Feasibility of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in advanced age.

Although it is known that increasing age is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in allogeneic transplantation (allo-HSCT), individualization of the process may allow to perform it in progressively older patients.This study analyzed the outcome of 97 patients older than 60 years with a first allo-HSCT performed at our institution between 2011 and 2019.Median age was 66 years (range 60-79) and 15.4% were older than 70 years. The most frequent diagnosis was acute leukemia (50.5%), and 58.8% received a myeloablative conditioning. With a median follow-up of 33.9 months (range 7.9-111.5), at 3-years overall survival (OS) was 50%; progression-free survival (PFS), 46%; cumulative incidence of relapse, 22%; and non-relapse mortality (NRM), 32%. There were no significant differences in OS (p = 0.415), PFS (p = 0.691), cumulative incidence of relapse (p = 0.357) or NRM (p = 0.658) between patients of 60-64 years (n = 37), 65-69 (n = 45) and ≥ 70 years (n = 15). No differences were observed either depending on the intensity of the conditioning regimen in terms of OS (p = 0.858), PFS (p = 0.729), cumulative incidence of relapse (p = 0.416) or NRM (p = 0.270).In conclusion, older adults can safely and effectively undergo allo-HSCT with proper patient selection and individualized transplantation procedures.

A Frontal Neuropsychological Profile in Fitness to Drive.

Traffic accidents are a global concern due to the elevated mortality rates of both drivers and pedestrians. The World Health Organization declared 2011-2020 as the Decade of Action for Road Safety, endorsing initiatives to reduce traffic-related deaths. Yet, despite these incentives, fatal accidents still occur. Different studies have linked deficits in executive functions to risky driving attitudes and crashes. The present study focuses on demographic, cognitive and personality factors, related to the prefrontal cortex, that are characteristic of drivers prone to risky behavior behind the wheel. The penalty Points System was used to classify drivers as "safe", with no point loss over a two-year period, or "risky", with full point loss during the same interval. A neuropsychological assessment of prefrontal cognitive functions was carried out on each group to identify variables associated with safe and risky behavior. Neuropsychological indexes were obtained from a continuous performance task without cue (Simple Attention), a continuous performance task with cue (Conditioned Attention), the Tower of Hanoi test and the Neurologically-related Changes in Personality Inventory (NECHAPI). A Discriminant Analysis (DA) found that education level, reaction times in Simple and Conditioned Attention, learning errors in the Tower of Hanoi and vulnerability in the personality test, best predicted whether drivers were likely to be in the safe or risky group. Finally, a cross-validation analysis performed on the same sample correctly classified 87.5% of the drivers. These data suggest that prefrontal dysfunction contributes to risky behavior behind the wheel. The inclusion of cognitive programs to identify and train drivers with this propensity could reduce risky driving, and consequently, save lives on the road.

Safe driving and executive functions in healthy middle-aged drivers.

The introduction of the point system driver's license in several European countries could offer a valid framework for evaluating driving skills. This is the first study to use this framework to assess the functional integrity of executive functions in middle-aged drivers with full points, partial points or no points on their driver's license (N = 270). The purpose of this study is to find differences in executive functions that could be determinants in safe driving. Cognitive tests were used to assess attention processes, processing speed, planning, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control. Analyses for covariance (ANCOVAS) were used for group comparisons while adjusting for education level. The Bonferroni method was used for correcting for multiple comparisons. Overall, drivers with the full points on their license showed better scores than the other two groups. In particular, significant differences were found in reaction times on Simple and Conditioned Attention tasks (both p-values < 0.001) and in number of type-III errors on the Tower of Hanoi task (p = 0.026). Differences in reaction time on attention tasks could serve as neuropsychological markers for safe driving. Further analysis should be conducted in order to determine the behavioral impact of impaired executive functioning on driving ability.

