Papers by Nelson Mauro Maldonato
Background
A number of studies have evaluated the association between cognitive function, pain, a... more Background
A number of studies have evaluated the association between cognitive function, pain, and
physical activity. To our knowledge, however, no previous studies have evaluated these factors
at the population level.
Aims
To evaluate the association between cognitive function in the elderly with pain, physical
activity, and the interaction between these variables. Estimates are generated for the United
States population.
Methods
We made use of the NHANES database (1999±2002), making adjustments so that our
results represent the United States population. Cognitive function was evaluated through
the Digit Symbol Substitution Test. Our main predictors were (1) pain, defined as soreness
of either the shoulder, neck, lower back and joint, or a severe headache (2) physical activity,
measured as the performance while performing tasks at home, physical activity intensity,
walking, bicycle riding, and muscle strengthening.
Results
Most individual pain sites were not significantly associated with cognitive function, while all
physical activity factors were associated with an increase in cognitive function. When evaluating
the sample subset of those with cognitive scores lower than the median, a combination
of more pain and less physical activity was consistently associated with lower cognitive
scores when compared to those performing more physical activity with or without pain.When evaluating individuals with cognitive scores above the median, a similar association
pattern was perceived.
Conclusions
Among the population of individuals above the age of 60, higher cognitive levels are associated
with more physical activity and less with pain, although both factors might impact cognition.
Public policy resources should be commensurate with these findings when targeting
cognitive function among the aging population.
Borderline Personality Disorder is a serious mental disease, classified in Cluster B of DSM IV-TR... more Borderline Personality Disorder is a serious mental disease, classified in Cluster B of DSM IV-TR personality disorders. People with this syndrome presents an anamnesis of traumatic experiences and shows dissociative symptoms. Since not all subjects who have been victims of trauma develop a Borderline Personality Disorder, the emergence of this serious disease seems to have the fragility of character as a predisposing condition. Infect, numerous studies show that subjects positive for diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder had scores extremely high or extremely low to some temperamental dimensions (harm Avoidance and reward dependence) and character dimensions (cooperativeness and self directedness). In a sample of 602 subjects, who have had consecutive access to an Outpatient Mental Health Service, it was evaluated the presence of Borderline Personality Disorder using the semi-structured interview for the DSM IV-TR personality disorders. In this population we assessed the presence of dissociative symptoms with the Dissociative Experiences Scale and the personality traits with the Temperament and Character Inventory developed by Cloninger. To assess the weight and the predictive value of these psychopathological dimensions in relation to the Borderline Personality Disorder diagnosis, a neural network statistical model called " multilayer perceptron, " was implemented. This model was developed with a dichotomous dependent variable, consisting in the presence or absence of the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder and with five covariates. The first one is the taxonomic subscale of dissociative experience scale, the others are temperamental and characterial traits: Novelty-Seeking, Harm-Avoidance, Self-Directedness and Cooperativeness. The statistical model, that results satisfactory, showed a significance capacity (89%) to predict the presence of borderline personality disorder. Furthermore, the dissociative symptoms seem to have a greater influence than the character traits in the borderline personality disorder e disease. In conclusion, the results seem to indicate that to borderline personality disorder development, contribute both psychic factors, such as temperament and character traits, and environmental factors, such as traumatic events capable of producing dissociative symptoms. These factors interact in a nonlinear way in producing maladaptive behaviors typical of this disorder.
The consciousness is the expression of an enormous and complex variety of neurobiological events,... more The consciousness is the expression of an enormous and complex variety of neurobiological events, phenomenological and
psychological that, from the early stages of development, prepare the emergence soil of the Self. It is a complex of tangible and intangible
characters distinct from one another - neural infrastructure, awareness, temporality, qualitative subjectivity, intentionality - to
such an extent as to seem welded faces of the same prism. Consciousness is not a simple function of the mind, but its organization. In
this paper we intend to show how its order is not strictly hierarchical, but sustained by multiple horizontal levels, each of which in a
structural and functional continuum with several emerging phenomena. The same distinction between quantitative aspects (surveillance)
and qualitative (content of consciousness) of consciousness is founded on the premise that the supervision is regulated by
widespread in projection systems of the brain stem, hypothalamus and thalamus; while the content of consciousness depends on the
cortical activity, and particularly from the associative areas of the cortex connected between them. The so-called disturbances of
consciousness (vegetative state, the minimally conscious state, a coma, the Locked in syndrome) suggests the existence of an alteration
of a common underlying system. Although the current heterogeneity of the data makes it impossible to attribute with certainty
whether positive or negative about the alleged absence of consciousness in the individual patient, the search is deriving significant
benefits from the accumulation of neuroimaging evidence in paintings like coma, general anesthesia , sleep, epilepsy and somnambulism.
