El daño cerebral en los estadios crónicos y la importancia de la calidad de vida como eje de trabajo / Brain damage in chronic stages and the importance of quality of life as an axis of work

El Daño Cerebral Adquirido (DCA) supone una situación de gran trascendencia personal, familiar y social. Sus secuelas implican dificultades en la integración normalizada del individuo, con respecto a su vida previa al daño y dificulta su participación en la sociedad, donde ha cambiado su rol. Las estrategias de atención al DCA varían atendiendo al momento y ámbito en que se sitúan. Durante la fase aguda, la subaguda y la atención crónica, las estrategias están muy ligadas a su etiología, pero una vez superadas estas fases, otras variables como el contexto psicosocial y laboral del afectado/a y su familia pasan a tomar relevancia. Se deben revisar las situaciones personales y familiares para atender a su grado de dependencia. Este análisis debe incluir instrumentos de evaluación que, desde una perspectiva integral, engloben todas las áreas de la vida que son importantes para las personas, y analice la calidad de vida de éstas. Es fundamental en este momento, construir conjuntamente con las personas con DCA, sus familias y los profesionales sociosanitarios, un nuevo proyecto de vida centrado en el bienestar emocional, físico y social, desde las diversas alternativas de recursos para los estadios crónicos con los que se cuenta actualmente en España (AU)

A stroke is a situation of great personal, family, and social significance. The sequel cause problems to integrate the individual at his life before the stroke, and this is difficult to participate in society, where his role has changed. The strategies, in case of accident, are differents depending on time and ambit. The etiology is very important in the acute phase, post acuse phase and chronic phase, however, after chronic phase the etiology less important and the variables such as the psychosocial and work context of the affected person and his family are more important. Personal and family situations should be reviewed to pay attention to the degree of dependency. The analysis must include evaluation instruments that, from a integrative perspective, includes all areas of life important to people, and analyze their quality of life. At this time, it is essential to build a life proyect for people with stroke and their families, focused on emotional, physical and social aspects, using the resource and alternatives that are in Spain to people with a chronic stroke

Acid-Ion Sensing Channel 1a Deletion Reduces Chronic Brain Damage and Neurological Deficits after Experimental Traumatic Brain Injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) causes long-lasting neurodegeneration and cognitive impairments; however, the underlying mechanisms of these processes are not fully understood. Acid-sensing ion channels 1a (ASIC1a) are voltage-gated Na+- and Ca2+-channels shown to be involved in neuronal cell death; however, their role for chronic post-traumatic brain damage is largely unknown. To address this issue, we used ASIC1a-deficient mice and investigated their outcome up to 6 months after TBI. ASIC1a-deficient mice and their wild-type (WT) littermates were subjected to controlled cortical impact (CCI) or sham surgery. Brain water content was analyzed 24 h and behavioral outcome up to 6 months after CCI. Lesion volume was assessed longitudinally by magnetic resonance imaging and 6 months after injury by histology. Brain water content was significantly reduced in ASIC1a-/- animals compared to WT controls. Over time, ASIC1a-/- mice showed significantly reduced lesion volume and reduced hippocampal damage. This translated into improved cognitive function and reduced depression-like behavior. Microglial activation was significantly reduced in ASIC1a-/- mice. In conclusion, ASIC1a deficiency resulted in reduced edema formation acutely after TBI and less brain damage, functional impairments, and neuroinflammation up to 6 months after injury. Hence, ASIC1a seems to be involved in chronic neurodegeneration after TBI.

Is bimanual interference affected in the case of a central proprioceptive loss? New insight from a left-brain-damaged single-case study.

OBJECTIVE: It was suggested that the bimanual coupling effect might be linked to motor intentionality and planning, which are the top-down components of motor execution. However, previous results in pathological and healthy individuals have also underlined the pivotal role of bottom-up sensorimotor information. METHOD: In this single-case study, the Circles-Lines Coupling Task was administered to a left-parietal-brain-damaged individual. The cerebral lesion caused a central proprioceptive loss, relative to the impaired right hand, when out of the visual control. For the 1st time in literature, we sought to investigate whether the movement of the unaffected hand induced an efficient coupling effect on the movement of the affected one. The bimanual task was performed in the presence and absence of visual input. The patient's performance was compared with that of healthy controls. RESULTS: We observed the traditional bimanual coupling effect in healthy controls. Moreover, we also replicated the effect when they performed the task blindfolded. In the case of the patient, both hands showed the typical ovalization of the line trajectory when the task was performed in visual modality. It is interesting that when the patient performed the task blindfolded, the trajectories of the impaired right hand seemed to be not influenced by the concomitant circular movement of the spared left hand. CONCLUSIONS: The movement of the unaffected hand induced a bimanual coupling effect on the movement of the affected one only when the visual input was available. In absence of a visual feedback, the aberrant proprioceptive information might preclude the emerging of bimanual coupling, even in the case of a preserved motor intentionality and planning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Encephalitis and aseptic meningitis: short-term and long-term outcome, quality of life and neuropsychological functioning.

For those surviving encephalitis, the influence on daily life of patients and their relatives may be substantial. In contrast, the prognosis after aseptic meningitis (ASM) is considered good. In this prospective study in patients with encephalitis (n = 20) and ASM (n = 46), we show that both groups experienced reduced Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) at two months after discharge, and that workability was reduced in 37% of the patients with ASM. However, 12 months after discharge no neuropsychological deficits were detected in the ASM group, whereas patients with encephalitis had lower scores on tests of fine motor and psychomotor skills as well as on learning and memory. We also found that for patients with encephalitis, neopterin, as a marker of Th1 cell induced macrophage activation, and a putatively neurotoxic ratio of the kynurenine pathway (KP) measured during the acute phase was associated with lower HRQoL. Our data show that not only encephalitis, but also ASM has substantial short-term influence on HRQoL and workability. For patients with encephalitis we suggest a link between immune activation and activation of the KP during the acute phase with impaired HRQoL.

High occurrence of sleep problems in survivors of a childhood brain tumor with neurocognitive complaints: The association with psychosocial and behavioral executive functioning.

BACKGROUND: Survivors of childhood brain tumors are prone to sleep and neurocognitive problems. Effective interventions to improve neurocognitive functioning are largely lacking. In general, sleep problems are negatively related to neurocognitive functioning, but this relationship is unclear in survivors of childhood brain tumors. Therefore, the occurrence of sleep problems, potential risk factors, and the relation between sleep and executive functioning were evaluated. PROCEDURE: Baseline data of a randomized controlled trial on the effectiveness of neurofeedback were used. Childhood brain tumor survivors 8-18 years of age with parent-reported neurocognitive complaints ≥2 years after treatment were eligible. Parents completed the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children. Executive functioning was assessed by parents and teachers (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning). Multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine sociodemographic and medical characteristics and emotional difficulties and hyperactivity/inattention (Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire) as potential risk factors for sleep problems, and to assess the association between sleep and executive functioning. RESULTS: Forty-eight percent of survivors (n = 82, 7.0 ± 3.6 years post diagnosis, age 13.8 ± 3.2 years) had sleep problems and scored significantly worse than the norm on the subscales Initiating and Maintaining Sleep, Excessive Somnolence, and the total scale (effect sizes 0.58-0.92). Emotional problems and/or hyperactivity/inattention were independent potential risk factors. Sleep problems were associated with worse parent-reported executive functioning. CONCLUSIONS: Sleep problems occur among half of childhood brain tumor survivors with neurocognitive problems, and are associated with worse executive functioning. Future studies should focus on the development of sleep interventions for this population, to improve sleep as well as executive functioning.

Swallowing progression during the acute phase of cortical and subcortical ischemic stroke and its association with the extension of brain damage and cognitive impairment.