Consenso sobre utilización de la vía parenteral en el deporte. El tratamiento de los trastornos por calor. Documento de Consenso de la Federación Española de Medicina del Deporte / Consensus on the use of parenteral route in sport. Heat illness treatment. Consensus document of Spanish Federation of Sports Medicine

El ejercicio físico provoca una elevación de la temperatura corporal, que en condiciones ambientales desfavorables (temperatura y humedad elevadas, radiación solar intensa o ausencia de viento) y otros factores provocan un mayor estrés térmico lo que puede conducir al deportista a una situación de deshidratación. Si no hay una adecuada reposición de líquidos y electrolitos que pueda desencadenar deshidratación y/o hiponatremia, se pueden producir efectos adversos sobre el rendimiento y también sobre la salud. Este documento de consenso presenta los cuadros clínicos relacionados con el calor que pueden aparecer durante la práctica de actividades deportivas y que pueden requerir el tratamiento urgente del paciente en el propio lugar de la actividad. Idealmente el tratamiento debe realizarse en un medio sanitario, pero la urgencia de algunos cuadros, puede requerir una actuación médica inmediata que, desde un punto de vista deontológico no puede demorarse aunque ello requiera desatender normas de origen deportivo, como las normas de lucha contra el dopaje y las normas de algunas federaciones que prohíben la utilización de la vía parenteral en deportistas. Se describen especialmente las indicaciones para uso de la administración parenteral de fluidos en el contexto deportivo para tratar la deshidratación, calambres musculares por esfuerzo, agotamiento por calor, síncope por calor, hiponatremia por esfuerzo y golpe de calor por esfuerzo. La administración de perfusiones endovenosas está indicada en tratamiento del golpe de calor y ante su sospecha diagnóstica, de forma inmediata, lo que no permite la demora en su aplicación y que se debe realizar en el propio terreno. Además, la perfusiones endovenosas están indicadas en el tratamiento del resto de situaciones patológicas cuando el estado de conciencia del paciente no permite la administración de fluidos orales o cuando se presentan nauseas o vómitos. Por último se describe la rehidratación como ayuda ergogénica con las ventajas e inconvenientes de las vías oral y parenteral (AU)

Exercise causes a rise in body temperature, which in unfavorable environmental conditions (high temperature and humidity, intense solar radiation or absence of wind) and other factors causes higher thermal stress which can cause a dehydration situation on the athlete. If there is no suitable replacement of fluids and electrolytes, which can cause dehydration and / or hyponatremia, adverse effects may occur on performance and health. This consensus document shows clinical symptoms related to heat that can occur while practicing sport activities and may require urgent treatment in the patient’s activity place. Ideally, treatment should be done in a sanitary environment, but the urgency of some symptoms may require immediate medical intervention which, due to the medical ethics involved, cannot be delayed even if this implies neglecting sports rules, such anti-doping rules or some federations regulations that forbid the use of parenteral route in athlete. Indications for using the parenteral fluids administration in sports are specially described, which are used to treat dehydration, exertional muscle cramps caused by effort, heat exhaustion, heat syncope, exertional hyponatremia and exertional heat stroke. The administration of intravenous infusions is indicated in the heat stroke treatment and must be immediately applied when its diagnosis is suspected, being no delay allowed and performing it in the field. Furthermore, intravenous infusions are indicated in the treatment of other pathological situations where the consciousn ess state of the patient does not permitoral administration of fluids or in case of nausea or vomiting. Finally, rehydration is described as an ergogenic aid with the advantages and disadvantages of oral and parenteral routes (AU)

Prediagnostic body fat and risk of death from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: the EPIC cohort.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate for the first time the association between body fat and risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with an appropriate prospective study design. METHODS: The EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) study included 518,108 individuals recruited from the general population across 10 Western European countries. At recruitment, information on lifestyle was collected and anthropometric characteristics were measured. Cox hazard models were fitted to investigate the associations between anthropometric measures and ALS mortality. RESULTS: Two hundred twenty-two ALS deaths (79 men and 143 women) occurred during the follow-up period (mean follow-up = 13 years). There was a statistically significant interaction between categories of body mass index and sex regarding ALS risk (p = 0.009): in men, a significant linear decrease of risk per unit of body mass index was observed (hazard ratio = 0.93, 95% confidence interval 0.86-0.99 per kg/m(2)); among women, the risk was more than 3-fold increased for underweight compared with normal-weight women. Among women, a significant risk reduction increasing the waist/hip ratio was also evident: women in the top quartile had less than half the risk of ALS compared with those in the bottom quartile (hazard ratio = 0.48, 95% confidence interval 0.25-0.93) with a borderline significant p value for trend across quartiles (p = 0.056). CONCLUSION: Increased prediagnostic body fat is associated with a decreased risk of ALS mortality.

