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Objective The current study aimed to validate the Performance Validity Test Coin in Hand-Extended Version (CIH-EV) in groups of healthy older adults and older adults with dementia. Method Using an analog simulation paradigm, the healthy control group and the clinical group were instructed to perform to the best of their ability, whereas the feigning older adults were instructed to simulate a memory deficit to obtain allowance, financial aid, or early retirement. Results Results showed that the control and clinical groups performed more optimally than the feigning group, although the clinical group had superior response times. The CIH-EV was insensitive to sociodemographic variables and neurocognitive functioning in all groups, demonstrated good convergent validity with other performance validity measures, and showed a reduced rate of false positives. Conclusions This study corroborates the CIH-EV’s effectiveness in detecting the simulation of cognitive deficits in healthy older adults and older adults with dementia.

Objective: The validity of neuropsychological test performance has scarcely been studied in patients with substance use disorders (SUD), despite the possibility that some SUD individuals may distor...

Intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) is a serious and overwhelming public concern. Neuroimaging techniques have provided insights into the brain mechanisms underlying IPVAW perpetration. The purpose of this study is to examine the resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) involving the process of social decision-making of male perpetrators. Twenty-six male perpetrators convicted for an IPVAW crime were compared to 29 men convicted for crimes other than IPVAW (other offenders) and 29 men with no criminal records (non-offenders) using a seed-based approach. Seeds were located in areas involved in reflective (prefrontal), impulsive (amygdala and striatum) and interoceptive (insula) processing. Then, as an exploratory analysis, the connectivity networks on male perpetrators were correlated with measures of executive functions and socioemotional self-report measures. Male perpetrators in comparison to other offenders and non-offenders, presented higher rsFC between prefrontal, limbic, brainstem, temporal and basal ganglia areas. Also male perpetrators showed higher rsFC between insula, default mode network and basal ganglia, while lower rsFC was found between prefrontal and motor areas and between amygdala, occipital and parietal areas. Exploratory correlations suggest that the specific rsFC in male perpetrators might be more related to socioemotional processes than to executive functions. These results showed that male perpetrators present a specific rsFC in brain systems that are essential for an adaptive social decision-making., Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness PSI201679481-R PID2019111565GB, Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport (University Faculty Training program) FPU15/04335, Spanish Government FJCI-2017-33396, Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC) CTS-581

Social mentalizing refers to the ability to understand the intentions, causes, emotions and beliefs of another person or the self and is crucial for interpersonal understanding. Disturbances in this process may lead to aggressive and violent behaviors. Literature has shown that male perpetrators convicted for intimate partner crime (IPVAW) present alterations in different measures related to social mentalizing, in particular, they present more irrational thoughts toward women and difficulties in emotional recognition and empathy processes. However, the brain mechanisms underlying this process are still unknown. The aim of this study is to examine the resting-state functional connectivity of the cerebellar Crus II area, as a core component of social mentalizing in male perpetrators, and to explore if this connectivity is associated with social mentalizing processes. To achieve these objectives, we compared the resting-state connectivity of 25 men convicted for an IPVAW crime (male perpetrators) with 29 men convicted for other crimes (other offenders) and 28 men with no criminal records (non-offenders) using a seed-based whole brain analysis. Subsequently, correlations were performed to explore the association between the significant connectivity networks and social mentalizing measures only in male perpetrators of IPVAW. Analyses showed that male perpetrators of IPVAW exhibit hyperconnectivity between Crus II and posterior areas of the default mode network, frontoparietal and limbic areas compared to other offenders and non-offenders. In addition, the greater connectivity found between the Crus II and the posterior default mode network was related to a greater number of distorted thoughts about women and less affective empathy in male perpetrators of IPVAW. These results show that connectivity between the cerebellum and the default mode network may underlie the social processes that are at the basis of intimate partner violence perpetration., General Secretary of Penitentiary Institutions, Ministerio del Interior, Spain

Structural brain damages caused by chronic alcohol consumption have been extensively reported. However, the neuroimaging findings in people with alcohol use disorder (AUD) are relatively inconsistent. This inconsistency may be due to the influence of different variables that are not always considered, such as the presence of a family history of alcoholism (FHA). The main aim of this research is to study the gray (GM) and white matter (WM) volumes in male participants with AUD without FHA compared to healthy control males (HC) without FHA. For this study, we included 19 participants with AUD without FHA and 18 HC males without FHA. T1-weighted images were acquired with a General Electric Signa Exite 1.5 T scanner. GM and WM tissues were calculated using Diffeomorphic Anatomical Registration Through Exponentiated Lie algebra (DARTEL). All analyses were controlled for age and total brain volume. The statistical threshold was calculated with AlphaSim and further adjusted to account for the non-isotropic smoothness of structural images, according to Hayasaka et al. (2004). The obtained main results showed that, relative to the HC group, the participants with AUD without FHA had significantly lower GM in several brain structures, reflecting relatively purely the effects of chronic alcohol intake on brain volume. GM structure integrity is relevant for the efficient functioning of low and high-order cognitive processes used in everyday life, and its damage seems to be related to the severity/intensity/chronicity of the AUD. As such, it becomes relevant to assess and follow brain structural changes through the dependence course.

Objectives The main objective was to determine the efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Interventions in improving the cognitive function of older adults (healthy adults or adults with mild cognitive impairment). Methods A search was conducted in 4 databases. The effect sizes were extracted to perform a meta-analysis of the cognitive functions, as well as subgroup meta-analyses according to each domain: attention, memory and executive function. Results The meta-analysis of cognitive functions showed an average effect size of g = .07, 95% CI [-.013; .160], p = .09, with the following values for each domain: g = .02, 95% CI [-.167; .204] for attention; g = .06, 95% CI [-.148; .262] for memory; and g = .14, 95% CI [-.042; .329] for executive function. Conclusion The MBI had a null global effect. The attention and memory results showed a null effect size and a small effect size was found for executive function. The methodological quality of the studies, however, was poor, so the results need to be interpreted with caution.

Retirement has been associated with cognitive decline. However, the influence of specific job characteristics like occupational complexity on post-retirement cognitive outcomes is not well understood. Data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study were used to examine occupational complexity in relation to cognitive performance and cognitive change after retirement. Initial sample included 471 workers between 45 and 75 years of age. At 9-year follow-up (T2), 149 were retired and 322 were still working. All six tasks from the Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone (BTACT) were used. Hierarchical regression with workers at T1 indicated that, controlling for sociodemographic variables, complexity of work with people significantly contributed to explaining variance in overall cognitive performance (1.7%) and executive function (2%). In Latent Change Score (LCS) models, complexity of work with people was the only significant predictor of cognitive change in retirees, with those retiring from high-complexity jobs showing less decline. In conclusion, high complexity of work with people is related to better executive functioning and overall cognition during working life and slower decline after retirement. The finding that more intellectually stimulating work carries cognitive advantage into retirement fits the cognitive reserve concept, where earlier intellectual stimulation brings about lower risks of cognitive problems later. Study results also go along with the unengaged lifestyle hypothesis, whereby people may slip into so-called "mental retirement," leading to post-retirement cognitive loss, which may be most apparent among those retiring from jobs with low complexity of work with people. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Emotional regulation is crucial to psychological functioning and mental health. Studies of male batterers indicate the critical role that emotional processing plays in the violence they exert upon their partners or ex-partners. The aim of this study was to investigate the neural bases of emotional regulation in male batterers—both in experiencing and suppressing emotions—when faced with pictures of intimate partner violence (IPV). We conducted a fMRI study to compare brain functioning when emotions were experienced or increased with the case in which emotions were suppressed or reduced in response to IPV pictures and unpleasant pictures. The sample consisted of three groups: Male Batterers Group (MBG, n = 26), that is, men convicted for IPV; Other Offenders Group (OOG, n = 27), men convicted of crimes other than IPV; and a Non-offenders Group ( n = 29), that is, men without a criminal history. The results reveal that in MBG, the brain areas that previous studies have related to suppression and experience processes were activated when faced with unpleasant pictures. However, a different pattern of functioning was found when experiencing IPV pictures. That could be explained by a low capacity to empathize with their partners or ex-partners and by the use of maladaptive emotional regulation strategies. In addition, MBG showed activation in brain areas previously related to suppression but did not modulate their emotions, showing a similar emotional state after suppression and experience. The results of this preliminary study suggest that in psychological treatments for male batterers, it is important to promote empathy towards partners or ex-partners, along with adaptive strategies of emotional regulation.

