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Frontiers in Psychiatry 2024Neurological disorders are one of the leading causes of disability globally. Studies emphasise that the course and effectiveness of rehabilitation interventions may be...
Neurological disorders are one of the leading causes of disability globally. Studies emphasise that the course and effectiveness of rehabilitation interventions may be influenced by emotional factors. The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in patients with neurological disorders and examine whether depression and tendency to respond with anxiety are predictors of disability in these patients. The study included 229 individuals with neurological disorders aged over 55. Our findings show that stroke patients are more likely to experience depressive symptoms and are more likely to display trait anxiety as compared with patients with other neurological disorders. Advanced age, female sex, low level of education and the presence of trait anxiety are associated with a higher severity of depressive symptoms. Stroke survivors have significantly poorer ECOG performance scores and are more likely to be incapable for work. Both depression and trait anxiety are significant predictors of neurological patients' performance status, and the presence of depressive symptoms is a determinant of these patients' level of satisfaction with life. An understanding of psychological risk factors for poorer performance status in individuals with neurological disorders will make it possible to plan prophylactic interventions in order to minimise negative health impacts and facilitate access to mental health facilities.
PubMed: 38832331
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1412747 -
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience 2024Investigate the impact of combined computerized cognitive training and occupational therapy on individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
OBJECTIVE
Investigate the impact of combined computerized cognitive training and occupational therapy on individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
METHODS
We randomly assigned 118 MCI patients into two groups: a combined intervention group ( = 37) and a control group ( = 81), the latter receiving standard nursing care. The intervention group additionally underwent 12 weeks of computerized cognitive training and occupational therapy. Blind assessors evaluated cognitive performance, anxiety, depression, and daily living activities before the intervention, post-intervention, and at a 3-month follow-up.
RESULTS
Repeated-measures analysis of variance showed that the sMoCA scores, HAMA scores, and ADL scores of the experimental group at T2 (post-intervention) and T3 (3-month follow-up) were higher than those of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant ( < 0.001, < 0.001, = 0.026).
CONCLUSION
Computerized cognitive training combined with occupational therapy can improve patients' cognitive status, enhance their compliance with continuing care, and maintain their anxiety and self-care ability at a stable level.
CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION
https://www.chictr.org.cn/index.html, identifier ChiCTR2200065014.
PubMed: 38832072
DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2024.1384318 -
Frontiers in Psychiatry 2024Methamphetamine is currently one of the most commonly used addictive substances with strong addiction and a high relapse rate. This systematic review aims to examine the...
INTRODUCTION
Methamphetamine is currently one of the most commonly used addictive substances with strong addiction and a high relapse rate. This systematic review aims to examine the effectiveness of physical activity in improving negative emotions, cognitive impairment, and drug craving in people with methamphetamine use disorder (MUD).
METHODS
A total of 17 studies out of 133 found from Embase and PubMed were identified, reporting results from 1836 participants from MUD populations. Original research using clearly described physical activity as interventions and reporting quantifiable outcomes of negative mood, cognitive function and drug craving level in people with MUD were eligible for inclusion. We included prospective studies, randomized controlled trials, or intervention studies, focusing on the neurological effects of physical activity on MUD.
RESULTS
Taken together, the available clinical evidence showed that physical activity-based interventions may be effective in managing MUD-related withdrawal symptoms.
DISCUSSION
Physical exercise may improve drug rehabilitation efficiency by improving negative emotions, cognitive behaviors, and drug cravings.
SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION
https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD42024530359.
PubMed: 38827441
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1402533 -
Acta Psychologica Jul 2024Previous studies have shown that children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)/Dyspraxia have poorer maths performance compared to their neurotypical (NT)...
Previous studies have shown that children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)/Dyspraxia have poorer maths performance compared to their neurotypical (NT) counterparts. However, no studies have explored the cognitive and emotional factors affecting the maths performance of adults with DCD. This study, therefore, investigated the role of working memory (WM), maths anxiety (MAS), and maths self-efficacy on the maths performance of adults with DCD. We found that adults with DCD had lower WM and maths performance and were more maths anxious than their NT peers. However, there were no significant differences in maths self-efficacy. When looking at the predictors of maths performance, we found a positive relationship between WM resources and the DCD maths performance, possibly indicating that they relied more on WM resources to perform simple mental arithmetic tasks than NTs. On the other hand, MAS had an inverse relationship with the NT maths performance but not with the DCD performance. The reasons and implications of these findings will be discussed.
Topics: Humans; Memory, Short-Term; Male; Female; Adult; Anxiety; Motor Skills Disorders; Mathematics; Self Efficacy; Young Adult
PubMed: 38824783
DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104292 -
PloS One 2024The control-value theory (CVT) of achievement emotions posits that achievement emotions are significantly associated with the key indicators of academic outcomes,...