Autoestima y Trastornos de Personalidad de lo Lineal a lo Complejo / Self-esteem and Personality Disorders From linearity to complexity

La relación entre autoestima y psicopatología es compleja. Mediante el RSS (Rosenberg) y otras escalas (SCL90-R, BDI, ISRA, MCMI-II) hallamos, en 100 pacientes con Trastorno de Personalidad, una media de autoestima de 20,48 (D.T = 5,54), inferior a otras muestras clínicas y a la población general. Encontramos un "cluster" de autoestima positiva en los rasgos narcisistas e histriónicos; y otro "cluster" de autoestima negativa en los rasgos límites, autodestructivos, fóbico-evitativos, esquizotípicos, pasivo-agresivos y esquizoides (TB ≥ 85 en el MCMI-II). La apertura a criterios de estabilidad, congruencia e integración con otros procesos permite una comprensión más fecunda del constructo en el ámbito de los Trastornos de Personalidad (AU)

The relationship between self-esteem and psychopathology is complex. Using the RSS (Rosenberg) and other scales (SCL90-R, BDI, ISRA, MCMI-II) we found, in 100 personality disorder patients, an average self-esteem of 20.48 (S.D. = 5.54), less than in other patients and the general public. A cluster of positive self-esteem made of narcissistic and histrionic traits was found. Another cluster of negative self-esteem is formed by borderline, self-destructive, phobic, schizotypal, passive-aggressive and schizoid traits (TB ≥ 85 in MCMI-II). By opening research up to criteria of stability, consistency and integration, with other processes, we can gain a more fruitful understanding of personality disorders (AU)

Recovery of cognitive function during comprehensive rehabilitation after severe traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the course and timing of functional recovery in patients who have emerged from coma after undergoing severe traumatic brain injury. METHODS: An observational study involving 19 patients with traumatic brain injury recovered from coma who underwent holistic, intensive and multidisciplinary neurorehabilitation. Daily performance in each cognitive function (long-term memory, short-term memory, orientation, calculation, attention, mental control, automation, and planning) was clinically scored and compared at admission and discharge. RESULTS: The course of cognitive recovery after post-traumatic coma is not uniform, offering a curve with many ups, downs and plateaus. To achieve a good response and outcome nearing normalcy, a patient needs over 300 h of intensive rehabilitation. CONCLUSION: The consolidation of functional recovery in patients with traumatic brain injury requires time and adequate training, and discharge is not recommended until cognitive improvement is established.

[Virological response to adefovir dipivoxil predicts the long-term development of resistance in previously untreated patients with HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B]. / La respuesta virológica al tratamiento con adefovir dipivoxil predice el desarrollo de resistencias a largo plazo en pacientes con hepatitis crónica B HBeAg negativo previamente no tratados.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Adefovir dipivoxil monotherapy in lamivudine-resistant patients is associated with more frequent development of resistance than in naïve patients. The virological response during treatment predicts the risk of developing resistance. The aims of this study were to assess the efficacy of adefovir dipivoxil treatment in naïve and lamivudine-resistant patients and to determine whether virological response predicts the development of adefovir resistance. PATIENTS AND METHOD: This study included 82 patients with HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B (CHB) who received adefovir dipivoxil therapy. During active treatment, HBV-DNA values were determined by polymerase chain reaction; in addition, the presence of adefovir resistance-associated mutations was studied in cases of virological breakthrough. RESULTS: Virological response at 12 and 24 months was 59% and 73% in naive patients compared with 40% and 67% in lamivudine-resistant patients, whereas virological breakthrough at 24 months was 9.5% in naïve patients compared with 20% in lamivudine-resistant patients. A small percentage (4%) of patients with virological response at 12 months showed virological breakthrough between 12 and 40 months versus 29.4% of patients without virological response (P=.03). In lamivudine-resistant patients, virological response at 12 months was not a predictive factor for the development of virological breakthrough. CONCLUSIONS: Adefovir dipivoxil monotherapy in lamivudine-resistant patients is associated with an increased tendency to develop virological breakthrough, which cannot be predicted by virological response at 12 months of treatment. In naive patients, an undetectable viral load at 12 months of treatment ensures the absence of virological breakthrough at 40 months of treatment.

