Pedro C. Marijuán

Validation of laughter for diagnosis and evaluation of depression.

BACKGROUND In the medical field, laughter has been studied for its beneficial effects on health and as a therapeutic method to prevent and treat major medical diseases. However, very few works, if any, have explored the predictive potential of laughter and its potential use as a diagnostic tool. METHOD We registered laughs of depressed patients (n=30) and healthy controls (n=20), in total 934 laughs (517 from patients and 417 from controls). All patients were tested by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). The processing was made in Matlab, with calculation of 8 variables per laugh plosive. General and discriminant analysis distinguished patients, controls, gender, and the association between laughter and HDRS test. RESULTS Depressed patients and healthy controls differed significantly on the type of laughter, with 88% efficacy. According to the Hamilton scale, 85.47% of the samples were correctly classified in males, and 66.17% in women, suggesting a tight relationship between laughter and the depressed condition. LIMITATIONS (i) The compilation of humorous videos created to evoke laughter implied quite variable chances of laughter production. (ii) Some laughing subjects might not feel comfortable when recording. (iii) Evaluation of laughter episodes depended on personal inspection of the records. (iv) Sample size was relatively small and may not be representative of the general population afflicted by depression. CONCLUSIONS Laughter may be applied as a diagnostic tool in the onset and evolution of depression and, potentially, of neuropsychiatric pathologies. The sound structures of laughter reveal the underlying emotional and mood states in interpersonal relationships.

Cognitive and Emotional Contents of Laughter: Framing a New Neurocomputational Approach

Laughter, one of the most intriguing reactions of individuals, is an important emotional component of intelligences adaptive processes. Laughter spontaneously appears as an instinctive “gut†reaction; but it is also a cognitive phenomenon (humour), it is social, it has positive-negative valence, and it may wrap itself onto other emotional contents. Laughter becomes one of the most interesting instances to discuss the common information processing that underlies emotions and intelligence. In this article a new core hypothesis on the neurodynamics of laughter and its behavioural repercussions is discussed. The “sentic forms†hypothesis developed by Manfred Clynes for sensory-motor tactile communication is generalized neurodynamically in order to understand the problem-solving characteristics of laughter and the unusual sound features that it presents in our species. Laughter, far from being a curious evolutionary relic or a trivial innate behaviour, should be considered as a highly efficient tool for cognitive-emotional-social problem solving. Explaining laughter becomes a first-class neurodynamic and neurocomputational challenge.

Electroencephalographic Changes After Application of Dry Needling [DNHS© Technique] in Two Patients With Chronic Stroke

Abstract Background: Dry needling [DNHS© technique] is a promising treatment modality for patients with spasticity. However, little is known regarding the indirect effects of dry needling on regional brain activity. This study aimed to describe the electroencephalographic changes found after the application of DNHS© in two patients with stroke. Findings: Two patients with chronic stroke and spasticity received a single session of dry needling in spastic muscles selected after clinical evaluation. An improvement in the regional brain activity was observed after the application of DNHS© based on the measurement of quantitative electroencephalographic activity and electroencephalographic cordance. Conclusions: This study shows that the DNHS© technique, which is based on a peripheral application, has a positive effect on regional brain activity.

The Sociotype in Dermatology

Skin diseases can be the cause of a significant psychosocial burden for those who suffer them. A number of studies have considered issues such as a lower quality of life, increased anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation and other psychological disorders1-3. However, adequate means for evaluating social interaction difficulties, diminished social networks, and the impoverished conversational exchanges that affect the wellbeing and mental health of the individual have not been sufficiently developed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

The psychosocial burden of hand eczema: Data from a European dermatological multicentre study

The essential physical role, visibility and social importance of the hands place a major psychological burden on patients with hand eczema.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE " THE SAME " ? A BIOLOGICAL VARIANT OF THE BORSUK-ULAM THEOREM

A unifying principle underlies the organization of physical and biological systems. It relates to a well-known topological theorem which succinctly states that an activity on a planar circumference projects to two activities with “matching description” into a sphere. Here we ask: What does “matching description” mean? Has it something to do with “identity”? Going through different formulations of the principle of identity, we describe diverse possible meanings of the term “matching description”. We demonstrate that the concepts of “sameness”, “equality”, “belonging together” stand for intertwined levels with mutual interactions. By showing that “matching” description is a very general and malleable concept, we provide a novel testable approach to “identity” that yields helpful insights into physical and biological matters. Indeed, we illustrate how a novel mathematical approach derived from the Borsuk-Ulam theorem, termed bio-BUT, might explain the astonishing biological “multiplicity from identity” of evolving living beings as well as the logic of their intricate biochemical arrangements.

Information and Intelligence in the Living Cell: A Fundamental Hiatus for Information Science?

The new panorama that computers and the new technologies have opened on the entire molecular processes of life, from bioinformatics to “omic” disciplines, and from systems biology to signaling science (to name but a few of the new bioinformational fields), have not cohered yet into a consistent informational scheme or new theory of the cell, so that further high-level characteristics such as meaning, fitness, complexity, and intelligence—closely related to the adaptive relationship with the environment—cannot be consistently approached. Rather, a spattering of dozens of specialized disciplines scarcely interconnected are dealing with multiple partial aspects. Subsequently, explaining the emergence of astonishing integrative inventions related to multicellularity, e.g., the origins of nervous systems and the further development of neuronal complexity, is left in the shadow.