The ability to perceive social intentions from people's eyes is present from an early age, yet little is known about whether this skill is fully developed in childhood or that subtle changes may still occur across adolescence. This fMRI study investigated the ability to read mental states by using an adapted version of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes task within adolescents (aged 12-19 years) over a 2-year test-retest interval. This longitudinal setup provides the opportunity to study both stability over time as well as age-related changes. The behavioral results showed that participants who performed well in the mental state condition at the first measurement also performed well at the second measurement. fMRI results revealed positive test-retest correlations of neural activity in the right superior temporal sulcus and right inferior frontal gyrus for the contrast mental state > control, suggesting stability within individuals over time. Besides stability of activation, dorsal medial prefrontal cortex showed a dip in mid-adolescence for the mental state > control condition and right inferior frontal gyrus decreased linearly with age for the mental state > control condition. These findings underline changes in the slope of the developmental pattern depending on age, even in the existence of relatively stable activation in the social brain network.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsu095 | DOI Listing |
Vet Sci
December 2024
Center for Animals and Public Policy, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, 200 Westboro Rd., North Grafton, MA 01536, USA.
Youth mental health interventions incorporating trained therapy animals are increasingly popular, but more research is needed to understand the specific interactive behaviors between participants and therapy dogs. Understanding the role of these interactive behaviors is important for supporting both intervention efficacy and animal welfare and well-being. The goal of this study was to develop ethograms to assess interactive behaviors (including both affiliative and stress-related behaviors) of participants and therapy dogs during a social stress task, explore the relationship between human and dog behaviors, and assess how these behaviors may vary between experimental conditions with varying levels of physical contact with the therapy dog.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNurs Rep
December 2024
Center for Health Outcomes & Policy Research, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, 418 Curie Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Background: Economically disadvantaged patients diagnosed with serious mental illness (SMI) experience post-hospitalizations disparities due to fragmented care transitions.
Purpose: To describe the pre-implementation strategies used to adapt and implement a nurse-led transitional care intervention (Thrive) to meet the needs of economically disadvantaged patients diagnosed with an SMI.
Methods: Two pre-implementation strategies, Evidence Based Quality Improvement (EBQI) meetings and Formative Evaluation (FE) research, were used to adapt intervention components.
Nurs Rep
November 2024
School of Psychology and Philosophy, University of Tarapacá, Arica 1000000, Chile.
Background: Stress and anxiety are common problems among nursing students, affecting their mental health and academic performance. Compassion training has been shown to be effective in reducing these states.
Objectives: This study evaluated the effects of a compassion-based course on perceived stress and anxiety (state and trait) among nursing students at a state university in Chile.
Metabolites
December 2024
Department of Foundations of Medicine, New York University Grossman Long Island School of Medicine, Mineola, NY 11501, USA.
Circadian rhythms are intrinsic, 24 h cycles that regulate key physiological, mental, and behavioral processes, including sleep-wake cycles, hormone secretion, and metabolism. These rhythms are controlled by the brain's suprachiasmatic nucleus, which synchronizes with environmental signals, such as light and temperature, and consequently maintains alignment with the day-night cycle. Molecular feedback loops, driven by core circadian "clock genes", such as Clock, Bmal1, Per, and Cry, are essential for rhythmic gene expression; disruptions in these feedback loops are associated with various health issues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Funct Biomater
December 2024
Biotechnology Research Institute, Samara State Medical University, 443079 Samara, Russia.
Mandibular bone defect reconstruction remains a significant challenge for surgeons worldwide. Among multiple biodegradable biopolymers, allogeneic bone scaffolds derived from human sources have been used as an alternative to autologous bone grafts, providing optimal conditions for cell recruitment, adhesion, and proliferation and demonstrating significant osteogenic properties. This study aims to investigate the bone microstructure of the human scapula as a source for allogeneic bone scaffold fabrication for mandibular tissue engineering purposes.
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