Psychometric evaluation of the computerized battery for neuropsychological evaluation of children (BENCI) among school aged children in the context of HIV in an urban Kenyan setting.

INTRODUCTION: Culturally validated neurocognitive measures for children in Low- and Middle-Income Countries are important in the timely and correct identification of neurocognitive impairments. Such measures can inform development of interventions for children exposed to additional vulnerabilities like HIV infection. The Battery for Neuropsychological Evaluation of Children (BENCI) is an openly available, computerized neuropsychological battery specifically developed to evaluate neurocognitive impairment. This study adapted the BENCI and evaluated its reliability and validity in Kenya. METHODOLOGY: The BENCI was adapted using translation and back-translation from Spanish to English. The psychometric properties were evaluated in a case-control study of 328 children (aged 6 - 14 years) living with HIV and 260 children not living with HIV in Kenya. We assessed reliability, factor structure, and measurement invariance with respect to HIV. Additionally, we examined convergent validity of the BENCI using tests from the Kilifi Toolkit. RESULTS: Internal consistencies (0.49 < α < 0.97) and test-retest reliabilities (-.34 to .81) were sufficient-to-good for most of the subtests. Convergent validity was supported by significant correlations between the BENCI's Verbal memory and Kilifi's Verbal List Learning (r = .41), the BENCI's Visual memory and Kilifi's Verbal List Learning (r = .32) and the BENCI's Planning total time test and Kilifi's Tower Test (r = -.21) and the BENCI's Abstract Reasoning test and Kilifi's Raven's Progressive Matrix (r = .21). The BENCI subtests highlighted meaningful differences between children living with HIV and those not living with HIV. After some minor adaptions, a confirmatory four-factor model consisting of flexibility, fluency, reasoning and working memory fitted well (χ2 = 135.57, DF = 51, N = 604, p < .001, RMSEA = .052, CFI = .944, TLI = .914) and was partially scalar invariant between HIV positive and negative groups. CONCLUSION: The English version of the BENCI formally translated for use in Kenya can be further adapted and integrated in clinical and research settings as a valid and reliable cognitive test battery.

Personality characteristics in specialist and generalist intimate partner violence perpetrators.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is one of the most common types of violence against women. Although personality disorders have been associated with IPV, perpetration research regarding personality according to the classification specialist/generalist IPV perpetrators is scarce. The general aim of this study was to describe personality in a large sample of IPV Spanish male perpetrators considering their classification (specialist vs. generalist). Participants were 1093 men convicted of IPV crimes whose ages ranged from 18 to 76 years old (M = 40.15; SD = 10.32). Of them, 554 men were classified as specialist perpetrators and 539 men were classified as generalist perpetrators. Participants completed questionnaires regarding sociodemographic and violence aspects as well as the Spanish version of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory III. Generalist perpetrators showed higher means in nearly all the personality disorders scales compared to specialist perpetrators. Prevalence rates in the majority of personality disorders were lower than 5%. Higher scores on the avoidant, histrionic, and self-defeating scales and lower scores on the aggressive, borderline, and drug dependence scales were related to being a specialist perpetrator. This study contributes to a better understanding of personality among generalist and specialist perpetrators.

Efficacy of computerized cognitive training and mindfulness for improving cognition and mood in older adults: better together than separately.

BACKGROUND: The risk of cognitive decline in older adults makes it necessary to design training programs for the improvement of cognition. AIMS: To determine the efficacy of applying a combined program of computerized cognitive training (CCT) and mindfulness for improving cognition and mood and quality of life in people aged 60 years and older, compared with using both interventions separately. METHODS: Adults, older than 95 years were assigned to groups that subsequently received one of the three interventions (CCT, mindfulness, and combined). Cognitive, emotional, and quality of life assessment instruments were administered pre- and post-intervention. The standardized individual change was determined, and one-factor ANOVAs and ANCOVAs were conducted to test between-group differences. RESULTS: After controlling for confounding factors, greater significant improvements were obtained in the combined group compared with the CCT and mindfulness groups in selective attention (median effect size) and abstract reasoning (large effect size). No significant differences were found in the rest of cognitive variables, mood or quality of life. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that, with the same investment of time, combining CCT and mindfulness effectively improves selective attention and abstract reasoning, in older adults. This combination of strategies might have implications for the improvement of cognitive impairment in older adults.

Efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions in cognitive function in the elderly people: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: The main objective was to determine the efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Interventions in improving the cognitive function of older adults (healthy adults or adults with mild cognitive impairment). METHODS: A search was conducted in 4 databases. The effect sizes were extracted to perform a meta-analysis of the cognitive functions, as well as subgroup meta-analyses according to each domain: attention, memory and executive function. RESULTS: The meta-analysis of cognitive functions showed an average effect size of g = .07, 95% CI [-.013; .160], p = .09, with the following values for each domain: g = .02, 95% CI [-.167; .204] for attention; g = .06, 95% CI [-.148; .262] for memory; and g = .14, 95% CI [-.042; .329] for executive function. CONCLUSION: The MBI had a null global effect. The attention and memory results showed a null effect size and a small effect size was found for executive function. The methodological quality of the studies, however, was poor, so the results need to be interpreted with caution.

Assessment of executive functions as a measure of impairments in everyday functioning in persons with HIV.

Persons with HIV can often present cognitive disorders such as those related to executive functioning, which could affect the daily life activities. The present study was designed to explore the predictive relationship between executive functions according to Miyake's model and the basic and instrumental skills of everyday functioning in a group of persons with HIV (PWH). Participants were recruited from outpatient treatment Hospital and assessed using a neuropsychological battery, a modified version of the Lawton and Brody basic and instrumental activities of daily life (ADL) scale and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The results showed a low score in the executive function and significant relationship between executive functioning and the instrumental skills of the patients, with set-shifting being one of the most powerful predictors. The processes of executive functioning, particularly set-shifting, are related to the level of functioning in the skills required for independent living in the community, but not the skills of independent living in the home. This study seems to suggest the utility of assessing executive functions as a preventive measure for the development of dependencies in normal daily instrumental skills and as the focus of interdisciplinary interventions.

Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Adaptation of the Personality Assessment Inventory in Correctional Settings: An ESEM Study.

The Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991, 2007) is among the most important personality and psychopathology assessment tools. However, its psychometric properties in the Spanish-speaking prison population have not yet been studied. We aimed to explore the factor structure of the Spanish adaptation of the PAI (Ortiz-Tallo et al., 2011) in an Ecuadorian sample of 811 convicted men using exploratory structural equation modeling, with the further objective of confirming its internal consistency. Hoelzle and Meyer (2009) identified three dimensions that are highly congruent across samples: general distress, elevated mood and dominance, and substance abuse and psychopathy. Taking these findings and the internalizing and externalizing dimensions (Ruiz & Edens, 2008) as a theoretical basis, three- and two-factor models were tested for the 22 scales and 11 clinical scales, respectively. We also tested four- and three-factor models that grouped the scales related to substance abuse as an independent factor, leaving intact the distribution presented by the remaining scales in the previous models. Although the original models showed a good fit, the 4- and 3-factor models obtained significantly better fit indexes. With respect to reliability, the Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranged from .49 to .89. This version shows acceptable psychometric properties in correctional settings.

On the relationship between head circumference, brain size, prenatal long-chain PUFA/5-methyltetrahydrofolate supplementation and cognitive abilities during childhood.

Head circumference in infants has been reported to predict brain size, total grey matter volume (GMV) and neurocognitive development. However, it is unknown whether it has predictive value on regional and subcortical brain volumes. We aimed to explore the relationship between several head circumference measurements since birth and distributions of GMV and subcortical volumes at later childhood. We examined seventy-four, Caucasian, singleton, term-born infants born to mothers randomised to receive fish oil and/or 5-methyltetrahydrofolate or placebo prenatal supplementation. We assessed head circumference at birth and at 4 and 10 years of age and cognitive abilities at 7 years of age. We obtained brain MRI at 10 years of age, on which we performed voxel-based morphometry, cortical surface extraction and subcortical segmentation. Analyses were controlled for sex, age, height, weight, family status, laterality and total intracranial volume. Prenatal supplementation did not affect head circumference at any age, cognitive abilities or total brain volumes. Head circumference at 4 years presented the highest correlation with total GMV, white matter volume and brain surface area, and was also strongly associated with GMV of frontal, temporal and occipital areas, as well as with caudate nucleus, globus pallidus, putamen and thalamus volumes. As relationships between brain volumes in childhood and several outcomes extend into adulthood, we have found that ages between 0 and 4 years as the optimal time for brain growth; postnatal factors might have the most relevant impact on structural maturation of certain cortical areas and subcortical nuclei, independent of prenatal supplementation.