Background The reduction of misconduct levels and its prevention are two important objectives in prison settings, for which several strategies and control mechanisms are implemented. Objetive We explore the relationship between a set of socio-demographic, judicial, affective, and personality characteristics and various expressions of aggression. Method An Ecuadorian sample of 675 sentenced male prisoners was assessed using the Spanish adaptation of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI). Three subscales of the PAI were used as outcome measures: Aggressive Attitude (AGG-A), Verbal Aggression (AGG-V), and Physical Aggression (AGG-P). Results Using path analysis, three models were obtained, each of which had four indicators. Borderline personality features and antisocial personality features emerged as indicators that were common to the three models. Anxiety-related disorders and non-support were indicators specific to AGG-A, whilst schizophrenia and non-support were indicators of AGG-V, and drug problems and crimes against property were indicators of AGG-P. Conclusion This study indicates that each expression of aggression has a different structure, which suggests its usefulness for detecting the tendency of an inmate to predominantly express one form of aggression or another.

Persons with HIV can often present cognitive disorders such as those related to executive functioning, which could affect the daily life activities. The present study was designed to explore the predictive relationship between executive functions according to Miyake’s model and the basic and instrumental skills of everyday functioning in a group of persons with HIV (PWH). Participants were recruited from outpatient treatment Hospital and assessed using a neuropsychological battery, a modified version of the Lawton and Brody basic and instrumental activities of daily life (ADL) scale and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The results showed a low score in the executive function and significant relationship between executive functioning and the instrumental skills of the patients, with set-shifting being one of the most powerful predictors. The processes of executive functioning, particularly set-shifting, are related to the level of functioning in the skills required for independent living in the community, but not the skills of independent living in the home. This study seems to suggest the utility of assessing executive functions as a preventive measure for the development of dependencies in normal daily instrumental skills and as the focus of interdisciplinary interventions. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Although early life nutrition influences brain development and mental health, the long-term e ects of supplemented infant formula on children´s behavior remain unclear. We analyzed the e ects of a bioactive nutrients-enriched-infant formula on children’s behavior up to 2.5 years, compared to a standard infant formula or breastfeeding. Current analysis involved 70 children who were fed a standard infant formula (SF, n = 29) or a bioactive compounds enriched-infant formula (EF, n = 41), during their first 18 months of life, and 33 breastfed (BF) children (reference group) participating in the COGNIS study. Behavioral problems were evaluated using the Child Behavior Checklist at 18 months and 2.5 years. Di erent statistical analyses were performed using SPSS. EF children aged 2.5 years presented fewer pathological a ective problems than SF children. Besides, SF children were classified more frequently as bordering on internalizing problems than BF children. Rates of externalizing problems were increased in SF infants compared to EF and BF infants. Higher maternal IQ was found to have beneficial e ects on internalizing and total problem rate in their o spring at 18 months of life; finally, higher maternal educational level was related with fewer ADHD problems in children at 18 months, as well as internalizing, externalizing, total and anxiety problems in children aged 2.5 years. Our analysis suggests that enriched infant formula fed infants seem to show fewer behavioral problems up to 2.5 years compared to a standard infant formula-fed infants. In addition to type of early feeding, maternal IQ and educational level seem to play a key role on children behavioral development., Ordesa Laboratories, S.L. Contract University of Granada General Foundation 3349, SMARTFOODS (CIEN) Contract University of Granada General Foundation 4003, Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, HORIZON 2020 EU DynaHEALTH Project 633595, Fundación Carolina, Madrid, Spain, Catedra ORDESA-University of Granada, Spain as part of Special Issue "Early Nutrition and Re-programming of Health and Disease"

The objective of this study was to identify specific cutoff scores for three commonly used embedded performance validity tests (PVTs) for a Spanish speaking population. Culturally adapted cutoff scores for embedded PVTs were established using an analog study design. In addition, the psychometric properties of these measures when applying culturally adapted scores as compared to non-adapted scores were analyzed.Participants (In keeping with guidelines for specificity and sensitivity, the most culturally appropriate scores of ≤6, ≤27, and ≤16 were determined for the Reliable Digit Span, Phonetic Fluency Test, and the Semantic Fluency Test, respectively.This the first study addressing culturally sensitive cutoffs for commonly used embedded validity measures using a European Spanish population. While these findings cannot be generalized to forensic or clinical populations at the present time, they support the claim that specific cutoff scores that are sensitive to cultural variables are necessary in addressing embedded validity measures of the Reliable Digit Span, Phonetic Fluency Test, and Semantic Fluency Test.

Recent studies have shown that maternal supplementation with folate and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) during pregnancy may affect children&rsquo, s brain development. We aimed at examining the potential long-term effect of maternal supplementation with fish oil (FO) and/or 5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF) on the brain functionality of offspring at the age of 9.5&ndash, 10 years. The current study was conducted as a follow-up of the Spanish participants belonging to the Nutraceuticals for a Healthier Life (NUHEAL) project, 57 children were divided into groups according to mother&rsquo, s supplementation and assessed through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning and neurodevelopment testing. Independent component analysis and double regression methods were implemented to investigate plausible associations. Children born to mothers supplemented with FO (FO and FO + 5-MTHF groups, n = 33) showed weaker functional connectivity in the default mode (DM) (angular gyrus), the sensorimotor (SM) (motor and somatosensory cortices) and the fronto-parietal (FP) (angular gyrus) networks compared to the No-FO group (placebo and 5-MTHF groups, n = 24) (PFWE &lt, 0.05). Furthermore, no differences were found regarding the neuropsychological tests, except for a trend of better results in an object recall (memory) test. Considering the No-FO group, the aforementioned networks were associated negatively with attention and speed-processing functions. Mother&rsquo, s FO supplementation during pregnancy seems to be able to shape resting-state network functioning in their children at school age and appears to produce long-term effects on children&acute, s cognitive processing.

Cultural background is an important variable influencing neuropsychological performance. Multinational projects usually involve gathering data from participants from different countries and/or different cultures. Little is known about the influence of culture on neuropsychological testing results in children and especially in European children. The objectives of this study were to compare neuropsychological performance of children from six European countries (Belgium, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland and Spain) using a comprehensive neuropsychological battery and to apply a statistical procedure to reduce the influence of country/cultural differences in neuropsychological performance. As expected, the results demonstrated differences in neuropsychological performance among children of the six countries involved. Cultural differences remained after adjusting for other confounders related to neuropsychological execution, such as sex, type of delivery, maternal age, gestational age and maternal educational level. Differences between countries disappeared and influence of culture was considerably reduced when standardised scores by country and sex were used. These results highlight the need for developing specific procedures to compare neuropsychological performance among children from different cultures to be used in multicentre studies.

