Developmental exposure to legacy environmental contaminants, medial temporal lobe volumes and spatial navigation memory in late adolescents.

Exposure to lead, mercury, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) has been causally linked to spatial memory deficits and hippocampal changes in animal models. The Inuit community in Northern Canada is exposed to higher concentrations of these contaminants compared to the general population. This study aimed to 1) investigate associations between prenatal and current contaminant exposures and medial temporal brain volumes in Inuit late adolescents; 2) examine the relationship between these brain structures and spatial memory; and 3) assess the mediating role of brain structures in the association between contaminant exposure and spatial memory.

Differential neural correlates underlying visuospatial versus semantic reasoning in autistic children.

While fronto-posterior underconnectivity has often been reported in autism, it was shown that different contexts may modulate between-group differences in functional connectivity. Here, we assessed how different task paradigms modulate functional connectivity differences in a young autistic sample relative to typically developing children. Twenty-three autistic and 23 typically developing children aged 6 to 15 years underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning while completing a reasoning task with visuospatial versus semantic content.

Implementing a mental health app library in primary care: A feasibility study.

Confronted with a wide range of digital health tools (DHT), professionals and patients need guidance to use these tools correctly and optimize health management. In the fall of 2020, a DHT library developed by Quebec-based company TherAppX was implemented in 22 institutions. The library was designed to enable healthcare professionals to use DHT in clinical care.

The relevance of dysfunctional reasoning to OCD and its treatment: Further evidence for inferential confusion utilizing a new task-based measure.

Background And Objectives: Previous research has highlighted the role of dysfunctional reasoning processes (i.e. "inferential confusion") in the development and maintenance of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

Developmental and behavioral groupings can predict changes in adaptive behavior over time in young children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

The heterogeneity within, and the overlap between, diagnostic categories for neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) remain poorly understood. Developmental trajectories may diverge among children with the same diagnosis, who may also respond very differently to treatment. In a previous study, we used statistical clustering methods in a sample of 194 preschoolers who were referred for NDD assessment.

You have to let go sometimes: advances in understanding goal disengagement.

While research on tenacious goal pursuit and persistence has evoked a myriad of research efforts, research on goal disengagement has rather been neglected and has been focusing mainly on positive consequences of individual differences in goal disengagement capacities. In recent years, however, research on goal disengagement has seen an upsurge in studies, specifically addressing the conceptualization of goal disengagement, the processes involved, and factors facilitating or undermining it. However, many questions remain unanswered or only partly answered providing numerous opportunities for further investigation.

The Diagnostic Period for Autism: Risk and Protective Factors for Family Quality of Life in Early Childhood.

During the diagnostic evaluation period for autism or intellectual disability (ID), families of young children are at risk for poor adjustment. The present study aimed to document family quality of life (FQOL), along with associated risk and protective factors, during this critical step of families' services trajectory. FQOL was measured in a large sample of families of children recently diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disorder and examined in relation to the type of services received, children's clinical profile, and family variables.

The diagnostic trajectory in autism and intellectual disability in Quebec: pathways and parents' perspective.

Background: This paper aimed to describe the diagnostic service trajectory of families of children with autism or intellectual disability in the province of Québec and identify predictors of parents' perceptions of its quality.

Methods: The Evaluation of the services Trajectory in Autism by Parents instrument was completed by 259 parents at an assessment clinic. Children's clinical records were also examined.

Thinking in pictures in everyday life situations among autistic adults.

Autistic individuals are often described as thinking in pictures. The aim of this study was to investigate the phenomenological characteristics of mental representations and inner experiences of autistic individuals. A total of 39 autistic adults and 80 control adults answered an online questionnaire.

Practitioners' views on the effects of the "For caring supervised visitation in child welfare" training.

Background: In youth protection, the supervision of visits between children and their parent(s) with whom they no longer live is a complex clinical practice. The "For Caring Supervised Visitation in Child Welfare" training was designed to equip workers on the subject. The training was developed in Quebec (Canada), based on a co-construction approach (clinical and scientific) of knowledge and a rigorous pedagogical engineering methodology.

Costs and Benefits of Wax Production in the Larvae of the Ladybeetle .

Background: Larvae of the minute aphidophagous Mulsant (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) are common predators in apple orchards, covered by a wax layer that might act as a defense mechanism against natural enemies. However, the costs and benefits of protection conferred by wax remain to be assessed. We tested the following hypothesis: there is a trade-off in wax producing ladybeetles between the protection conferred by wax cover and the physiological or behavioral costs associated with its production.

Maternal Parenting Behaviors Amplify Environmental Influences on Developmental Trajectories of Alcohol Use During Adolescence.

Compared to peer alcohol use, less is known on how parenting practices may modify genetic and environmental contributions to alcohol use longitudinally across adolescence. This study examined whether two maternal parenting behaviors, supervision and harsh parenting, may suppress or amplify genetic and environmental influences on three distinct developmental trajectories of adolescent alcohol use: normative increasing, early-onset, and low trajectories. Participants were drawn from a longitudinal study of a population-based twin sample (N = 842, 84% European descent, 52.

Using Prevent Teach Reinforce for Young Children to Manage Challenging Behaviors in Public Specialized Early Intervention Services for Autism.

