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Sinestesia es el término utilizado para describir un conjunto de estados cognitivos relacionados con la unión de los sentidos. Las últimas investigaciones realizadas en este campo resultan extremadamente interesantes para el conocimiento de la mente humana. Es una ventana abierta a nuestro cerebro y podría resolver muchas de las incógnitas relacionadas con la Percepción y el pensamiento.

La Asociación Latinoamericana de Neuropsicología (ALAN) convoca a la celebración del 7° Congreso Internacional Cerebro y Mente (La Integración) del 22 al 25 de Agosto de 2012 en el Jardín Botánico de Medellín, junto con la conmemoración de los 20 años de investigación del Grupo de Neurociencias de Antioquia y el Primer Congreso Antioqueño de Neurología y Neuropediatría, avalado por la Asociación Antioqueña de Neurología.

Granada acogerá a los distinguidos científicos Maurizio Corbetta (Universidad de Washington, EEUU), Juan Botella (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, España) y Nick Yeung (Universidad de Oxford, Reino Unido), en el marco de la 7ª Reunión Científica sobre Atención.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a multisystem illness, which may be associated with imbalances in gut microbiota. This study builds on recent evidence that sleep may be influenced by gut microbiota, by assessing whether changes to microbiota in a clinical population known to have both poor sleep and high rates of colonization with gram-positive faecal Streptococcus, can improve sleep. Twenty-one CFS participants completed a 22-day open label trial. Faecal microbiota analysis was performed at baseline and at the end of the trial. Participants were administered erythromycin 400mg b.d. for 6 days. Actigraphy and questionnaires were used to monitor sleep, symptoms and mood. Changes in patients who showed a clinically significant change in faecal Streptococcus after treatment (responders; defined as post-therapy distribution

Objective: Although neuroticism is the strongest personality predictor of sleep disturbance, it is not clear whether dysphoric (Withdrawal) or angry (Volatility) aspect of neuroticism is more important and whether problematic technology use plays an intervening role. To this end, this study examined distinct contributions of neurotic withdrawal and volatility in predicting self-reported sleep disturbance while testing the mediating role of problematic internet use. Methods: One-hundred and fourty-three college students completed an online survey that included measures of neuroticism, sleep quality, and problematic internet use. Results: Although both aspects of neuroticism predicted poor sleep, Withdrawal emerged as a stronger and the only unique predictor. Furthermore, problematic internet use explained a portion of Withdrawal’s relationship to worse sleep, especially nighttime and daytime disturbances. Discussion: The findings suggest that dysphoric rather than angry features of neuroticism are more important for sleep problems and that the problematic use of modern technology may be an important contributing factor.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence and types of arrhythmias in Saudi OSA patients and to identify predictors of arrhythmia in this group of patients. Methods: This case-control study included all patients who underwent level I attended overnight polysomnography between 2009 and 2012. Electrocardiographic data collected during sleep studies of patients with and without OSA were manually reviewed. Results: The study comprised 498 patients (394 OSA patients and 104 non-OSA patients (controls). The prevalence of arrhythmia in OSA patients was higher than that in the controls (26.9% vs. 11.5%; p=0.001). Comparing OSA patients and controls showed: premature atrial contraction (10.2%vs.2.9%;p=0.019), premature ventricular contraction (PVC) (19.3%vs.9.6%;p=0.02), non-isolated PVC (bi/tri/qua) 10.8%vs.2.3%;p=0.04) and atrial fibrillation (1.6%vs.0%;p=0.001). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that, patients with OSA had twice the odds of having any cardiac arrhythmia (OR 1.91; CI 95% 1.27-3.11; p

Introduction: Sleep and lifestyles interact to allow the appropriate development of cerebral structures, and prevention of mood disorders. But just a hand of articles identified a precise relationship between these two above, and the probability to develop a suicidal behaviour. Objective: The aim of this study is to explore how the suicidal behaviour is associated in simultaneous with sleep components, psychological stress, depression, anxiety, well-being, addiction, and global health of participants; and if it is also influenced by the sociodemographic profile of each subject. Methods: The present study was led by a questionnaire incorporating McNair test, and an incorporated score to evaluate suicide tendencies. The questionnaire also included socio-demographic items and other questions to exhibit a profile of suicide tendency for each individual. Results: Our results showed that the stress levels and well-being are comparable according to gender. Specifically the results showed that lack of sleep combined with a low score to McNair test strongly affects the suicidal tendency, while score of memory and attention decreased. Conclusions: The suicidal behaviour is closely linked with sleep parameters which decreased accordingly, and the family's history of medication and suicidal behaviour.