The control-value theory (CVT) of achievement emotions posits that achievement emotions are significantly associated with the key indicators of academic outcomes, including academic motivation, engagement, and performance. Existing studies have tested the theoretical hypothesis of the CVT in a variety of cultures, disciplines, and samples. However, evidence is limited for whether there are gender and grade differences in achievement emotions, especially in the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). 1,460 Chinese secondary school students (male N = 671; female N = 789; seventh-graders N = 731; eighth-graders N = 729) took part in the study. Confirmatory factor analyses and multi-group analyses were conducted to explore the possible gender and grade differences in EFL-related achievement emotions. Results indicated that there are gender or grade differences in EFL-related enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom, while hope and pride did not. Both limitations and implications are discussed.
Topics: Humans; Female; Male; Adolescent; Emotions; Students; China; Sex Factors; Academic Success; Language; Child; Learning; Achievement; Motivation; East Asian People
PubMed: 38820466
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303965 -
PloS One 2024The current study aimed to investigate the impact of oxytocin on emotion recognition, trust, body image, affect, and anxiety and whether eating disorder (ED) symptoms... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
OBJECTIVES
The current study aimed to investigate the impact of oxytocin on emotion recognition, trust, body image, affect, and anxiety and whether eating disorder (ED) symptoms moderated any of these relationships.
METHOD
Participants (n = 149) were female university students, who were randomly allocated to receive in a double-blind nature, a single dose of oxytocin intranasal spray (n = 76) or a placebo (saline) intranasal spray (n = 73). Participants were asked to complete an experimental measure of emotion recognition and an investor task aimed to assess trust.
RESULTS
The oxytocin group exhibited better overall performance on the emotion recognition task (especially with recognising positive emotions), and a decline in state positive affect than the control group at post-intervention. However, these effects were not moderated by ED symptom severity, nor were effects found for state anxiety, negative affect, body image and recognising negative emotions in the emotion recognition task.
CONCLUSION
The current findings contribute to the growing literature on oxytocin, emotion recognition and positive affect and suggest that ED pathology does not moderate these relationships. Future research would benefit from examining the efficacy of an oxytocin intervention using a within-subjects, cross-over design, in those with sub-clinical and clinical EDs, as well as healthy controls.
Topics: Humans; Oxytocin; Female; Emotions; Young Adult; Trust; Adult; Double-Blind Method; Feeding and Eating Disorders; Administration, Intranasal; Adolescent; Anxiety; Body Image; Recognition, Psychology
PubMed: 38820421
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303824 -
PloS One 2024Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) can be prevented by early detection and treatment of intracranial aneurysms in high-risk individuals. We investigated whether... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) can be prevented by early detection and treatment of intracranial aneurysms in high-risk individuals. We investigated whether individuals at high risk of aSAH in the general population can be identified by developing an aSAH prediction model with electronic health records (EHR) data. To assess the aSAH model's relative performance, we additionally developed prediction models for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and compared the discriminative performance of the models. We included individuals aged ≥35 years without history of stroke from a Dutch routine care database (years 2007-2020) and defined outcomes aSAH, AIS and ICH using International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes. Potential predictors included sociodemographic data, diagnoses, medications, and blood measurements. We cross-validated a Cox proportional hazards model with an elastic net penalty on derivation cohorts and reported the c-statistic and 10-year calibration on validation cohorts. We examined 1,040,855 individuals (mean age 54.6 years, 50.9% women) for a total of 10,173,170 person-years (median 11 years). 17,465 stroke events occurred during follow-up: 723 aSAH, 14,659 AIS, and 2,083 ICH. The aSAH model's c-statistic was 0.61 (95%CI 0.57-0.65), which was lower than the c-statistic of the AIS (0.77, 95%CI 0.77-0.78) and ICH models (0.77, 95%CI 0.75-0.78). All models were well-calibrated. The aSAH model identified 19 predictors, of which the 10 strongest included age, female sex, population density, socioeconomic status, oral contraceptive use, gastroenterological complaints, obstructive airway medication, epilepsy, childbirth complications, and smoking. Discriminative performance of the aSAH prediction model was moderate, while it was good for the AIS and ICH models. We conclude that it is currently not feasible to accurately identify individuals at increased risk for aSAH using EHR data.
Topics: Humans; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage; Female; Male; Middle Aged; Adult; Aged; Risk Factors; Stroke; Electronic Health Records; Netherlands; Proportional Hazards Models; Intracranial Aneurysm; Databases, Factual; Ischemic Stroke
PubMed: 38820263
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303868 -
American Journal of Health Promotion :... May 2024To examine the relative importance of social cognitive predictors (ie, performance accomplishment, vicarious learning, verbal persuasion, affective state) on health...
PURPOSE
To examine the relative importance of social cognitive predictors (ie, performance accomplishment, vicarious learning, verbal persuasion, affective state) on health promotion self-efficacy among older adults during COVID-19.
DESIGN
Cross-sectional.
SETTING
Data collected online from participants in British Columbia (BC), Canada.
