Categoría: Papers con abstracts

Current research on empathy for pain emphasizes the overlap in the neural response between the first-hand experience of pain and its perception in others. However, recent studies suggest that the perception of the pain of others may reflect the processing of a threat or negative arousal rather than an automatic pro-social response. It can thus be suggested that pain processing of other-related, but not self-related, information could imply danger rather than empathy, due to the possible threat represented in the expressions of others (especially if associated with pain stimuli). To test this hypothesis, two experiments considering subliminal stimuli were designed. In Experiment 1, neutral and semantic pain expressions previously primed with own or other faces were presented to participants. When other-face priming was used, only the detection of semantic pain expressions was facilitated. In Experiment 2, pictures with pain and neutral scenarios previously used in ERP and fMRI research were used in a categorization task. Those pictures were primed with own or other faces following the same procedure as in Experiment 1 while ERPs were recorded. Early (N1) and late (P3) cortical responses between pain and no-pain were modulated only in the other-face priming condition. These results support the threat value of pain hypothesis and suggest the necessity for the inclusion of own- versus other-related information in future empathy for pain research.

Diagnosis of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) can be especially challenging during the early stages for several reasons, including the fact that (a) behavioral disturbances in bvFTD can mimic the symptomatic profile of psychiatric disorders; (b) neuropsychological performance may be relatively spared; and (c) changes in structural neuroimaging may go undetected. Most frequently, bvFTD is not included as part of medical or residency training outside the field of cognitive neurology. The present study aimed at examining bvFTD-related practices concerning academic and professional training, diagnosis, and treatment across Latin America. We surveyed the academic and professional aspects of clinical practice related to bvFTD of 596 physicians from different fields throughout the continent. We discuss several aspects concerning Latin American physicians’ training on dementia and bvFTD, the way in which they approach the differential diagnosis of bvFTD, and their most frequent strategies for the treatment of this condition. We conclude that information about bvFTD deserves more attention in both undergraduate and postgraduate medical education in Latin America, and that understanding clinical practices related to FTD can help design more efficient training programs for physicians in this and other world regions.

El trastorno obsesivo-compulsivo es un trastorno psiquiátrico que en un 87% de los casos se vuelve crónico. Se caracteriza por una serie de síntomas que pueden ser agrupados en obsesiones y compulsiones, que pueden llegar a ser altamente invalidantes y afectar el estilo de vida de quienes lo padecen. Es importante entender los mecanismos neurológicos del trastorno obsesivo-compulsivo para poder abordar de manera más eficaz los tratamientos. Este trabajo plantea al modelo frontoestriado como aquel que provee mayor evidencia y explica de manera más acabada los fenómenos neuropsicológicos del TOC, con las áreas cerebrales que se encuentran implicadas en él córtex cingulado anterior, los ganglios basales, y la corteza órbito-frontal. Luego, se vinculan estos resultados con aquellos hallazgos de estudios de potenciales evocados relacionados a eventos (especialmente ERN, N200 y P300) con el fin de explicar más íntegramente lascaracterísticas del trastorno. Las funciones cognitivas que se pueden vincular con loshallazgos de neuroimágenes y ERPs son relativas al procesamiento de la información,decodificación, planificación, atención voluntaria, control inhibitorio, y funcionesejecutivas en general.

Employment is an indicator of socioeconomic status. Unemployment is a worldwide social challenge, especially in emerging countries, accounting for a proportion of the overall higher mortality rates found in these nations. We assessed the relationship between employment status and in-hospital mortality among acute ischemic stroke patients participating in the Argentinean National Stroke Registry (ReNACer), a prospective, country-wide, hospital-based stroke registry aimed at improving quality of stroke care in Argentina. We compared demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, risk factors, acute treatment, and stroke severity between employed and unemployed patients with acute ischemic stroke participating in ReNACer. We developed a multiple logistic regression model to identify predictors of in-hospital mortality. Among the 726 patients with acute ischemic stroke included in the study, 39.5% were unemployed. In-hospital mortality was higher in the patients who were unemployed at the time of the stroke compared with those who were employed (12.0% vs 5.0%; P = .003). On multivariate analysis, being unemployed (odds ratio [OR], 3.58; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.36-7.37; P = .005), stroke severity (OR, 3.54; 95% CI 1.11-10.40; P = .018), and infarct size >15 mm (OR, 2.80; 95% CI, 1.18-6.60; P = .019) were associated with in-hospital mortality after adjusting for relevant covariates. Social factors may influence poor outcomes after stroke. In the present study, unemployment was associated with a higher risk of adjusted in-hospital mortality. Strategies targeting individuals at high risk of cardiovascular diseases and poorer outcomes should be implemented to reduce stroke impact.

Human communication in a natural context implies the dynamic coordination of contextual clues, paralinguistic information and literal as well as figurative language use. In the present study we constructed a paradigm with four types of video clips: literal and metaphorical expressions accompanied by congruent and incongruent gesture actions. Participants were instructed to classify the gesture accompanying the expression as congruent or incongruent by pressing two different keys while electrophysiological activity was being recorded. We compared behavioral measures and event related potential (ERP) differences triggered by the gesture stroke onset. Accuracy data showed that incongruent metaphorical expressions were more difficult to classify. Reaction times were modulated by incongruent gestures, by metaphorical expressions and by a gesture-expression interaction. No behavioral differences were found between the literal and metaphorical expressions when the gesture was congruent. N400-like and LPC-like (late positive complex) components from metaphorical expressions produced greater negativity. The N400-like modulation of metaphorical expressions showed a greater difference between congruent and incongruent categories over the left anterior region, compared with the literal expressions. More importantly, the literal congruent as well as the metaphorical congruent categories did not show any difference. Accuracy, reaction times and ERPs provide convergent support for a greater contextual sensitivity of the metaphorical expressions.