La respuesta virológica al tratamiento con adefovir dipivoxil predice el desarrollo de resistencias a largo plazo en pacientes con hepatitis crónica B HBeAg negativo previamente no tratados / Virological response to adefovir dipivoxil predicts the long-term development of resistance in previously untreated patients with HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B

Fundamento y objetivo La monoterapia con adefovir dipivoxil en pacientes resistentes a lamivudina se asocia con mayor desarrollo de resistencias que en naive. La respuesta virológica durante el tratamiento predice el riesgo de resistencias. Los objetivos de este estudio son evaluar la eficacia del tratamiento con adefovir dipivoxil en pacientes naive y resistentes a lamivudina y valorar si la respuesta virológica predice el desarrollo de resistencias a adefovir. Pacientes y metodo Se ha incluido a 82 pacientes con hepatitis crónica B (HCB) HBeAg negativo tratados con adefovir dipivoxil. Durante el tratamiento se determinó ADNVHB por reacción en cadena de la polimerasa y en los casos de breakthrough virológico, se estudió la presencia de mutaciones asociadas a resistencia a adefovir. Resultados La respuesta virológica a los 12 y 24 meses fue del 59 y el 73% en naive y del 40 y el 67% en resistentes a lamivudina. El breakthrough virológico a los 24 meses fue del 9,5% en naive y el 20% en resistentes a lamivudina. El 4% de los naive con respuesta virológica a los 12 meses presentó breakthrough virológico entre 12 y 40 meses de tratamiento frente al 29,4% de los pacientes sin respuesta virológica (p=0,03). En resistentes a lamivudina la respuesta virológica a los 12 meses no predijo el breakthrough virológico. Conclusiones La monoterapia con adefovir dipivoxil en pacientes resistentes a lamivudina se asocia con mayor tendencia al desarrollo de breakthrough virológico no predecible por la respuesta virológica a los 12 meses de tratamiento. En pacientes naive la carga viral no detectable a los 12 meses de tratamiento predice la ausencia de breakthrough virológico hasta los 40 meses de tratamiento (AU)

Background and objective Adefovir dipivoxil monotherapy in lamivudine-resistant patients is associated with more frequent development of resistance than in naïve patients. The virological response during treatment predicts the risk of developing resistance. The aims of this study were to assess the efficacy of adefovir dipivoxil treatment in naïve and lamivudine-resistant patients and to determine whether virological response predicts the development of adefovir resistance. Patients and method This study included 82 patients with HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B (CHB) who received adefovir dipivoxil therapy. During active treatment, HBV-DNA values were determined by polymerase chain reaction; in addition, the presence of adefovir resistance-associated mutations was studied in cases of virological breakthrough. Results Virological response at 12 and 24 months was 59% and 73% in naive patients compared with 40% and 67% in lamivudine-resistant patients, whereas virological breakthrough at 24 months was 9.5% in naïve patients compared with 20% in lamivudine-resistant patients. A small percentage (4%) of patients with virological response at 12 months showed virological breakthrough between 12 and 40 months versus 29.4% of patients without virological response (P=.03). In lamivudine-resistant patients, virological response at 12 months was not a predictive factor for the development of virological breakthrough. Conclusions Adefovir dipivoxil monotherapy in lamivudine-resistant patients is associated with an increased tendency to develop virological breakthrough, which cannot be predicted by virological response at 12 months of treatment. In naive patients, an undetectable viral load at 12 months of treatment ensures the absence of virological breakthrough at 40 months of treatment (AU)

Efficient learning produces spontaneous neural repetition suppression in prefrontal cortex.

Our study focuses on the physiological effects of repetition on learning and working memory using an adaptation of Luria's Memory Word-Task (LMWT). We assess the hemodynamic response in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) of 13 healthy subjects while completing LMWT. Free word recalls were acquired at the beginning, middle and end of the task. Behavioral results showed that all subjects could recall the complete word list by the 10th trial, which was considered as successful task accomplishment. We observed an attenuation of stimulus-evoked neural activity in prefrontal neurons. Our findings show that the temporal integration of efficient verbal learning is mediated by a mechanism known as neural repetition suppression (NRS). This mechanism facilitates cortical deactivation in DLPFC once learning is successfully completed. This cortical reorganization is interpreted as a progressive optimization of neural responses to produce a more efficient use of neural circuits. NRS could be considered one of the natural mechanisms involved in the processes of memory learning.

