Sleep hygiene practices in patients with major depression with comorbid insomnia, primary insomnia, and good sleepers / Prácticas de higiene de sueño en pacientes con depresión mayor con insomnio comórbido, insomnio primario y buenos durmientes

Abstract Introduction Inadequate sleep hygiene (SH) is considered factor contributing to insomnia. However, the practice of SH by depressed patients with comorbid insomnia has not been explored. Objective We aimed to compare the practice of SH between patients with major depression, comorbid insomnia, primary insomnia, and good sleepers. Method One hundred and eighty-two adult individuals participated: 62 outpatients with major depressive disorder with comorbid insomnia (MDD), 56 outpatients with primary insomnia (PI), and 64 good sleepers (GS). All participants were assessed with a structured psychiatric interview, an insomnia interview, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Insomnia Severity Index, and the Sleep Hygiene Practice Scale. We compared the practice of SH as a whole and by domains between the groups and the relation between SH practice, insomnia, and sleep quality. Results Patients with PI and MDD showed a significantly worse practice of global SH. In the comparison by SH domains, MDD and PI groups had significantly worse scores than GS in all domains. Individuals with MDD showed a significantly worse practice of sleep schedule and arousal related behaviors than PI group. Although, SH practice was significantly related with insomnia and sleep quality in the whole sample, this association remained significant only in the PI. The arousal-related behaviors domain was the main predictor of insomnia and sleep quality. Discussion and conclusion Although patients with insomnia comorbid with MDD or with PI have a worse SH practice than GS, only arousal-related behaviors and drinking/eating habits contribute significantly to insomnia severity and sleep quality.

Resumen Introducción Una inadecuada higiene de sueño (HS) se considera como un factor que contribuye al insomnio, incluido el insomnio comórbido con trastornos mentales. Sin embargo, no se ha estudiado la práctica de HS en pacientes con depresión e insomnio comórbido. Objetivo Comparar la práctica de HS entre pacientes con depresión mayor con insomnio comórbido, insomnio primario y buenos durmientes. Método Participaron 182 individuos: 62 pacientes ambulatorios con trastorno depresivo mayor con insomnio comórbido (TDM), 56 pacientes con insomnio primario (IP) y 64 buenos durmientes (BD). A todos se les realizó una entrevista psiquiátrica estructurada, una entrevista sobre insomnio, el Índice de Calidad de Sueño de Pittsburgh, el Índice de Severidad de Insomnio y la Escala de Prácticas de Higiene de Sueño. Comparamos la práctica de HS tanto global como por dominios entre los grupos, y la relación entre la práctica de HS, el insomnio y la calidad de sueño. Resultados Los pacientes con IP y con TDM mostraron una práctica global de la HS significativamente peor. En la comparación por dominios, los grupos con TDM e IP alcanzaron peores calificaciones que los BD en todos. La práctica de HS se relacionó significativamente con el insomnio y calidad de sueño en la muestra total, sin embargo, solamente en el grupo con IP se mantuvo significativa. El dominio de conductas relacionadas con el alertamiento fue el principal predictor de insomnio y calidad de sueño. Discusión y conclusión Aunque los pacientes con insomnio comórbido con TDM o con IP tienen peores hábitos de HS que los BD, solamente las conductas relacionadas con el alertamiento y los hábitos de alimentación contribuyen significativamente a la gravedad del insomnio y calidad de sueño.

Children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders show cognitive heterogeneity and require a person-centered approach.

