Factors Influencing Scientific Achievements of Medical Students in the Anatomy Research Group: An Analysis From the Autonomous University of Nuevo León in Mexico.

Scientific research and student involvement are critical to the formation of physicians, yet the number of medical researchers has decreased over time. To implement corrective strategies, the variables associated with positive research attitudes and productivity among medical students must be identified. The aim of this study was to evaluate the variables associated with students interested or involved in research. A validated questionnaire was applied to the student members of an established anatomy research group in a Mexican medical school with a six-year medical program. Data were collected and analyzed. A total of 85.5% (n = 77/90) students answered the survey with most respondents being second-year medical students. The majority of respondents indicated that the important component of conducting research was a contribution to the new knowledge (45.5%) and to the scientific community (42.9%). More than half of respondents mentioned a professor or a peer as the initial motivation to become involved in research. Lack of time was the main limitation (59.7%) to research involvement. Perceived benefits were knowledge and team work skills. Of those involved, most (85.7%) wished to continue participating in research as a complement to their clinical work. Professors and student colleagues were found to play an important motivational and recruitment role for medical research. These efforts in turn have developed into long-lasting mentor-mentee relationships. Students also anticipated that early involvement in research will positively influence the likelihood of future physicians' contribution and collaboration in research.

Mexican Educators Survey on Anatomical Sciences Education and a Review of World Tendencies.

Anatomical sciences curricula have been under constant reform over the years, with many countries having to reduce course hours while trying to preserve laboratory time. In Mexico, schools have historically been autonomous and unregulated, and data regarding structure and methods are still lacking. A national survey was sent by the Mexican Society of Anatomy to 110 anatomical sciences educators. The questionnaire consisted of 50 items (open and multiple choice) for gross anatomy, microscopic anatomy, neuroanatomy, and embryology courses in medical schools across Mexico. A clinical approach was the most common course approach in all disciplines. Contact course hours and laboratory hours were higher in Mexican anatomy education compared to other countries, with the highest reported contact hours for embryology (133.4 ± 44.1) and histology (125 ± 33.2). There were similar contact hours to other countries for gross anatomy (228.5 ± 60.5). Neuroanatomy course hours (43.9 ± 13.1) were less than reported by the United States and similar to Saudi Arabia and higher than the United Kingdom. Dissection and microscopy with histological slides predominate as the most common laboratory activities. Traditional methods prevail in most of the courses in Mexico and only a few educators have implemented innovative and technological tools. Implementation of new methods, approaches, and curricular changes are needed to enhance anatomical sciences education in Mexico.

Hippocampal volume as treatment predictor in antidepressant naïve patients with major depressive disorder.

Major depression disorder (MDD) limits psychosocial functioning and quality of life. One of the biological alterations is a hippocampal volume (HV) reduction. Previous prospective neuroimaging studies present inconsistencies regarding HV reductions and clinical features and response of antidepressant treatment of the participants. To clarify the relationship between antidepressant response and the HV reported, we prospectively evaluated antidepressant-naïve subjects diagnosed with MDD for the first time. We recruited twenty-one subjects and applied the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scale. The participants underwent brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanning to measure the HV, and subsequently were treated naturalistically with first-line antidepressant medication for eight weeks. Thirteen subjects met the criteria for remission at eight weeks of treatment. The baseline right and left hippocampal volumes were larger in subjects who achieved remission (p = 0.012) and (p = 0.001), respectively. The main finding of this study is that the antidepressant naïve subjects who met the criteria for clinical remission according to the HAM-D, MADRS, and the CGI scale scores, had larger pretreatment hippocampal volumes. Our results assess the HV as a treatment outcome predictor.

