Avicenna Journal of Neuro Psycho Physiology
Volume:8 Issue: 3, Aug 2021

This study aimed to examine the brain signals of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and use a method according to the concept of complementary opposites to obtain the prominent features or a pattern of EEG signal that represents the biological characteristic of such children. In this study, 20 children with the mean±SD age of 8±5 years were divided into two groups of normal control (NC) and ASD. The diagnosis and approval of individuals in both groups were conducted by two experts in the field of pediatric psychiatry and neurology. The recording protocol was designed with the most accuracy; therefore, the brain signals were recorded with the least noise in the awake state of the individuals in both groups. Moreover, the recording was conducted in three stages from two channels (C3-C4) of EEG ( referred to as the central part of the brain) which were symmetrical in function. In this study, the Mandala method was adopted based on the concept of complementary opposites to investigate the features extracted from Mandala pattern topology and obtain new features and pseudo-patterns for the screening and early diagnosis of ASD. The optimal feature here was based on different stages of processing and statistical analysis of Pattern Detection Capability (PDC). The PDC is a biomarker derived from the Mandala pattern for differentiating the NC from ASD groups.

The Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT) is one of the tools used to assess personality. Personality assessment helps to make decisions, diagnose, and choose the right treatments. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the standardization of some psychometric properties of the WUSCT among Iranian students.

The statistical population of this descriptive survey study included 287 medical students who were studying in Tehran, Iran, in the academic year 2015. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and inter-rater agreement were used to assess the reliability; moreover, the convergent validity was utilized to evaluate the construct validity of the WUSCT. The obtained data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 21).

The results of the present study indicated that the acceptable internal consistency of the WUSCT  (P<0.001). Furthermore, the test re-test reliability of the WUSCT was determined at 0.86 (P<0.001). The correlation between the total scores of the two examiners was obtained at 0.88 (P <0.001).  Moreover, the results of the convergent validity indicated the strongest correlation between ego development and ego strength (P<0.001).

The results of the present study indicated that the WUSCT had the appropriate and acceptable validity and reliability in Iranian society. Accordingly, this test can be an appropriate tool for measuring personality.

Mindfulness-based interventions can focus on the present to free people from unpleasant events of the past and worries about the future, thereby reducing their involvement in high-risk behaviors.

The present study aimed to assess the effectiveness of mindfulness and emotion regulation training in the reduction of emotion dysregulation in externalization symptoms in adolescents with a tendency for high-risk Behaviors.

This experimental study was conducted on 74 at-risk high school adolescents in the 15th district of Tehran in 2019. They were randomly assigned to three groups of mindfulness, emotion regulation, and control groups. With a pre-test and post-test control group design, subjects in the intervention groups underwent sessions of mindfulness and emotion regulation training, while the control group did not receive any intervention. All groups were evaluated in pre-test and post-test using Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 18) using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) test.

Based on the results,  there were no significant mean differences among groups in the pretest. Nonetheless, the scores of externalization syndrome in the subscale of lawless behavior (2η=0.19; P<0.01; F=6.31 (53.2)) and aggressive behavior (18/18 0=2nd; P<0.01; F=5.68 (53.2) significantly reduced in two groups of mindfulness and emotion regulation, compared to those obtained in the control group.

Mindfulness-based group training and emotion regulation could be regarded as useful interventions for at-risk adolescents by emotion regulation and reduction of the possibility of risky behaviors.

Visual information acquired through observation plays a pivotal role in learning a movement pattern and motor control.

This study aimed to analyze the effect of visual deprivation on learning in rats.

The study sample consisted of 12 male rats, divided into three groups. Group I consisted of four rats and was considered the control group. Transection of the two optic nerves was performed on rats of group II on the seventh day after birth and group III on the seventh week after birth to develop the early blind and late blind models, respectively. A T-shaped maze device was utilized to evaluate the learning behavior of rats. Rats of groups II and III were blinded by the optic nerve surgery. In total, 20 trials per day were conducted for nine consecutive days, in which the time and number of correct arm entries were recorded. The ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests were employed to analyze the results in SPSS software (version 16.0). A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

There was a significant difference between the three groups regarding the number of correct arm entries on days one, three, and seven (P<0.05). There was also a significant difference between the three groups regarding how long it took them to enter the target box on days two and three (P<0.05). Group III had a lower number of entries to the target box and it took them a significantly longer time to enter the target box, compared to the other groups.

According to the results, visual deprivation may affect the learning of rats during the early days; however, their learning levels increased over the following days. Moreover, the early blinded rats had a higher level of learning than the lately blinded adult rats and the same level of learning as that of the sighted adult rats.

Academic well-being is a great matter of concern for the researchers interested in the quality of life. The present study aimed to assess and develop an effective model of influential factors on studentschr('39') academic well-being.

This descriptive correlational study was conducted using structural equation modeling. The statistical population of this study included all 22,907students of the Islamic Azad University of Kerman during the 2018-19 educational year. Out of this population, 400 subjects were selected using stratified random sampling. A researcher-made questionnaire and educational well-being questionnaire (Tuominen-Soini et al.) were used to assess the influential factors on academic well-being. Data analysis was performed in SPSS software (version 23) and Amos software (version 20) using statistics methods, such as mean, standard deviation, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, multivariate regression, and modeling structural equations.