In this sense, it seems increasingly urgent a deeper understanding of the neural correlates during sleep or general anesthesia,
as well as the relationships between neural processes and altered states of consciousness generated by pharmacological manipulations.
Orexin system regulates sleep/wake states and its deficiency result in narcolepsy thus indicating... more Orexin system regulates sleep/wake states and its deficiency result in narcolepsy thus indicating the crucial role of orexins in
maintaining wakefulness. There are two types of orexin peptides: the orexin-A (OXA or hypocretin 1) and orexin-B (OXB or hypocretin
2). The Majority of the central nervous system orexin peptides are synthesized in neurons located in the lateral and back hypothalamus
and send projections throughout the brain regions Orexin neurons are “multi-tasking” hence regulating also energy homeostasis,
reward systems and feeding behaviour through connection with hypothalamic nuclei and through responsiveness to leptine and
glucose. It has recently been found a connection with lymbic system suggesting a further possible role of orexins in regulating emotions.
All the studies conducted confirm that orexin system regulates vigilance states, energy homeostasis, reward system, and emotions.
These crucial role might be the target to develope treatments of narcolepsy, obesity, emotional stress, and drug addiction.
Transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) people are a highly-stigmatized population. For this ... more Transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) people are a highly-stigmatized population. For this reason, they might internalize society's normative gender attitudes and develop negative mental health outcomes. As an extension of the minority stress model, the psychological mediation framework sheds light on psychological processes through which anti-transgender discrimination might affect mental health. Within this framework, the current study aimed at assessing in 149 TGNC Italian individuals the role of internalized transphobia as a mediator between anti-transgender discrimination and mental health, considering resilience as the individual-level coping mechanism buffering this relationship. The results suggest that both indicators of internalized transphobia (i.e., shame and alienation) mediate the relationship between anti-transgender discrimination and depression, while only alienation mediates the relationship between anti-transgender discrimination and anxiety. Furthermore, the results suggest that the indirect relation between anti-transgender discrimination and anxiety through alienation is conditional on low and moderate levels of resilience. Findings have important implications for clinical practice and psycho-social interventions to reduce stigma and stress caused by interpersonal and individual stigma.
Dissociative phenomena are common among psychiatric patients; the presence of these symptoms can ... more Dissociative phenomena are common among psychiatric patients; the presence of these symptoms can worsen the prognosis, increasing the severity of their clinical conditions and exposing them to increased risk of suicidal behavior. Personality disorders as long duration stressful experiences may support the development of dissociative phenomena. In 933 psychiatric outpatients consecutively recruited, presence of dissociative phenomena was identified with the Dissociative Experience Scale (DES). Dissociative phenomena were significantly more severe in the group of people with mental disorders and/or personality disorders. All psychopathologic traits detected with the symptom checklist-90-revised had a significant correlation with the total score on the DES. Using total DES score as the dependent variable, a linear regression model was constructed. Mental and personality disorders which were associated with greater severity of dissociative phenomena on analysis of variance were included as predictors; scores from the nine scales of symptom checklist-90-revised, significantly correlated to total DES score, were used as covariates. The model consisted of seven explanatory variables (four factors and three covariates) explaining 82% of variance. The four significant factors were the presence of borderline and narcissistic personality disorder, substance abuse disorders and psychotic disorders. Significant covariates were psychopathologic traits of anger, psychoticism and obsessiveness. This study, confirming Janet’s theory, explains that, mental disorders and psychopathologic experiences of patients can configure the chronic stress condition that produces functional damage to the adaptive executive system. The symptoms of dissociative depersonalization/derealization and dissociative amnesia can be explained, in large part, through their current and previous psychopathologic experiences.
