Predictors of Student Engagement in Learning Communities.

Introduction: Little is known about what factors predict student engagement in learning communities (LCs). At our institution, we recently converted from an informal, unfunded program with volunteer mentors and no participation requirement to a formal, funded program with a structured curriculum, dedicated mentors, and required attendance. We sought to identify factors that predict student engagement in this new program.

Perceived Benefits of a Peer Mentoring Program for First-Year Medical Students.

Peer mentoring has long been accepted as beneficial in a multitude of fields, but there has been limited description or study of the way these types of relationships may benefit medical students. Peer mentoring may be helpful for 1st-year medical students; however, little evidence is thus far available on which aspects of peer mentoring provide benefit and what those specific benefits are. This study examines the perceived benefits and satisfaction derived by 1st-year medical students from participation in a semi-structured, informal cross-year peer mentoring program.

Class-Wide Access to a Commercial Step 1 Question Bank During Preclinical Organ-Based Modules: A Pilot Project.

Purpose: The authors examined the usefulness of a commercially available Step 1 question bank as a formative academic support tool throughout organ-based modules in an integrated preclinical medical curriculum. The authors also determined the extent to which correlation between question bank utilization and academic metrics varied with Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores.

Method: In 2015, a cohort of 185 first-year medical students at University of Alabama School of Medicine were provided with 18-month full access to a commercially available Step 1 question bank of over 2,100 items throughout organ-based modules, although there were no requirements for use.

Neural mechanisms of human temporal fear conditioning.

Learning the temporal relationship between a warning cue (conditioned stimulus; CS) and aversive threat (unconditioned stimulus; UCS) is an important aspect of Pavlovian conditioning. Although prior functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research has identified brain regions that support Pavlovian conditioning, it remains unclear whether these regions support time-related processes important for this type of associative learning. Elucidating the neural substrates of temporal conditioning is important for a complete understanding of the Pavlovian conditioning process.

The Community Integration Questionnaire: factor structure across racial/ethnic groups in persons with traumatic brain injury.

Objective: To examine the factor structure and construct validity of the Community Integration Questionnaire, a widely used measure of community participation among individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI), among 3 racial/ethnic groups.

Design: Prospective longitudinal cohort study.

Setting: Enrollment in acute inpatient TBI rehabilitation with follow-up at 1 year after injury.

Characteristics associated with satisfaction with life 1 year post traumatic brain injury in a population of Hispanic individuals.

Objective: To determine which demographic, injury, rehabilitation, and follow-up characteristics are associated with satisfaction with life in a population of Hispanic individuals 1 year post-traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: Longitudinal dataset of the TBI Model Systems National Database.

Early predictors of employment outcomes 1 year post traumatic brain injury in a population of Hispanic individuals.

Objective: To determine which demographic, injury, and rehabilitation factors are associated with employment rates in Hispanic individuals 1 year post traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: Longitudinal dataset of the TBI Model Systems National Database.

Catastrophizing, acceptance, and interference: laboratory findings, subjective report, and pain willingness as a moderator.

Objective: The present study investigated the effects of both catastrophizing and the pain willingness component of acceptance on interference in daily activities and task performance during experimentally induced ischemic pain. In addition, the potential moderating role of pain willingness on the relationship between catastrophizing and degree of pain interference was also examined.

Design: Sixty-seven persons with chronic low back pain completed measures of catastrophizing, acceptance, and daily pain interference.

Impact of early administration of sertraline on cognitive and behavioral recovery in the first year after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury.

Objective: To assess the efficacy of sertraline administered in the first 3 months after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) in improving cognitive and behavioral outcomes.

Design: Double-blind, randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Academic medical center.

Impact of early administration of sertraline on depressive symptoms in the first year after traumatic brain injury.

The potential for sertraline administered in the first 3 months after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) to decrease the incidence of depression in the first year after injury was assessed in a double-blinded randomized control trial. Subjects were enrolled an average of 21 days after injury (none >8 weeks) followed by oral administration of placebo (50 subjects) or sertraline 50 mg (49 subjects) for 3 months. Subjects were not depressed at the time of study initiation.

Depressive symptoms and pain evaluations among persons with chronic pain: catastrophizing, but not pain acceptance, shows significant effects.

Cognitive factors such as catastrophic thoughts regarding pain, and conversely, one's acceptance of that pain, may affect emotional functioning among persons with chronic pain conditions. The aims of the present study were to examine the effects of both catastrophizing and acceptance on affective ratings of experimentally induced ischemic pain and also self-reports of depressive symptoms. Sixty-seven individuals with chronic back pain completed self-report measures of catastrophizing, acceptance, and depressive symptoms.

UFOV performance and driving ability following traumatic brain injury.

Primary Objective: To investigate the relationship between performance on the Useful Field of View Test (UFOV) and driving performance following traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Participants: Sixty people with TBI referred for driving evaluation.

Measures: Useful Field of View Test, Global Rating Scale and Driver Assessment Scale.

Visceral pain and life quality in persons with spinal cord Injury: a brief report.

Background/objective: Few studies have examined the prevalence of visceral pain in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI), and virtually no studies have looked at the relationship between visceral pain and self-reported quality of life. We examined the frequency of reported visceral pain at 5, 10, and 15 years after injury to determine whether the presence of visceral pain is related to quality of life, and to determine to what extent visceral pain should be of concern to clinicians treating patients with SCI.

Methods: Visceral pain and quality of life in persons with SCI were compared from a combined Craig Hospital and National Model SCI Systems database at 5 (N = 33), 10 (N = 132), and 15 (N = 96) years after injury.

Self-report of cognitive abilities in temporal lobe epilepsy: cognitive, psychosocial, and emotional factors.

Self-report of cognitive functioning using the Multiple Abilities Self-Report Questionnaire (MASQ) was examined in 57 left (LTLE) and 36 right (RTLE) temporal lobe epilepsy patients. The MASQ is a 38-item self-report measure assessing five domains of self-perceived cognitive functioning: Language, Visual-Perceptual Abilities, Verbal Memory, Visual-Spatial Memory, and Attention/Concentration. Overall, LTLE patients self-reported more cognitive difficulties across all domains.

Confirmatory factor analysis of the california verbal learning test in patients with epilepsy: relationship to clinical and neuropathological markers of temporal lobe epilepsy.

Latent constructs involved in California Verbal Learning Test (D. C. Delis, J.

Factor structure of the Mini-Mental State Examination in adult psychiatric inpatients.

The factor structure of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) has been examined primarily in geriatric populations using differing methodology and yielding inconsistent results. This study examined the MMSE in 339 adult inpatients at a nonforensic state psychiatric hospital. Data were analyzed in the form of 30 dichotomous variables (1 for each scored response).