Nelson Torro-Alves

Increased Amygdalar and Hippocampal Volumes in Young Adults with Social Anxiety

Background Functional neuroimaging studies have consistently shown abnormal limbic activation patterns in socially anxious individuals, but structural data on the amygdala and hippocampus of these patients are scarce. This study explored the existence of structural differences in the whole brain, amygdala, and hippocampus of subjects with clinical and subthreshold social anxiety compared to healthy controls. We hypothesized that there would be volumetric differences across groups, without predicting their direction (i.e. enlargement or reduction). Methods Subjects classified as having social anxiety disorder (n = 12), subthreshold social anxiety (n = 12) and healthy controls (n = 14) underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging scans. The amygdala and hippocampus were defined a priori as regions of interest and volumes were calculated by manual tracing. Whole brain volume was calculated using voxel-based morphometry. Results The bilateral amygdala and left hippocampus were enlarged in socially anxious individuals relative to controls. The volume of the right hippocampus was enlarged in subthreshold social anxiety participants relative to controls. No differences were found across groups in respect to total brain volume. Conclusions Our results show amygdalar and hippocampal volume alterations in social anxiety, possibly associated with symptom severity. The time course of such alterations and the cellular and molecular bases of limbic plasticity in social anxiety should be further investigated.

How Much Older Do You Get When a Wrinkle Appears on Your Face? Modifying Age Estimates by Number of Wrinkles

ABSTRACT The present study investigated the influence of wrinkles on facial age judgments. In Experiment 1, preadolescents, young adults, and middle-aged adults made categorical age judgments for male and female faces. The qualitative (type of wrinkle) and quantitative (density of wrinkles and depth of furrows) contributions of wrinkles were analyzed. Results indicated that the greater the number of wrinkles and the depth of furrows, the older a face was rated. The roles of the gender of the face and the age of the participants were discussed. In Experiment 2, participants performed relative age judgments by comparing pairs of faces. Results revealed that the number of wrinkles had more influence on the perceived facial age than the type of wrinkle. A MDS analysis showed the main dimensions on which participants based their judgments, namely, the number of wrinkles and the depth of furrows. We conclude that the quantitative component is more likely to increase perceived facial age. Nevertheless, other variables, such as the gender of the face and the age of the participants, also seem to be involved in the age estimation process.

Recognition of facial expressions in children, young adults and elderly people

Desenvolveu-se um estudo para avaliar o reconhecimento de expressoes faciais em diferentes faixas etarias, com inclusao de grupos compostos por: 1) 21 criancas com idade media de 7,7 anos; 2) 19 adultos jovens com idade media de 20,1 anos; e 3) 9 idosos com idade media de 74,7 anos. Na situacao de teste, foi solicitado aos participantes que identificassem expressoes faciais de alegria, tristeza, medo e raiva em diferentes intensidades emocionais. Os resultados indicaram que os jovens apresentaram um melhor desempenho no reconhecimento de expressoes faciais, quando comparados a criancas e idosos. Criancas apresentaram um desempenho similar aos idosos, apoiando a hipotese de que as capacidades de reconhecimento de expressoes faciais aperfeicoam-se na idade adulta e diminuem na velhice.

Assimetrias hemisféricas na percepção de expressões faciais: um estudo com a técnica de campo visual dividido

Fueron investigadas las diferencias hemisfericas en la percepcion de expresiones faciales de alegria, tristeza, rabia y miedo. Veintiun voluntarios (9H, 12M) participaron del experimento. Fue usada la tecnica de campo visual dividido con la presentacion de rostros a la izquierda y a la derecha del punto de fijacion en las condiciones: 1) rostro con emocion a la izquierda y rostro neutro a la derecha; 2) rostro neutro a la izquierda y rostro con emocion a la derecha; 3) rostro con emocion a la derecha y a la izquierda; 4) rostro neutro a la derecha y a la izquierda. Los participantes identificaran el lado en que habia sido presentado el rostro que aparentaba tener mas emocion. Los analisis del tiempo de respuesta revelaron que tristeza y miedo fueron identificadas mas rapidamente en el campo visual izquierdo, lo que indicaria una ventaja del hemisferio derecho en el reconocimiento de estas expresiones. El reconocimiento de expresiones negativas por el hemisferio derecho concuerda parcialmente con la hipotesis de la valencia.

