Background: Problematic social media (SM) use is a growing concern, particularly among adolescents who are drawn to these platforms for social interactions important to their age group. SM dependence is characterized by excessive, uncontrolled usage that impairs personal, social, and professional aspects. Despite the ongoing debate over recognizing SM addiction as a distinct diagnostic category, the impact of social feedback, particularly through the "like" button, on brain activity remains under scrutiny.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA new model of reserve, the Sensory, Emotional, and Cognitive Reserve (SEC) model, has been recently proposed, but so far this model has not been operationalized in instruments to evaluate the different domains of the reserve. This study introduces the SEC reserve inventory (SECri) along with preliminary data obtained from a study involving 57 adults, aged 35 and older. The SECri assesses the SEC domains using specific proxies: (a) sensory reserve (SR) through sensory acuity and sensory perception proxies; (b) emotional reserve (ER) through life events, resilience, and emotional regulation proxies; and (c) cognitive reserve (CR) through education, occupation, socioeconomic status, bilingualism, leisure activities, and personality traits proxies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIdentification of specific patterns of brain activity related to problem gambling may provide a deeper understanding of its underlying mechanisms, highlighting the importance of neurophysiological studies to better understand development and persistence of gambling behavior. The patterns of cognitive functioning have been investigated through electroencephalography (EEG) studies based on the near-win/near-miss (NW) effect. The main goal of the present study was to evaluate the neurophysiological basis of NWs and their modulation by gambling problems through a systematic review of event-related potentials (ERP) studies elicited by feedback events.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEven though gaming and gambling bear similar problematic behavioral aspects, there are no recognizable neurophysiological biomarkers or features characterizing and/or distinguishing these conditions. A systematic review of the literature with a focus on methods was performed in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science (Web of Science Core Collection), EBSCOhost Research Databases (APA PsycINFO; APA PsycArticles; OpenDissertations; ERIC) databases. Following search terms were used to search the databases: ERP, "event related potential*", EP, "evoked potential*", SS, "steady state", EEG, electroencephal*; gam*.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Image and Performance-Enhancing Drugs (IPEDs) can enhance mental and physical capabilities and impact one's overall health. Initially confined in sport environments, IPEDs use has become increasingly widespread in a high-performing society. The present study was aimed at profiling IPEDs use during the COVID-19 lockdown among an international sample of young adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe evaluation of Activities of Daily Living (ADL) has become a critical issue in neuropsychology, but existing instruments for evaluating ADL have some limitations. This work aims to propose a new instrument to evaluate ADL, the ADL Inventory (ADLI), for which we present preliminary data. The ADLI was developed based on a comprehensive model of the stages of test development and following a combined framework of the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health and the American Occupational Therapy Association models.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAppl Neuropsychol Adult
April 2024
Background: The concept of ecological validity (EV) in neuropsychological interventions (NI) has been consistently advocated, but there is a lack of reviews focused on how EV is operationalized in NI programmes. This review aims to address this gap by exploring the outcome measures more commonly used for assessing EV and to understand the main characteristics of programmes with good EV.
Method: A literature search was conducted to identify studies that examined the EV of NI programmes, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and the Cochrane Collaboration Guidelines.
The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has revolutionized the provision of health services, often referred to as eHealth, benefiting community pharmacies that can offer new services in innovative formats, namely through telepharmacy. This study aimed to explore the perceptions of pharmacy professionals (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHealthcare workers are a susceptible population to be psychologically affected during health crises, such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Resilience has been pointed out in the literature as a possible protective factor against psychological distress in crisis situations. This can be influenced by internal and external factors, such as individual characteristics and organizational factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe increased consumption of a variety of herbs/supplements has been raising serious health concerns. Owing to an inadequate understanding of herb/supplement-drug interactions, the simultaneous consumption of these products may result in deleterious effects and, in extreme cases, even fatal outcomes. This systematic review is aimed at understanding the knowledge and beliefs about the consumption of herbs/supplements and herb/drug-supplement interactions (HDIs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecently, there has been a growing interest in operationalizing and measuring cognitive reserve (CR) for clinical and research purposes. This umbrella review aims to summarize the existing systematic and meta-analytic reviews about measures of CR. A literature search was conducted following the (PRISMA) and the guidelines of Aromataris et al.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe literature on neuropsychological intervention (NI) uses a variety of terms to refer to equivalent constructs, making it difficult to compare intervention programmes and their outcomes. The purpose of this work is to propose a unified terminological framework for describing NI programmes. The terminological framework was developed based on a previous proposal for common terminology by Johnstone and Stonnington (Rehabilitation of neuropsychological disorders: A practical guide for rehabilitation professionals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: The main objectives of this study are to identify the dimensions of Ecological Validity (EV) within the definitions of this concept, understand how they are operationalized in neurocognitive tests, and propose a checklist for EV attributes in neurocognitive tests.
