Efficacy of Dialectical Behavior Therapy in the Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Objective: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious public health problem. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a program that has provided encouraging results for its treatment. However, scientific evidence about its efficacy is scarce. Therefore, we aimed to describe the scientific production on the components of the DBT program and its therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of people with BPD. Method : A systematic review with relevant keywords was conducted based on studies available in Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed until June 2023, including studies in English, research on therapeutic intervention, studies with a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design that included people with the diagnosis of BPD. Results: We found 18 RCTs, most of which supported the effectiveness of DBT for BPD. There were a total of 1,755 participants in these studies, most of whom were women. These studies looked for treating self-injurious behaviors, suicidal thoughts or ideations, number of visits to emergency services, and frequency of hospital admissions. Most studies revealed that both short-term DBT and standard DBT improved suicidality in BPD patients with small or moderate effect sizes, lasting up to 24 months after the treatment period. Furthermore, these studies showed that DBT can significantly improve general psychopathology and depressive symptoms in patients with BPD. Improvement of compliance, impulsivity, mood instability, as well as reduction in hospitalization rate are other findings observed in the trials following DBT. Conclusion: Although DBT shows efficacy in the treatment of BPD, heterogeneity in the methodologies employed is highlighted. Therefore, it is necessary to design studies from a homogeneous theoretical and methodological framework.

An Overview on Electrophysiological and Neuroimaging Findings in Dyslexia.

Objective: Dyslexia is a prevalent neurodevelopmental condition that is characterized by inaccurate and slow word recognition. This article reviews neural correlates of dyslexia from both electrophysiological and neuroimaging studies. Method : In this brief review, we provide electrophysiological and neuroimaging evidence from electroencephalogram (EEG) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies in dyslexia to understand functional and structural brain changes in this condition. Results: In both electrophysiological and neuroimaging studies, the most frequently reported functional impairments in dyslexia include aberrant activation of the left hemisphere occipito-temporal cortex (OTC), temporo-parietal cortex (TPC), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), and cerebellar areas. EEG studies have mostly highlighted the important role of lower frequency bands in dyslexia, especially theta waves. Furthermore, neuroimaging studies have suggested that dyslexia is related to functional and structural impairments in the left hemisphere regions associated with reading and language, including reduced grey matter volume in the left TPC, decreased white matter connectivity between reading networks, and hypo-activation of the left OTC and TPC. In addition, neural evidence from pre-reading children and infants at risk for dyslexia show that there are abnormalities in the dyslexic brain before learning to read begins. Conclusion: Advances in comprehending the neural correlates of dyslexia could bring closer translation from basic to clinical neuroscience and effective rehabilitation for individuals who struggle to read. However, neuroscience still has great potential for clinical translation that requires further research.

Brain Complexity and Psychiatric Disorders.

Objective: In recent years, researchers and neuroscientists have begun to use a variety of nonlinear techniques for analyzing neurophysiologic signals derived from fMRI, MEG, and EEG in order to describe the complex dynamical aspects of neural mechanisms. In this work, we first attempted to describe different algorithms to estimate neural complexity in a simple manner understandable for psychiatrists, psychologists, and neuroscientists. Then, we reviewed the findings of the brain complexity analysis in psychiatric disorders and their clinical implications. Method : A non-systematic comprehensive literature search was conducted for original studies on the complexity analysis of neurophysiological signals such as electroencephalogram, magnetoencephalogram, and blood-oxygen-level-dependent obtained from functional magnetic resonance imaging or functional near infrared spectroscopy. The search encompassed online scientific databases such as PubMed and Google Scholar. Results: Complexity measures mainly include entropy-based methods, the correlation dimension, fractal dimension, Lempel-Ziv complexity, and the Lyapunov exponent. There are important differences in the physical notions between these measures. Our literature review shows that dementia, autism, and adult ADHD exhibit less complexity in their neurophysiologic signals than healthy controls. However, children with ADHD, drug-naïve young schizophrenic patients with positive symptoms, and patients with mood disorders (i.e., depression and bipolar disorder) exhibit higher complexity in their neurophysiologic signals compared to healthy controls. In addition, contradictory findings still exist in some psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia regarding brain complexity, which can be due to technical issues, large heterogeneity in psychiatric disorders, and interference of typical factors. Conclusion: In summary, complexity analysis may present a new dimension to understanding psychiatric disorders. While complexity analysis is still far from having practical applications in routine clinical settings, complexity science can play an important role in comprehending the system dynamics of psychiatric disorders.

Esquemas disfuncionales tempranos y consumo de sustancias psicoactivas como riesgo a VIH/Sida en adolescentes en conflicto con la ley penal / Early dysfunctional schemes and consumption of psychoactive substances as a risk for HIV/AIDS in adolescents in conflict with the criminal law