Cultural effects on neurodevelopmental testing in children from six European countries: an analysis of NUTRIMENTHE Global Database.

Cultural background is an important variable influencing neuropsychological performance. Multinational projects usually involve gathering data from participants from different countries and/or different cultures. Little is known about the influence of culture on neuropsychological testing results in children and especially in European children. The objectives of this study were to compare neuropsychological performance of children from six European countries (Belgium, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland and Spain) using a comprehensive neuropsychological battery and to apply a statistical procedure to reduce the influence of country/cultural differences in neuropsychological performance. As expected, the results demonstrated differences in neuropsychological performance among children of the six countries involved. Cultural differences remained after adjusting for other confounders related to neuropsychological execution, such as sex, type of delivery, maternal age, gestational age and maternal educational level. Differences between countries disappeared and influence of culture was considerably reduced when standardised scores by country and sex were used. These results highlight the need for developing specific procedures to compare neuropsychological performance among children from different cultures to be used in multicentre studies.

Blunted autonomic responses to emotional stimuli in alcoholism: relevance of impulsivity. / Respuestas autonómicas reducidas ante estímulos emocionales en el alcoholismo: la relevancia de la impulsividad.

Alcohol dependence is associated with abnormalities in the processing of emotional signals and impulsive alcohol-seeking behaviours, and these alterations compromise the effectiveness of treatment approaches. However, there is a lack of studies linking the experience of emotions to everyday motivationally relevant stimuli in alcohol-dependent individuals using both autonomic and self-report measures. We analysed heart rate (HR), skin conductance (SC) and subjective emotional reactivity to everyday affective stimuli in alcohol-dependent individuals, and their associations with impulsivity and degree of alcohol consumption. SC and HR were continuously monitored in 28 alcohol-dependent individuals and in 31 non-alcohol healthy controls during passive viewing of pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral emotional pictures. Participants assessed the pictures for valence, arousal, and dominance and completed the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale. Alcohol-dependent individuals showed reduced HR and SC reactivity to both positive and negative emotional stimuli. In the case of SC, this blunted response was associated with impulsivity. Furthermore, alcohol-dependents displayed decoupled physiological and subjective responses, with blunted autonomic responses and normal subjective reports regarding emotional stimuli. Our findings indicate that alcohol-dependent individuals failed to use emotional autonomic feedback in response to natural, emotionally relevant stimuli, and provide initial evidence of the contribution of impulsivity to emotional processing deficits in this population. These results are in keeping with the proposed key role played by emotional experience and impulsivity in substance abuse.

La dependencia al alcohol está asociada con anormalidades en el procesamiento de las emociones y comportamientos impulsivos en la búsqueda de alcohol. Sin embargo, pocos estudios han analizado las respuestas emocionales hacia estímulos motivacionalmente relevantes en personas dependientes al alcohol usando medidas tanto autonómicas como subjetivas. En este estudio se analizó la tasa cardiaca (TC), la conductancia de la piel (CP) y las respuestas subjetivas a estímulos emocionales cotidianos en individuos dependientes al alcohol, y su asociación con la impulsividad y el consumo de alcohol. La TC y la CP fueron registradas en 28 participantes dependientes al alcohol y en 31 participantes sanos durante la visualización pasiva de imágenes emocionales placenteras, desagradables y neutras. Posteriormente, los participantes evaluaron valencia, activación y dominancia de las imágenes y completaron la Escala de Impulsividad de Barratt. Los participantes dependientes mostraron respuestas reducidas en TC y CP, tanto hacia las imágenes emocionales positivas como negativas. En el caso de la CP, estas respuestas se asociaron a la impulsividad. Los participantes dependientes al alcohol mostraron una disociación entre las respuestas fisiológicas y subjetivas, con unas respuestas autonómicas disminuidas y unas respuestas subjetivas normales. Estos resultados sugieren que los individuos dependientes al alcohol tienen problemas en utilizar el feedback fisiológico emocional al responder a estímulos emocionales relevantes, y proporcionan una evidencia inicial de la contribución de la impulsividad a los déficits de procesamiento emocional en esta población. Estos resultados son congruentes con el papel clave que juega la experiencia emocional y la impulsividad en el abuso de sustancias.