Executive Functions in Children Who Experience Bullying Situations

Bullying is characterized by intentional, repetitive, and persistent aggressive behavior that causes damage to the victim. Many studies investigate the social and emotional aspects related to bullying, but few assess the cognitive aspects it involves. Studies with aggressive individuals indicate impairment in executive functioning and decision-making. The objective of this study was to assess hot and cold executive functions in children who experience bullying. A total of 60 children between 10 and 11 years of age were included in the study. They were divided into four groups: aggressors (bullies), victims, bully-victims, and control. Tests for decision-making, inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility were used. The bully group made more unfavorable choices on the Iowa Gambling Task, which may indicate difficulties in the decision-making process. The victim group took longer to complete the Trail Making Test (Part B) than aggressors, suggesting lower cognitive flexibility in victims. The hypothesis that aggressors would have lower performance in other executive functions such as inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility has not been confirmed. This study indicates that bullies have an impairment of hot executive functions whereas victims have a comparatively lower performance in cold executive functions. In addition to social and cultural variables, neurocognitive and emotional factors seem to influence the behavior of children in bullying situations.

Affective spatial compatibility task (AFFSCT): theory and applications

Emotional stimuli are processed very effi ciently, infl uencing physiological and behavioral responses as well as attention, perceptual processes and sensory-motor integration. In a previous work, we introduced a new paradigm, the Affective Spatial Compatibility task (AffSCt), to study whether the affective valence of the stimulus infl uences spatial compatibility effects. By using fi gures of soccer players of Favorite and Rival Teams as positive and negative valence stimuli, we found a normal Spatial Compatibility effect for the Favorite team and a reversed one for the Rival team. Here, we analyzed the time course of inhibitory and facilitatory effects of emotional valence by the Vincentization method. We found that for Favorite team, the facilitatory effect for the compatible condition, as compared to the incompatible one,

Resilience in caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease: A human condition to overcome caregiver vulnerability

En general, la experiencia de proporcionar asistencia y lidiar con las complicaciones del enfermo de Alzheimer situa a los cuidadores en una situacion de alto riesgo, vulnerabilidad y estres, ocasionando importantes problemas fisicos y emocionales en muchos familiares. En cambio, existen cuidadores que disponen de una mentalidad resiliente que les protege y lleva a experimentar sentimientos positivos y experimentar menor sobrecarga. Esta experiencia positiva sucede porque interpretan el proceso de cuidado como menos negativo, afrontan la situacion con una actitud positiva y son capaces de resistir y mantener un funcionamiento adaptativo. El objetivo de esta revision narrativa da literatura fue senalar la necesidad de desarrollar programas de intervenciones centradas en el cuidador que promuevan los modelos salutogenicos, de resistencia, resistencia y crecimiento personal, para potenciar los recursos positivos del cuidador, de la familia y de la comunidad.

Mulheres e homens: diferentes também na percepção das notas musicais?

The objective of this study was to evaluate the perception of musical notes D, F, and A in young adults. The study included 20 men and 20 women, aged 18 to 29 years, healthy, non-musicians, and non-users of drugs or other toxic substances. Participants did a two-alternative forced choice discrimination test of musical notes, in which they were asked to select the stimulus that was previously presented. The frequency of correct discrimination of the musical notes was compared between both sexes. Statistically significant differences in the musical note F were found. Men had a higher number of hits than women. These results suggest differences in the perception of musical notes by women and men.

Efeitos da perspectiva na amplificação dos tamanhos de objetos que interceptam a linha do horizonte

We investigated the effects of texture gradient and the position of test stimulus in relation to the horizon on the perception of relative sizes. By using the staircase method, 50 participants adjusted the size of a bar presented above, below or on the horizon as it could be perceived in the same size of a bar presented in the lower visual field. Stimuli were presented during 100ms on five background conditions. Perspective gradient contributed more to the overestimation of relative sizes than compression gradient. The sizes of the objects which intercepted the horizon line were overestimated. Visual system was very effective in extracting information from perspective depth cues, making it even during very brief exposure.

Hemispheric specialization for processing soccer related pictures: The role of supporter fanaticism.

The response-hemispheric congruence predicts that manual reaction times (MRTs) are faster when responses to the positive stimulus are done with the right hand and to the negative stimulus with the left hand than the opposite arrangement. This effect has been attributed to the hemispheric specialization for emotional processing, in which the left and the right hemispheres are related, respectively, to positive and negative emotions, eliciting a congruence effect when the affective stimulus valence and the responding hand coincide within the same hemisphere. Here, we investigated if this congruence effect can be detected when stimuli represent the favorite and rival soccer teams and whether the results depend on supporter emotional attachment. Volunteers were divided into high and low fanaticism groups according to the Football Supporter Fanaticism Scale. A significant interaction between fanaticism and stimuli field revealed that only the lower fanaticism group exhibited the usual left visual field advantage. There was also a congruence effect for the lower fanaticism group, in which congruent responses were faster than incongruent ones. However, for the higher fanaticism group there were no significant differences for the 2 congruency conditions. Results were discussed as evidence for distinct brain asymmetry patterns among football supporters depending on the level of fanaticism.