We aimed to identify patterns of cognitive differences and characterize subgroups of Mexican children and adolescents with three neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD): intellectual disability (ID), autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The sample included 74 children and adolescents 6-15 years; 34% had ID, ASD or ADHD, 47% had ID in comorbidity with ASD, ADHD or both, 11% had ASD + ADHD, 8% were children without NDD. We applied WISC-IV, Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised, Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Structured Interview, Child Behavior Checklist, and UNICEF Child Functioning Module. We evaluated the normality of the WISC-IV sub-scales using the Shapiro-Francia test, then conducted a latent class analysis and assessed inter-class differences in terms of household, parent and child characteristics. The following four-class solution best fit the data: "Lower Cognitive Profile" (LCP), "Lower Working Memory" (LWM), "Higher Working Memory" (HWM), "Higher Cognitive Profile" (HCP). LCP included most of the children with ID, who had a low Working Memory (WM) index score. LWM included mainly children with ASD or ID + ADHD; their Perceptual Reasoning (PR) and Processing Speed (PS) index scores were much higher than those for Verbal Comprehension (VC) and WM. HWM included children with ASD or ADHD; their scores for PR, PS and VC were high with lower WM (although higher than for LWM). HCP included children without NDD and with ASD or ADHD or both and had the highest scores on all indices. Children with NDD show cognitive heterogeneity and thus require individualized treatment plans.

[Context and results of early childhood development in 12 to 59 months old children living in Mexico]. / Contexto y resultados del desarrollo infantil temprano en niños y niñas de 12 a 59 meses en México.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate early childhood development (ECD) and its determinants in 12 to 59 months old children residents of communities <100 000 inhabitants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Encuesta Nacional de Salud y Nutrición of communities <100 000 inhabitants (Ensanut 100k) evaluated language level, access to ECD care services and standardized indicators of the eight quality of the development environment. We report indicator prevalence and standardized language scores according to variables of interest. RESULTS: 20.7% of children attended eight wellchild care visits within the first year of life, 13.0% received an ECD assessment, 75.0% receive support for learning, 23.4% have books and 57.7% experiment violent discipline. Improved language levels are associate with socioeconomic capacities, maternal education, preschool attendance, support for learning and household books. Children exposed to more protective factors present a language level 1.5 standard deviations higher than their peers exposed to more risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need to increase the coverage of ECD care services and to improve early development opportunities within households.

OBJETIVO: Evaluar el desarrollo infantil temprano (DIT) y sus determinantes en niños/as de 12 a 59 meses residentes en localidades de menos de 100 000 habitantes. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: . La Encuesta Nacional de Salud y Nutrición en localidades con menos de 100 000 habitantes (Ensanut 100k) evaluó el nivel de lenguaje, acceso a servicios de atención al DIT e indicadores de calidad del contexto de desarrollo. Se estiman prevalencias de indicadores y puntajes estandarizados de lenguaje según variables de interés. RESULTADOS: 20.7% de los niños/as asistió a ocho consultas del niño sano en su primer año, 13.0% recibió evaluación de DIT, 75.0% recibe apoyo al aprendizaje, 23.4% cuenta con libros y 57.7% sufre disciplina violenta. Mejores niveles de lenguaje se asocian con las capacidades económicas, escolaridad materna, asistencia a preescolar, apoyo al aprendizaje y acceso a libros. Los niños/as expuestos a más factores protectores presentan nivel de lenguaje 1.5 DE mayor que en niños/as con más factores de riesgo. CONCLUSIONES: Se requiere aumentar la cobertura de atención al DIT y mejorar las oportunidades de desarrollo en hogares.

Contexto y resultados del desarrollo infantil temprano en niños y niñas de 12 a 59 meses en México / Context and results of early childhood development in 12 to 59 months old children living in Mexico

Resumen: Objetivo: Evaluar el desarrollo infantil temprano (DIT) y sus determinantes en niños/as de 12 a 59 meses residentes en localidades de menos de 100 000 habitantes. Material y métodos: La Encuesta Nacional de Salud y Nutrición en localidades con menos de 100 000 habitantes (Ensanut 100k) evaluó el nivel de lenguaje, acceso a servicios de atención al DIT e indicadores de calidad del contexto de desarrollo. Se estiman prevalencias de indicadores y puntajes estandarizados de lenguaje según variables de interés. Resultados: 20.7% de los niños/as asistió a ocho consultas del niño sano en su primer año, 13.0% recibió evaluación de DIT, 75.0% recibe apoyo al aprendizaje, 23.4% cuenta con libros y 57.7% sufre disciplina violenta. Mejores niveles de lenguaje se asocian con las capacidades económicas, escolaridad materna, asistencia a preescolar, apoyo al aprendizaje y acceso a libros. Los niños/as expuestos a más factores protectores presentan nivel de lenguaje 1.5 DE mayor que en niños/as con más factores de riesgo. Conclusión: Se requiere aumentar la cobertura de atención al DIT y mejorar las oportunidades de desarrollo en hogares.