Background: Although different personality traits have often been associated with different level... more Background: Although different personality traits have often been associated with different levels of mental activity and cognitive functioning, no previous studies have evaluated the association in a sample that mirrors a nationally-representative sample of elderly individuals. Objective: To evaluate the association between personality traits and neurocognitive functioning among individuals 51 years and older using the Cognition and Aging in the USA (CogUSA) database. Methods: We analyzed the association between personality traits and neurocognitive scores derived from Waves I and II of the study. Neurocognitive functions were modeled as an outcome variable using the Big Five Personality Traits as predictors. Results: All personality traits were associated with higher education except Conscientiousness. Older age was associated with higher levels of the Agreeableness and Openness traits. Extraversion, Conscientiousness and Openness were positively associated with increased neurocognitive function and self-rated present memory. Extraversion and Openness also had a positive association with long-term retrieval. Agreeableness was negatively associated with several neurocognitive functions, while Neuroticism was negatively associated with memory and cognitive effort. Conclusion: Extraversion, Conscientiousness and Openness personality traits are associated with good cognitive health. Individuals scoring high in Neuroticism and Agreeableness might benefit from tailored cognitive interventions to prevent age-related cognitive decline.
Background: Although positive benefits are associated with shared decision making, no previous st... more Background: Although positive benefits are associated with shared decision making, no previous studies have evaluated the impact of condition on how shared decision making is implemented.
Background: The global incidence of impaired cognition increases with the overall aging of the po... more Background: The global incidence of impaired cognition increases with the overall aging of the population. Regarding prophylactic measures, it is unclear whether engaging in cognitively-stimulating activities can decrease the risk of cognitive impairment.
Musical improvisation is a sophisticated activity in which a performer realizes,
real-time, melod... more Musical improvisation is a sophisticated activity in which a performer realizes,
real-time, melodic, and rhythmic sequences in harmony with those from other
musicians. The study of musical improvisation helps one to understand not only
the cognition of creativity, but also the complex neuronal basis of executive functions,
the relation between conscious and unconscious action, and even more. So
far, the prevailing models, founded on the brain imaging method, have focused
on the connection between the cortical areas and their cognitive processes. Little
attention, on the other hand, has been given to the huge variety of subcortical
activities, especially in the basal ganglia. This fundamental subcortical component,
through its implicit procedures and the role it plays in memory, is responsible
to produce new information all the time, allowing the prefrontal cortex to
transform a huge and disordered amount of data in explicit creative acts. The
basal ganglia are strongly related to the activation of chemical signals generated
by dissonance or lack of symmetry between perception and expectation, participating
even in the responses to environmental demands according to the circumstances.
Thus, they interact with the frontal cortex and with the limbic system,
playing a key role in planning and selecting appropriate actions and in decision
making. In this text, we try to explain in which sense improvisation is connected
to the processes of executive functions, to creativity and to the integrated activity
of cortical–subcortical areas controlling the free flow of ideas and to expressive
spontaneity. Eventually, we purpose a model according to which structure
(improvisational field) and process (improvisational time) take part at the centrencephalic
space of functional integration, which, through both competing and
cooperating dynamics, gives way to spontaneous composition.