The socioeconomic status (SES) of parents has a crucial influence on the cognitive development of children, but it is not clear whether this effect varies as a function of the children’s age. The objective of this study was to investigate the development of children aged 7, 9, and 11 years of parents with extremely low SES in a developing country (Ecuador). Participating children were divided between a medium-SES group and a low-SES group. Statistically significant differences were observed as a function of SES group and age in verbal memory, language, and executive function, observing wider between-group differences among the 11-year-olds. This work was supported by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) [A3/042954/11] (PI: Francisco Cruz-Quintana) and Conselleria d'Educació, Investigació, Cultura i Esport de la Generalitat Valenciana (Proyectos I+D+i desarrollados por grupos de investigación emergentes) [GV/2017/166] (PI: Manuel Fernández-Alcántara).

This is a cross-sectional study of participants from a population census living in the province of Granada (Spain). A total of 1176 persons were contacted, 367 (31%) refused and 54 (6.7%) needed substitution. A final sample of 809 participants (response rate, 69.3%) were screened for mental disorder (MD) using the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview, a comprehensive interview validated to generate diagnoses compatible with ICD-10/DSM-4 criteria. Current (1-month) prevalence for any MD was 11.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 9.7%-13.4%; affective 8.2%, anxiety 9.6%, psychotic 2.1%, addiction 1.8%, personality disorder 3.6%). Lifetime MD prevalence was 24.6% (95% CI, 21.6-27.6; affective 14.9%, anxiety 15.5%, psychotic 3.4%, addiction 4.4%, personality disorder 3.6%). Female sex was associated with MD, but this appeared partially due to higher levels of neuroticism among women. MD also correlated significantly with cannabis use, family history of MD, higher social adversity, higher suicide risk, poorer physical health, poorer cognitive performance, and personality problems.

RESUMEN Fundamento. Los profesionales sanitarios presentan una alta prevalencia del síndrome de burnout. Este síndrome podría implicar la afectación de funciones cognitivas superiores en el ámbito clínico. El objetivo ha sido evaluar si el burnout está relacionado con las funciones ejecutivas de inhibición, memoria de trabajo, toma de decisiones y flexibilidad cognitiva en el personal sanitario de Cuidados Paliativos. Material y métodos. Se ha evaluado el burnout en setenta y siete profesionales sanitarios de Cuidados Paliativos mediante el Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI-HSS) y las funciones ejecutivas mediante el test Stroop (inhibición), test de letras y números (memoria de trabajo), Iowa Gambling Task (toma de decisiones) y Trail Making Test (flexibilidad). Los profesionales fueron clasificados en función tanto de su nivel de burnout (bajo, medio, alto) para cada dimensión del MBI-HSS (cansancio emocional, despersonalización y baja realización personal), como del número de dimensiones de burnout alteradas (con niveles altos en ninguna, una o más de una). Resultados. El 54,5% del personal sanitario presentó burnout, un 15,6% con más de una dimensión alterada; estos profesionales obtuvieron puntuaciones significativamente más bajas que los sanitarios sin burnout en los test Stroop, letras y números e Iowa Gambling Task. Niveles más altos de cansancio emocional y despersonalización se relacionaron con puntuaciones significativamente más bajas en el Iowa Gambling Task (toma de decisiones). Conclusiones. Los resultados mostraron que el personal sanitario de Cuidados Paliativos con alto burnout tiene un peor funcionamiento en inhibición, memoria de trabajo y toma de decisiones. Estas funciones ejecutivas pueden ser relevantes en el ámbito clínico, ya que están relacionadas con el procesamiento cognitivo necesario para un adecuado razonamiento clínico del profesional sanitario. ABSTRACT Background. Health professionals show a high prevalence of burnout syndrome. This syndrome could be involved in the alteration of higher cognitive functions in the clinical setting. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether burnout is related to the executive functions of inhibition, working memory, decision-making, and cognitive flexibility in palliative care health professionals. Method. Degree of burnout was evaluated in seventy-seven health professionals from palliative care units by the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI-HSS), while executive functions were evaluated by Stroop test (inhibition), Letter-Number Sequencing (working memory), Iowa Gambling Task (decision-making) and Trail Making Test (cognitive flexibility). The total sample was classified in relation to both degree of burnout (low, medium, high) in each subscale of MBI-HSS (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment), and the number of dimensions altered (high levels in none, one or more than one). Results. Burnout syndrome was present in 54.5% of palliative care health professionals, 15.6% of them with more than one dimension altered; these professionals showed significantly lower scores than professionals without burnout in the Stroop test, the Letter-Number Sequencing and the Iowa Gambling Task. Higher levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were associated with significantly lower scores in the Iowa Gambling Task for assessing decision-making. Conclusions. The results showed that palliative care health professionals with a higher level of burnout have an alteration of inhibition, working memory and decision-making. These executive functions can be relevant in the clinical setting since they could be related to the cognitive thinking required for correct clinical reasoning by health professionals.

Poor emotion processing is thought to influence violent behaviors among male batterers in abusive relationships. Nevertheless, little is known about the neural mechanisms of emotion processing in this population. With the objective of better understanding brain structure and its relation to emotion processing in male batterers, the present study compares the cortical grey matter thickness of male batterers to that of other criminals in brain areas related to emotion. Differences among these brain areas were also compared to an emotional perception task. An MRI study and an emotional perception assessment was conducted with 21 male batterers and 20 men convicted of crimes other than Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Results demonstrated that batterers' had significantly thinner cortices in prefrontal (orbitofrontal), midline (anterior and posterior cingulate) and limbic (insula, parahipocampal) brain regions. The thickness of the dorsal posterior cingulate cortex in the batterer group correlated with scores on the emotional perception task. These findings shed light on a neuroscientific approach to analyzing violent behavior perpetrated by male batterers, leading to a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms involved in IPV.

The aim of this study was to examine the association between baseline executive functioning and outcome measure of treatment in 226 cocaine dependent individuals who initiated treatment in therapeutic communities TCs. The study was conducted across six TCs located in the region of Andalusia (southern Spain). Neuropsychological testing included tests of working memory, reasoning, inhibition, switching, attention interference and decision making. The outcome measures were type of discharge (treatment dropout vs. therapeutic discharge) and clinical impression of the TC outcome (clinically significant vs. non-significant changes). In the present study a prospective comparative design was used. We found significant performance differences on selective executive components which account for the type of discharge: treatment quitters had poorer attention response inhibition and attention switching than non-quitters, and the individuals who failed to achieve therapeutic objectives had poorer attention interference and inhibitory control than compliers. No significant differences were found between the outcome measure and the neuropsychological performance score on the other tasks. The results provide important information about the impact of executive components on in-treatment follow-up outcomes among dependence disorders in TC.

Although Arabic is one of the most widely used languages in the world, little is known on the availability of standardized neuropsychological tests in Arabic. We review the literature published before 2016, using the keywords Arab*, cogniti*, and neuropsycholo*, as well as keywords for each Arab country. PubMed, PsycINFO, Education Source, Academic Search Complete, Education Resources Information Center, Shamaa, and Arabpsynet databases were searched, in addition to a selected number of Arabic medical and educational journals. After excluding case reports, studies conducted on Arab groups residing outside the Arab world or Israel, and studies that employed intelligence scales or cognitive screens without standardization, 384 studies were eventually reviewed. Tests with most extensive use, adaptation, validation and norming were identified. The Raven Matrices, with its variants, was the most normed cognitive test for Arab individuals (normed in 16 countries). The rate of neuropsychology publications from the Arab countries combined, per year, was less than half of that of each American journal (top 10 journals pertaining to cognition). Nonetheless, the rate in Arab countries has increased after 2010. Publications were mostly from Egypt and Saudi Arabia, but the ratio of test adaptation-to-publication was the largest in Jordan and Lebanon. Approximately half of these publications did not employ cognitive tests that were developed, translated, adapted, or standardized according to international guidelines of psychological measurement. We provide recommendations on improving clinical neuropsychology to better serve Arab patients.