Multiple disturbances following lesions of the insula are reviewed in the present article, including those related to autonomic function; gustatory, olfactory, auditory, somatosensory, and multimodal perception, as well as body awareness; the emotion of disgust; mood and willed action, addiction behavior, and language. Given the multiple and varied nature of the impairments revealed by lesion studies, we suggest that the insula, as a multimodal area, has a major role as a convergence zone implicated in the coordination between internal and external information through emotional subjective awareness. Methodological issues are discussed with attention paid to lesion etiology, and lesions involving adjacent areas to the insular cortex.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Differences in definitions of socioeconomic status and between study designs hinder their comparability across countries. We aimed to analyze the correlation between 3 widely used macrosocioeconomic status indicators and clinical outcomes. METHODS: We selected population-based studies reporting incident stroke risk and/or 30-day case-fatality according to prespecified criteria. We used 3 macrosocioeconomic status indicators that are consistently defined by international agencies: per capita gross domestic product adjusted for purchasing power parity, total health expenditures per capita at purchasing power parity, and unemployment rate. We examined the correlation of each macrosocioeconomic status indicator with incident risk of stroke, 30-day case-fatality, proportion of hemorrhagic strokes, and age at stroke onset. RESULTS: Twenty-three articles comprising 30 population-based studies fulfilled the eligibility criteria. Age-adjusted incident risk of stroke using the standardized World Health Organization World population was associated to lower per capita gross domestic product adjusted for purchasing power parity (ρ=-0.661, P=0.027, R(2)=0.32) and total health expenditures per capita at purchasing power parity (ρ=-0.623, P=0.040, R(2)=0.26). Thirty-day case-fatality rates and proportion of hemorrhagic strokes were also related to lower per capita gross domestic product adjusted for purchasing power parity and total health expenditures per capita at purchasing power parity. Moreover, stroke occurred at a younger age in populations with low per capita gross domestic product adjusted for purchasing power parity and total health expenditures per capita at purchasing power parity. There was no correlation between unemployment rates and outcome measures. CONCLUSIONS: Lower per capita gross domestic product adjusted for purchasing power parity and total health expenditures per capita at purchasing power parity were associated with higher incident risk of stroke, higher case-fatality, a greater proportion of hemorrhagic strokes, and lower age at stroke onset. As a result, these macrosocioeconomic status indicators may be used as proxy measures of quality of primary prevention and acute care and considered as important factors for developing strategies aimed at improving worldwide stroke care.

Context-sensitive social cognition is impaired in schizophrenic patients and their healthy relatives. Autores Riveros R, Manes F, Hurtado E, Escobar J, Martin-Reyes M, Cetkovich M, Ibanez A.  Año 2010 Journal  Riveros R, Manes F, Hurtado E, Escobar J, Martin-Reyes M, Cetkovich M, Ibanez A.  Volumen 116(2-3): 297-298 Abstract   Otra información    

Background While fluid intelligence has proved to be central to executive functioning, logical reasoning and other frontal functions, the role of this ability in psychosocial adaptation has not been well characterized. Methodology/Principal Findings A random-probabilistic sample of 2370 secondary school students completed measures of fluid intelligence (Raven’s Progressive Matrices, RPM) and several measures of psychological adaptation: bullying (Delaware Bullying Questionnaire), domestic abuse of adolescents (Conflict Tactic Scale), drug intake (ONUDD), self-esteem (Rosenberg’s Self Esteem Scale) and the Perceived Mental Health Scale (Spanish adaptation). Lower fluid intelligence scores were associated with physical violence, both in the role of victim and victimizer. Drug intake, especially cannabis, cocaine and inhalants and lower self-esteem were also associated with lower fluid intelligence. Finally, scores on the perceived mental health assessment were better when fluid intelligence scores were higher. Conclusions/Significance Our results show evidence of a strong association between psychosocial adaptation and fluid intelligence, suggesting that the latter is not only central to executive functioning but also forms part of a more general capacity for adaptation to social contexts.

Patients with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) exhibit a set of behavioral disturbances that have been strongly associated with involvement of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Many such disturbances have been linked to impaired moral behavior, especially in regard to «personal » or «emotionally driven » moral dilemmatic judgment, which has been demonstrated to also depend on the integrity of the PFC. In this study, we administered a personal moral dilemma (the footbridge dilemma) and social cognition measures to patients with early bvFTD, who were also assessed with an extensive neuropsychological battery, including moral knowledge, cognitive and emotional empathy, and affective decision-making. BvFTD patients who would push a man off a footbridge (knowing this would kill him) to save the life of five workers who would have been otherwise killed by the train showed significantly lower scores on affective Theory of Mind (ToM) relative to those bvFTD patients who responded negatively. No significant differences were found on other sociodemographic, neuropsychological or social cognition variables. This study reveals that altered dilemmatic judgment may be related to impaired affective ToM, which has important clinical and theoretical implications.