Objective: The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between restless legs syndrome (RLS) and cardiorespiratory fitness, body composition and sleep quality in a sample of adolescents. Methods: One hundred fifty seven volunteer adolescents (16.6 ± 0.7 yrs) participated in the study. Sleep quality was assessed by the Pittsburg sleep quality index. Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed by the 20 m shuttle run test and body composition by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Results: The prevalence of RLS was 5.1%. The adolescents with RLS were found to exhibit significantly higher body fat levels (p=0.019) and poorer sleep quality score (p=0.000) compared with their free-RLS counterparts. Conclusions: Adolescents with RLS are subjects of higher body fat and impaired sleep quality compared with adolescents without RLS. Early diagnosis and appropriate management of RLS is essential in the adolescents.

According to recent reports, sleep disorders affect 30% of the adult population and 5-10% of children. Obstructive Sleep Apnea Hypopnea Syndrome (OSA) has a considerable epidemiological impact and demand for consultation is growing in our community. Therefore, it is necessary to know the principles of interpretation of diagnostic methods. A suspicion of OSA requires confirmation. According to the guidelines of the Argentine Association of Respiratory Medicine, polysomnography (PSG) is the gold standard for OSA diagnosis, while home sleep testing (HST) can be accepted as a comparatively effective method depending on the clinical situation of the patient. This article questions the use of AHI (apnea-hypopnea index) as the only measurement needed to diagnose OSA and assess its severity. In fact, it is surprising that, despite the large mass of data analyzed during sleep studies, current practices only focus on AHI. More than four decades have passed since OSA was first described. Our tendency to oversimplify complex conditions may prevent us from gaining a deeper and more thorough understanding of OSA. The development and validation of OSA severity scoring systems based on multiple parameters is still a pending issue.

Objective: This study uses polysomnography and the Epworth sleepiness scale to assess the efficiency of the Ocluch©MAD in patients with Obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAS), on overall respiratory disturbance indices (RDI), supine respiratory disturbance index (SRDI), minimum oxygen saturation, microarousals, CT90 (or ID90), sleep efficacy and snoring. These data are associated with skeletal class and facial biotype in order to establish predictive parameters for its effectiveness according to craniofacial morphology. Methods: 22 adult patients (between 38 and 60 years of age) of both sexes (7 women, 15 men) diagnosed with OSAS in the Hospital de Carabineros de Chile (HOSCAR) Neurology Unit were recruited and given the Ocluch© MAD in the hospital’s dental clinic, for its use during a three-month period. Patients were assess at the beginning and in the end of this period. Results: 87.5% of patients with mild OSAS achieved the success criterion and normalization; 71.5% of patients with moderate OSAS achieved the success criterion and 33.3% achieved normalization; 85.7% of patients with severe OSAS achieved the success criterion and 57.1% achieved normalization. All class I and mesofacial patients achieved normalization, but class II patients had the greatest proportional improvement. Conclusions: The Ocluch MAD is an efficient low-cost alternative that should be considered among the therapeutic arsenal for a multidisciplinary approach to treating this disease.

Background: Attended polysomnography (PSG) is the standard diagnostic test for sleep apnea (SA). However, due to internight variability in SA, a single night PSG may not accurately reflect the true severity of SA. Although internight variability is a well-known phenomenon, its root causes have not been fully elucidated. The objective of this study was to determine factors associated with internight variability in the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and its magnitude in the home environment. Methods: Each participant had a full overnight PSG simultaneous with a validated portable sleep apnea monitoring device (BresoDx®) followed by two overnight home tests using the portable monitor only. Patients were stratified into those with variable AHI and consistent AHI (AHI difference ≥10 or

Objective Improving and validating sleep scoring algorithms for actigraphs enhances their usefulness in clinical and research applications. The MTI ® device (ActiGraph, Pensacola, FL) had not been previously validated for sleep. The aims were to (1) compare the accuracy of sleep metrics obtained via wrist- and hip-mounted MTI ® actigraphs with polysomnographic (PSG) recordings in a sample that included both normal sleepers and individuals with presumed sleep disorders; and (2) develop a novel sleep scoring algorithm using spline regression to improve the correspondence between the actigraphs and PSG. Methods Original actigraphy data were amplified and their pattern was estimated using a penalized spline. The magnitude of amplification and the spline were estimated by minimizing the difference in sleep efficiency between wrist- (hip-) actigraphs and PSG recordings. Sleep measures using both the original and spline-modified actigraphy data were compared to PSG using the following: mean sleep summary measures; Spearman rank-order correlations of summary measures; percent of minute-by-minute agreement; sensitivity and specificity; and Bland–Altman plots. Results The original wrist actigraphy data showed modest correspondence with PSG, and much less correspondence was found between hip actigraphy and PSG. The spline-modified wrist actigraphy produced better approximations of interclass correlations, sensitivity, and mean sleep summary measures relative to PSG than the original wrist actigraphy data. The spline-modified hip actigraphy provided improved correspondence, but sleep measures were still not representative of PSG. Discussion The results indicate that with some refinement, the spline regression method has the potential to improve sleep estimates obtained using wrist actigraphy.

The present study assessed the potential of lip muscle training for improving sleep. A patient with heavy snoring, daytime sleepiness and dry mouth underwent lip muscle training. Lip closure force LCFmax increased by 67.3% and LCFmin by 152% post-training. AHI decreased from 12.2 to 3.9 events/h by reducing hypopneic episodes. TST, sleep stage N3 and REM sleep increased, and WASO, sleep stage N1, and AI decreased. The patient switched from mouth to nose breathing during sleep and stopped snoring. Improved LCF, by moving the tongue into the anterior-superior oral cavity, may increase upper airway space and reduce the hypopnea index.

Introduction: Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the standard treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), with limited data about the prevalence of respiratory infections and microbial colonization in these patients. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine if CPAP use is associated with respiratory infections and to identify the organisms that colonize or infect these patients. Method: A retrospective, case-controlled study in patients diagnosed with OSA was carried out. 137 patients were recruited and interviewed using a questionnaire. A nasal swab was taken from each patient. Patients using CPAP machines had swabs taken from masks and humidifiers. Results: 66 (48.2%) patients received CPAP treatment with 60.6% of them having a heated humidifier. 78.8% were male, with the majority using a full face mask (63.6%). No significant difference was seen in the prevalence of rhinosinusitis, lower respiratory tract infections and hospital admissions for pneumonia between CPAP and non-CPAP treated patients. The presence of a humidifier did not influence the prevalence of infections. Commensal flora was predominantly cultured from nasal swabs from both patient groups. Coagulase Negative Staphylococci and Diphtheroids were the main organisms cultured from masks and humidifiers respectively. Conclusions: This study shows that the use of CPAP, choice of mask and humidifier have no significant impact on the prevalence of infections and micro-organisms isolated. This is very reassuring to the physician prescribing CPAP therapy and users., peer-reviewed

Objectives: This study investigated the effects of sleep deprivation on perception of task difficulty and use of heuristics (mental shortcuts) compared to naturally-experienced sleep at home. Methods: Undergraduate students were screened and assigned through block-random assignment to Naturally-Experienced Sleep (NES; n=19) or Total Sleep Deprivation (TSD; n=20). The next morning, reported fatigue, perception of task difficulty, and use of “what-is-beautiful-is-good,” “greedy algorithm,” and “speed-accuracy trade-off” heuristics were assessed. Results: NES slept for an average of 354.74 minutes (SD=72.84), or 5.91 hours. TSD rated a reading task as significantly more difficult and requiring more time than NES. TSD was significantly more likely to use the greedy algorithm heuristic by skipping instructions and the what-is-beautiful-is-good heuristic by rating an unattractive consumer item with a favorable review as poor quality. Those in Total Sleep Deprivation who chose more difficult math problems made this selection to finish the task more quickly in findings approaching significance, indicating use of the speed-accuracy trade-off heuristic. Collapsed across conditions, self-reported fatigue predicted greater perceived difficulty in both the reading task and a visuo-motor task, higher quality rating for the attractive consumer item, and lower quality rating for the unattractive consumer item. Conclusions: Findings indicate sleep deprivation and fatigue increase perceptions of task difficulty, promote skipping instructions, and impair systematic evaluation of unappealing stimuli compared to naturally-experienced sleep.

Background: Sleep disorder is associated with poor quality of life in old age. Therefore, it is imperative to identify contributing factors leading to sleep disorder. The current study aimed to examine the impact of urinary incontinence on sleep complaint after controlling for potential sociodemographic and health covariates. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 184 community dwelling older adults 60 years and older in Yazd, Iran, 2016. In order to obtain the sample a multistage proportional random sampling technique was employed. Sociodemographic characteristics, sleep complaint, and urinary incontinence were collected from medical records. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 24. A multiple logistic regression analysis was used to examine the impact of urinary incontinence on sleep complaint after controlling for potential covariates. Findings: A total of 184 respondents with a mean age of 68.48±6.65 years (age range, 60-87 years) were included in the study. About 70% of the respondents were women, 72.8% were married, 68.5% were not formally educated, and 21.7% were living alone. The prevalence of sleep complaint and urinary incontinence were 27.2% (95% CI: 21-34) and 22.3% (95% CI: 17-29), respectively. The results of the multiple logistic regression analysis revealed respondents with urinary incontinence were four times more likely to suffer from sleep complaint than those without urinary incontinence after adjusting for potential covariates (AOR=4.04, 95% CI: 1.74-9.35, p