SUBJECTS
Seventy-five adults (n = 75) aged ≥65 years.
MEASURES
Health promotion self-efficacy was measured using the Self-Rated Abilities for Health Practices Scale. Performance accomplishment was assessed using the health directed behavior subscale of the Health Education Impact Questionnaire; vicarious learning was measured using the positive social interaction subscale of the Medical Outcomes Survey - Social Support Scale (MOS-SSS); verbal persuasion was assessed using the informational support subscale from the MOS-SSS; and affective state was assessed using the depression subscale from the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21).
ANALYSIS
Multiple linear regression was used to investigate the relative importance of each social cognitive predictor on self-efficacy, after controlling for age.
RESULTS
Our analyses revealed statistically significant associations between self-efficacy and performance accomplishment (health-directed behavior; β = .20), verbal persuasion (informational support; β = .41), and affective state (depressive symptoms; β = -.44) at < .05. Vicarious learning (β = -.15) did not significantly predict self-efficacy. The model was statistically significant ( < .001) explaining 43% of the self-efficacy variance.
CONCLUSION
Performance accomplishment experiences, verbal persuasion strategies, and affective states may be the target of interventions to modify health promotion self-efficacy among older adults, in environments that require physical and social distancing.
PubMed: 38816954
DOI: 10.1177/08901171241256703 -
Italian Journal of Pediatrics May 2024The aim of the study was to explore the clinical significance of school refusal behavior, its negative impact on psychological well-being of children and adolescents and... (Review)
Review
The aim of the study was to explore the clinical significance of school refusal behavior, its negative impact on psychological well-being of children and adolescents and its relationship with the most common psychopathological conditions during childhood and adolescence (e.g. neurodevelopmental disorders, psychiatric disorders). School refusal behavior refers to a distressing condition experienced by children and adolescents that compromise regular school attendance and determine negative consequences on mental health and adaptive functioning. A narrative review of the literature published between January 2019 and March 2023 was conducted. Ten studies (n = 10) were included from a literature search of the electronic databases PubMed, CINAHL, PsycInfo, MedLine, and Cochrane Library. The results indicate that school refusal is highly present in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder due to the presence of behavioral problems and deficits in communication skills. As for psychiatric disorders, school refusal appears to be highly common in anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, and somatic symptoms. We also found that school refusal behavior may be associated with various emotional and behavioral conditions that act as risk factors. Especially, but are not limited to, it may be associated with a diminished self-concept, exposure to cyberbullying, specific affective profiles and excessive technology usage. Our results indicate that school refusal is a condition with many clinical facets. It can be attributed to both vulnerability factors, both temperamental and relational, and to various psychopathological conditions that differ significantly from each other, such as neurodevelopmental disorders and psychiatric disorders. Recognizing these aspects can improve the implementation of patient-tailored therapeutic interventions that are consequently more likely to produce effective outcomes. The therapeutic intervention should facilitate the recognition of cognitive biases regarding school as a threatening environment, while regulating negative emotions associated with school attendance. Additionally, therapeutic intervention programs linked to social skill training and problem-solving training, conducted directly within the school setting, can enhance children's abilities to cope with academic performance and social relationships, ultimately preventing school refusal.
Topics: Humans; Child; Adolescent; Schools; Mental Disorders; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Adolescent Behavior; Clinical Relevance
PubMed: 38816858
DOI: 10.1186/s13052-024-01667-0 -
Social Cognitive and Affective... Jun 2024Elevated arousal in anxiety is thought to affect attention control. To test this, we designed a visual short-term memory (VSTM) task to examine distractor suppression...
Elevated arousal in anxiety is thought to affect attention control. To test this, we designed a visual short-term memory (VSTM) task to examine distractor suppression during periods of threat and no-threat. We hypothesized that threat would impair performance when subjects had to filter out large numbers of distractors. The VSTM task required subjects to attend to one array of squares while ignoring a separate array. The number of target and distractor squares varied systematically, with high (four squares) and low (two squares) target and distractor conditions. This study comprised two separate experiments. Experiment 1 used startle responses and white noise as to directly measure threat-induced anxiety. Experiment 2 used BOLD to measure brain responses. For Experiment 1, subjects showed significantly larger startle responses during threat compared to safe period, supporting the validity of the threat manipulation. For Experiment 2, we found that accuracy was affected by threat, such that the distractor load negatively impacted accuracy only in the threat condition. We also found threat-related differences in parietal cortex activity. Overall, these findings suggest that threat affects distractor susceptibility, impairing filtering of distracting information. This effect is possibly mediated by hyperarousal of parietal cortex during threat.
Topics: Humans; Male; Female; Young Adult; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Memory, Short-Term; Attention; Reflex, Startle; Adult; Visual Perception; Brain; Photic Stimulation; Fear; Adolescent; Brain Mapping; Oxygen; Anxiety; Reaction Time
PubMed: 38809714
DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsae036