فصلنامه علوم اعصاب شفای خاتم
سال یازدهم شماره 3 (پیاپی 56، تابستان 1402)

COVID-19 had negative psychological effects. The aim of this study was to determine the profile of psychosomatic disorders and psychological problems in individuals who recovered from COVID-19 and compare it with healthy subjects.

The method of this study was an ex post facto method. The statistical population of this study included all people who recovered from COVID-19 in Mashhad in 2021. A sample of 120 participants was identified using the availability sampling method. Two questionnaires were used: General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and the Psychosomatic Complaint Scale (Takata & Sakata, 2004).

The results showed that the profile of psychosomatic disorders and psychological problems significantly differed between individuals who recovered from COVID-19 and healthy individuals. Recovered individuals from COVID-19 had more psychological problems, including depression, anxiety, and psychosomatic issues, than healthy subjects.

Psychological interventions should be considered for recovered individuals in order to decrease COVID-19-related psychological problems.

Upper limb functional disability is a common after-effect among stroke survivors. The main goal of this study was to present a visual biofeedback protocol to identify a model based on synergy patterns of the elbow muscles for motor learning and rehabilitation of stroke survivors with hemiparesis.

First, kinematic data related to the position of four joints and the surface electromyography signal of four muscles involved in the arm movement in the transverse plane were collected, preprocessed, and synchronized. In the next step, muscle synergy patterns were extracted using the Hierarchical Alternating Least Squares (HALS) method, and at the same time, kinematic data were recorded by the modified MediaPipe algorithm. Finally, a deep learning model based on the Gated Recursive Unit (GRU) was used to map between them. The model output was regarded as the visual biofeedback trajectory to conduct the exercise therapy by the patients.

The evaluations showed that the path produced by the proposed model is potentially suitable for visual biofeedback. Moreover, the artificial neural network based on GRU architecture has had the best performance in generating the visual biofeedback trajectory.

Experimental and clinical evaluations will show that participants can acceptably follow the visual trajectory generated by the model. Therefore, this mechanism can be used to improve and develop biofeedback systems to accelerate the functional rehabilitation of patients with hemiplegia caused by ischemic stroke along with other conventional rehabilitation methods.

Epilepsy can impact cognitive ability in children. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of task-oriented cognitive rehabilitation programs and computer-based cognitive rehabilitation programs on cognitive flexibility in children suffering from epilepsy.

This study was a semi-experimental study with a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The statistical population of the study included all children with epilepsy who were referred to the neurology clinic of Mofid Children's Hospital, Tehran in 2021. Using the purposeful sampling method, 45 eligible children were included in the study and were randomly divided into two experimental groups and one control group (15 people in each group). In order to collect data, the Wisconsin cards test from Grant and Berg (1948) was used.

The results showed that both task-oriented cognitive rehabilitation programs and computer-based cognitive rehabilitation programs significantly increased cognitive flexibility in children with epilepsy compared with the control group. There was no significant difference in the computer-based cognitive section on the increase of cognitive flexibility in children with epilepsy.

Task-based cognitive rehabilitation programs and computer-based cognitive rehabilitation programs can be a useful approach to increase the cognitive flexibility of children with epilepsy.

A wide range of athletes are suffering from hyperactivity/attention deficit disorder (ADHD), which has led to impairment in their executive functions, such as attention. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the video game Minecraft on the sustained visual attention of athlete students with ADHD.

Thirty students were selected randomly from 79 students with ADHD and assigned to control and experimental groups (n=15). First, sustained visual attention was evaluated with a continuous performance test. Then, the experimental group played Minecraft for 10 sessions. Each session lasted 15 minutes. The subjects of the control group did not receive any intervention. In the end, a continuous performance test was used again. One month and ten days later, a follow-up test was performed.

The findings showed that there is a significant difference between the two groups in the three stages of measurement. Using the video game Minecraft in the experimental group improved the sustained visual attention of student-athletes with ADHD, but not in the control group.

The video of Minecraft could improve the sustained visual attention of student-athletes with ADHD. This method can be used to improve attention in this group of students.

In this research, the relationship between five personality dimensions and early emotional relationships with the mediating variable of religious belief in adolescents was investigated.

The statistical population of this research included high-school teenagers in Hamedan City. Two hundred students were selected using the convenience and snowball sampling method, and the five-factor neo-personality questionnaires, religious orientation, and attitude and tendency towards premarital relationships through space virtualization were studied.

Path analysis results showed that among the five personality variables, the agreement had no direct or indirect relationship with emotional relationships. Extraversion and openness were, directly and indirectly, related to emotional relationships. Furthermore, conscientiousness and neuroticism were directly related to emotional relationships.

The results showed that the personality dimensions of extroversion and openness has a negative effect on religious belief in early emotional relationships in adolescents. In addition, the reduction of religious belief facilitates the formation of early emotional relationships in adolescents.