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) constitutes a major public health problem worldwide. The existing links between childhood family violence experiences and perpetration of IPV during adulthood suggest that violence is transmitted across generations. The aims of this study were to provide new insights into characteristics of the history of childhood family violence in a sample of Spanish convicted male batterers and to examine what typology of batterer (specialist or generalist) is more likely to have had different types of childhood experiences of violence in the family context. Participants were 740 men convicted of IPV whose ages ranged from 18 to 71 years old ( M = 39.74; SD = 10.01). Of them, 305 men were classified as specialist batterers, and 391 men were classified as generalist batterers. Participants completed a questionnaire made ad hoc regarding family of origin violence and sociodemographic aspects. Results showed that, in comparison with generalist batterers, specialist batterers had higher likelihood of having experienced child abuse or maltreatment during their childhood, having experienced physical punishment and child neglect, having their father as the aggressor of such experienced situations of abuse, or maltreatment. Likewise, specialist batterers had higher likelihood of having been witnesses of family violence, having witnessed physical and psychological violence in the family, having witnessed their mother and siblings being the victims and their father being the aggressor when family violence occurred. This study emphasized the need for identifying children exposed to direct and indirect family violence because they could be a vulnerable group for future IPV perpetration. Moreover, variables related to childhood family violence must be considered when developing intervention treatment programs focused on male specialist batterers.

Both pre- and early postnatal supplementation with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), arachidonic acid (AA) and folate have been related to neural development, but their long-term effects on later neural function remain unclear. We evaluated the long-term effects of maternal prenatal supplementation with fish-oil (FO), 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF), placebo or FO + 5-MTHF, as well as the role of fatty acid desaturase (FADS) gene cluster polymorphisms, on their offspring’s processing speed at later school age. This study was conducted in NUHEAL children at 7.5 (n = 143) and 9 years of age (n = 127). Processing speed tasks were assessed using Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), Children Color Trails Test (CCTT) and Stroop Color andWord Test (SCWT). Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, folate and total homocysteine (tHcy) levels were determined at delivery from maternal and cord blood samples. FADS and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) 677 C > T genetic polymorphisms were analyzed. Mixed models (linear and logistic) were performed. There were significant differences in processing speed performance among children at different ages (p < 0.001). The type of prenatal supplementation had no effect on processing speed in children up to 9 years. Secondary exploratory analyses indicated that children born to mothers with higher AA/DHA ratio at delivery (p < 0.001) and heterozygotes for FADS1 rs174556 (p < 0.05) showed better performance in processing speed at 9 years. Negative associations between processing speed scores and maternal tHcy levels at delivery were found. Our findings suggest speed processing development in children up to 9 years could be related to maternal factors, including AA/DHA and tHcy levels, and their genetic background, mainly FADS polymorphism. These considerations support that maternal prenatal supplementation should be quantitatively adequate and individualized to obtain better brain development and mental performance in the offspring., European Commission 212652 007036 QLK1-CT-1999-00888, European Commission European Commission Joint Research Centre DYNAHEALTH-633595 Lifecycle-733206, European Research Council Advanced Grant META-GROWTH ERC-2012AdG 322605, Erasmus Plus Programme Early Nutrition eAcademy Southeast Asia 573651EPP-1-2016-1-DE-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP, Erasmus Plus Programme Capacity Building to Improve Early Nutrition and Health in South Africa 598488-EPP-1-2018-1-DE-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP, EU Interreg Programme Focus in CD-CE111, European Joint Programming Initiative Project NutriPROGRAM and EndObesity, German Ministry of Education and Research, Berlin 01 GI 0825, German Research Foundation (DFG) Ko912/12-1 INST 409/224-1 FUGG, Else Kroner-Fresenius-Foundation, LMU University Hospitals

Moral convictions consist of assessments based on perceptions of morality and immorality, of right and wrong. There are people who, based on morality, commit crimes. For instance, social and moral norms based on inequality appear to play an important role in the batterer’s behavior to commit violent acts. Research shows that batterers consider themselves to be moral persons, are defenders of their beliefs, and, if necessary, are self-delusional, enjoying a “feeling” of moral worth. The main aim of this work was to uncover the brain mechanisms underlying moral decision making related to intimate partner violence (IPV) against women. We conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study comparing moral decisions related to IPV and general violence (GV) in a sample of convicted Spanish men. The two groups of our sample were recruited from the Center for Social Insertion (CSI; Granada, Spain): batterers (BG, n ¼ 21), people convicted for IPV, and other criminals (OCG, n ¼ 20) convicted of violating other legal norms without violence against people. Greene’s classical dilemmas were used to validate IPV and GV dilemmas. First, our results showed that IPV and GV dilemmas activate the same brain areas as those activated by Greene’s dilemmas, primarily involving the default mode network (DMN), which suggests that IPV and GV dilemmas are both moral dilemmas. Second, our results showed that other criminals activated the DMN during both types of dilemmas. Nevertheless, batterers activated the DMN during the GV dilemmas but not during the IPV ones, suggesting that decisions about their female partners do not entail moral conflict. Thus, these preliminary results showed that batterers do not activate moral areas during IPV dilemmas specifically, but do so during GV dilemmas. These results suggest that intervention programs for batterers should aim to specifically modify the value system held by the abuser toward his female partner and not toward other people., Spanish Government PSI 2009-13585, Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness PSI2013-42792-R PSI2016-79481-R, Regional Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Science from Andalusian Government P2012-SEJ1723, Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport (University Faculty Training program) FPU15/04335, Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities FJCI-2017-33396, Andalusian group CTS176

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been related to brain alterations in female survivors. Nonetheless, few studies have used an exploratory approach, focusing on brain regions that are traditionally studied in other populations with post-traumatic stress. Traumatic brain injury (TBI), strangulation, and childhood trauma are highly prevalent among this population, and have also been associated with brain alterations and functional deterioration. As such, it is difficult to determine how different brain regions are affected by the complex interplay of these factors in female survivors. The aim of this study is to assess (a) brain alterations in female survivors of IPV as compared to non-victim females and (b) the potential causal mechanisms associated with such alterations. We hypothesized that structural brain differences would be found between female survivors of IPV and non-victims, and that these differences would be related to IPV-related TBI, strangulation, IPV severity, depression, post-traumatic stress, generalized anxiety, and childhood adverse experiences. A total of 27 non-victims and 28 survivors completed structural magnetic resonance imaging and questionnaires to measure the potential causal mechanisms for brain alterations. Structural brain differences were found between groups, principally in volumetric analyses. The brain regions in which between-group differences were found were related to attempted strangulation, IPV-related TBI, severity of IPV, adverse childhood experiences, and post-traumatic stress. These results demonstrate that a wider range of brain regions may be impacted by IPV and that various factors are implicated in the structural brain alterations found in female survivors. This study demonstrates the importance of post-traumatic stress, childhood and adult trauma, and physical violence in assessing brain alterations in IPV survivors. Further, it serves as a critical first step in assessing an extensive list of potential causal mechanisms for structural brain alterations, using a more comprehensive a whole-brain structural analysis of IPV female victims, a largely understudied and vulnerable population., I+D+I Operative Program FEDER project of the Andalusian Government in 2018 B-CTS-493-UGR18, Ministry of Education and Professional Training in Spain, University of Granada (Spain), Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities FJCI-2017-33396

The number of computerized and reliable performance validity tests are scarce. This study aims to address this issue by validating a free and computerized performance validity test: the Coin in Hand–Extended Version (CIH-EV). The CIH-EV test was administered in four countries (Colombia, Spain, Portugal, and the United States) and performance was compared with other commonly used validated tests. Results showed that the CIH-EV has at least 95% specificity and 62% sensitivity, and performance was highly correlated with scores on the Test of Memory Malingering, Victoria Symptom Validity Test, and Digit Span of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. There were no significant differences in scores across countries, suggesting that the CIH-EV performs similarly in a variety of cultures. Our findings suggest that the CIH-EV has the potential to serve as a valid validity test either alone or as a supplement to other commonly used validity tests.

Objective memory is one of the most affected cognitive areas in patients with HIV and perhaps one of the best predictors of daily functioning problems. Its relationship with biological markers, mood symptoms, and cognitive complaint is unclear and has received little attention in native Spanish-speakers. The goal of this study is to explore the relationships between the above-mentioned variables and their prediction of objective memory performance in native Spanish-speakers. HIV-related biological markers, mood symptoms, cognitive complaint, and objective memory were assessed in a sample native Spanish-speaking HIV patient with possible cognitive impairment. The results revealed deficit in short- and long-term memory while recognition was retained. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that the combination of independent variables significantly predicted performance in recognition, indicating that the pattern of impairment in short- and long-term memory is related to a difficulty to learn new information discriminately. The non-prediction of short- and long-term memory performance may be related to the inability to estimate the deficit in objective memory. These results show the need to perform specific interventions in mnesic processes, in view of the relation between this cognitive process and patients' daily functioning.

Neuropsychological studies on refugee children are scarce, but there are even less in the case of Palestinian children. This work aims to study the neuropsychological performance of Palestinian refugee children in Palestine compared to other Palestinian children living outside refugee camps. A comprehensive Neuropsychological battery was administrated to 584 Palestinian school children (464 refugees and 120 non-refugees) aged 6, 7, and 8 years old. Results showed that non-refugee children outperformed refugee children in sustained attention, verbal comprehension, verbal memory, and visual memory. This study is the first to have performed a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment, based on a standardized and validated battery with the Palestinian refugee children. It supports professionals in their evaluation of neurodevelopment and neuropsychological alterations in refugee and non-refugee children in Palestine., Center for Development Cooperation Initiatives (Centro de Iniciativas de Cooperación al Desarrollo—CICODE), Granada University, Spain (Reference No. C14P11_9359)

Although the role of culture has increasingly gained acceptance in clinical neuropsychology, relatively minimal research exists regarding the actual impact on clinical activities. In this study, we assess how using North American neuropsychological tests affects diagnostic accuracy in cognitive disorders of culturally diverse individuals. To address this question, participants from Colombia, Morocco, and Spain were administered five commonly used neuropsychological tests and the test results were used to determine whether they would be classified as having the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for Mild Cognitive and Major Cognitive Disorder. Results reveal that diagnostic error occurred up to 20% of the time, and that the frequency of misdiagnosis differed by nationality. These results provide evidence that using tests from one culture to assess individuals from other cultures produces significant false positives. Findings are discussed in terms of the foundations of neuropsychological assessment and its relationship to cultural variables.

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a complex and global phenomenon that requires a multi-perspective analysis. Nevertheless, the number of neuroscientific studies conducted on this issue is scarce as compared with studies of other types of violence, and no neuroimaging studies comparing batterers to other criminals have been conducted. Thus, the main aim of this study was to compare the brain functioning of batterers to that of other criminals when they are exposed to IPV or general violence pictures. An fMRI study was conducted in 21 batterers and 20 other criminals while they observed intimate partner violence images (IPVI), general violence images (GVI) and neutral images (NI). Results demonstrated that batterers, compared to other criminals, exhibited a higher activation in the anterior and posterior cingulate cortex and in the middle prefrontal cortex and a decreased activation in the superior prefrontal cortex to IPVI compared to NI. The paired t-test comparison between IPVI and GVI for each group showed engagement of the medial prefrontal cortex, the posterior cingulate and the left angular cortices to IPVI in the batterer group only. These results could have important implications for a better understanding of the IPV phenomenon. Language: en

The ability to compose creative musical ideas depends on the cooperation of brain mechanisms involved in multiple processes, including controlled creative cognition, which is a type of creativity that has so far been poorly researched. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the brain evoked activations by using fMRI, in both musicians and non-musicians, during a general task of controlled musical creativity and its relationship with general creativity. Results revealed that during a rhythmic improvisation task, musicians show greater activation of the motor supplementary area, the anterior cingulate cortex, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and the insula, along with greater deactivation of the default mode network in comparison with non-musicians. For the group of musicians, we also found a positive correlation between the time improvising and the activation of the supplementary motor area, whilst in the non-musicians group improvisation time correlated with the activation of the insula. The results found for the musicians support the notion that the supplementary motor area plays a role in the representation and execution of musical behaviour, while the results in non-musicians reveal the role of the insula in the processing of novel musical information. La capacidad de componer ideas creativas musicales depende de la cooperación de mecanismos cerebrales involucrados en procesos múltiples incluyendo la cognición creativa controlada que es un tipo de creatividad poco investigada. El objetivo de esta investigación fue estudiar el funcionamiento cerebral de músicos y no músicos en tareas de creatividad musical controlada y su relación con la creatividad general. Los resultados han mostrado que los músicos activan más el área suplementaria motora, cingulada anterior, corteza prefrontal dorsolateral, la ínsula; y desactivan más la red cerebral por defecto que los controles durante una tarea de creatividad musical. También se ha encontrado una correlación positiva entre el tiempo de improvisación y la activación del área suplementaria motora en los músicos, mientras que en los no músicos el tiempo de improvisación correlacionó con la activación de la ínsula. Los resultados en el grupo de músicos avalan el papel del área suplementaria motora en la representación y ejecución de la conducta musical, mientras que los resultados en no músicos ponen de manifiesto el papel de la ínsula en el procesamiento de información musical novedosa. Institutos Paraibanos de Educaçao, Mantenedor del Centro Universitario de Joao Pessoa (Brasil) y la Universidad de Granada (España)