A Cross-Sectional Study on the Prevalence and Risk Correlates of Mental Disorders: The GRANADΣP Study.

This is a cross-sectional study of participants from a population census living in the province of Granada (Spain). A total of 1176 persons were contacted, 367 (31%) refused and 54 (6.7%) needed substitution. A final sample of 809 participants (response rate, 69.3%) were screened for mental disorder (MD) using the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview, a comprehensive interview validated to generate diagnoses compatible with ICD-10/DSM-4 criteria. Current (1-month) prevalence for any MD was 11.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 9.7%-13.4%; affective 8.2%, anxiety 9.6%, psychotic 2.1%, addiction 1.8%, personality disorder 3.6%). Lifetime MD prevalence was 24.6% (95% CI, 21.6-27.6; affective 14.9%, anxiety 15.5%, psychotic 3.4%, addiction 4.4%, personality disorder 3.6%). Female sex was associated with MD, but this appeared partially due to higher levels of neuroticism among women. MD also correlated significantly with cannabis use, family history of MD, higher social adversity, higher suicide risk, poorer physical health, poorer cognitive performance, and personality problems.

Neuropsychological Measures in the Arab World: A Systematic Review.

Although Arabic is one of the most widely used languages in the world, little is known on the availability of standardized neuropsychological tests in Arabic. We review the literature published before 2016, using the keywords Arab*, cogniti*, and neuropsycholo*, as well as keywords for each Arab country. PubMed, PsycINFO, Education Source, Academic Search Complete, Education Resources Information Center, Shamaa, and Arabpsynet databases were searched, in addition to a selected number of Arabic medical and educational journals. After excluding case reports, studies conducted on Arab groups residing outside the Arab world or Israel, and studies that employed intelligence scales or cognitive screens without standardization, 384 studies were eventually reviewed. Tests with most extensive use, adaptation, validation and norming were identified. The Raven Matrices, with its variants, was the most normed cognitive test for Arab individuals (normed in 16 countries). The rate of neuropsychology publications from the Arab countries combined, per year, was less than half of that of each American journal (top 10 journals pertaining to cognition). Nonetheless, the rate in Arab countries has increased after 2010. Publications were mostly from Egypt and Saudi Arabia, but the ratio of test adaptation-to-publication was the largest in Jordan and Lebanon. Approximately half of these publications did not employ cognitive tests that were developed, translated, adapted, or standardized according to international guidelines of psychological measurement. We provide recommendations on improving clinical neuropsychology to better serve Arab patients.

The impacts of maternal iron deficiency and being overweight during pregnancy on neurodevelopment of the offspring.

Both maternal Fe deficiency (ID) and being overweight or obese (Ow/Ob, BMI≥25 kg/m2) may negatively affect offspring brain development. However, the two risk factors correlate and their independent effects on infant neurodevelopment are unclear. PREOBE is a prospective observational study that included 331 pregnant Spanish women, of whom 166 had pre-gestational Ow/Ob. Fe status was analysed at 34 weeks and at delivery, and babies were assessed using Bayley III scales of neurodevelopment at 18 months. In confounder-adjusted analyses, maternal ID at 34 weeks was associated with lower composite motor scores at 18 months (mean 113·3 (sd 9·9) v. 117·1 (sd 9·2), P=0·039). Further, the offspring of mothers with ID at delivery had lower cognitive scores (114·0 (sd 9·7) v. 121·5 (sd 10·9), P=0·039) and lower receptive, expressive and composite (99·5 (sd 8·6) v. 107·6 (sd 8·3), P=0·004) language scores. The negative associations between maternal ID at delivery and Bayley scores remained even when adjusting for maternal Ow/Ob and gestational diabetes. Similarly, maternal Ow/Ob correlated with lower gross motor scores in the offspring (12·3 (sd 2·0) v. 13·0 (sd 2·1), P=0·037), a correlation that remained when adjusting for maternal ID. In conclusion, maternal ID and pre-gestational Ow/Ob are both negatively associated with Bayley scores at 18 months, but independently and on different subscales. These results should be taken into account when considering Fe supplementation for pregnant women.

A virtual reality approach to the Trier Social Stress Test: Contrasting two distinct protocols.