Delta-alpha ratio correlates with level of recovery after neurorehabilitation in patients with acquired brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between three QEEG global indexes and their association with functional outcome after neurorehabilitation in non-acute acquired brain injury (ABI) patients (traumatic brain injury and stroke). METHODS: Twenty-one adult ABI patients in post-acute phase were studied. Delta-alpha ratio (DAR), Power Ratio Index (PRI) and Mean Brain Symmetry Index (mBSI) were calculated from resting-state EEG taken at admission. These indexes and other clinical variables were correlated with functional recovery achieved after six months of neurorehabilitation. RESULTS: DAR showed the highest strength of association with the functional outcome measure (rho=-0.65, P=0.002). The other QEEG indexes and clinical variables showed modest non-significant correlations. A posteriori group analysis showed higher DAR in patients with poor recovery as compared to good recovery patients. CONCLUSIONS: Functional recovery after neurorehabilitation appears to be associated with a number of clinical and neurophysiological variables. Among the latter, the ratio between delta and alpha may play a significant role in predicting and monitoring functional rehabilitation outcome. SIGNIFICANCE: Neurophysiological assessment of ABI patients may be an important tool in monitoring and predicting outcomes after neurorehabilitation.

Smoking and risk for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: analysis of the EPIC cohort.

OBJECTIVE: Cigarette smoking has been reported as "probable" risk factor for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a poorly understood disease in terms of aetiology. The extensive longitudinal data of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) were used to evaluate age-specific mortality rates from ALS and the role of cigarette smoking on the risk of dying from ALS. METHODS: A total of 517,890 healthy subjects were included, resulting in 4,591,325 person-years. ALS cases were ascertained through death certificates. Cox hazard models were built to investigate the role of smoking on the risk of ALS, using packs/years and smoking duration to study dose-response. RESULTS: A total of 118 subjects died from ALS, resulting in a crude mortality rate of 2.69 per 100,000/year. Current smokers at recruitment had an almost two-fold increased risk of dying from ALS compared to never smokers (HR = 1.89, 95% C.I. 1.14-3.14), while former smokers at the time of enrollment had a 50% increased risk (HR = 1.48, 95% C.I. 0.94-2.32). The number of years spent smoking increased the risk of ALS (p for trend = 0.002). Those who smoked more than 33 years had more than a two-fold increased risk of ALS compared with never smokers (HR = 2.16, 95% C.I. 1.33-3.53). Conversely, the number of years since quitting smoking was associated with a decreased risk of ALS compared with continuing smoking. INTERPRETATION: These results strongly support the hypothesis of a role of cigarette smoking in aetiology of ALS. We hypothesize that this could occur through lipid peroxidation via formaldehyde exposure.

Validation of the Spanish version of the Index of Spouse Abuse.

BACKGROUND: Partner violence against women is a major public health problem. Although there are currently a number of validated screening and diagnostic tools that can be used to evaluate this type of violence, such tools are not available in Spain. The aim of this study is to analyze the validity and reliability of the Spanish version of the Index of Spouse Abuse (ISA). METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 2005 in two health centers in Granada, Spain, in 390 women between 18 and 70 years old. Analyses of the factorial structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity were conducted. Cutoff points for each subscale were also defined. For the construct validity analysis, the SF-36 perceived general health dimension, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Goldberg 12-item General Health Questionnaire were included. RESULTS: The psychometric analysis shows that the instrument has good internal consistency, reproducibility, and construct validity. CONCLUSIONS: The scale is useful for the analysis of partner violence against women in both a research setting and a healthcare setting.