Abstract: Objective: To evaluate early childhood development (ECD) and its determinants in 12 to 59 months old children residents of communities <100 000 inhabitants. Materials and methods: The Encuesta Nacional de Salud y Nutrición of communities <100 000 inhabitants (Ensanut 100k) evaluated language level, access to ECD care services and standardized indicators of the eight quality of the development environment. We report indicator prevalence and standardized language scores according to variables of interest. Results: 20.7% of children attended eight well-child care visits within the first year of life, 13.0% received an ECD assessment, 75.0% receive support for learning, 23.4% have books and 57.7% experiment violent discipline. Improved language levels are associate with socioeconomic capacities, maternal education, preschool attendance, support for learning and household books. Children exposed to more protective factors present a language level 1.5 standard deviations higher than their peers exposed to more risk factors. Conclusion: There is a need to increase the coverage of ECD care services and to improve early development opportunities within households.

Changes in facial emotion expression during a psychotherapeutic intervention for patients with borderline personality disorder.

Emotional dysregulation is one of the main features of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Therefore, it constitutes a central therapeutic objective of the interventions that have proven to be effective for these patients, including the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). However, benefits on emotional regulation have been evaluated through self-report instruments, and an anatomically based, objective, and precise measurement of the ability to change the type, duration and frequency of emotions is still needed. OBJECTIVE: To assess facial emotion expression, valence and arousal during an ACT based intervention, between initial, middle and final therapeutic sessions for BPD patients. METHOD: Using the FaceReader 7.0, 29 recordings of individual therapeutic sessions for BPD patients during an ACT intervention trial were analyzed. RESULTS: Happiness and fear intensity increase from the beginning to the end of the sessions, while sadness decreases. Emotional valence exhibits a significant decrease in its negative value during sessions from -0.13 (S.D. = 0.12) at the initial part of the sessions to -0.06 (S.D. = 0.08) by the end of the sessions, with a moderate effect size (Cohen d = 0.69). Emotional arousal increased from the beginning to the end of sessions and whole intervention. CONCLUSION: The emotional valence and arousal differed according to the psychotherapeutically process involved during ACT intervention, suggesting that the systematic analysis of facial expressions allows a rigorously examination of the relations between emotions, physiological processes, and instrumental behavior experimented though a psychotherapeutically process.

Diel and infradian (7-day) activity rhythms in Mexican spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) kept with and without visitor contact.

Diel activity rhythms in mammals are regulated by an endogenous (circadian) timing system which is synchronized by environmental 24-hr periodicities called zeitgebers. Additional direct responses to stochastic environmental factors ensure the fine-tuning to the actual situation and may mask the circadian time course. Following an observational study on behavioral effects of visitor activities in a group of spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) kept free-ranging on a small island of Lake Catemaco, Veracruz, Mexico, we analyzed the effect of weekly varying numbers of visiting tourist boats on the monkeys' diel activity rhythm. With small accelerometer-data logger devices we recorded the monkeys' locomotor activity continuously for several months each. Then we compared the data with those from spider monkeys living without tourist contact. Neither the duration of the monkeys' activity time (α) nor its phase relationship to the 24-hr solar day did change on different weekdays in either site. However, their activity level showed a clear 7-day rhythm. The monkeys of the tourist site showed highest activity on Saturday and Sunday, when the frequency of visiting tourist boats was highest, whereas those of the non-tourist site were least active on Sunday and Monday, when human activities were lowest there. While the monkeys of the non-tourist site usually displayed a distinct bimodal activity pattern peaking in the morning and late afternoon, the pattern in those of the tourist site mostly lacked a morning peak and varied more over time. Based on our results, we suggest that circadian entrainment is not involved in the differences between the diel activity rhythms of the spider monkeys from the two keeping sites and the differing 7-day variation in their activity level. Rather, these differences seemingly reflect direct responses to the differing human activities and thus may correspond to circadian masking effects.

