita

Nota a Teopompo FGrHist 115 F 90: Cimone δωροδόκος

In un passo della Contra Iulianum San Cirillo, vescovo di Alessandria d’Egitto, riporta un passo dello storico Teopompo di Chio, in cui si discute della dorodokia di cui fu accusato Cimone verso la fine degli anni Sessanta del V secolo. Il passo costituisce il frammento 90 di Teopompo nella raccolta di Felix Jacoby (FGrHist 115 F 90). Questo contributo intende esaminare tale testimonianza, inquadrandola nel contesto dell’opera di San Cirillo e, in particolare, del ritratto che egli tratteggia di Cimone, per verificarne la corretta attribuzione a Teopompo e l’attendibilità delle informazioni in essa riportate; nel contempo intende esaminare il giudizio espresso dalle restanti fonti antiche sulle accuse di corruzione mosse a Cimone, mettendolo a confronto con quello teopompeo.In an excerpt of the Contra Iulianum, Saint Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria in Egypt, reports the passage of the historian Theopompus of Chios, where dorodokia which Cimon was accused of in the late Sixties of the V century, is debated. The passage is referred to as Theopompus’s fragment 90 in Felix Jacoby’s collection (FGrHist 115 F 90). This article examines such account, contextualising it in Saint Cyril’s work and, particularly, in the portrait he draws of Cimon, in order to verify the proper attribution to Theopompus and the reliability of the information contained in it; in the meantime, it aims to examine the judgement of other ancient sources about the allegations of corruption against Cimon, in comparison with the one expressed by Theopompus

Introduzione alla sezione tematica

I contributi raccolti in questo nucleo tematico della rivista Historikà 2019 sono stati discussi nell’ambito di un ciclo di seminari dal titolo «La città in frammenti», tenutisi nel corso del 2018 presso l’Università del Piemonte Orientale, nell’ambito del corso magistrale di Storia Greca. La città in questione è Atene, dunque i lavori qui raccolti riguardano aspetti della storia istituzionale, politica ed evenemenziale della polis attica e dei suoi leaders, analizzati o ricostruiti attraver..

Cimone in Cratino (fr. 1 K.-A.) e la datazione degli Archilochoi

L'analisi del frammento 1 dagli Archilochoi di Cratino consente di evidenziare elementi utili per la datazione della commedia, in passato collocata ora a ridosso del 449 (anno della morte di Cimone, ricordata al frammento 1 attraverso l'accorato rimpianto dell’enigmatico grammateus Metrobio), ora negli anni '420,  ultimi della stagione teatrale cratinea. Una definizione più precisa della cronologia dell'opera permette di contestualizzare il frammento in esame e di meglio chiarire il giudizio espresso da Cratino nei confronti di Cimone.The examination of fragment 1 of Cratinus' Archilochoi allows us to highlight useful data to propose a dating of the comedy, which in the past was set either in the immediate years following 449 (the year of Cimon's death, mentioned in fragment 1), or in the 420s, the last years of Cratinus' theatrical season. Accurate dating of the work would allow the contextualisation of the sincere regret the enigmatic grammateus Metrobius pronounced for Cimon's disappearance and for the end of his generous welfare measures for the poorest, which are precisely mentioned in Archilochoi fragment 1. As a result, it would be explained Cratinus’ point of view towards Cimon

Pythios/Pythes e la moglie da Erodoto a Plutarco

L’histoire atroce du Lydien Pythios et de son infortuné fils aîné, cruellement torturé et tué pat Xerxès, est racontée par Hérodote au livre VII des Histoires. Par la suite, elle est reprise par Plutarque au chapitre 27 du traité Vertus de femmes, où elle est enrichie par l’addition de plusieurs détails inédits, qui offrent des sujets de réflexion sur la méthode de travail propre aux deux auteurs. Plutarque concentre son attention, non seulement sur la figure du Lydien en propre, mais aussi sur son épouse qui, tout en demeurant complètement anonyme, s’individualise au long du récit par son aretè et son comportement philanthropique en regard de la communauté civique tout entière. Ce sujet conduit à quelques considérations sur la signification accordée par le biographe à l’aretè féminine et sur son jugement personnel concernant la “question” du féminin.The gruesome story of Lydian Pythios and his pitiful elder son, cruelly outraged and killed by Xerxes, is told in the VII book of Herodotus’ Histories and in the XXVII chapter of Plutarch’s Mulierun Virtutes. In this second text, the story is expanded by the addition of several new details, which provide ground for the consideration of the compositional methodologies of the two authors. Plutarch’s text focuses not only on the wealthy Lydian, but also on his wife, who, being left strictly anonymous, stands out in the tale for her areté and her philantropistic attitudes towards the community. This topic opens the question of the meaning Plutarch ascribed to feminine areté, and allows for a reconsideration of his views on women and their public and political roles