Efectos de una carrera en condiciones de calor sobre el rendimiento cognitivo / Cognitive impacts of running under hot weather conditions

En hombres activos, una carrera de alrededor de 1 hora bajo condiciones ambientales de calor mejora el rendimiento cognitivo en relación con el tiempo de reacción en tareas complejas, mientras que deteriora el campo de visión y precisión de dichas tareas.

Aspectos cognitivos relacionados ao aparecimento de transtornos de humor em gestantes internadas / Cognitive aspects related to the appearance of mood disorders in pregnant hospitalized patients

Este estudo teve como objetivo investigar os aspectos cognitivos relacionados ao aparecimento de transtornos de humor (ansiedade e depressao) em gestantes internadas. O estudo foi realizado com 25 gestantes internadas na enfermaria obstetrica do Instituto Central do HC-FMUSP. Os instrumentos usados foram a escala HAD (Escala de Medida de Ansiedade e Depressao) e uma entrevista semi-dirigida. Nove pacientes (36 por cento) preencheram os criterios para o diagnostico de transtorno de humor, 6 (24 por cento) apresentaram sintomas sub-clinicos e 10 (40 por cento) nao apresentaram sintomas de ansiedade e depressao. Verificou-se que existe uma associacao entre...

The relationship of hypochondriasis to anxiety disorders.

There is evidence from the literature of phenomenological overlap between hypochondriasis and several anxiety disorders, including specific phobia, panic disorder with agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Even though the boundaries of these disorders are specifically addressed in the DSM-IV criteria, there is evidence of anxiety and phobic symptoms among hypochondriacal patients and hypochondriacal concerns among patients with these various anxiety disorders. Beyond that there appears to be considerable shared comorbidity. However, the data remain limited and few direct comparisons have been made between hypochondriacal and anxious patients belonging to particular diagnostic categories. Subtypes of hypochondriasis may exist. In fact, the clearest link would seem to be between the illness phobia subtype and other phobic disorders, although this subgroup has had little study. Thus, hypochondriasis is distinct from the anxiety disorders but, because of phenomenological similarities and extensive comorbidity, consideration should be given to classifying it among them.

[Cognitive deficits in Parkinson's disease]. / Cognitieve aspecten van de ziekte van Parkinson.

In neuropsychological studies of Parkinson's disease, cognitive deficits are frequently reported, but the nature of these deficits is not clear. As far as cognitive deficits are manifest in parkinsonian patients at an early stage of the disease, many studies tend to describe them as fitting a frontal syndrome. As a consequence of dysfunction of the striatum, the (pre)frontal cortex receives deficient input from the striatum, which might explain the similarity of the cognitive deficits of parkinsonian patients with those of patients with frontal dysfunction. The present studies provide evidence that the cognitive deficits of parkinsonian patients display a certain similarity with those of patients with frontal dysfunction at the level of the ultimate performance, but that the underlying processes have a distinct character. Parkinsonian patients exhibit a decrease in self-generated problem-solving. This deficit is manifest at a level of cognitive function, which goes beyond task or domain. Among all disease variables, only severity of the disease and especially rigidity proved to be related consistently to this decrease in self-generated problem-solving.

Latent class and factor analysis of DSM-IV ADHD: a twin study of female adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: In an attempt to validate the current DSM-IV criteria for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in females and to determine whether symptoms are continuously distributed or categorically discrete, the authors performed factor and latent class analysis on ADHD symptom data from a large general population of adolescent female twins (1,629 pairs). METHOD: A structured diagnostic assessment of DSM-IV ADHD was completed with at least one parent of 1,629 pairs by telephone. ADHD symptoms from 1,549 pairs were subjected to latent class and factor analysis. RESULTS: Latent class and factor analyses were consistent with the presence of separate continuous domains of inattention (ATT), hyperactivity-impulsivity (H-I), and combined ATT with H-I problems. Severe latent classes corresponding to the predominantly inattentive, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive, and combined types were identified with lifetime prevalence estimates of 4.0%, 2.2%, and 3.7%, respectively. Membership in the severe ATT class predicted academic problems, family problems, and referral to health care providers. Membership in the H-I and combined classes also predicted impaired social relationships. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that DSM-IV ADHD subtypes can be thought of as existing on separate continua of inattention, hyperactivity-impulsivity, and combined type problems. Membership in any of there severe ADHD latent classes did not preclude academic excellence, but it was associated with different types of impairment and health care-seeking behavior. These data have implications in the areas of diagnosis, classification, treatment, and research.