Objective: To assess swallowing progression and its association with the extension of brain damage and cognitive impairment during the acute phase of ischemic stroke. Methods: Cross-sectional, observational study with 50 patients, who were admitted to a Stroke Unit with cerebral ischemia, with a maximum stroke time of 24 h. The following clinical tools were used: National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, Mini-Mental State Examination, Frontal Battery Assessment, and the Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score for neuroimaging. The Gugging Swallowing Screen and the Functional Oral Intake Scale were used to assess swallowing. The patients were assessed at three different time-points: at hospital admission, after 72 h of hospitalization, and at hospital discharge. Results: The mean age of patients was 65.5 years. The frequency of dysphagic patients was 50.0%, 18.0%, and 12.0% at admission, after 72 h of hospitalization, and at discharge, respectively. Scores on the Frontal Battery Assessment and the Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score were associated with dysphagia progression. Conclusion: Dysphagia is a common complication in the acute phase of stroke, and is associated with the extension of brain damage and cognitive impairment.

Temporal and age-dependent effects of haptoglobin deletion on intracerebral hemorrhage-induced brain damage and neurobehavioral outcomes.

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a devastating stroke subtype and the presence of extracorpuscular hemoglobin (Hb) exacerbates brain damage. Haptoglobin (Hp) binds Hb, which prevents its oxidation and participation in neurotoxic reactions. Multiple studies have investigated the role of Hp under conditions of intravascular hemolysis, but little is known about its role in the brain and following ICH where extravascular hemolysis is rampant. Young and aged wildtype and Hp-/- mice underwent the autologous blood or collagenase ICH model. Early after ICH, Hp-/- mice display 58.0 ±â€¯5.6% and 36.7 ±â€¯6.9% less brain damage in the autologous blood and collagenase ICH models, respectively. In line with these findings, Hp-/- mice display less neurological deficits on several neurobehavioral tests. Hp-/- mice have less Perl's iron content, HO1 expression, and blood brain barrier dysfunction, but no difference in brain Hb content, astrogliosis and angiogenesis/neovascularization. At the later endpoint, the young cohort displays 27.8 ±â€¯9.3% less brain damage, while no difference is seen with the aged cohort. For both cohorts, no differences are seen in HO1 levels or iron accumulation, but young Hp-/- mice display less thalamic astrogliosis and striatal microgliosis. This study reveals that the presence or absence of Hp exerts important time- and age-dependent influences on ICH outcomes.

Immoral behaviour following brain damage: A review.

Despite the apparent sociability of human kind, immoral behaviour is ever present in society. The term 'immoral behaviour' represents a complex array of conduct, ranging from insensitivity to topics of conversation through to violent assault and murder. To better understand the neuroscience of immoral behaviour, this review investigates two clinical populations that commonly present with changes in moral behaviour - behavioural-variant frontotemporal dementia and acquired brain injuries. Based on evidence from these groups, it is argued that rather than a single underlying cause, immoral behaviour can result from three distinct types of cognitive failure: (1) problems understanding others; (2) difficulties controlling behaviour; or (3) deficits in the capacity to make appropriate emotional contributions. Each of these failures is associated with damage to different brain regions. A more nuanced approach to the neuroscience of immoral behaviour has important implications for our understanding of immoral behaviour in a wide range of clinical groups, as well as human society more broadly.

Hemispheric language organization after congenital left brain lesions: A comparison between functional transcranial Doppler and functional MRI.

This study investigated whether functional transcranial Doppler ultrasound (fTCD) is a suitable tool for studying hemispheric lateralization of language in patients with pre-perinatal left hemisphere (LH) lesions and right hemiparesis. Eighteen left-hemisphere-damaged children and young adults and 18 healthy controls were assessed by fTCD and fMRI to evaluate hemispheric activation during two language tasks: a fTCD animation description task and a fMRI covert rhyme generation task. Lateralization indices (LIs), measured by the two methods, differed significantly between the two groups, for a clear LH dominance in healthy participants and a prevalent activation of right hemisphere in more than 80% of brain-damaged patients. Distribution of participants in terms of left, right, and bilateral lateralization was highly concordant between fTCD and fMRI values. Moreover, right hemisphere language dominance in patients with left hemispheric lesions was significantly associated with severity of cortical and subcortical damage in LH. This study suggests that fTCD is an easily applicable tool that might be a valid alternative to fMRI for large-scale studies of patients with congenital brain lesions.