Virtual reality adaptations of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST-VR) constitute useful tools for studying the physiologic axes involved in the stress response. Here, we aimed to determine the most appropriate experimental approach to the TSST-VR when investigating the modulation of the axes involved in the stress response. We compared the use of goggles versus a screen projection in the TSST-VR paradigm. Forty-five healthy participants were divided into two groups: the first one (goggles condition; 13 females, 11 males) wore goggles while performing the TSST-VR; the second (screen condition; 15 females, six males) was exposed to the TSST-VR projected on a screen. Sympathetic reactivity to stress was measured by continuously recording skin conductance (SC), while the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) was evaluated by sampling salivary cortisol throughout the experiment. At the end of the task, there was an increase in SC and cortisol level for both means of delivering the TSST-VR, although the increase in SC was greater in the goggles condition, while salivary cortisol was comparable in both groups. Immersion levels were reportedly higher in the screen presentation than in the goggles group. In terms of sex differences, females experienced greater involvement and spatial presence, though comparatively less experienced realism, than their male counterparts. These findings help us determine which protocol of the TSST-VR is most suitable for the stress response under study. They also emphasize the need to consider the sex of participants, as males and females show distinct responses in each protocol.

Impulsivity in men with prescription of benzodiazepines and methadone in prison. / Impulsividad en varones con prescripción de benzodiacepinas y metadona en prisión.

Benzodiazepines and methadone use has been associated with various neuropsychological impairments. However, to the best of our knowledge, no studies have been carried out on the effect of these substances (either separately or combined) on impulsive personality, including studies in prisoners. The aim of this study is to examine the impulsive personality of a sample of 134 male prisoners using the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire (Torrubia, Avila, Molto, & Caseras, 2001) and the UPPS-P Scale (Cyders et al., 2007). Some of these were methadone users, methadone and benzodiazepines users, polydrug users in abstinence and non-dependent drug users. The results showed that drug users have greater sensitivity to reward, positive urgency, negative urgency and sensation seeking than non-dependent users. Methadone users showed more sensitivity to punishment and lack of perseverance with respect to other users. No differences were found between methadone+benzodiazepines users and other groups. The secondary aim is to examine which impulsive personality dimensions are related to the two motivational systems proposed by Gray (BIS-BAS) using exploratory factor analysis. Results showed two different components. One component was defined by the subscales sensitivity to reinforcement, positive urgency, negative urgency and sensation seeking. The second component was defined by the subscales sensitivity to punishment, lack of perseverance and lack of premeditation.

El consumo de benzodiacepinas y metadona se ha asociado a diversas alteraciones neuropsicológicas. Sin embargo, no conocemos estudios sobre el efecto de estas sustancias tanto de forma separada como de forma combinada en rasgos de personalidad impulsiva, y en menor medida  en población penitenciaria.  El objetivo principal de este estudio es examinar la impulsividad rasgo, medida con  el Cuestionario de Sensibilidad al Castigo Sensibilidad a la Recompensa (Torrubia, Avila, Moltó y Caseras, 2001), y la escala de Evaluación del Comportamiento Impulsivo UPPS-P (Cyders et al., 2007), en una muestra de 134 varones de un centro penitenciario con consumo de metadona, metadona y benzodiacepinas, abstinentes de consumo, y no dependientes del consumo de sustancias (criterios DSM-IV). Los resultados mostraron que los grupos de consumidores presentan mayor sensibilidad a la recompensa, urgencia positiva, urgencia negativa y búsqueda de sensaciones que los no consumidores; los grupos de consumo de metadona presentan mayor sensibilidad al castigo y falta de perseverancia. El grupo de  no consumidores presenta menor falta de perseverancia que el grupo de metadona y el grupo de metadona+benzodiacepinas. No se han encontrado diferencias específicamente del grupo de metadona+benzodiacepinas con el resto de los grupos. Como objetivo secundario, examinar, mediante análisis factorial exploratorio, qué dimensiones de personalidad impulsiva se relacionan con los dos sistemas motivacionales propuestos por Gray (SIC-SAC). Los resultados mostraron un componente definido por las subescalas sensibilidad al refuerzo, urgencia positiva, urgencia negativa y búsqueda de sensaciones, y un segundo definido por las subescalas sensibilidad al castigo, falta de perseverancia y falta de premeditación.