The data obtained from structural equation modeling indicated that the extracted conceptual model had acceptable fitness and mentioned variables described influential factors on academic well-being.

As evidenced by the obtained results, it can be concluded that stress, personality, achievement goal orientation, emotional achievements, psychological capitals, internal emotions, self-esteem, environmental supports, class management, and academic achievement were significant predictors of academic well-being.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on food craving, attention bias to food, and cognitive flexibility in people with an eating disorder.

This is a pilot study with pre-test and post-test design and a control group. The study population consisted of 40 persons with an eating disorder who were purposefully selected using Binge Eating Scale, General Health Questionnaire, and clinical interview based on DSM-5 criteria. The participants were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. A pre-test was performed using a craving questionnaire, cognitive flexibility questionnaire, and food bias assessment tool based on the dot-prob paradigm. The intervention consisted of 10 sessions of two milliampere tDCS in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) area. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS software (version 23) through multivariate analysis of covariance.

Based on the obtained results, tDCS treatment had a significant effect on food bias, cognitive flexibility, and food craving in people with overeating disorder (P≤0.05). Moreover, the results remained stable at the 45-day follow-up after the posttest.

Based on the results, the tDCS method along with other major therapeutic and psychological interventions can be effective in binge eating disorder. Therefore, the tDCS method can be promising and helpful as a suitable treatment modality with few side effects along with other major therapeutic interventions for patients with binge eating disorders.

Extramarital affairs or marital infidelity can be considered one of the most complex and traumatic emotional problems between couples.

This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of emotion-focused couple therapy in burnout, marital forgiveness, and communication styles of couples affected by extramarital relationships.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted based on an applied research method and pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population included all people referred to counseling centers in Sari, Iran, with extramarital affairs between April and June 2020. The study sample consisted of 30 individuals selected by convenient sampling method and randomly divided into an experimental (emotion-focused couple therapy; n=15) and a control group (n=15). The data were collected using the Couple Burnout Measure (CBM), Forgiveness Questionnaire, and Communication Styles Questionnaire. Subsequently, the obtained data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 22) through univariate analysis of covariance.

The findings showed that emotion-focused couple therapy had a statistically significant effect on the subjects regarding the Mutual Constructive Communication (F=7.64; P<0.001), Expectant Male/Female Sidetaker (F=74.18; P<0.001), Expectant Female/Male Sidetaker (F=47.11; P<0.001), Mutual Avoidance Communication (F=59.97; P<0.001), Forgiveness (F=80.15; P<0.001) and Marital Boredom (F=347.92; P<0.001).

It can be concluded that emotion-focused couple therapy was effective in burnout, marital forgiveness, and communication styles of couples affected by extramarital relationships.

Multimorbidity is one of the important problems in health that can lead to cognitive decline. There is notable literature revealing that multimorbidity and cognitive ability are associated with social health and social-related activity. In this regard, this study aimed to investigate the role of social health in the relationship between multimorbidity and cognitive decline.

This descriptive-correlational study was conducted on all elderly people aged 70 years and above referring to the outpatient clinics of hospitals in Tehran, Iran, within July-September 2019. The volunteer samples (n=270) were selected from three randomly selected hospitals, namely Imam Khomeini, Sina, and Shariati, using the availability sampling method. The instruments of the study included questionnaires, namely a social-demographic form, the Chronic Diseases Checklist, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) Test, and Social Health Questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 22) using linear regression.

The results showed that MoCA (cognitive decline) had a significant relationship with multimorbidity (β=0.58, 95% CI: 0.62-0.54, P<0.001) and social health (β=-0.21, 95% CI: -0.26. -0.16, P<0.001). Moreover, the findings indicated that social health was a mediator variable between multimorbidity and cognitive decline (β=0.12, 95% CI: 0.09-0.14, P<0.001), in which the amplification of social health would modulate the negative effect of multimorbidity on cognition ability.

According to the results of the present study, social health was a moderating variable in the relationship between multimorbidity and cognitive decline. In the other words, social health was a protective factor against a particular risk factor, such as multimorbidity, in protecting cognitive abilities.

Nausea and vomiting are two of the most common complications after spinal anesthesia that may be affected by anxiety in the patient. It may cause patient dissatisfaction, delay post-anesthetic care unit (PACU) discharge, prolong hospital stay, and increase the cost of hospitalization as a result. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effect of preoperative and intraoperative anxiety on vomiting and nausea caused by spinal anesthesia in cesarean.

This cross-sectional study was carried out using the purposive sampling method on100 patients who were referred to Fatemieh Hospital of Hamedan, Iran, in 2016. Spielberger questionnaire and Visual Analogue Scale were used to assess preoperative and intraoperative anxiety, respectively. Nausea and vomiting were assessed during the intraoperative period and in the recovery room. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version18) through Chi-square and independent sample t-test.

The results showed that there were no significant differences between patients with and without vomiting in terms of preoperative state, trait anxiety, and intraoperative anxiety level. However, significant differences were observed between patients with and without nausea in terms of preoperative trait anxiety (P≤0.05).

 Based on the obtained results, nausea in patients can be influenced by their anxiety. Therefore, attention to the anxiety in patients and reduction of this anxiety can reduce nausea in these patients.