General Practitioners' Own Traumatic Experiences and Their Skills in Addressing Patients' Past History of Adversities: A Cross-Sectional Study in Portugal.

Addressing trauma has been found to be important for primary care patients, as it can improve their health-related outcomes. We aimed to assess how Portuguese general practitioners' (GPs) past history of traumatic events (TEs) and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) influence their clinical communication skills when addressing their patients' past history of adversities. An online survey was circulated by email to GPs' associations and through GPs' social media groups.

Clinical Communication Skills Training in Dental Medical Education: The COVID-19 Pandemic Challenge.

It is very important for healthcare professionals to have good clinical communication skills, especially dentists. Patient-centred care results in patient satisfaction, better outcomes, and less complaints from dental patients. Due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the clinical communications skills programme of the pre-graduate course in dental medicine at the University of Porto had to be transformed to an online format.

The Pathways between Cortisol-Related Regulation Genes and PTSD Psychotherapy.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) only develops after exposure to a traumatic event in some individuals. PTSD can be chronic and debilitating, and is associated with co-morbidities such as depression, substance use, and cardiometabolic disorders. One of the most important pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the development of PTSD and its subsequent maintenance is a dysfunctional hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.

Hair Cortisol as a Marker of Intergenerational Heritage of War? A Study of Veterans and Their Offspring.

Objective: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been associated with lower circulating cortisol levels in specific subgroups, which have also been found in the offspring of people with PTSD. The analysis of hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) is a recent methodology which is used to assess long-term systemic cortisol levels. We aimed to study veterans with war-related lifetime PTSD and their respective offspring with regards to HCC.

Vulnerability Factors Associated with Lifetime Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among Veterans 40 Years after War.

Vulnerability factors for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) development are still controversial. Our aim was to study the vulnerability factors for the development of war-related PTSD over a period of 40 years after exposure. A cross-sectional, observational study was carried out on 61 male traumatized war veterans, taking into consideration adverse childhood experiences (ACE), attachment orientations, number of non-war-related traumatic events, and war experiences.

Trauma-Informed Care in Primary Health Settings-Which Is Even More Needed in Times of COVID-19.

Included in the general practitioner's (GP) core competencies is the ability to adopt a person-centered approach, and the use of the biopsychosocial model in their clinical work. Traumatic events (TEs) are frequently experienced within the population and are known to dysregulate the stress response system and to be associated with psychiatric and physical disorders. GPs may feel reluctant to confront TEs for a variety of reasons, such as a lack of sufficient training in trauma-informed care or a fear of causing harm when discussing a patient's more complicated issues, among others.

Lifetime PTSD is associated with impaired emotion recognition in veterans and their offspring.

PTSD is associated with emotion dysregulation. Studies have found inconsistent impaired facial emotion recognition ability (ERA) in patients with PTSD and intergenerational transmission of PTSD has been reported, although no studies exist regarding ERA. Our objective was to characterise the facial ERA of a group of traumatised war veterans with, and without lifetime PTSD, and also of their respective adult offspring.

Intergenerational transmission of war-related trauma assessed 40 years after exposure.

Background: The intergenerational transmission of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from parent to offspring has been suggested in the literature, but this is highly controversial. We aimed to study the association between veterans' war exposure and lifetime PTSD and the psychological characteristics of their respective offspring, 40 years after war-related trauma.

Methods: Forty-four adult offspring of veterans with PTSD and 29 offspring of veterans without PTSD were included in the study, from a total of 46 veterans.

Genetics of glucocorticoid regulation and posttraumatic stress disorder--What do we know?

CASTRO-VALE, I., E.F.

Emotion Recognition Ability Test Using JACFEE Photos: A Validity/Reliability Study of a War Veterans' Sample and Their Offspring.

Emotion recognition is very important for social interaction. Several mental disorders influence facial emotion recognition. War veterans and their offspring are subject to an increased risk of developing psychopathology.

Teaching communication skills in clinical settings: comparing two applications of a comprehensive program with standardized and real patients.

Background: Communication is important for the quality of clinical practice, and programs have been implemented to improve healthcare providers' communication skills. However, the consistency of programs teaching communication skills has received little attention, and debate exists about the application of acquired skills to real patients. This study inspects whether (1) results from a communication program are replicated with different samples, and (2) results with standardized patients apply to interviews with real patients.

[Teaching doctor-patient communication - a proposal in practice].

Traditionally, doctor-patient communication was considered a matter of <> and <>, and a topic for informal learning. Recently, studies have shown the importance of communication skills in medical practice. Doctor-patient communication skills, such as knowing how to listen, how to observe, and how to inform are today considered important components of Medical Education, although they are often difficult to integrate in Medical Curricula.

Learning clinical communication skills: outcomes of a program for professional practitioners.

Objective: To assess the effects of a communication skills program on professional practitioners' performance and self-confidence in clinical interviewing.

Methods: Twenty-five health professionals took 3 months of basic communication skills followed by 3 months of advanced communication skills. An additional quarter dealt with self-awareness and communication in special situations.

Neonatal exposure to cocaine: altered dopamine levels in the amygdala and behavioral outcomes in the developing rat.

The amygdala is a brain region that is known to be implicated in the development of behavioral sensitization to cocaine. This area is often related to conditioned associations, stress responses, and anxiety; and these behaviors are usually posited to be due to altered dopamine levels. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of neonatal exposure to cocaine on the levels of neurotransmitters in the amygdala of developing rats and to relate these levels with open-field observations, mainly rearing behavior, that is regarded to reflect emotional components.