This proof-of-concept study assessed the feasibility of implementing Prevent-Teach-Reinforce-for-Young-Children (PTR-YC) program to address challenging behaviors in children with autism within the context of public, specialized early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) services offered in community settings. Following a 2-day training and with brief weekly supervision meetings, children's EIBI educators acted as facilitators in 35 families' home environments. Small and moderate effect sizes were observed for children's behavioral outcomes and parenting stress.

Validation of the French version of the Children's Alexithymia Measure.

Objectives: Alexithymia is a risk factor associated with a wide array of mental health issues and has been linked to a history of trauma including child sexual abuse. Yet, few measures evaluating alexithymia in children have been validated. This study aimed to explore the psychometric properties of the French version of the Children's Alexithymia Measure (CAM; Way et al.

Gender-Specific Patterns of Teen Dating Violence in Heterosexual Relationships and their Associations with Attachment Insecurities and Emotion Dysregulation.

Teen dating violence is a complex issue associated with several deleterious consequences. Previous studies emphasize the importance of considering the heterogeneity of teen dating violence experiences to better understand this issue and its correlates. In this perspective, the present study aimed to identify gender-specific patterns of teen dating violence in heterosexual relationships based on directionality (victimization and perpetration) and forms of violence (psychological, physical and sexual).

Equal fitness among alternative mating strategies in a harem polygynous insect.

Alternative mating strategies are widespread among animal taxa, with strategies controlled by a genetic polymorphism (Mendelian strategy) being rarer in nature than condition-dependent developmental strategies. Mendelian strategies are predicted to have equal average fitnesses and the proportion of offspring produced by a strategy should equal the equilibrium proportion of individuals representing the strategy in a population. Developmental strategies are not expected to produce offspring in equilibrium proportions; however, whether the alternative phenotypes should have equal average fitness is debated.

Functionalized Glutathione on Chitosan-Genipin Cross-Linked Beads Used for the Removal of Trace Metals from Water.

Functionalized glutathione on chitosan-genipin cross-linked beads (CS-GG) was synthesized and tested as an adsorbent for the removal of Fe(II) and Cu(II) from aqueous solution. The beads were characterized by several techniques, including Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), CNS elementary analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The effect of several parameters such as the pH, the temperature, and the contact time was tested to optimize the condition for the adsorption reaction.

Waking EEG functional connectivity in middle-aged and older adults with obstructive sleep apnea.

Objectives: The present study aimed at investigating changes in waking electroencephalography (EEG), most specifically regarding spectral power and functional connectivity, in middle-aged and older adults with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We also explored whether changes in spectral power or functional connectivity are associated with polysomnographic characteristics and/or neuropsychological performance.

Methods: In sum, 19 OSA subjects (apnea-hypopnea index ≥ 20, age: 63.

Cumulative Childhood Trauma and Couple Satisfaction: Examining the Mediating Role of Mindfulness.

Objectives: Cumulative childhood trauma (CCT) survivors are at a higher risk of suffering from interpersonal problems including couple dissatisfaction. Dispositional mindfulness is increasingly proposed as a potential explanatory mechanism of post-traumatic symptomatology and has been documented as a predictor of couple satisfaction. Most authors operationalize mindfulness as a multidimensional disposition comprised of five facets (i.

The Interplay of Depression and Hostile Attributions in the Link Between PTSD Symptoms and Peer Victimization in Child Victims of Sexual Abuse.

This study sought to test a serial mediation model in which depressive symptoms and hostile attributions mediate the relationship between post-traumatic stress symptoms and peer victimization in a sample of child victims of sexual abuse. Participants included 771 children aged 6 to 12 years old, consulting specialized intervention settings following disclosure of sexual abuse. Children completed questionnaires assessing their levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms, depressive symptoms and experiences of peer victimization in the school context.

Stakeholders' Role and Actions in the Return-to-Work Process of Workers on Sick-Leave Due to Common Mental Disorders: A Scoping Review.

The lack of knowledge regarding the roles and actions of return to work (RTW) stakeholders create confusion and uncertainty about how and when to RTW after experiencing a common mental disorder (CMD). Purpose The purpose of this scoping review is to disentangle the various stakeholders' role and actions in the RTW process of workers on sick-leave due to CMDs. The research question is: What is documented in the existing literature regarding the roles and actions of the identified stakeholders involved in the RTW process of workers on sick-leave due to CMDs? Methods In conducting this scoping review, we followed Arksey and O'Malley's (Int J Soc Res Methodol 8:19-32, 2005) methodology, consisting of different stages (e.

Central and peripheral steady-state visual evoked potentials in children with optic pathway gliomas.

Purpose: Treatment of optic pathway gliomas is prompted by neuroradiological evidence of tumor growth, usually associated with progressive visual loss. Despite therapy, approximately 40% will show visual deterioration. Treatment outcome is largely based on the preservation of vision.

Assessing intelligence at autism diagnosis: mission impossible? Testability and cognitive profile of autistic preschoolers.

Intelligence in minimally verbal children on the autism spectrum (AS) is at risk of being underestimated. The present study investigated testability and cognitive profile of preschool autistic children using conventional tools and strength-informed tools. Fifty-two AS children and fifty-four typical children matched on age (31-77 months) were assessed.