Action Video Gaming and Attention in Young Adults: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVE: Existing research in action video games has increased in recent years due to the expansion of their use all over the world. Specifically, there is growing evidence about the positive development of the cognitive functions associated with the use of this kind of video game. Therefore, this work aims to explore the relationship between playing action video games and the development of attention span as well as the impact at the brain level from a functional perspective. METHODS: Articles were searched in Scopus, Pubmed, and Web of Science. A total of 196 studies were retrieved, among which 13 studies were systematically reviewed. RESULTS: The review has shown that playing action video games can improve cognitive functions, including attention, with reaction time and processing speed being the aspects that would most benefit from such practice, as well as the development of focused, sustained, and divided attention. Also, there are functional brain changes. CONCLUSION: It is necessary to deepen the understanding of the association between playing action video games and the development of attention.

The Role of Associations in Reducing the Emotional and Financial Impact on Parents Caring for Children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: A Cross-Cultural Study.

Caregivers' emotions and finances are affected by the deterioration of functional capacity of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), both in Mexico and Spain. Patient associations may reduce this impact on caregivers. This study aims to study the role of two models of associations, inspired by two different cultural models, in how the services they provide can help decrease the emotional and financial impact on the caregivers of children with DMD. The sample consisted of 34 caregivers from Mexico and 40 from Spain recruited from Spanish hospitals and rare disease organizations in Spain and Mexico. The instruments used consisted of a sociodemographic and socioeconomic questionnaire, the CarerQol-7D, the PHQ-15, the Zarit Caregiver's Burden Scale and the SWLS. The results showed that caregivers in Mexico are in better physical and psychological health than caregivers in Spain. They also receive more subsidies than those in Spain. Caregivers in Mexico have a greater well-being and are less affected by the economic impact of the disease due to the associations' day-to-day work and the fact that they generate a network of health services that they make available to the patient free of charge. These differences may also be attributable to cultural issues and to the fact that Mexico has a deeply established culture of support.

Diseases Costs and Impact of the Caring Role on Informal Carers of Children with Neuromuscular Disease.

This study aims to evaluate the costs of informal care for children with neuromuscular disease and evaluate how physical and psychological health is associated with socio-demographic variables. A cross sectional design was used with a convenience sample of 110 carers that participated in this study. Participants were recruited from Spanish hospitals and rare diseases organizations. Economic costs and sociodemographic aspects were assessed using the economic costs questionnaire and the sociodemographic questionnaire. Physical and psychological health was evaluated using the CarerQol-7D, PHQ-15, Barthel Index, Zarit Overload Scale and Satisfaction with Life Scale. Carers of children with neuromuscular disease spent a large percentage of their annual income in physical therapy, psychological care and speech therapy. Informal costs differed according to the degree of dependency of the child. These were higher in those caregivers whose child under their care presented low functional independence. The loss of work productivity was related to marital status, use of professional services and the child's dependency. Finally, carers who were female, single or separated and without a job showed worse physical and psychological health. The results highlighted that carers have to face a number of high costs because of the non-existence of social protection and due to the child's diagnosis.

Effects of Teleassistance on the Quality of Life of People With Rare Neuromuscular Diseases According to Their Degree of Disability.

Rare neuromuscular diseases (RNMDs) are a group of pathologies characterized by a progressive loss of muscular strength, atrophy, fatigue, and other muscle-related symptoms, which affect quality of life (QoL) levels. The low prevalence, high geographical dispersion and disability of these individuals involve difficulties in accessing health and social care services. Teleassistance is presented as a useful tool to perform psychosocial interventions in these situations. The main aim of this research is to assess the effects of a teleassistance psychosocial program on the QoL levels of people with RNMDs who have different levels of disability. A sample of 73 participants was divided into an experimental group (n = 40), which participated in the intervention, and a control wait list group (n = 33). QoL was evaluated through the SIP and the SF-36, and disability through the WHO-DAS II. The participants with a moderate to severe level of disability were those who most benefited from the intervention. The results also revealed that the psychosocial teleassistance program was suitable to improve physical and psychosocial aspects of people suffering from a rare neuromuscular disease with a moderate level of disability, but just psychosocial aspects in those with a severe level of disability.