El Temperamento Infantil en el Ámbito de la Prevención Primaria: Relación con el Cociente de Desarrollo y su Modificabilidad / Child Temperament and Development Quotient in Early Prevention

El temperamento infantil ha mostrado utilidad predictiva sobre adaptación personal, rendimiento académico e integración social. En el marco de un Programa de Estimulación Temprana para Bebés de Riesgo, investigamos el temperamento de los participantes (N=68). Sólo a la mitad de las madres se da información y orientaciones específicas acerca del temperamento de su bebé. Hallamos que el rasgo “Nivel de Actividad” interactúa con el Cociente de Desarrollo (p=0,026). El índice de acuerdo entre juicio materno y juicio de un observador es bajo (kappa<0,30). Tras 6 meses (N=31), constatamos estabilidad de rasgos y aumento del CD en todo el grupo (p=0,022), pero el subgrupo cuyas madres recibieron información presenta un “Nivel de Actividad” más alto que el grupo control (p=0,023). El “Modelo de bondad de ajuste” de Thomas y Chess permite interpretar los resultados en clave transaccional (AU)

Child temperament has proved a useful predictor of personal fit, academic performance and social integration. A study of the temperament was made with 68 participants in an Early Stimulation Program for Babies at Risk. Half of the mothers received information and advice about their child’s temperament. The trait “Level of Activity” interacted with the Development Quotient (p=.026). The agreement between mother and an external observer was low (kappa<.30). Six months later (N=31) there was an increase of DQ (p=.022) and a stabilitization in temperament traits. Nevertheless, children whose mothers were advised showed a “Level of Activity” higher than the control group (p=.023). The results are discussed in the light of the Thomas and Chess’ Goodness of Fit model (AU)

[Characteristics of the family of origin and family formed by women and men primary care physicians of Andalusia, Spain]. / Características de la familia de origen y de la familia formada por las médicas y los médicos de familia de Andalucía.

BACKGROUND: The origin and formed family characteristics are related to physician's professional career. The purpose of this study was to know and compare by sex the characteristics of the origin family and formed family of women and men family physician in Andalusia. METHODS: Cross sectional and multicenter study. SETTING: Urban primary health care centres from Andalusian province capitals. PARTICIPANTS: Physician of primary health care centres. INCLUSION CRITERIA: at least one year using computerized medical history with the same quota patients. Multistage random sample, 88 primary health care centres and 500 physicians, 50% of both sexes (alpha=5%, power=90%, precision=15%). Postal auto administrated questionnaire. VARIABLES: sex, age, tutor of resident in family medicine, last father's activity, last mother's activity, number of brothers or sisters, family situation, last couple's activity (if any), to have or not children. RESULTS: 73.6 % responses. In no responses there weren't differences of sex neither tutor of resident in family medicine. Mean age: women physicians 49.5 +/- 4.3 and men physician 51.3 +/- 4.9 (p= or < 0.005). Postgraduate formation in family medicine: 42.2% of women and 33.3% of men (p=0.016). Live alone: 6.1% of women physician and 2.7% men physician (p=0.005). Live alone with children 9.9% of women and 2.2% of men (p=0.005). 16.5% of women and 10.2% of men don t have children (p=0.077). 21.1% of men physician s couples work only at home vs. 0.1% of women physician s couples (p= or < 0.005). 46% of women physician s couples is also physician vs. 22% of men physician s couples (p= or < 0.005). No significant differences registered in parent s activities neither in the number of brother or sisters. CONCLUSION: There are no significant differences in physician s origin family. However important differences in the characteristics of formed family are observed in both sexes.

The hemodynamics of cognitive control: the level of concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin in the superior prefrontal cortex varies as a function of performance in a modified Stroop task.

The purpose of this study was to establish the relationship between the hemodynamic response of prefrontal cortex (PFC) and individual differences in cognitive control, as measured by a color-word interference task. Twenty-five healthy volunteers were observed through functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) while performing a modified Stroop paradigm. Mean concentration levels of oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) were correlated with behavioral performance in the conflict task. Those with shorter reaction times had higher levels of oxy-Hb concentration in superior dorsolateral PFC. Our results are the first to show a positive correlation between behavioral performance and oxy-Hb levels in superior dorsolateral PFC in a cognitive conflict task. These results suggest that the availability of oxygen in the superior PFC, possibly linked to an increase in metabolism, may be related to attention level and effectiveness of cognitive control.

A QEEG index of level of functional dependence for people sustaining acquired brain injury: the Seville Independence Index (SINDI).

