Executive functions in school-aged children exposed to airborne manganese: A multilevel analysis.

Neuropsychological alterations have been identified in populations heavily exposed to metals with neurotoxic potential, such as manganese (Mn). This study examined the associations between Mn environmental exposure in school-aged children and executive functions, using structural equation modeling. Children, aged between 7 and 12 years (N = 181), were recruited from four elementary schools located in a region that is under the influence of atmospheric emissions from a ferro-manganese alloy plant in the municipality of Simões Filho, Bahia, Brazil.

Neuropsychological effects of direct-acting antiviral treatment for Hepatitis C virus subjects: A systematic review.

Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) have been approved in recent years to treat patients infected by the Hepatitis C virus (HCV). The DAAs treatment is well tolerated and increases sustained virological responses, but there is no consensus about the neuropsychological functioning related to the treatment. This systematic review aims to provide an overview of the recent findings exploring the cognitive effects of DAAs treatment in patients with HCV.

Neurocognitive aspects of ketamine and esketamine on subjects with treatment-resistant depression: A comparative, randomized and double-blind study.

The objective of this study is to evaluate cognition in patients using either ketamine or esketamine to treat TRD. We also evaluate if both ketamine and esketamine as one group influence cognition in patients with TRD. Fifty-four patients with TRD were infused with either ketamine or esketamine and were assessed at three time points: baseline, 24 h, and 7 days after infusion.

Subjective Well-Being of Adolescents in Luxembourg, Germany, and Brazil During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Purpose: This study explores adolescent well-being during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in two high-income countries from Europe and one middle-income country from South America. The aim is to investigate the correlates of different dimensions of subjective well-being in 10- to 16-year-olds from different cultural contexts.

Methods: An online, self-report questionnaire was completed by 1,613 adolescents in Luxembourg, Germany, and Brazil between May and July 2020.

Neurocognitive Impairment in Bipolar Disorder and Associated Factors: Using Population-based Norms and a Strict Criterion for Impairment Definition.

Background: Cognitive impairment is often identified in individuals with bipolar disorder and is associated with their functional impairment. However, there is controversy surrounding potential classification methods for impairment in cognitive measures.

Objective: To examine the proportion of cognitive measures indicating impairment of attention, processing speed, memory, visuoconstructional abilities, and executive functions in individuals with bipolar disorder type I (euthymic) and healthy controls, using a strict criterion for defining impairment.

Neuropsychological Effects of Mercury Exposure in Children and Adolescents of the Amazon Region, Brazil.

Background: Studies with children exposed to methylmercury (MeHg) through fish consumption in the Brazilian Amazon region report that the high levels of hair Hg are associated with significant decreases in intelligence, memory, attention, and visuospatial processing.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between mercury exposure and neuropsychological functions in riverside communities of the Brazilian Amazon.

Method: 263 participants aged 6 to 14 years old were assessed, from resettlement regions, near the Madeira river, Rondônia, Brazil.

Environmental Co-Exposure to Lead and Manganese and Intellectual Deficit in School-Aged Children.

Studies have demonstrated that, for urban children, dust represents the main exposure to sources of metals like lead (Pb) and manganese (Mn). We aimed to investigate the exposure to these metals and their association with intellectual deficit in children living in an industrial region. This cross-sectional study recruited volunteers from four elementary schools in the town of Simões Filho, Brazil.

Environmental manganese exposure and associations with memory, executive functions, and hyperactivity in Brazilian children.

Manganese (Mn) is an essential element, however high levels of Mn have been associated with lower neuropsychological performance and behavioral problems in children. We investigated the associations between hair Mn concentrations and neuropsychological and behavioral performances among children with long-term exposure to airborne Mn aged between 7 and 12 years. Neuropsychological performance included tests of: verbal memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, verbal fluency, and motor function.

Normative data of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale 11 (BIS-11) for Brazilian adults.

Objective: The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) is a valid and reliable instrument, and one of the most often used tools to assess impulsivity. This study assesses the performance of a large sample of adults by using a version of BIS-11 adapted to Brazilian Portuguese.

Methods: We assessed 3,053 adults from eight Brazilian states.

Noninvasive biomarkers of manganese exposure and neuropsychological effects in environmentally exposed adults in Brazil.

Manganese (Mn), an essential element to humans, in excess can cause neurotoxic damage. So far, Mn exposure assessment has no ideal biomarker. This study aims to investigate the association between Mn exposure, using noninvasive biomarkers, and neuropsychological effects in environmentally exposed adults.

Executive functioning and reading achievement in school: a study of Brazilian children assessed by their teachers as "poor readers".

This study examined executive functioning and reading achievement in 106 6- to 8-year-old Brazilian children from a range of social backgrounds of whom approximately half lived below the poverty line. A particular focus was to explore the executive function profile of children whose classroom reading performance was judged below standard by their teachers and who were matched to controls on chronological age, sex, school type (private or public), domicile (Salvador/BA or São Paulo/SP) and socioeconomic status. Children completed a battery of 12 executive function tasks that were conceptual tapping cognitive flexibility, working memory, inhibition and selective attention.

Elevated airborne manganese and low executive function in school-aged children in Brazil.

Exposure to airborne manganese (Mn) has been associated with neurotoxic effects, including motor and cognitive deficits. The main deficits related to excessive exposure to Mn are predominantly the dysfunction of fronto-striatal and dopaminergic circuits observed in animal experimental studies, which are involved in attention, working memory and motor function. The present study aims to assess the association between elevated Mn exposure and performance on executive function and attention neuropsychological tests in children living in two communities near a ferro-manganese alloy plant.

Elevated manganese exposure and school-aged children's behavior: a gender-stratified analysis.

High levels of waterborne manganese have been associated with problematic behavior in school-aged children, however to date this has not been reported for children exposed to airborne manganese. The objective of the present study was to examine behavioral traits among children with exposure to airborne manganese from a ferro-manganese alloy plant, located in the metropolitan region of Salvador, Brazil. The study included 34 boys and 36 girls, aged 7-12 years, living in two communities within a 3-km radius from the plant.

Working memory screening, school context, and socioeconomic status: an analysis of the effectiveness of the working memory rating scale in Brazil.

Objective: The study explores the psychometric properties of the Brazilian-Portuguese version of the Working Memory Rating Scale (WMRS-Br) in a population of 355 young children from diverse socioeconomic status and schooling backgrounds.

Method: Public and private school teachers completed the WMRS-Br and children were assessed on a range of objective cognitive measures of fluid intelligence, working memory, and attention.

Results: Reliability and validity of the WMRS-Br were excellent across the public and private school sample.

A neuropsychological study comparing patients infected with HCV and HBV without psychiatric comorbidities.

Hepatitis C is one of the most common chronic infectious diseases worldwide, with well-documented extra-hepatic manifestations, such as a broad number of cognitive deficits. These impairments may be explained by psychiatric comorbidities, which have not been investigated properly in the literature. In order to elucidate a specific hepatitis C virus (HCV) induced cognitive impairment not related to mental disorders, neuropsychological performance of patients infected with HCV was compared with that of patients infected with hepatitis B virus cognitive impairment, especially psychiatric comorbidities.

[Cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression].

Objective: To describe the use of cognitive techniques and to review studies on the efficacy of CBT in the treatment of depression.

Method: A non-systematic review of the literature of original studies complemented with data from meta-analyses and specialized textbooks.

Results: The fundamentals of cognitive-behavioral therapy in the treatment of depression are described and the evidence of short- and long-term efficacy is reviewed.