Over the last three to four decades, it has been observed that the average total number of hours of sleep obtained per night by normal individuals have decreased. Concomitantly, global figures indicate that insufficient sleep is associated with serious adverse health and social outcomes. Moreover, insufficient sleep has been linked to seven of the fifteen leading causes of death. Additionally, current evidence suggests that sleep plays a significant role in determining cognitive performance and workplace productivity. There is a great need for a systematic analysis of the economic impact of insufficient sleep, particularly given current evidence that this phenomenon, as well as the poor sleep hygiene practices which produce it, is increasing worldwide. This paper takes the view that health authorities around the world need to raise the general awareness of benefits of sleep. There is considerable scope for research into both the public health impact as well as the macroeconomic consequences of insufficient sleep syndrome (ISS). Additionally, various models which estimate the undiagnosed burden of ISS on the GDP (gross domestic product) are needed to prioritize health issues and to highlight the national policies that are necessary to combat this medical problem. Sleep insufficiency has been declared to be a ‘public health epidemic’; therefore, we propose ISS as a potential noncommunicable disease. This review elaborates on this topic further, exploring the causes and consequences of insufficient sleep, and thus providing a perspective on the policies that are needed as well as the research that will be required to support and justify these policies.

OBJECTIVE: Differences in sleep results due to the placement of actigraphy devices (non-dominant vs. dominant wrist) are yet to be determined. METHODS: 65 nights of data from 13 adult participants was collected while participants wore two actigraphy devices, one on each wrist. Sleep indices including total sleep time (TST), total time in bed (TTB), sleep efficiency (SE%), sleep latency (SL), wake after sleep onset (WASO), sleep onset time (SOT) and wake time (WT) were assessed between the two devices. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between devices for any of the measured sleep variables (p>0.05). SE%, SL and WASO resulted in high correlations between devices (0.89, 0.89 and 0.76, respectively), with all other sleep variables resulting in very high correlations (>0.90) between devices. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our results, it does not seem critical which wrist the actigraphy device is worn on for measuring key sleep variables.

Environmental noise, especially that caused by transportation means, is viewed as a significant cause of sleep disturbances. Poor sleep causes endocrine and metabolic measurable perturbations and is associated with a number of cardiometabolic, psychiatric and social negative outcomes both in adults and children. Nocturnal environmental noise also provokes measurable biological changes in the form of a stress response, and clearly affects sleep architecture, as well as subjective sleep quality. These sleep perturbations are similar in their nature to those observed in endogenous sleep disorders. Apart from these measurable effects and the subjective feeling of disturbed sleep, people who struggle with nocturnal environmental noise often also suffer the next day from daytime sleepiness and tiredness, annoyance, mood changes as well as decreased well-being and cognitive performance. But there is also emerging evidence that these short-term effects of environmental noise, particularly when the exposure is nocturnal, may be followed by long-term adverse cardiometabolic outcomes. Nocturnal environmental noise may be the most worrying form of noise pollution in terms of its health consequences because of its synergistic direct and indirect (through sleep disturbances acting as a mediator) influence on biological systems. Duration and quality of sleep should thus be regarded as risk factors or markers significantly influenced by the environment and possibly amenable to modification through both education and counseling as well as through measures of public health. One of the means that should be proposed is avoidance at all costs of sleep disruptions caused by environmental noise.

This study was aimed at assessment of sleep schedule, pre-sleep behavior, co-sleeping and parent’s perception of sleep of school going children. Method Four schools each, from urban and rural area were included. Sleep patterns were assessed using the validated Hindi version of Childhood-Sleep-Habit-Questionnaire. Comparison was made between urban and rural group and between boys and girls. Interaction of gender, domicile and school-type was examined on the sleep patterns. Results This study included 831 school children with mean age of 8.9 years. Nearly half of the subjects were boys in this study. Urban children outnumbered those from rural area. Total sleep time on weekdays was 8.3 h that increased to 9.5 h on weekends. Rural children spent more time in sleep than urban children on weekdays and weekends. A higher proportion of urban children felt sleepy during the day. Television watching before bedtime was more common in urban settings. Room sharing was more common among rural children. Nearly 65% rural parents as compared to 77.5% urban parents reported that their child was sleeping sufficient enough. Gender did not affect sleep-schedule and parent’s perception regarding their child’s sleep. Interaction between gender, domicile and school-type did not have any significant effect on sleep patterns. Conclusion Television watching before bedtime was more common among urban school children and they had shorter total sleep time. They had signs of sleep deprivation. Room sharing was more common among rural children. Despite longer sleep time, parents of rural children felt the need for more sleep.