Signal-detection analysis of the WMS faces subtest: Results in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients.

About 30% of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) suffer from cognitive impairment and 10-15% suffer from frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Due to the patients' reduced motor function, a neuropsychological assessment with a low motor demand can be an advantage when evaluating patients, aiding its application. The present work has studied the usefulness of the Faces subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale in 42 patients with ALS and 42 healthy volunteers applying Holdnack's Two-High Threshold model. The ALS group performed significantly worse in immediate and delayed discriminability. With respect to the presence of cognitive impairment, it seemed to be independent of the indexes proposed by Holdnack and Delis. On the other hand, motor problems were associated with delayed recognition while behavior alterations were linked to problems with delayed discriminability. ALS patients do not express differences in the bias index, in line with other types of previously studied pathologies.

Coping with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome: quality of life and psychosocial features of family carers.

BACKGROUND: Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome (WHS) is a rare, congenital disease characterized by a distinctive facial phenotype, seizures, intellectual disability and developmental delay, and pre and postnatal growth requiring lifelong care. The psychosocial status of the family caregivers of children diagnosed with WHS is unknown. This study aims to characterize the sociodemographic and psychosocial profile of WHS caregivers and analyze how these variables impact their quality of life (QoL) and well-being. RESULTS: The sociodemographic and clinical profile of 22 Spanish caregivers of children with WHS and the characteristics of those affected have been described. Significant relationships were found between sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics among caregivers. The impact on the parents' QoL and negative relationship with the symptomatology were assessed. The use of engagement strategies such as problem focused coping was associated with improved psychological QoL and social support. CONCLUSIONS: WHS caregivers share similarities in their profile and needs with caregivers of children with other rare diseases. Pychosocial support groups involving parents caring for children with the same disease could improve caregivers' well-being and QoL by strengthening their social support network and using positive coping styles.

An instrument to measure perceptions of people with disabilities regarding the application of international vocational rehabilitation standards.

This study aimed to create a valid and reliable instrument to measure people with disabilities' perceptions regarding the extent of application of international standards issued by the Council of Europe, International Labour Organization, and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health in vocational rehabilitation centers in the Basque country, Spain. The instrument items were selected from international recommendations and conventions issued by the International Labour Organization, Council of Europe, International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, and a vocational rehabilitation literature review. The instrument was translated from English to Spanish, and the content validity index of an expert panel survey was used to assess content validity. For the Spanish version of the instrument, internal consistency reliability, confirmatory factor analysis and factor analysis were examined with 186 people with disabilities in 10 vocational rehabilitation centers in the Basque country. The coefficient alpha estimate was 0.945, indicating excellent internal consistency. Three factors were identified: job-related services, aims of vocational rehabilitation center, and vocational rehabilitation guidance. The instrument appears to have good validity and reliability but requires further validation. Support is provided for its use in both English and Spanish. Implications for vocational rehabilitation practice and suggestions for future research are provided.

Chiari Type I Malformation Associated With Verbal Fluency Impairment.

Purpose: Chiari malformation (CM) Type I is a rare disorder that implies an anomaly in the craniocervical junction, where one or both cerebellar tonsils are displaced below the foramen magnum into the cervical spinal channel. Research carried out regarding cognitive symptoms such as verbal fluency is scarce. The aim of this study was to investigate whether verbal fluency is impaired in a CM clinical group compared to a group of healthy control individuals while controlling for depression and anxiety symptomatology. Method: For this purpose, 101 individuals were enrolled to take part in the study (51 CM, 50 healthy controls). The Controlled Oral Word Association Test (Benton, de Hamsher, & Sivan, 1983) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (Zigmond & Snaith, 1983) were administered. Results: Results showed significantly lower scores for the CM group in verbal fluency compared to the control group (p < .005). After performing an analysis of covariance to eliminate depression and anxiety symptomatology tendencies, it was observed that verbal fluency could not be predicted by this variable (p > .005). Conclusions: From the results of this study, it can be concluded that people suffering from CM exhibit less verbal fluency than healthy control individuals and that this difference is not caused by depression or anxiety.