In the process of caring for a child with cancer, parents face problems that affect their psychological health. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy to premature bereavement, overt and hidden anxiety, and failure tolerance of mothers with children suffering from cancer.

The research method was a semi-experimental pre-test-post-test type with a control group. The statistical population of the research was all mothers with children with leukemia hospitalized in Taleghani Hospital in Gorgan City in 2022. Thirty people were selected as a sample and randomly placed in 2 experimental and control groups (15 people in each group). The experimental group was treated based on acceptance and commitment, and the control group did not receive any intervention until the end of the study. The research tools included Nishabouri's premature bereavement questionnaires, Spielberger's overt and covert anxiety questionnaires, and Harrington's failure tolerance questionnaire.

The results of data analysis showed that the treatment based on acceptance and commitment is effective on premature bereavement, overt and hidden anxiety, and failure tolerance of mothers with cancerous children.

This study indicates that the treatment based on acceptance and commitment leads to the reduction of premature mourning, and overt hidden anxiety, and increases the tolerance of failure of mothers with children suffering from cancer.

An unexpected number of people are at risk of Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, efforts to find effective preventive measures require to be intensified.

To diagnose Alzheimer's disease through EEG signals using an artificial neural network, the first step involves pre-processing the recorded raw EEG data. This pre-processing includes the application of a 0.5 to 45 Hz bandpass filter to eliminate interference from the city's electrical signals. From the pre-processed data, the feature will be extracted. These features are related to time and frequency domains. Fourier transform, wavelet, first component analysis, nonlinear features of entropy, correlation dimension, and fractal dimension are among the suggested features. The extracted features will be evaluated by analysis of variance or t-test. The features that had the ability to separate different classes and have better statistical distribution in variance analysis or t-test are selected.

According to the capabilities of the artificial neural network in identifying different patterns and categorizing information that is set during a learning process, in this research, the artificial neural network will be used to determine the nonlinear mapping between EEG signals and the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. The database was divided into two categories: training and testing. In other words, the artificial neural network with the characteristics of the recorded signals as input and sick or healthy as the output of the neural network, and finally the the output of the trained artificial neural network is the diagnosis of sick or healthy data. In the final stage, the performance of the developed neural network will be evaluated and compared.

Utilizing both EEG signals and artificial neural networks could represent a novel method for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease in its early stages.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a progressive multifactorial neurological disease. This disease can be diagnosed before the age of 3 with behavioral disorders. Repetitive and stereotyped behaviors, social interaction disorders, and verbal abnormalities are among the prominent diagnostic features of autism. ASD may be caused by disruptions in the synaptic transmission of different parts of the brain, such as the cerebellum, hippocampus, basal ganglia, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex. In an autistic person, the dynamic imbalance between reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species reduces the antioxidant defense. This can be one of the causes of synaptic disorders between neurons in different parts of the brain. The body responds to oxidative stress with its antioxidant defense system. However, reduced defense capacity or disruption of physiological processes may result in inappropriate responses of the immune system. Recent investigations revealed that the administration of natural antioxidant compounds, such as carotenoids, vitamin C, flavonoids, phenols, and selenium, could increase the antioxidant balance and improve behaviors in ASD.

Considering the significant role of oxidative stress in tissue damage and the pathophysiology of ASD, using antioxidant compounds could be a useful approach to promote synaptic plasticity in different brain regions and improve ASD symptoms.

Neurodegenerative diseases (ND) cause several disruptions in the neuronal function in the brain, resulting in cognitive disorders as well as motor neuron disabilities. Although several factors contribute to the development of these diseases, nutrients could play an important role in their pathogenesis. Nutritional deficiencies or imbalances in vitamins regulation may influence neurological metabolism and lead to abnormal functions in the brain, such as oxidative stress production, mitochondrial dysfunction, and protein accumulation (Synuclein, β amyloid plaques). This may eventually lead to ND. Water- and fat-soluble vitamins not only may prevent Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases but also have therapeutic effects on these diseases via their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. However, some studies indicate that vitamin function does not influence on prevention of ND.

Regarding to neurological protection role of water- and fat-soluble vitamins, in this review article, we have summarized the role of the neuroprotective effects of vitamins on ND.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is one of the most common tumors with high mortality and a very aggressive nature. Blood-brain barrier (BBB) limits the penetration of chemotherapy drugs into the tumor tissue. Recent studies have shown that the use of various drug nanocarriers to treat GBM can provide new and effective strategies. These nanocarriers have been successful in targeted drug delivery and mainly include carbon nanotubes, metal nanoparticles, nanoemulsions, microcapsules, polymeric micelles, dendrimers, niosomes, liposomes, and pyrosomes. The ability to accurately and directly deliver drugs to GBM cells via nanocarriers has been able to increase the effectiveness and reduce the side effects of chemotherapy drugs.

In this review article, the use of different types of drug nanocarriers is reviewed in the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme, and the future therapeutic perspectives of this method are discussed to overcome the limitations of GBM therapy.