What bilateral damage of the superior parietal lobes tells us about visual attention disorders in developmental dyslexia.

Neuroimaging studies have identified the superior parietal lobules bilaterally as the neural substrates of reduced visual attention (VA) span in developmental dyslexia. It remains however unclear whether the VA span deficit and the deficits in temporal and spatial attention shifting also reported in dyslexic children reflect a unitary spatio-temporal deficit of attention - probably linked to general posterior parietal dysfunction- or the dysfunction of distinct attentional systems that relate to different neural substrates. We explored this issue by testing an adult patient, IG, with a specific damage of the bilateral superior parietal lobules after stroke, on tasks assessing the VA span as well as temporal and spatial attention shifting. IG demonstrated a very severe VA span deficit, but preserved temporal attention shifting. Exogenous spatial orientation shifting was spared but her performance was impaired in endogenous attention. The overall findings show that distinct sub-systems of visual attention can be dissociated within the parietal lobe, suggesting that different attentional systems associated with specific neural networks can be selectively impaired in developmental dyslexia.

Mechanical knowledge does matter to tool use even when assessed with a non-production task: Evidence from left brain-damaged patients.

In the literature on apraxia of tool use, it is now accepted that using familiar tools requires semantic and mechanical knowledge. However, mechanical knowledge is nearly always assessed with production tasks, so one may assume that mechanical knowledge and familiar tool use are associated only because of their common motor mechanisms. This notion may be challenged by demonstrating that familiar tool use depends on an alternative tool selection task assessing mechanical knowledge, where alternative uses of tools are assumed according to their physical properties but where actual use of tools is not needed. We tested 21 left brain-damaged patients and 21 matched controls with familiar tool use tasks (pantomime and single tool use), semantic tasks and an alternative tool selection task. The alternative tool selection task accounted for a large amount of variance in the single tool use task and was the best predictor among all the semantic tasks. Concerning the pantomime of tool use task, group and individual results suggested that the integrity of the semantic system and preserved mechanical knowledge are neither necessary nor sufficient to produce pantomimes. These results corroborate the idea that mechanical knowledge is essential when we use tools, even when tasks assessing mechanical knowledge do not require the production of any motor action. Our results also confirm the value of pantomime of tool use, which can be considered as a complex activity involving several cognitive abilities (e.g., communicative skills) rather than the activation of gesture engrams.

Chronic solvent-induced encephalopathy: course and prognostic factors of neuropsychological functioning.

PURPOSE: Working in conditions with daily exposure to organic solvents for many years can result in a disease known as chronic solvent-induced encephalopathy (CSE). The aims for this study were to describe the neuropsychological course of CSE after first diagnosis and to detect prognostic factors for neuropsychological impairment after diagnosis. METHODS: This prospective study follows a Dutch cohort of CSE patients who were first diagnosed between 2001 and 2011 and underwent a second neuropsychological assessment 1.5-2 years later. Cognitive subdomains were assessed and an overall cognitive impairment score was calculated. Paired t tests and multivariate linear regression analyses were performed to describe the neuropsychological course and to obtain prognostic factors for the neuropsychological functioning at follow-up. RESULTS: There was a significant improvement on neuropsychological subdomains at follow-up, with effect sizes between small and medium (Cohen's d 0.27-0.54) and a significant overall improvement of neuropsychological impairment with a medium effect size (Cohen's d 0.56). Prognostic variables for more neuropsychological impairment at follow-up were a higher level of neuropsychological impairment at diagnosis and having a comorbid diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder at diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Results are in line with previous research on the course of CSE, stating that CSE is a non-progressive disease after cessation of exposure. However, during follow-up the percentage patients with permanent work disability pension increased from 14 to 37%. Preventive action is needed in countries where exposure to organic solvents is still high to prevent new cases of CSE.

Exploring auditory neglect: Anatomo-clinical correlations of auditory extinction.