Method: A systematized review was combined with content analysis of the selected papers, using the inductive method. We analyzed 82 studies on the EV of neurocognitive tests, 19 literature reviews and 63 empirical studies.
This cross-sectional study aimed to explore specific online behaviours and their association with a range of underlying psychological and other behavioural factors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eight countries (Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Lithuania, Portugal, Japan, Hungary, and Brazil) participated in an international investigation involving 2223 participants ( = 33 years old; = 11), 70% of whom were females. Participants were surveyed for specific type of Internet use severity, appearance anxiety, self-compassion, and image and use of performance-enhancing drugs (IPEDs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite the use of digital communication technologies in neurocognitive rehabilitation has been widely used in face-to-face interventions, the difficulties of using ICT-based tools to provide rehabilitation services and the unfamiliarity of the neuropsychologists with internet interventions limited the use of these kinds of interventions in their clinical practices. The lockdown and mitigating measures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, on the other hand, forced the use of at-distance and online interventions as a means to mitigate the impact of those measures on the mental health and rehabilitation processes of people with neurological disorders. Overall, little is known about the perspectives of patients with acquired neurological conditions about rehabilitation services delivered at distance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRehabilitation can be a challenging process for both patients and health care professionals [...
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The main purpose of this manuscript is to critically review the Multisensory Integration (MI) training programs applied to older adults, their characteristics, target sensory systems, efficacy, assessment methods, and results. We also intend to propose an integrated framework to support combined interventions of neurocognitive and sensory training.
Areas Covered: A critical review was conducted covering the most relevant literature on the MI training programs applied to older adults.
With the global COVID-19 pandemic, governments from many countries in the world implemented various restrictions to prevent the SARS-Cov-2 virus's spread, including social distancing measures, quarantine, in-home lockdown, and the closure of services and public spaces. This led to an in-creased use of social media platforms to make people feel more connected, but also to maintain physical activity while self-isolating. Concerns about physical appearance and the desire to keep or reach a muscular and toned ideal body, might have further reinforced the engagement in fitness-related social media activities, like sharing progresses in training achievements or following more fitness contents on popular profiles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhysical distancing under the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had a significant impact on lifestyles, including exercise routines. In this study, we examined the relationship between mental health and addictive behaviors, such as excessive exercise and the use of image and performance enhancing drugs (IPEDs) across 12 sport disciplines. A large cross-sectional sample of the adult population ( = 2,295) was surveyed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study aimed to examine the patterns of associations between empathy and coping among undergraduate men and women studying at Allied Health Sciences. This cross-sectional study is part of a larger longitudinal study conducted in an Allied Health Sciences School. Participants were 183 undergraduate students from 12 training programs (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF: Age-related changes in sensory functioning impact the activities of daily living and interact with cognitive decline. Given the interactions between sensory and cognitive functioning, combining multisensory integration (MI) assessment with the neuropsychological assessment of older adults seems promising. This review aims to examine the characteristics and utility of MI tasks in functional and cognitive assessment of older adults, with or without neurocognitive impairment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLittle is known about the impact of restrictive measures during the COVID-19 pandemic on self-image and engagement in exercise and other coping strategies alongside the use of image and performance-enhancing drugs (IPEDs) to boost performance and appearance. To assess the role of anxiety about appearance and self-compassion on the practice of physical exercise and use of IPEDs during lockdown. An international online questionnaire was carried out using the Exercise Addiction Inventory (EAI), the Appearance Anxiety Inventory (AAI), and the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) in addition to questions on the use of IPEDs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of the present study was to calculate the construct validity, internal consistency and normative data of the Phonological Verbal Fluency Test (letters F, A, S, and M), Semantic Verbal Fluency Test (Animals, Fruits and Professions categories), and Boston Naming Test (short and standard version), and to generate normative data for these tests after adjusting for age, education, and sex. A sample of 293 European Portuguese adults participated in the study. Results showed adequate construct validity and internal consistency for all of the tests and the final multiple regression models found that age and education were significantly associated with P-VFT (letters F, A, S, and M), S-VFT (Animals, Fruits and Professions categories), and BNT performance.
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