Alcohol dependence is associated with abnormalities in the processing of emotional signals and impulsive alcohol-seeking behaviours, and these alterations compromise the effectiveness of treatment approaches. However, there is a lack of studies linking the experience of emotions to everyday motivationally relevant stimuli in alcohol-dependent individuals using both autonomic and self-report measures. We analysed heart rate (HR), skin conductance (SC) and subjective emotional reactivity to everyday affective stimuli in alcohol-dependent individuals, and their associations with impulsivity and degree of alcohol consumption. SC and HR were continuously monitored in 28 alcohol-dependent individuals and in 31 non-alcohol healthy controls during passive viewing of pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral emotional pictures. Participants assessed the pictures for valence, arousal, and dominance and completed the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale. Alcohol-dependent individuals showed reduced HR and SC reactivity to both positive and negative emotional stimuli. In the case of SC, this blunted response was associated with impulsivity. Furthermore, alcohol-dependents displayed decoupled physiological and subjective responses, with blunted autonomic responses and normal subjective reports regarding emotional stimuli. Our findings indicate that alcohol-dependent individuals failed to use emotional autonomic feedback in response to natural, emotionally relevant stimuli, and provide initial evidence of the contribution of impulsivity to emotional processing deficits in this population. These results are in keeping with the proposed key role played by emotional experience and impulsivity in substance abuse.La dependencia al alcohol está asociada con anormalidades en el procesamiento de las emociones y comportamientos impulsivos en la búsqueda de alcohol. Sin embargo, pocos estudios han analizado las respuestas emocionales hacia estímulos motivacionalmente relevantes en personas dependientes al alcohol usando medidas tanto autonómicas como subjetivas. En este estudio se analizó la tasa cardiaca (TC), la conductancia de la piel (CP) y las respuestas subjetivas a estímulos emocionales cotidianos en individuos dependientes al alcohol, y su asociación con la impulsividad y el consumo de alcohol. La TC y la CP fueron registradas en 28 participantes dependientes al alcohol y en 31 participantes sanos durante la visualización pasiva de imágenes emocionales placenteras, desagradables y neutras. Posteriormente, los participantes evaluaron valencia, activación y dominancia de las imágenes y completaron la Escala de Impulsividad de Barratt. Los participantes dependientes mostraron respuestas reducidas en TC y CP, tanto hacia las imágenes emocionales positivas como negativas. En el caso de la CP, estas respuestas se asociaron a la impulsividad. Los participantes dependientes al alcohol mostraron una disociación entre las respuestas fisiológicas y subjetivas, con unas respuestas autonómicas disminuidas y unas respuestas subjetivas normales. Estos resultados sugieren que los individuos dependientes al alcohol tienen problemas en utilizar el feedback fisiológico emocional al responder a estímulos emocionales relevantes, y proporcionan una evidencia inicial de la contribución de la impulsividad a los déficits de procesamiento emocional en esta población. Estos resultados son congruentes con el papel clave que juega la experiencia emocional y la impulsividad en el abuso de sustancias.

The ability of a wide range of psychological and actuarial measures to characterize crimes in the prison population has not yet been compared in a single study. Our main objective was to determine if the discriminant capacity of psychological measures (PM) and actuarial data (AD) varies according to the crime. An Ecuadorian sample of 576 men convicted of Robbery, Murder, Rape and Drug Possession crimes was evaluated through an ad hoc questionnaire, prison files and the Spanish adaptation of the Personality Assessment Inventory. Discriminant analysis was used to establish, for each crime, the discriminant capacity and the classification accuracy of a model composed of AD (socio-demographic and judicial measures) and a second model incorporating PM. The AD showed a superior discriminant capacity, whilst the contribution of both types of measures varied according to the crime. The PM generated some increase in the correct classification percentages for Murder, Rape and Drug Possession, but their contribution was zero for the crime of Robbery. Specific profiles of each crime were obtained from the strongest significant correlations between the value of each explanatory variable and the probability of belonging to the crime. The AD model is more robust when these four crimes are characterized. The contribution of AD and PM depends on the crime, and the inclusion of PM in actuarial models moderately optimizes the classification accuracy of Murder, Rape, and Drug Possession crimes., Health Coordination Zone 8 (Ministry of Public Health of Ecuador, MSP), Regional Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Science from Andalusian Government P2012-SEJ1723, Spanish Government PSI2013-42792-R

Background Peroxisome proliferator activated receptors (PPARs) are ligand activated transcription factors with crucial functions in lipid homeostasis, glucose metabolism, anti-inflammatory processes, placental development, and are involved in cognitive functions and neurodegenerative diseases. Polymorphisms in PPAR genes are shown to influence the activity of these receptors. Aims 1) To examine the association of PPARG Pro12Ala polymorphism in pregnant women and their offspring on infant's neurodevelopmental outcomes during the first 18months of life; 2) to determine the influence of Pro12Ala polymorphism on fatty acid concentrations in plasma phospholipids and placental tissue. Study design 138 mother–infant pairs from the PREOBE observational study were genotyped for PPARG Pro12Ala. Plasma phospholipids and placental fatty acid concentrations were measured at delivery. Infants' neuropsychological assessment at 6 and 18months of age was performed using Bayley III. Results The effect of Pro12Ala on infant's neurodevelopmental outcomes was detected at 18months, but not at 6months of age. 18months old infants born to mothers with wild-type Pro12 genotype had better cognitive (OR=5.11, 95% CI: 1.379–18.96, p=0.015), language (OR=3.41, 95% CI: 1.35–11.24, p=0.044), and motor development scores (OR=4.77, 95% CI: 1.243–18.33, p=0.023) than the Ala allele carriers. Pro12Ala variants did not seem to affect fatty acids concentrations in blood nor in placenta at delivery. Conclusions Infants born to mothers with Pro12 genotype have better neurodevelopmental outcomes at 18months of age than Ala allele carriers, indicating a long-term transplacental action of PPARγ variants on foetal brain development.

In this study, we developed the Brief Moral Decision-Making Questionnaire (BrMoD) as a standardized brief form of the dilemmas compiled by Greene and colleagues (Greene, Sommerville, Nystrom, Darley, & Cohen, 2001). An initial Rasch analysis was conducted over responses to 60 dilemmas to retain the most appropriate items. The psychometric properties of the 32-item brief instrument were determined in a community sample of 133 individuals using analyses from both the Rasch model and the classical test theory. The BrMoD scores showed appropriate reliability and construct validity. Differences between dilemma categories proposed by Greene et al. were observed in the BrMoD by measuring the difficulty of decisions and response times of the participants. In addition, there was no differential item functioning by the demographic variables. Therefore, the BrMoD is a good tool for assessing moral decision making in research or professional fields.

Overweight, obesity, and gestational diabetes (GD) during pregnancy may negatively affect neurodevelopment in the offspring. However, the mechanisms are unclear and objective measures of neurodevelopment in infancy are scarce. We hypothesized that these maternal metabolic pathologies impair cortical visual evoked potentials (cVEPs), a proxy for visual and neuronal maturity. At 3 months of age, visual acuity was significantly poorer in offspring born to GD mothers. At 18 months of age, there were no differences in visual acuity but infants born to GD mothers had significantly longer latencies of cVEPs when measured at 15', and 30' of arc. The group differences at 30' remained significant after confounder adjustment (mean [SD] 121.0 [16.0] vs. 112.6 [7.6] ms in controls, p = 0.007) and the most prolonged latencies were observed in offspring to GD mothers with concurrent overweight (128.9 [26.9] ms, p = 0.002) and obesity (118.5 [5.1] ms, p = 0.020). Infants born to mothers with GD, particularly those with concurrent overweight or obesity, have prolonged latencies of visual evoked potentials at 18 months of age, suggesting that this maternal metabolic profile have a long lasting, non-optimal, effect on infants brain development., This work was supported by Spanish Ministry of Innovation and Science. Junta de AndalucõÂa: Excellence Projects (P06-CTS-02341 [to CC]); Spanish Ministry of Education (Grant no. SB2010- 0025 [to CC]); Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (BFU2012-40254- C03-01 [to CC]); Abbott Laboratories, Granada, Spain; Henning and Johan Throne-Holst's foundation (Post Doc scholarship [to SKB]).