BACKGROUND: The key symptoms of auditory neglect include left extinction on tasks of dichotic and/or diotic listening and rightward shift in locating sounds. The anatomical correlates of the latter are relatively well understood, but no systematic studies have examined auditory extinction. Here, we performed a systematic study of anatomo-clinical correlates of extinction by using dichotic and/or diotic listening tasks. METHODS: In total, 20 patients with right hemispheric damage (RHD) and 19 with left hemispheric damage (LHD) performed dichotic and diotic listening tasks. Either task consists of the simultaneous presentation of word pairs; in the dichotic task, 1 word is presented to each ear, and in the diotic task, each word is lateralized by means of interaural time differences and presented to one side. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: RHD was associated with exclusively contralesional extinction in dichotic or diotic listening, whereas in selected cases, LHD led to contra- or ipsilesional extinction. Bilateral symmetrical extinction occurred in RHD or LHD, with dichotic or diotic listening. The anatomical correlates of these extinction profiles offer an insight into the organisation of the auditory and attentional systems. First, left extinction in dichotic versus diotic listening involves different parts of the right hemisphere, which explains the double dissociation between these 2 neglect symptoms. Second, contralesional extinction in the dichotic task relies on homologous regions in either hemisphere. Third, ipsilesional extinction in dichotic listening after LHD was associated with lesions of the intrahemispheric white matter, interrupting callosal fibres outside their midsagittal or periventricular trajectory. Fourth, bilateral symmetrical extinction was associated with large parieto-fronto-temporal LHD or smaller parieto-temporal RHD, which suggests that divided attention, supported by the right hemisphere, and auditory streaming, supported by the left, likely play a critical role.

Atypical temporal activation pattern and central-right brain compensation during semantic judgment task in children with early left brain damage.

In this study we investigated the event-related potentials (ERPs) during the semantic judgment task (deciding if the two Chinese characters were semantically related or unrelated) to identify the timing of neural activation in children with early left brain damage (ELBD). The results demonstrated that compared with the controls, children with ELBD had (1) competitive accuracy and reaction time in the semantic judgment task, (2) weak operation of the N400, (3) stronger, earlier and later compensational positivities (referred to the enhanced P200, P250, and P600 amplitudes) in the central and right region of the brain to successfully engage in semantic judgment. Our preliminary findings indicate that temporally postlesional reorganization is in accordance with the proposed right-hemispheric organization of speech after early left-sided brain lesion. During semantic processing, the orthography has a greater effect on the children with ELBD, and a later semantic reanalysis (P600) is required due to the less efficient N400 at the former stage for semantic integration.

Marriage and Partnership Integrity After Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: Small Alterations in Neurologic Status Matter Most.

OBJECTIVE: Common sequelae of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) include somatic and/or cognitive impairment. This can cause emotional stress, social tensions, and difficulties in relationships. To test our hypothesis that more severe somatic and cognitive impairments increased the likelihood of disruption of a relationship after SAH, we assessed the integrity of marriage or partnership status in a well-evaluated subset of SAH patients. METHODS: Our sample comprised 50 SAH patients who were discharged to a neurologic, in-house rehabilitation center between 2005 and 2010. Deficits on admission to the rehabilitation center were divided into 18 categories and grouped into minor and major somatic deficits, as well as cognitive deficits. Clinical outcome scores, marital/partnership status, and duration of partnership before ictus were recorded. A follow-up questionnaire after 4.3 (2012) and 8.8 (2017) years was used to assess changes in marital/partnership status. Possible predictor parameters were estimated and included in a stepdown regression analysis. RESULTS: In 2012, after a mean follow-up of 4.3 years, 8 of the 50 SAH patients were divorced or separated, whereas after 8.8 years only 1 additional relationship had ended. In our regression model analysis, a "short duration of relationship" before SAH and the presence of a "few minor somatic deficits" were associated with a higher likelihood of divorce or separation in the near future and remained unchanged at long-term follow-up. CONCLUSION: Contrary to our hypothesis, neither the presence of severe somatic or cognitive deficits nor clinical evaluation scores reliably predicted divorce or separation after SAH.