Impaired decoding of fear and disgust predicts utilitarian moral judgment in alcohol-dependent individuals.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies of moral reasoning in patients with alcohol use disorders have indicated a "utilitarian" bias, whereby patients are more likely to endorse emotionally aversive actions in favor of aggregate welfare (e.g., throwing a dying person into the sea to keep a lifeboat of survivors afloat). Here, we investigate the underlying psychological and neuropsychological processes. METHODS: Alcohol-dependent individuals (n = 31) and healthy comparison participants (n = 34) completed a validated moral judgment task, as well as measures of impulsivity, mood symptoms (anxiety and depression), and emotional face recognition. RESULTS: Alcohol-dependent individuals were more likely to endorse utilitarian choices in personal moral dilemmas compared with controls and rated these choices as less difficult to make. Hierarchical regression models showed that poorer decoding of fear and disgust significantly predicted utilitarian biases in personal moral dilemmas, over and above alcohol consumption. Impulsivity and mood symptoms did not predict moral decisions. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that impaired fear and disgust decoding contributes to utilitarian moral decision-making in alcohol-dependent individuals.

Development of working memory and inhibitory control in early childhood: Cross-sectional analysis by age intervals and gender in Ecuadorian preschoolers.

Working memory (WM) and inhibitory control (IC) play a crucial role in learning during early childhood. The literature suggests a non-linear developmental trajectory of executive functions (EFs) with varied results according to gender, usually attributed to environmental factors. However, there is insufficient and inconclusive data on whether this pattern is reproduced in the Latin American preschool population since most studies have been conducted in English-speaking, European, and Asian environments. Thus, objectively comparing children's executive performance across diverse international geographical contexts becomes challenging. This study aimed to conduct a cross-sectional analysis of the performance in WM and IC of 982 Ecuadorian preschoolers aged between 42 and 65 months (M = 53.71; SD = 5.714) and belonging to medium-high, medium, and low-medium socioeconomic strata. The participants consisted of 496 boys (M = 53.77; SD = 5.598) and 486 girls (M = 53.65; SD = 5.834), representing nine cities in Ecuador. To assess the effect of age and gender on performance in these two domains, the sample was divided into four 6-month age intervals. Two tests were administered to the participants, and a survey was conducted with 799 of their usual caregivers. Viewing the cross-sectional mean scores of the WM and IC tests as a temporal continuum reveals an upward trend in each age interval studied. Girls outperformed boys on the IC test, showing statistically significant differences in the earliest age interval. The gender differences in executive performance reported in the literature emphasize the need to explore the modulating effect of environmental variables on early childhood development. This information could offer valuable insights for adapting and optimizing cognitive and didactic strategies in early childhood tailored to the characteristics and needs of the preschool population.

Tentative Causes of Brain and Neuropsychological Alterations in Women Victims of Intimate Partner Violence.

Victims of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women (IPVAW) experience neuropsychological and cerebral changes, which have been linked to several tentative causal mechanisms, including elevated cortisol levels, psychopathological disorders, traumatic brain injury (TBI), hypoxic/ischemic brain damage, and medical conditions related to IPVAW. While these mechanisms and their effects on brain function and neuropsychological health are well-documented in other clinical populations, they manifest with unique characteristics in women affected by IPVAW. Specifically, IPVAW is chronic and repeated in nature, and mechanisms are often cumulative and may interact with other comorbid conditions. Thus, in light of existing literature on neuropsychological alterations in other populations, and recognizing the distinct features in women who experience IPVAW, we propose a new theoretical model-the Neuro-IPVAW model. This framework aims to explain the complex interplay between these mechanisms and their impact on cognitive and brain health in IPVAW victims. We anticipate that this theoretical model will be valuable for enhancing our understanding of neuropsychological and brain changes related to intimate partner violence, identifying research gaps in these mechanisms, and guiding future research directions in this area.

A Four-Country Study of Strangulation-Related Alterations in Consciousness in Women Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence: Co-Occurrence with Traumatic Brain Injuries and Measures of Psychological Distress.