Facial Emotion Recognition and Empathy in Employees at a Juvenile Detention Center.

Numerous studies have shown that emotion recognition is impaired in individuals with a history of violent offenses, especially in those diagnosed with psychopathy. However, in criminological contexts, there is insufficient research regarding the role of empathy and facial emotion recognition abilities of personnel employed in correction centers. Accordingly, we sought to explore facial emotion recognition abilities and empathy in administrative officers and security guards at a center for institutionalized juvenile offenders. One hundred twenty-two Mexican subjects, including both men and women, were recruited for the study. Sixty-three subjects were administrative officers, and 59 subjects were security guards at a juvenile detention center. Tasks included "Pictures of Facial Affect" and the "Cambridge Behavior Scale." The results showed that group and gender had an independent effect on emotion recognition abilities, with no significant interaction between the two variables. Specifically, administrative officers showed higher empathy than security guards. Moreover, women in general exhibited more empathy than men. This study provides initial evidence of the need to study emotion recognition and empathy among professionals working in forensic settings or criminological contexts.

Effects of housing conditions and season on the activity rhythm of spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) kept under natural conditions within their distributional range in Central Mexico.

The timing and pattern of mammalian behavioral activities are regulated by an evolutionary optimized interplay of the genetically based biological (circadian) clock located in the brain's suprachiasmatic nuclei and direct responses to environmental factors that superimpose and thus mask the clock-mediated effects, the most important of which is the photically induced phase-setting (synchronization) of the circadian rhythmicity to the 24-hour solar day. In wild and captive animals living under the natural conditions prevailing in their habitat, to date, only a few attempts have been made to analyze the role of these two regulatory mechanisms in the species' adaptation to the time structure prevailing in their habitat. We studied the impact of housing conditions and season on the daily timing and pattern of activity in Mexican spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi). To this end, we carried out long-term activity recordings with Actiwatch® AW4 accelerometer/data-logger devices in 11 adult Ateles living under identical natural lighting and climatic conditions in either a large wire netting cage or a 0.25 ha forest enclosure in the primatological field station of Veracruz State University near Catemaco, Mexico. In a gravid female in the forest enclosure, we obtained first-hand information on the effect of late pregnancy and parturition on the monkey's activity rhythm. The Ateles behaved strictly diurnal and undertook about 90% of daily total activity during this activity time. Due to a higher second activity peak in late afternoon, the bimodal activity pattern was more pronounced in monkeys living in the forest enclosure. Although the spider monkeys kept there had an earlier activity onset and morning activity peak than their conspecifics in the cage, no consistent differences were found in the parameters characterizing the phase-setting of the circadian system to the environmental 24-h periodicity, either by comparison or correlation with the external time markers of sunrise (SR) and sunset (SS). The most obvious effect of late pregnancy, parturition and lactation was a distinct reduction of the activity level during the week of parturition and the next. Seasonal variations in the form of significant differences between the long-day summer half year and the short-day winter half year were established in the phase-angle differences of the morning activity peak to SR, in the evening activity peak and activity offset to SS, as well as in the activity time and the peak-to-peak interval, but not in the phase position of activity onset to SR or in the height of the morning and evening activity peak. These findings in combination with a high variability of the phase angle differences indicate that in A. geoffroyi, a relatively weak circadian component and strong masking direct effects of environmental factors are involved in the regulation of the daily activity rhythm.