The contribution of cognitive impairment, medical burden, and psychopathology to the functional status of geriatric psychiatric inpatients.

In order to define the contributions of cognitive impairment, medical burden, and psychopathology to the functional status of geriatric psychiatric patients, a forward-looking, retrospective study of 106 consecutive admissions to a geriatric psychiatric unit at the Houston Veterans Affairs Medical Center Hospital was done. It was found that psychopathology and cognitive status, but not medical burden, contributed to the variance in functional status of geriatric psychiatric inpatients for both admission scores and for changes in scores during hospitalization. Improvements in cognitive state and psychopathology were associated with improvements in functional status during hospitalization.

Crystallized and fluid intelligence in elderly patients with mild dementia of the Alzheimer type.

To examine early intellectual deficits in elderly patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT), 25 mildly impaired patients with DAT and 25 normal controls were compared using the Japanese version of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R). The two groups did not differ significantly in age, years of education, or sex ratio. Based on Horn's modified fluid and crystallized model, the WAIS-R subtests were classified into two categories (i.e., fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence). The DAT group showed a significantly lower crystallized intelligence score, whereas the fluid intelligence scores did not differ significantly between the two groups. When the subtests were examined individually, the subtests for crystallized intelligence (i.e., information, comprehension, and similarities) were found to show the most significant deficits. These results suggest that elderly subjects with mild DAT have more impaired crystallized intelligence than those without dementia.

Assessing mental status in persons with mental retardation.

When assessing a client, avoid abstract questions, instead ask concrete, open-ended questions. All clients should be assessed for risk of suicide, elopement, or a danger to self or others. Be aware of underlying causes or confounding variables that may affect a client's mental status.

Negative and positive dimensions of schizotypal personality disorder.

The positive (perceptual-cognitive) and negative (social-interpersonal) dimensions of schizotypal personality traits were examined in biological relatives of individuals with Axis I disorder. The subjects were young adult offspring from three contrasting parental groups, including schizophrenic disorder, affective disorder, and normal controls. Cognitive correlates, including digit span (presumed to assess working memory) and P3 amplitudes, were also examined. Preliminary results showed that positive and negative dimensions were distinguished by different prevalence patterns in the offspring subjects, and by a different pattern of correlations with cognitive measures. Negative dimensions were more frequent in offspring from the schizophrenic parental group than in the offspring from affective disorder and normal control parental groups. Digits forward and backward, and P3 amplitude decrements, characterized a subset of offspring with negative features from the schizophrenic parental group. Positive dimensions did not differ between the psychiatric parental groups, and did not covary with digit span or P3 amplitude assessments. These results support the view that positive and negative dimensions may reflect separable pathophysiologic processes.

Subjective complaints of cognitive symptoms are related to psychometric findings of memory deficits in patients with HIV-1 infection.

Eighty-five subjects at various stages of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) infection and 39 seronegative controls underwent neurological and neuropsychological evaluation to assess the relationship between cognitive test results and subjective complaints (cognitive, affective, motor, and other). The effect of psychiatric disorders on the association between cognitive performance and complaints of the patients was also examined. Patients with symptomatic infection had higher frequency of complaints than subjects at asymptomatic stage. Detailed neuropsychological examination confirmed a strong association between poor verbal memory and cognitive complaints. Poor performance on cognitive speed and flexibility was associated with motor complaints and motor abnormalities. These associations were not explained by psychiatric disorders or elevated depression questionnaire scores. Our observations indicate that, especially in symptomatic HIV-1 infection cognitive changes reported by patients often reflect "objective" cognitive decline, and may be the earliest signs of HIV-1 associated cognitive disorder. No direct relationship was observed between "subjective" complaints and neuropsychological performance of asymptomatic subjects. Understanding the significance of reported cognitive changes have important therapeutic implications.