Purpose: We sought explore the effects of doxorubicin on sleep patterns and locomotor activity. To investigate these effects, two groups were formed: a control group and a Doxorubicin (DOXO) group. Methods: Sixteen rats were randomly assigned to either the control or DOXO groups. The sleep patterns were examined by polysomnographic recording and locomotor activity was evaluated in an open-field test. Results: In the light period, the total sleep time and slow wave sleep were decreased, while the wake after sleep onset and arousal were increased in the DOXO group compared with the control group (p

Introduction The aim of the study was to propose the Clinical Inventory of Sleep Quality (CISQ), and compared it with the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI). Methods We studied 400 subjects with the CISQ. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was calculated to measure the reliability, and to determine the concurrent validity, a Canonical correlation analysis was performed. At next, we used an exploratory and confirmatory Factorial analysis with Varimax rotation for validity construct calculation. Results Cronbach alpha coefficient of the scale was significantly strong (α=0.81). Canonic correlation was=0.93, suggesting that data proved that the CISQ and PSQI are measuring identical subject. Confirmatory Factorial analysis model grouped items of the scale in four factors: 1. Daytime symptoms, 2. Nocturnal symptoms, 3. Sleep disordered breathing symptoms, and 4. Sleep-related movement disorders symptoms. We proposed five categories to score CISQ in a range of 0–52 points, as follows: Good quality of sleep, Mild bad sleep quality, Moderate bad sleep quality, Severe bad sleep quality, and Profound bad sleep quality. Conclusion CISQ is a promising tool to measure sleep quality and deserve more research to confirm its utility.

Background: There is limited data on long term Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) adherence in Southeast Asian countries. This is a prospective study on CPAP adherence among Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients in a Southeast Asian privately funded healthcare system. Methods: Patients with moderate-severe OSA who had been initiated on CPAP at least one year previously were contacted for a scripted telephone interview to assess compliance and factors associated with CPAP adherence. Results: Of 135 consecutive patients diagnosed to have moderate to severe OSA, 78 (57.8%) were initiated on CPAP treatment while 57 (42.2%) rejected CPAP upfront. 41 (52.6%) who initiated CPAP remained adherent at one year. OSA severity (AHI, ODI) and symptomatic improvement after CPAP were associated with better adherence. Presence of machine related side effects was associated with lower adherence. Inconvenience, cost and poor disease perception were reported as major barriers to uptake of CPAP therapy. Conclusions: In this Southeast Asian privately funded healthcare system, almost half of all patients with significant OSA rejected CPAP treatment upfront, but adherence among those who started CPAP is comparable to other reports. Challenges with CPAP acceptance as well as CPAP adherence need to be addressed to improve outcomes.

Introduction: Patients that started on Non-Invasive Ventilation (NIV) need to define several parameters selected on the basis of diurnal arterial blood gas and underlying disease. We hypothesize that respiratory polygraphy (RP) could be useful to monitor NIV. This retrospective work describes RP findings and their impact on the setting of continuous flow ventilators from patients on NIV of Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Material and Methods: Patient's data on NIV from at the ICU of Hospital Británico were included in this study. RP recordings were performed in all of them. Respiratory events, such as ventilatory pattern changes, impact on oximetry or tidal volume, were observed to modify the ventilatory mode after RP. Results: The RP findings have contributes to change the ventilatory mode for one third of the patients. The mean values of expiratory positive airway pressure (EPAP) and inspiratory positive airway pressure (IPAP) were not significantly different across all the population before or after RP: 8.7±0.3 vs. 8.6±0.4; p 2 cmH2O pressure value changes after RP. Conclusions: RP recordings could contribute to broad range of data useful to make decisions about changes in programming and allowed to identify adverse events related to positive pressure.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and the anti-retroviral therapy (ART) associated complications necessitate that the medical care system keeps evolving for proper management of this group of patients. Electrolyte imbalance and sleep problems are common in patients on ART. Both of these conditions are associated with increased morbidity (such as acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease, low CD4 count, non-adherence and depression) and mortality. Therefore, screening for both sleep problems and electrolytes imbalance may help to decrease the risk of complications in patients on ART.

Objective: The aim of this study was investigating the effect of 12 weeks of yoga and aerobic exercise (running on a treadmill) on the sleep quality in women with Type 2 diabetes. MATERIALS AND Methods: 39 diabetic women were selected from Semnan city with the mean age of 46.85±3.35 years, weight of 69.79±17.18 kg, height of 155.03±5.00, BMI of 29.64±5.00 kg/m2 who had a background of diabetes for 6.46±2.69 years. They were then randomly divided into yoga exercise (n=15), aerobic exercise (n=13), and control group (n=11). The exercise program was performed for 12 weeks, three sessions per each week. In order to measure the sleep quality, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used. The data were analyzed by non-parametric wilcoxon and Kruskal-Wallis Test at significance level of p

Purpose: To describe the SpO2 in wakefulness, sleep and during the apnea–hypopnea in adults living in Bogota, located at 2640 m above sea level. Methods: Descriptive observational study in adults referred for polysomnogram (PSG). A normal Apnea hypopnea index (AHI) was defined as r5 and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was classified as mild (AHI 5–15), moderate (AHI 15–30), and severe (AHI 430). T-test or ANOVA test for SpO2 differences between groups was used. Results: 1799 patients, 33% women. 222 (12.8%) did not have OSA (normal IAH), 268 (14.9%) mild OSA, 315 (17.5%) moderate ,and 993 (55.2%) severe. In all cases a low SpO2 (SpO2o90%) was found. The SpO2 was lower when the AHI was higher, in wakefulness, in non-REM and in REM (po0.001). For all grades of severity, SpO2 decreased significantly from wakefulness to nonREM sleep and to REM sleep (po0.001). Patients with severe OSA had higher desaturation during wakefulness (85.276.6%), non-REM sleep (83.177.7%), REM sleep (78.8710.2), and during events (75.179.1%). Conclusions: Patients with OSA at 2640 m have nocturnal desaturation lower than 88%, which decreases with higher severity of OSA. The clinical impact of sleep disorders at this point may be greater than at sea level and should be studied. & 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Brazilian Association of Sleep. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license

Narcolepsy type 1 (NT1) is a chronic sleep disorder, characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy and fragmented nocturnal sleep. It is caused by a hypocretin deficiency due to a significant reduction of the neurons producing it. In the last years, it has been postulated that an autoimmune mechanism would be responsible for the destruction of these neurons in those genetically predisposed patients. The increased incidence of narcolepsy after the pandemic H1N1 influenza vaccination campaign in 2009-2010 is known. We present below the case of an adult patient who, 10 days after receiving H1N1 vaccination, suffers a traffic accident after falling asleep. Subsequent studies revealed hyperthyroidism due to Graves disease. In spite of the treatment, the patient persisted with daily and disabling daytime sleepiness, sleep attacks and episodes of generalized muscle atony with preservation of consciousness. A nocturnal polysomnography and multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) were performed with a diagnosis of NT1. The particularity of this case is the presentation of 2 autoimmune diseases triggered by an H1N1 vaccine without adjuvant, so far there is only evidence of NT1 associated with vaccines with adjuvant and viral infection. The association of both entities has made us reflect on the autoimmune mechanism, reinforcing the theory of its role in the onset of the disease.

Narcolepsy with cataplexy is a rare sleep disorder with a neurological basis which has been recently linked to H1N1 vaccination either in children or adults. Cases from Europe, United States and Brasil were registered. Authors describe a case report of a 15 years old boy who developed narcolepsy with cataplexy after H1N1 vaccination in Havana. As far as it is concerned this is the first case reported from Cuba.

En un mundo globalizado, aprender otras lenguas resulta esencial para desenvolverse en entornos laborales, educativos, sociales y de entretenimiento (v.g., redes sociales, juegos on-line, etc.). Los recientes avances tecnológicos permiten una amplia oferta de recursos educativos aplicados al aprendizaje de lenguas, como la realidad virtual (RV). Sin embargo, su valor didáctico no suele validarse empíricamente. En este artículo repasamos algunos factores que afectan al uso de RV para el aprendizaje de lenguas, sobre cuya efectividad existe una incipiente evidencia científica. Esto puede ser útil para el desarrollo de nuevas herramientas, para estimular más investigación y para proporcionar a los usuarios criterios respecto a la inversión de recursos.

Muchas de las palabras que conocemos no han sido adquiridas mediante un esfuerzo explícito, sino de manera incidental. Pero se sabe relativamente poco sobre los factores que modulan el aprendizaje implícito de vocabulario. Varios experimentos recientes han mostrado que las palabras nuevas se adquieren mejor cuando se aprenden en diferentes contextos que en un mismo contexto. Estos hallazgos apoyan la idea de organizar un currículo educativo transversal que mejore la adquisición de vocabulario tanto en la lengua materna (v.g., a través de diferentes asignaturas) como en otras lenguas.

Does mindfulness meditation improve our capacity to manage attention and behavior in a flexible manner toward the achievement of relevant goals? Here, we describe the first meta-analysis assessing the efficacy of mindfulness mediation training as an enhancer for executive control. The study synthesizes 13 randomized controlled trials conducted in adult samples, in which cognitive performance was evaluated by means of neuropsychological tests and computerized cognitive-behavioral tasks. The results of the meta-analysis suggest that mindfulness meditation practice results in a moderate yet consistent improvement of executive control.