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: To find an easy-to-use, valid and reliable tool for evaluating the level of functional dependence of an individual with brain damage who seeks a diagnosis of his/her functional dependence in daily activities. METHODS: Eighty-one patients with acquired brain injury (ABI) in post-acute phase, 40 traumatic brain injury (TBI) and 41 cerebral vascular accident (CVA), were assessed using quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) and grouped according to the FIM + FAM scale. Discriminant analysis was performed on QEEG variables to obtain a discriminant function with the best discriminative capacity between functionality groups. RESULTS: Discriminant analysis showed classification accuracy of 100% in the training set sample and 75% in an external cross-validation sample; 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity were reached. Coherence measures were the most numerous variables in the function. CONCLUSIONS: These results point out that the discriminant function may be a useful tool in objective evaluations of patients seeking a diagnosis of their level of dependence and that it could be included in current functionality assessment protocols.

A lasting post-stimulus activation on dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is produced when processing valence and arousal in visual affective stimuli.

This paper introduces a new paradigm in the study of emotional processes through functional neuroimaging. We study whether the valence and arousal of visual stimuli influence neuroimaging of the evoked hemodynamic changes. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), we investigate evoked-cerebral blood oxygenation (CBO) changes in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) during direct exposure to different emotion-eliciting stimuli ('on' period), and during the period directly following stimulus cessation ('off' period). We hypothesize that the evoked-CBO, rather than return to baseline after stimulus cessation, would show either overshoot or undershoot. The study includes 30 healthy subjects and a total of 9 stimuli, which consist of video-clips with different emotional content. The total sample of trials studied (270) is classified according to the valence and arousal ratings given by the subjects. Results show a more robust activation in DLPFC during the 'off' period than during the 'on' period, depending on the subjective degree of arousal given to the stimulus. Our findings provide the first fNIRS evidence showing that an increment in subjective arousal leads to activation in DLPFC which persists after stimulus cessation and this does not occur with non-arousing stimuli. Neuroimaging studies must consider the duration and affective dimensions of the stimulus as well as the duration of the scanning to specify how much of the recorded response is analyzed. Not accounting for this difference may contribute to confusion in the data interpretation.

Does dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activation return to baseline when sexual stimuli cease? The role of DLPFC in visual sexual stimulation.

A fundamental question in human sexuality regards the neural substrate underlying sexually-arousing representations. Lesion and neuroimaging studies suggest that dorsolateral pre-frontal cortex (DLPFC) plays an important role in regulating the processing of visual sexual stimulation. The aim of this Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) study was to explore DLPFC structures involved in the processing of erotic and non-sexual films. fNIRS was used to image the evoked-cerebral blood oxygenation (CBO) response in 15 male and 15 female subjects. Our hypothesis is that a sexual stimulus would produce DLPFC activation during the period of direct stimulus perception ("on" period), and that this activation would continue after stimulus cessation ("off" period). A new paradigm was used to measure the relative oxygenated hemoglobin (oxyHb) concentrations in DLPFC while subjects viewed the two selected stimuli (Roman orgy and a non-sexual film clip), and also immediately following stimulus cessation. Viewing of the non-sexual stimulus produced no overshoot in DLPFC, whereas exposure to the erotic stimulus produced rapidly ascendant overshoot, which became even more pronounced following stimulus cessation. We also report on gender differences in the timing and intensity of DLPFC activation in response to a sexually explicit visual stimulus. We found evidence indicating that men experience greater and more rapid sexual arousal when exposed to erotic stimuli than do women. Our results point out that self-regulation of DLPFC activation is modulated by subjective arousal and that cognitive appraisal of the sexual stimulus (valence) plays a secondary role in this regulation.

Differential time course and intensity of PFC activation for men and women in response to emotional stimuli: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) study.

Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) we recorded prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation during positive, negative and neutral film clips, based on affective ratings according to their valence and arousal, to assess gender differences in cerebral activation in 15 male and 15 female volunteers. To record PFC activation, five movie clips were presented on a 17-in. TFT screen. The recordings included a pre-stimulus 5-s local baseline and "on" and "off" segments of data, referring to fNIRS Oxy-Hb levels while stimulation (movie clip) was present and during an inter-stimulus blank screen. Our data showed gender differences in the delay period to initial PFC activation and in the course and intensity of activation produced by affective visual stimuli. During the exposure or "on" period of the stimuli we observed more pronounced overshoot and undershoot in men versus women across the range of emotions elicited. This effect was even more pronounced following stimulus cessation ("off" period). The results indicate that gender and the duration of recordings may affect the results of emotional neuroimaging studies.