Este estudio no experimental de tipo transversal y descriptivo tuvo como objetivo identificar los esquemas disfuncionales tempranos (EDT) en adolescentes infractores de los Centros Juveniles de Diagnóstico y Rehabilitación. Asimismo, se buscó analizar los EDT como factores predictores del consumo de sustancias psicoactivas (SPA) y el riesgo de VIH/Sida por comportamiento sexual. Se aplicaron: ficha de datos sociodemográficos, encuesta de Riesgo Sexual (Sexual Risk Scale - SRS) y cuestionario de esquemas de Young- versión reducida (Young Schema Questionare ­ Short Form: YSQ-SF) a 388 adolescentes infractores de ambos sexos (H=316 y M=72), escogidos con un muestreo no probabilística y de tipo intencional; los resultados indicaron asociación estadisticamentes significativa entre la variable "Riesgo de VIH/Sida por comportamiento sexual" y EDT: subyugación, privación emocional y autosacrificio, con mayor prevalencia en adolescentes infractores con comportamiento riesgoso. Sugieren que, los y las adolescentes infractores con los EDT de privación emocional, autocontrol insuficiente y subyugación tienen, más probabilidades de mostrar comportamientos de riesgo a VIH/Sida. Mientras que, no se encontró asociación estadísticamente significativa entre la variable "Consumo de SPA" y "Riesgo de VIH/Sida por comportamiento sexual" en los y las adolescentes infractores, lo cual evidencia que el consumo de SPA se encuentra presente y de manera equitativa en los grupos con riesgo bajo y alto de de VIH/Sida por comportamiento sexual. Se recomienda realizar abordaje psicológico, estrategias de intervención educativa en materia de educación sexual y despistaje con pruebas diagnóstica para VIH en los diferentes CJDR estudiados(AU)

This non-experimental, cross-sectional, descriptive study aimed to identify early dysfunctional schemes (EDT) in adolescent offenders at Juvenile Diagnosis and Rehabilitation Centers. Likewise, it was sought to analyze the EDT as predictive factors of the consumption of psychoactive substances (PAS) and the risk of HIV/AIDS due to sexual behavior. The following were applied: sociodemographic data sheet, Sexual Risk Scale - SRS survey and Young Schema Questionnaire - Short Form: YSQ-SF) to 388 adolescent offenders of both sexes (H= 316 and M=72), chosen with a non-probabilistic and intentional sampling; The results indicated a statistically significant association between the variable "Risk of HIV/AIDS due to sexual behavior" and EDT: subjugation, emotional deprivation and self-sacrifice, with a higher prevalence in adolescent offenders with risky behavior. They suggest that adolescent offenders with the EDTs of emotional deprivation, insufficient self-control and subjugation are more likely to show risk behaviors for HIV/AIDS. While, no statistically significant association was found between the variable "PA Consumption" and "Risk of HIV/AIDS due to sexual behavior" in the adolescent offenders, which shows that the consumption of SPA is present and in an equitable manner. in groups with low and high risk of HIV/AIDS due to sexual behavior. It is recommended to carry out a psychological approach, educational intervention strategies in terms of sexual education and despitaje with diagnostic tests for HIV in the different CJDR studied(AU)

Breaking infodemic: discovering SARS-CoV-2 / Rompiendo la infodemia: descubriendo el SARS-CoV-2

By December 2019, multiple cases of unexplained pneumonia were reported in some hospitals in the city of Wuhan, China. Since then, it had been confirmed that it corresponded to an acute respiratory infection caused by a new coronavirus that spread quickly, becoming pandemic in a very short time. On the other hand, this pandemic forced confinement for months, something unprecedented. In that time, millions of people went online for entertainment, education, etc. Consequently, the use of the Internet increased, bringing, on the one hand, online education, and entertainment on the Internet, ensuring social distancing; and on the other hand, it brought new new risks to human life, among them rumors. In this way and given the large number of publications that could denote the level of misinformation about COVID-19 and the impact it could have on global public health, various scientific publications were analyzed and identified from a bibliometric point of view. Potential relationships between the descriptors obtained from the bibliometric search were identified. The results were conglomerated into 5 clusters: Cluster 1, related to studies on access to information provided on COVID-19; cluster 2 shows the list of studies that have been carried out on the information on the COVID-19 vaccine, cluster 3 analyzes the different responses given by conspiracy theories, rumors and misinformation about COVID-19, the Group 4 shows cross-sectional and longitudinal research on COVID-19 and the information it provides to the health sector, and cluster 5 represents studies on scientific production and communication that have contributed to global health during the pandemic(AU)

Para diciembre de 2019, se registraron múltiples casos de una neumonía inexplicables en algunos hospitales de la ciudad de Wuhan, China. Desde ese momento se había confirmado correspondía a una infección respiratoria aguda causada por un nuevo coronavirus que se propagó rápidamente haciéndose pandémico en muy poco tiempo. Por otra parte, esta pademia obligó a un confinamiento por meses, algo sin precedente. En ese tiempo, millones de personas se conectaron en línea para entretenimiento, educación, etc. En consecuencia, el uso de Internet aumentó trayendo, por una parte, educación online y entretenimiento en Internet asegurando el distanciamiento social; y por otra parte, trajo nuevos nuevos riesgos a la vida humana, entre ellos los rumores. En ese sentido, y ante la gran cantidad de publicaciones que podrían denotar el nivel de desinformación sobre el COVID-19 y el impacto que podría tener en la salud pública mundial, se analizaron e identificaron diversas publicaciones científicas desde el punto de vista bibliométrico. Se identificaron las relaciones potenciales entre los descriptores arrojados de la búsqueda bibliométrica. Los resultados se conglomeraron en 5 clúster: El clúster 1, relacionado con los estudios sobre el acceso a la información proporcionada sobre COVID-19; el clúster 2, muestra la relación de los estudios que se han realizado sobre la información de la vacuna COVID-19, el clúster 3, analiza las distintas respuestas que dan las teorías conspirativas, los rumores y la desinformación sobre el COVID-19, el grupo 4 muestra investigaciones transversales y longitudinales sobre el COVID-19 y la información que brinda al sector salud, y el clúster 5 representa los estudios sobre producción y comunicación científicas que han contribuido a la salud mundial durante la pandemia(AU)