Conocimiento sobre daño cerebral adquirido en familiares de pacientes neuroquirúrgicos / Brain injury knowledge in family members of neurosurgical patients

Antecedentes y objetivos: Diversos estudios han puesto de manifiesto las creencias erróneas sobre el daño cerebral en diferentes poblaciones. Nuestro objetivo consiste en valorar el conocimiento que poseen los familiares de los pacientes neuroquirúrgicos sobre el daño cerebral adquirido. Material y métodos: Participaron 81 familiares de pacientes ingresados durante el periodo comprendido entre febrero y agosto de 2016. Se utilizó la traducción de un cuestionario aplicado en estudios anteriores en múltiples países (EE. UU., Canadá, Reino Unido, Irlanda y Nueva Zelanda). Se registraron algunos datos sociodemográficos (edad, sexo, nivel educativo y patología del paciente) así como las respuestas a los 19 ítems verdadero/falso que constituyen el cuestionario sobre daño cerebral adquirido. El análisis de datos se ha desarrollado mediante una modelización gráfica con parámetro de regularización configurando así una red que muestra el nivel de asociación de los ítems del cuestionario a partir del patrón de respuestas de los participantes. Resultados: El análisis de los datos muestra dos áreas conceptuales con una elevada tasa de error en los ítems asociados: el comportamiento y el manejo de los pacientes, y las expectativas sobre la recuperación en daño cerebral adquirido. Conclusiones: Con este estudio podemos objetivar las áreas de falsas creencias sobre el daño cerebral que poseen los familiares de los pacientes atendidos en el servicio de neurocirugía. Este desconocimiento puede suponer un obstáculo en el proceso de recuperación de los pacientes. Por lo tanto, proponemos hacer hincapié en la información sobre el daño cerebral a los familiares de estos pacientes, sobre todo sus síntomas y su evolución

Background and objectives: Several studies have shown misconceptions about brain injury in different populations. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and perceptions about brain injury of family members of neurosurgical patients in our hospital. Material and methods: The participants (n=81) were relatives of patients admitted to the neurosurgery department between February and August 2016. They voluntarily completed a 19-item true-false format survey about brain injury based on a translation of other questionnaires used in previous studies from other countries (USA, Canada, UK, Ireland and New Zealand). Also, some sociodemographic data were collected (age, sex, education level and the patient's pathology). Data analysis was developed through graphical modelling with a regularisation parameter plotted on a network representing the association of the items of the questionnaire from the response pattern of participants. Results: Data analysis showed two conceptual areas with a high rate of wrong answers: behaviour and management of patients, and expectations about acquired brain injury recovery. Conclusions: The results obtained in this study would enable us to objectify misconceptions about acquired brain injury in patients' relatives attended in the neurosurgery department. This lack of knowledge could be a great obstacle in patients' recovery process. Therefore, we suggest placing the emphasis on the provision of information on brain injury to patients' families, especially with regard to its symptoms and course of development

A multifactorial and integrative approach to impulsivity in neuropsychology: insights from the UPPS model of impulsivity.

Risky and excessive behaviors, such as aggressive and compulsive behaviors, are frequently described in patients with brain damage and have dramatic psychosocial consequences. Although there is strong evidence that impulsivity constitutes a key factor at play in these behaviors, the literature about impulsivity in neuropsychology is to date scarce. In addition, examining and understanding these problematic behaviors requires the assumption that impulsivity is a multidimensional construct. Consequently, this article aims at shedding light on frequent risky and excessive behaviors in patients with brain damage by focusing on a unified, comprehensive, and well-validated model, namely, the UPPS model of impulsivity. This model considers impulsivity as a multidimensional construct that includes four facets: urgency, (lack of) premeditation, (lack of) perseverance, and sensation seeking. Furthermore, we discuss the psychological mechanisms underlying the dimensions of impulsivity, as well as the laboratory tasks designed to assess each mechanism and their neural bases. We then present a scale specifically designed to assess these four dimensions of impulsivity in patients with brain damage and examine the data regarding this multidimensional approach to impulsivity in neuropsychology. This review supports the need to adopt a multifactorial and integrative approach toward impulsive behaviors, and the model presented provides a valuable rationale to disentangle the nature of brain systems and mechanisms underlying impulsive behaviors in patients with brain damage. It may also foster further relevant research in the field of impulsivity and improve assessment and rehabilitation of impulsive behaviors in clinical settings.