Despite the consensus pointing out the importance of cultural variables in neuropsychological assessments, empirical studies within cross-cultural neuropsychology continue to be limited. The Cross-Linguistic Naming Test (CLNT) is a naming test that is supposed to have no influence from cultural variables. The aim of this paper is to determine the psychometric properties of the CLNT and its discriminatory validity (Experiment 1) and to determine the performance of the CLNT in different cultures (Experiment 2).Three groups followed the CLNT in Experiment 1: dementia patients, individuals with subjective memory complaints, and neurologically healthy volunteers. Three groups followed the CLNT in Experiment 2: Colombians, Moroccans, and Spaniards.The results showed that the psychometric properties of the CLNT are appropriate and that this test obtains a high specificity but a low sensitivity. Furthermore, no differences were found in the CLNT among the three cultural groups.The CLNT may be appropriate for the screening of naming impairment in Colombian, Moroccan, and Spanish cultures.

Both maternal Fe deficiency (ID) and being overweight or obese (Ow/Ob, BMI≥25 kg/m2) may negatively affect offspring brain development. However, the two risk factors correlate and their independent effects on infant neurodevelopment are unclear. PREOBE is a prospective observational study that included 331 pregnant Spanish women, of whom 166 had pre-gestational Ow/Ob. Fe status was analysed at 34 weeks and at delivery, and babies were assessed using Bayley III scales of neurodevelopment at 18 months. In confounder-adjusted analyses, maternal ID at 34 weeks was associated with lower composite motor scores at 18 months (mean 113·3 (sd 9·9) v. 117·1 (sd 9·2), P=0·039). Further, the offspring of mothers with ID at delivery had lower cognitive scores (114·0 (sd 9·7) v. 121·5 (sd 10·9), P=0·039) and lower receptive, expressive and composite (99·5 (sd 8·6) v. 107·6 (sd 8·3), P=0·004) language scores. The negative associations between maternal ID at delivery and Bayley scores remained even when adjusting for maternal Ow/Ob and gestational diabetes. Similarly, maternal Ow/Ob correlated with lower gross motor scores in the offspring (12·3 (sd 2·0) v. 13·0 (sd 2·1), P=0·037), a correlation that remained when adjusting for maternal ID. In conclusion, maternal ID and pre-gestational Ow/Ob are both negatively associated with Bayley scores at 18 months, but independently and on different subscales. These results should be taken into account when considering Fe supplementation for pregnant women.

Head circumference in infants has been reported to predict brain size, total grey matter volume (GMV) and neurocognitive development. However, it is unknown whether it has predictive value on regional and subcortical brain volumes. We aimed to explore the relationship between several head circumference measurements since birth and distributions of GMV and subcortical volumes at later childhood. We examined seventy-four, Caucasian, singleton, term-born infants born to mothers randomised to receive fish oil and/or 5-methyltetrahydrofolate or placebo prenatal supplementation. We assessed head circumference at birth and at 4 and 10 years of age and cognitive abilities at 7 years of age. We obtained brain MRI at 10 years of age, on which we performed voxel-based morphometry, cortical surface extraction and subcortical segmentation. Analyses were controlled for sex, age, height, weight, family status, laterality and total intracranial volume. Prenatal supplementation did not affect head circumference at any age, cognitive abilities or total brain volumes. Head circumference at 4 years presented the highest correlation with total GMV, white matter volume and brain surface area, and was also strongly associated with GMV of frontal, temporal and occipital areas, as well as with caudate nucleus, globus pallidus, putamen and thalamus volumes. As relationships between brain volumes in childhood and several outcomes extend into adulthood, we have found that ages between 0 and 4 years as the optimal time for brain growth; postnatal factors might have the most relevant impact on structural maturation of certain cortical areas and subcortical nuclei, independent of prenatal supplementation.

Batería de Evaluación Neuropsicológica Infantil (BENCI) is a computerized battery for the neuropsychological evaluation of children. This battery has been used in different studies to evaluate neuropsychological functions and neurodevelopment in children. The objective of this study is to test the validity and reliability of the first Arabic version of the BENCI on an Arabic population where neuropsychological tests are very scarce. We administrate the BENCI to 198 school-age children (98 boys and 100 girls) from Morocco. To examine the test retest reliability of the BENCI battery, we administered the battery 2 times to 43 children (23 boys and 20 girls) with 15 days in between the pre- and posttest. The results revealed good validity and reliability of the battery in Arabic children. Also, the BENCI battery has demonstrated the capacity to differentiate between children by their age group. This battery can be of great use to both the research and clinical areas of Arabic countries and/or in assistance to Arabic immigrants that live outside of their native country.

It has been shown that supplementation with omega-3 improves cognitive performance, especially in infants and toddlers, but it is unknown whether these results are effective in older malnourished children. The aims of this study, therefore, were to investigate the omega-3 supplementation effects in 8- to 12-year-old children and to know which neuropsychological functions improve after three months of intervention in a sample of Mexican children with mild to moderate malnutrition. This study was a randomized, double-blind, treatment and placebo study of 59 children aged 8–12 years who were individually allocated to 2 groups. The duration of the intervention lasted 3 months. Neuropsychological performance was measured at baseline and at 3 months. Results show that more than 50% of children in the treatment group had greater improvement in 11 of the 18 neuropsychological variables studied. Processing speed, visual-motor coordination, perceptual integration, attention and executive function showed improvement in more than 70% of the omega-3 supplemented children. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01199120 .

Drug addiction is associated with impaired judgment in unstructured situations in which success depends on self-regulation of behavior according to internal goals (adaptive decision-making). However most executive measures are aimed at assessing decision-making in structured scenarios, in which success is determined by external criteria inherent to the situation (veridical decision-making). The aim of this study was to examine the performance of Substance Abusers (SA, n = 97) and Healthy Comparison participants (HC, n = 81) in two behavioral tasks that mimic the uncertainty inherent in real-life decision-making: the Cognitive Bias Task (CB) and the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) (administered only to SA). A related goal was to study the interdependence between performances on both tasks. We conducted univariate analyses of variance (ANOVAs) to contrast the decision-making performance of both groups; and used correlation analyses to study the relationship between both tasks. SA showed a marked context-independent decision-making strategy on the CB's adaptive condition, but no differences were found on the veridical conditions in a subsample of SA (n = 34) and HC (n = 22). A high percentage of SA (75%) also showed impaired performance on the IGT. Both tasks were only correlated when no impaired participants were selected. Results indicate that SA show abnormal decision-making performance in unstructured situations, but not in veridical situations. (JINS, 2006, 12, 90–99.)

Different studies have demonstrated that culture has a basic role in intelligence tests performance. Nevertheless, the specific neuropsychological abilities used by different cultures to perform an intelligence test have never been explored. In this study, we examine the differences between Spaniards and Moroccans in the neuropsychological abilities utilized to perform the Beta III as a non-verbal intelligence test. The results showed that the Spaniard group obtained a higher IQ than the Moroccan group in the Beta III. Moreover, the neuropsychological abilities that predicted scores for the Beta III were dependent on the country of origin and were different for each subtest. Besides showing the cultural effect on non-verbal intelligence test performance, our results suggest that a single test may measure different functions, depending on the subject's cultural background.

In a patient with a lesion of the right amygdala and temporal pole who had the characteristics of the gourmand syndrome, sensory and hedonic testing was performed to examine the processing of taste, olfactory, and some emotional stimuli. The gourmand syndrome describes a preoccupation with food and a preference for fine eating and is associated with right anterior lesions. It was found that the taste thresholds for sweet, salt, bitter, and sour were normal; that the patient did not dislike the taste of salt (NaCl) at low and moderate concentrations as much as age-matched controls; that this also occurred for monosodium glutamate (MSG); that there were some olfactory differences from normal controls; and that there was a marked reduction in the ability to detect face expressions of disgust.