El fenómeno de la ventaja bilingüe (teoría que propone que los bilingües desarrollan mejores capacidades cognitivas debido al entrenamiento que supone usar dos lenguajes a diario) genera debate entre los científicos que lo investigan. En un estudio reciente hemos mostrado que se ha producido un cambio de tendencia en la publicación de artículos en este ámbito de la ciencia cognitiva, de modo que los artículos en contra de la existencia de esta ventaja superan ya a los que la defienden. Discutimos los resultados en relación con algunos aspectos controvertidos de la publicación en revistas científicas.

Sometimes justifiably, we stop trusting someone’s testimony when we catch that person repeatedly on a lie. But what is the reason why we assign less credibility to someone if nothing justifies the lack of trust? When we give a person less credibility than she deserves because she belongs to a particular social group, we are committing a testimonial injustice. Is this due to factors that are individual (explicit prejudices and implicit biases) or structural (social norms and conventions, institutions and material reality)? These two approaches differ both in their versions of the causes of these injustices and how to intervene to resist them. However, they can be easily integrated.

El significado de una palabra nueva puede adquirirse extrayéndolo de un contexto lingüístico, tanto durante la lectura como durante una conversación. Aún no sabemos cómo nuestro cerebro lleva a cabo este proceso de extracción y posterior aprendizaje del significado de nuevas palabras. En esta investigación hemos simulado el aprendizaje de palabras nuevas concretas y abstractas a partir de información contextual verbal, con el fin de caracterizar las regiones cerebrales implicadas durante el curso de este proceso.

La comunicación digital es un elemento omnipresente en la sociedad actual, que media las relaciones humanas en todos los ámbitos. Pero nuestras interacciones digitales quedan registradas. Estudios recientes demuestran que es posible, a partir del análisis del modo en que nos expresamos en internet, revelar ciertas características sociodemográficas y de personalidad de los autores. Estos resultados podrían ser muy útiles para generar protocolos de identificación en el campo de la psicología forense o para detectar la suplantación de identidades, entre otras cosas.

La clase social a la que pertenecemos influye en cómo percibimos la realidad, cómo nos sentimos y cómo nos comportamos. Por ejemplo, numerosos estudios indican que las personas de clase baja tienden a percibir que las cosas que suceden a su alrededor dependen de fuerzas externas que escapan a su control, son más empáticas y compasivas, y muestran una mayor inclinación a expresar conductas altruistas que las de clase alta. Este artículo sintetiza las implicaciones psicológicas más relevantes de la clase social y concluye que algunas de éstas podrían contribuir al mantenimiento de las diferencias existentes entre clases.

Numerosas investigaciones han revelado que para resolver operaciones aritméticas podemos utilizar dos estrategias: la recuperación directa del resultado en memoria o el uso de procedimientos. La selección de la estrategia está relacionada con la magnitud de los operandos y el nivel de habilidad aritmética. En un estudio reciente hemos examinado la actividad eléctrica cerebral de individuos con habilidad alta y baja mientras verificaban sumas de diferente tamaño. Las diferencias encontradas en el patrón de actividad cerebral según la magnitud del problema y la habilidad aritmética revelan la utilidad de esta medida como indicador válido del uso diferencial de estrategias de cálculo.

La palabra escrita ha marcado la diferencia entre la prehistoria y la historia. En las lenguas alfabéticas, la forma de las letras ha ido evolucionando, desde las mayúsculas a las minúsculas, y desde las fuentes góticas o serif (con ornamentos) a las fuentes sans serif (v.g., letras en las señales de tráfico). Los modelos de reconocimiento de palabras suelen obviar los aspectos de corte tipográfico, a pesar de su notable influencia. En este trabajo presentamos dos estudios que muestran la ventaja del empleo de fuentes sans serif vs. serif,y de las palabras en minúsculas frente a las mayúsculas.

Se sabe que con el paso de los años nuestro sistema cognitivo se deteriora y que una de las habilidades cognitivas que parece deteriorarse con la edad es el control cognitivo, entendido como aquella capacidad que regula nuestro comportamiento y que nos permite seleccionar la información que es necesaria para nuestro objetivo e inhibir la información irrelevante (p.ej., cuando buscamos en el supermercado el producto que necesitamos sin dejarnos distraer por todos los demás). Pero, ¿qué problemas produce este deterioro? Y lo más importante, ¿es irremediable o se puede hacer algo para impedirlo?