Tool use in left-brain-damaged patients: Difficulties in reasoning but not in estimating the physical properties of objects.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to deepen our understanding of the cognitive bases of human tool use based on the technical reasoning hypothesis (i.e., the reasoning-based approach). This approach assumes that tool use is supported by the ability to reason about an object's physical properties (e.g., length, weight, strength, etc.) to perform mechanical actions (e.g., lever). In this framework, an important issue is to understand whether left-brain-damaged (LBD) individuals with tool-use deficits are still able to estimate the physical object's properties necessary to use the tool. METHOD: Eleven LBD patients and 12 control participants performed 3 original experimental tasks: Use-Length (visual evaluation of the length of a stick to bring down a target), Visual-Length (to visually compare objects of different lengths) and Addition-Length (to visually compare added lengths). Participants were also tested on conventional tasks: Familiar Tool Use and Mechanical Problem-Solving (novel tools). RESULTS: LBD patients had more difficulties than controls on both conventional tasks. No significant differences were observed for the 3 experimental tasks. CONCLUSION: These results extend the reasoning-based approach, stressing that it might not be the representation of length that is impaired in LBD patients, but rather the ability to generate mechanical actions based on physical object properties. (PsycINFO Database Record

[Brain injury knowledge in family members of neurosurgical patients]. / Conocimiento sobre daño cerebral adquirido en familiares de pacientes neuroquirúrgicos.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Several studies have shown misconceptions about brain injury in different populations. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and perceptions about brain injury of family members of neurosurgical patients in our hospital. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The participants (n=81) were relatives of patients admitted to the neurosurgery department between February and August 2016. They voluntarily completed a 19-item true-false format survey about brain injury based on a translation of other questionnaires used in previous studies from other countries (USA, Canada, UK, Ireland and New Zealand). Also, some sociodemographic data were collected (age, sex, education level and the patient's pathology). Data analysis was developed through graphical modelling with a regularisation parameter plotted on a network representing the association of the items of the questionnaire from the response pattern of participants. RESULTS: Data analysis showed two conceptual areas with a high rate of wrong answers: behaviour and management of patients, and expectations about acquired brain injury recovery. CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained in this study would enable us to objectify misconceptions about acquired brain injury in patients' relatives attended in the neurosurgery department. This lack of knowledge could be a great obstacle in patients' recovery process. Therefore, we suggest placing the emphasis on the provision of information on brain injury to patients' families, especially with regard to its symptoms and course of development.

Closing-in behavior: Compensation or attraction?

OBJECTIVE: Closing-in behavior (CIB) defines the abnormal misplacement of the copy performance, positioned very closed to or on the top of the model. This symptom is observed in graphic copying by patients suffering from different neurological diseases, most commonly dementia. The cognitive origins of this behavior are still a matter of investigation, and research of the last 10 years has been focused on exploring 2 main accounts of CIB, the compensation and the attraction hypotheses, providing evidence in both directions. While the first account defines CIB as a compensatory strategy to overcome visuospatial and/or working memory deficits during copying tasks, the attraction hypothesis looks at CIB as primitive default behavior in which attention and action are closely coupled and movements are performed toward the focus of attention. METHOD: We explored these 2 hypotheses in a sample of patients with and without CIB, and controls in 5 experiments: Experiments 1 and 2 tested the attraction hypothesis and, respectively, the prediction that CIB can be elicited in a noncopying dual task condition loading upon attentional resources or by irrelevant attentional grabbing stimuli. The other experiments investigated the compensation hypothesis manipulating the distance between model and copying space (Experiment 3), the task demand (single or dual task loading on verbal working memory; Experiment 4), the task requirements (copying and tracing) and visual demand (visual copy and memory; Experiment 5). RESULTS: The results support the attraction hypothesis of CIB. CONCLUSIONS: CIB reflects an impairment of the attention and action system, rather than a compensatory strategy. (PsycINFO Database Record