Collaborative mentoring for effective medical research groups.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Research benefits professors and students, mentors and mentees, however, many Universities lack formal programs, especially in basic sciences such as anatomy. Faculty, many times, lack the time, resources, and a well-structured program. Mentoring and collaborative work, have played an important role in creating an effective environment that inspires its members into scientific production, enhances research skills, while gaining experience. The authors presented a student anatomy research group (Grupo de Investigación en Anatomía [GIA]) model that integrates faculty from basic and clinical fields through a collaborative mentoring and tightly organized structure that increases training, experience, and scientific output. The transformation stages described shows the progress, reporting the fundamental elements for integration of the model, with results presented at 16 years of experience of the group in the Anatomy department. Results evidence a steady increase in student/professor involvement, scientific publishing, presentations in meetings (national/international), and cites.

Validation of a Portable Low-Power Deep Brain Stimulation Device Through Anxiolytic Effects in a Laboratory Rat Model.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) devices deliver electrical pulses to neural tissue through an electrode. To study the mechanisms and therapeutic benefits of deep brain stimulation, murine preclinical research is necessary. However, conducting naturalistic long-term, uninterrupted animal behavioral experiments can be difficult with bench-top systems. The reduction of size, weight, power consumption, and cost of DBS devices can assist the progress of this research in animal studies. A low power, low weight, miniature DBS device is presented in this paper. This device consists of electronic hardware and software components including a low-power microcontroller, an adjustable current source, an n-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor, a coin-cell battery, electrode wires and a software program to operate the device. Evaluation of the performance of the device in terms of battery lifetime and device functionality through bench and in vivo tests was conducted. The bench test revealed that this device can deliver continuous stimulation current pulses of strength [Formula: see text], width [Formula: see text], and frequency 130 Hz for over 22 days. The in vivo tests demonstrated that chronic stimulation of the nucleus accumbens (NAc) with this device significantly increased psychomotor activity, together with a dramatic reduction in anxiety-like behavior in the elevated zero-maze test.

How Well Do We Understand the Long-Term Health Implications of Childhood Bullying?

Once dismissed as an innocuous experience of childhood, bullying is now recognized as having significant psychological effects, particularly with chronic exposure. Victims of bullying are at risk for a number of psychiatric disturbances, and growing evidence suggests that the pathophysiological effects of bullying, as with other forms of trauma and chronic stress, create additional health risks. We review the literature on the known sequelae of bullying, including psychiatric and physiological health effects, with a focus on implications for the victim. In addition, since it is now well established that early and chronic exposure to stress has a significant negative impact on health outcomes, we explore the implications of this research in relation to bullying and victimization in childhood. In particular, we examine how aspects of the stress response, via epigenetic, inflammatory, and metabolic mediators, have the capacity to compromise mental and physical health, and to increase the risk of disease. Research on the relevant mechanisms associated with bullying and on potential interventions to decrease morbidity is urgently needed.

Willingness toward organ and body donation among anatomy professors and students in Mexico.

Most anatomists agree that cadaver dissection serves as a superior teaching tool in human anatomy education. However, attitudes toward body donation vary widely between different individuals. A questionnaire was developed to determine the attitudes toward body and organ donation among those who learn the most from cadavers: medical students, medical student teaching assistants, medical students involved in research, and anatomy professors. A cross-sectional, prospective study was designed in which the questionnaire was distributed among first-year human anatomy students before undertaking cadaver dissection at the beginning of the semester, and then again after a commemoration service at the end of the course. The questionnaire items included demographic data, as well as questions designed to characterize participants' attitudes regarding body/organ donation from strangers, family members, and whether participants would consider such practices with their own bodies. Out of a total of 517 students enrolled in the Human Anatomy course in the Medical School at the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Mexico during January to June 2016, 95% responded to the first (491) and second (490) surveys. Participants' opinions on their own organ donation was similar before and after exposure to cadaver dissection, with between 87% and 81% in favor of such practices, and only 3% against it, in both surveys. Participants' willingness to donate their own bodies, as well as those of family members, increased, while reluctance regarding such practices decreased by half (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.05). Professors had the highest rates of positive opinions regarding their own body donation (74.9%), with 18.8% undecided. Low opposition toward organ and body donation remains prevalent among both anatomists and physicians in training in Mexico. Anat Sci Educ 10: 589-597. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.