El término “esfuerzo cognitivo” hace referencia a la sensación percibida al enfrentarnos a tareas mentales difíciles. Los estudios en este campo señalan una tendencia de las personas a preferir tareas sencillas, asociadas a una baja demanda de control cognitivo. Gracias a los avances aportados por teorías sobre el esfuerzo cognitivo y los datos de neuroimagen que comienzan a dilucidar los mecanismos cerebrales implicados, nuestro entendimiento de los procesos subyacentes al esfuerzo subjetivo ha aumentado de manera significativa. Aspectos como la relación entre esfuerzo y control cognitivo, o la importancia de la percepción de la dificultad al realizar una tarea, se han caracterizado mejor gracias a estas recientes investigaciones.

La paradoja de los cuervos negros de Hempel nos lleva a pensar que en la mente humana, además de la lógica, intervienen otras variables. Este problema también pone de relieve que lo lógico no siempre coincide con lo más sencillo, lo más rápido o lo más eficaz. No obstante, los supuestos teóricos de la teoría de la relevancia de Sperber y Wilson pueden aportar una posible solución a esta paradoja.

La tarea de selección de las cuatro tarjetas de Peter Wason ha sido, por los resultados experimentales tan extraños que arroja, un ejercicio polémico desde su aparición. En los últimos tiempos han surgido teorías que defienden que lo que ocurre con esta tarea es que, simplemente, los sujetos no comprenden del modo esperado las instrucciones que se les ofrecen.

Según estudios recientes, algunas propiedades estructurales fundamentales del lenguaje pueden ser debidas no a factores biológicos sino a la transmisión cultural: el hecho de que las lenguas se difunden de generación en generación mediante el aprendizaje social. Los procesos de transmisión cultural suponen un filtro que favorece ciertas estructuras más que otras. Para detectar estos sesgos, Kirby, Cornish y Smith (2008) idearon el método experimental del aprendizaje iterado, en el que la información que produce un participante se usa para entrenar al siguiente. Los resultados son sorprendentes.

Hace ahora un año que falleciera David Everett Rumelhart, conexionista pionero y editor junto con James Lloyd McClelland de la llamada “biblia del Procesamiento Distribuido en Paralelo” (PDP). Al mismo tiempo, los dos volúmenes de la referida biblia celebraban su vigésimo quinto cumpleaños. También uno de los padres de la inteligencia artificial, John McCarthy, que bautizara de hecho la disciplina, nos abandonó el pasado mes de octubre a los 84 años. Estas tres efemérides nos sirven de pretexto para un breve recorrido por las derivas y obstáculos a los que se ha enfrentado el llamado paradigma conexionista desde su puesta en escena como alternativa al cognitivismo clásico.

En el siglo XIX, el químico Kekulé aseguró que había descubierto la estructura de la molécula del benceno gracias a que había soñado con una serpiente que se mordía su cola. Este hecho provocó que muchos pensaran que en la invención no tienen un papel tan importante el estudio y la actividad metódica. No obstante, parece que, en realidad, sí que poseen una función esencial y que la creatividad es el resultado tanto de las peculiaridades subjetivas del individuo como de su formación académica.

En los últimos años estamos viviendo una auténtica revolución de la comunicación digital y de sus elementos más singulares: los emojis (ideogramas o pictogramas) y sus antecesores, los emoticonos (combinaciones de signos de puntuación que representan caras con distintas expresiones o emociones). Estos iconos, permiten transmitir e identificar emociones sin el uso de palabras, al mismo tiempo que enriquecen la comunicación y reducen la ambigüedad de la información, mejorando nuestras interacciones digitales. Además, diversos estudios demuestran que nuestro cerebro reacciona ante estos iconos, en algunos aspectos, de manera muy parecida a como lo hace con los rostros.

Authors demonstrate that patients with narcolepsy type 1 (N1) have more tendency of eat salty snacks after satiety than health volunteers. A few mechanisms to explain the weight gain have been discussed in narcolepsy. The hypocretin-1 deficiency can influence the olfactory system. The olfactory system should be modulated through hypocretin-1 via connections from the hypothalamic to other brain regions. Likewise, hypocretin-1 can be synthesized locally in our olfactory mucosa with possible private role modulating the olfactory. In experimental studies, different kinds of smell influence the preference for type of diet. Olfactory and taste sensations help control of appetite and regulate the quantity and quality of foods that will be chosen. N1 patients have lower levels of hypocretin-1 and consequent inferior olfactory threshold, less olfactory discrimination, and these findings improved after nasal hypocretin-1 administration. It is possible that the hyposmia influenced the quality and quantity of food by narcoleptic patients. We suggest that a complementary analysis of olfactory function should be done concomitant with food preferences to compare narcoleptic patients with and without hypocretin-1 deficiency.