At least one in three women experience intimate partner violence (IPV) in their lifetime. The most commonly sustained IPV-related brain injuries include strangulation-related alterations in consciousness (S-AICs) and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Moreover, survivors of IPV-related S-AICs and/or TBIs often demonstrate psychological distress such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress. However, the co-occurrence of S-AICs and TBIs, and whether such TBIs may be moderate to severe, has not been systematically examined, and most data have been collected from women in North America. The purpose of this study was to examine the co-occurrence of IPV-related S-AICs and TBIs across a range of geographical locations and to determine the extent to which these S-AICs are related to psychological distress. Women who had experienced physical IPV (n = 213) were included in this secondary analysis of retrospectively collected data across four countries (Canada, the United States, Spain, and Colombia). The Brain Injury Severity Assessment (BISA) was used to assess IPV-related BI across all sites. Because various questionnaires were employed to assess levels of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder at each site, we created a standardized composite score by converting raw scores into Z-scores for analysis. Mann-Whitney U tests and chi-square tests were conducted to examine differences between women with and without experience of S-AICs and to discover if there was a relationship between the occurrence of S-AICs and TBIs. Analysis of variance and analysis of covariance (to control for the potential confounding effects of age, education, and non IPV-related TBI) were used to compare levels of psychological distress in women who had or had not experienced S-AICs. Approximately, 67% of women sustained at least one IPV-related BI (i.e., TBI and/or S-AIC). In a subsample of women who sustained at least one IPV-related BI, approximately 37% sustained both S-AICs and TBIs, 2% sustained only S-AICs (with no TBIs), and 61% sustained TBIs exclusively (with no S-AICs). Furthermore, women who had sustained S-AICs (with or without a TBI) were more likely to have experienced a moderate-to-severe BI than those who had not sustained an S-AIC (BISA severity subscale: U = 3939, p = 0.006). In addition, women who experienced S-AICs (with or without a TBI) reported higher levels of psychological distress compared with women who never experienced S-AICs, irrespective of whether they occurred once or multiple times. These data underscore the importance of assessing for S-AIC in women who have experienced IPV and when present, to also assess for TBIs and the presence of psychological distress. Unfortunately, there were methodological differences across sites precluding cross-site comparisons. Nonetheless, data were collected across four culturally and geographically diverse countries and, therefore, highlight IPV-related BIs as a global issue that needs to be aggressively studied with policies established and then implemented to address findings.

Nutrition and neurodevelopment in children: focus on NUTRIMENTHE project.

There is growing evidence that early nutrition affects later cognitive performance. The idea that the diet of mothers, infants, and children could affect later mental performance has major implications for public health practice and policy development and for our understanding of human biology as well as for food product development, economic progress, and future wealth creation. To date, however, much of the evidence is from animal, retrospective studies and short-term nutritional intervention studies in humans. The positive effect of micronutrients on health, especially of pregnant women eating well to maximise their child's cognitive and behavioural outcomes, is commonly acknowledged. The current evidence of an association between gestational nutrition and brain development in healthy children is more credible for folate, n-3 fatty acids, and iron. Recent findings highlight the fact that single-nutrient supplementation is less adequate than supplementation with more complex formulae. However, the optimal content of micronutrient supplementation and whether there is a long-term impact on child's neurodevelopment needs to be investigated further. Moreover, it is also evident that future studies should take into account genetic heterogeneity when evaluating nutritional effects and also nutritional recommendations. The objective of the present review is to provide a background and update on the current knowledge linking nutrition to cognition and behaviour in children, and to show how the large collaborative European Project NUTRIMENTHE is working towards this aim.

[Differential association between the regional metabolism of the prefrontal cortex and limbic structures, and the time of abstinence in substance dependent individuals]. / Asociación diferencial entre el metabolismo regional de la corteza prefrontal y las estructuras límbicas y el tiempo de abstinencia en individuos dependientes de sustancias.

Despite the existence of numerous neuroimaging studies demonstrating significant brain functional alterations in substance users, only a few studies have tried to analyze the association between the duration of abstinence and brain metabolism within substance users. The aim of this study was to examine the association between resting-state regional brain metabolism (measured with 18F-fluordeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography (FDGPET) and duration of drug abstinence in a sample of 49 abstinent polysubstance users. PET images were pre-processed and analyzed using SPM5 and SPSS 15. After image pre-processing, the level of glucose uptake in a pre-established set of regions of interest was extracted and bivariate correlations between this and the duration of abstinence of the participants were conducted. Results showed a negative correlation between duration of abstinence and the amygdale and the hippocampus bilaterally and a positive correlation between duration of abstinence and the left inferior frontal operculum. The associations found suggest different involvement of these structures in maintaining abstinence and emphasize the need to work on stress regulation, craving and behaviour control even after significant periods of abstinence.