Even though theories and research have pointed out the importance of variables such as age, gender, or education on neuropsychological assessment, much less emphasis has been placed on language and culture. With the increasing population of Spanish speakers in North America and the limited amount of clinical and scholarly information currently available, neuropsychological assessment of this group has similarly become of increasing importance. Though several studies have been published over the last two decades, an assumption exists that all Spanish speakers, holding education and age constant, would perform similarly regardless of their origin. To address this assumption, a sample of 126 participants was tested from four different countries (Chile, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Spain). Participants were compared on the following commonly used neuropsychological tests: Verbal Serial Learning Curve, Rey- Osterrieth Complex Figure Test, Verbal Phonemic Fluency Test, the Stroop Color and Word Test, and the Trail Making Test. Analyses revealed significant differences across the groups in two of the five tests administered. Significant differences were observed in the delayed recall of the Serial Learning Test and in the Verbal Fluency Test. The findings highlight the importance of within-group differences between Spanish speakers.

This study aims to determine whether it is possible to modify executive function in stressed individuals by means of cognitive-behavioral therapy for stress management. Thirty-one people with high levels of perceived stress were recruited into the study (treatment group = 18; wait-list group = 13). The treatment group received 14 weeks of stress management program. Psychological and executive function variables were evaluated in both groups pre and post-intervention. The treatment group showed improved psychological variables of perceived stress (t = 5.492; p = .001), vulnerability to stress (t = 4.061; p = .001) and superstitious thinking (t = 2.961; p = .009). Likewise, the results showed statistically significant differences in personality variables related to executive function, positive urgency (t = 3.585; p = .002) and sensitivity to reward (t = –2.201; p = .042), which improved after the therapy. These variables showed a moderate to high effect size (oscillates between 1.30 for perceived stress and .566 for sensitivity to reward). The cognitive-behavioral therapy for stress management may be an appropriate strategy for improving personality construct components related to executive function, however effects of the therapy are not showed on performance on the tests of executive function applied, as presented studies previous.

The aim of this study was to investigate the possible effects of corticosteroids in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in two processes of executive function: cognitive flexibility and decision-making. To that end, we evaluated 121 women divided into three groups: 50 healthy women, 38 women with SLE not receiving corticosteroid treatment and 33 women with SLE receiving corticosteroid treatment. Cognitive flexibility was measured with the Trail Making Tests A and B; decision-making was measured with the Iowa Gambling Task. Additionally, demographic (age and education level), clinical (SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI), Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC)/American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Damage Index (SDI) and disease duration) and psychological characteristics (stress vulnerability, perceived stress and psychopathic symptomatology) were evaluated. The results showed that both SLE groups displayed poorer decision-making than the healthy women (p = 0.006) and also that the SLE group receiving corticosteroid treatment showed lower cognitive flexibility than the other two groups (p = 0.030). Moreover, SLE patients showed poorer scores than healthy women on the following SCL-90-R subscales: somatisation (p = 0.005), obsessions and compulsions (p = 0.045), depression (p = 0.004), hostility (p = 0.013), phobic anxiety (p = 0.005), psychoticism (p = 0.016) and positive symptom total (p = 0.001). In addition, both SLE groups were more vulnerable to stress (p = 0.000). These findings help to understand the effects of corticosteroid treatment on cognitive flexibility and decision-making, in addition to the disease-specific effects suffered by women with SLE. This study is a part of a doctoral thesis, and was supported by the I+D Project “PSI2010-15780” of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.

Intense and complex symptoms of grief seem to be related to a series of biases and difficulties in areas such as attention, autobiographical memory and problem solving. However, studies of neuropsychological performance have reported contradictory evidence. The role of executive function (EF) in bereaved individuals has not been systematically studied by differentiating between its components.A total of 38 participants who had experienced the death of a loved one participated in this study. They were divided into two groups based on the intensity of their symptoms. They underwent neuropsychological assessments that included measures of flexibility, inhibition, working memory and emotional decision-making.Group differences were found in the parts of the emotional decision-making task that assessed decisions made under risk. Considering each participantrsquo;s level of education and emotional variables, the symptoms of grief predicted a substantial variance in their performance in the decision-making task.Intense symptoms of grief seem to be related to poorer emotional decision-making performance but not to flexibility, inhibition or working memory.

BACKGROUND: Cocaine dependence has been associated with alterations in the brain's white matter integrity, yet relevant questions remain about what alterations are linked to cocaine use and/or polysubstance use, and whether they are amenable to abstinence.METHODS: This study applied a single measurement session of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to examine white matter structure in male cocaine polysubstance users (n=37) versus male healthy controls (n=38), along with correlations between DTI measures and patterns of polysubstance use and duration of abstinence. Specifically, we conducted voxel-wise analyses of fractional anisotropy (FA) in the corpus callosum, frontolimbic, striatal and cingulate tracts relevant to drug sequelae.RESULTS: Cocaine polysubstance users, compared to controls, showed lower FA in the body of the corpus callosum, anterior cingulate, uncinate fasciculus and retrolenticular part of the internal capsule. Duration of cocaine use had a marginal negative association with FA in the corpus callosum, and duration of alcohol use was negatively associated with FA in the internal capsule and the uncinate fasciculus. Duration of cocaine abstinence was positively correlated with FA in the uncinate fasciculus, posterior cingulate and fornix-striatum. In the context of cocaine polysubstance use, chronicity of cocaine use is therefore likely to be associated with lower FA in the corpus callosum, and chronicity of alcohol use with lower FA in the frontal-striatal and frontal-limbic tracts. Longer abstinence was correlated to greater FA in frontal-striatal and frontal-limbic tracts, though the direction of causality remains unclear.CONCLUSION: Since the results did not survive multiple comparison-corrected thresholds, more studies are needed to confirm these indications.

Background Moral judgments depend on the integration of complex cognitive and emotional processes. Addiction is associated with core deficits in both cognitive and emotional processing, which may jointly lead to utilitarian biases in moral decision-making. Methods We assessed 32 polysubstance dependent males and 32 non-drug using controls using a previously validated moral judgment task, including non-moral scenarios, and moral dilemmas that were either high in emotional salience (“personal scenarios”) or low in emotional salience (“impersonal scenarios”). Results Polysubstance dependent individuals endorsed more utilitarian choices for personal dilemmas (e.g., smothering a baby to save a group of hidden people during wartime). These choices were also perceived as less difficult. Severity of alcohol use correlated with the proportion of utilitarian judgments. Conclusion Polysubstance dependent individuals show a more utilitarian pattern of moral decision-making for personal moral scenarios.

Summary In recent studies showing how stress can affect an individual's decision-making process, the cognitive component of decision-making could also be considered a coping resource available to individuals when faced with a stressful situation. The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) constitutes the standard test for the assessment of decision-making skills under conditions of uncertainty. Responses of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis to psychosocial stress, in turn, have been estimated by means of cortisol measurements. Our main objective in this study was to test if good and bad IGT performers show distinct HPA axis responses, when challenged in a classic psychosocial stress test. Because women have been shown to outperform men on the IGT under the influence of psychosocial stress, we chose a sample of 40 women to take the IGT before they were exposed to a public speaking task in a virtual environment. The activation of the HPA axis, involved in the stress response, was assessed by examining the levels of cortisol in the subjects’ saliva at the following four stages: before the challenge, after the challenge, and 10 and 20 min after the task. Participants were divided into two groups according to their level of performance, good or poor, on the IGT. Results showed statistically significant differences between the groups for pre-exposure cortisol levels and for cortisol levels 20 min after exposure. Overall cortisol levels were significantly higher in the group with poor performance on the IGT. It appears that good decision-making, which may be an important resource for coping with stress, is associated with a lower HPA axis response to a psychosocial stressor.