Musical improvisation is the expressive capacity of a performer fostered by
access to their own “... more Musical improvisation is the expressive capacity of a performer fostered by
access to their own “productive” (creative) or “reproductive” (mnestic) tonal
imagery: a field of consciousness that includes experiences, images that are internal,
combined, distorted, associated, or in competition between themselves. In
the highly original form of life that is jazz, narrating means directing time: a
time of epiphanies and introversions, of intuitions and revelations, of syncopated
rhythms and aesthetic insights, which appear and disappear on the edges of interference
between consciousness and the unconscious. The performing urgency of
gestures, voices, and sounds, although arranged in the same scene, highlights the
difference in individual time. In this intense activity of opposition and resolution
the experience becomes an unstable territory that rests on the capacity of the
body to remember, decide, anticipate, and invent. The ego reveals itself to be an
emerging representation of our nerve structures and, even if conscious organization
continues to be attributed to it, its role is not at all crucial. Unity, if anything,
means coordination. The conscious ego is the
Resumen. En el último medio siglo, han sido llevadas a cabo numerosas investigaciones para aclara... more Resumen. En el último medio siglo, han sido llevadas a cabo numerosas investigaciones para aclarar la relación entre la música y el cerebro. Los neurocientíficos han demostrado que no sólo la capacidad de percibir la música es muy temprana en el desarrollo del niño, sino también que la música y el lenguaje comparten la misma relación neurobiológica, aunque no hay pruebas de una identidad funcional de estas estructuras. La música, por sus relaciones con el tiempo, tiene que ver con la conciencia. En sus diversas determinaciones, se suspenderá el paso de las actividades ordinarias de la vida para dar lugar a un flujo original de la conciencia, a un nuevo sentido del tiempo.
Abstract. In the past half century extensive research has been carried out to clarify the relationship between music and mind. Neuroscientists have proved that not only does the ability to perceive music appear very early in the development of a child, but that music and language also share the same neurobiological relationship, although there is no evidence of a functional identity between these two structures. Music, due to it's relations over the years, has to do with consciousness. In its various determinations, the passing of ordinary activities of life will be stopped and thus will allow the rise of an original stream of consciousness, a new sense of time.
![Research paper thumbnail of [Dissociative phenomena in a sample of outpatients]](https://a.academia-assets.com/images/blank-paper.jpg)
Rivista di psichiatria
The study describes the frequency and the quality of dissociative phenomena and their relationshi... more The study describes the frequency and the quality of dissociative phenomena and their relationship with axis I disorders and the psychopathological severity in outpatients. The sample (N=383) was subjected to MINI diagnostic interview and self-assessment scales DES and SCL-90. The data were analysed using SPSS. The 11,0% of subjects has a score ≥20 on DES. The 5,2% has no dissociative symptoms. The absorption images is the most frequent dissociative phenomenon, the less common is the dissociation amnesia. A relationship between dissociative phenomena and conditions unemployment, marital separation and single parties and an inverse relationship with age founded. Dissociative phenomena are more frequent in participants who have been diagnosed at least one axis I disorder and their severity is positively correlated with the number of diagnosed diseases and scores to the General Symptomatic Index. Our results point towards the existence of three types of dissociative experiences. The fi...
Rivista Di Psichiatria, May 1, 2012
Lo studio descrive frequenza e qualità dei fenomeni dissociativi e la loro relazione con i distur... more Lo studio descrive frequenza e qualità dei fenomeni dissociativi e la loro relazione con i disturbi di asse I e con la gravità psicopatologica, in pazienti ambulatoriali. Metodi. Il campione (N=383) è stato sottoposto all'intervista diagnostica MINI e alle scale di autovalutazione DES e SCL-90. I dati raccolti sono stati trattati con l'SPSS. Risultati. L'11,0% dei soggetti presenta un punteggio DES-TOT ≥20. Il 5,2% non presenta alcun sintomo dissociativo. L'assorbimento immaginativo è il fenomeno dissociativo più riscontrato; il meno diffuso è costituito dall'amnesia dissociativa. Emerge una relazione tra i fenomeni dissociativi e le condizioni disoccupazione, separazione coniugale e celibato/nubilato e una relazione inversa con l'età. I fenomeni dissociativi sono più frequenti nei soggetti cui è stata diagnosticata almeno una patologia di asse I e la loro gravità risulta positivamente correlata con il numero di patologie diagnosticate e con i punteggi al General Symptomatic Index dell'SCL-90. Discussione. I nostri risultati orientano verso l'esistenza di tre tipi di manifestazioni dissociative. Un primo tipo, rappresentato dal fattore assorbimento/coinvolgimento immaginativo, si esprime lungo un continuum che va dal normale al patologico; un secondo tipo, rappresentato dal fattore depersonalizzazione/derealizzazione, si manifesta in modo significativamente più intenso e specifico tra i soggetti con disturbi di asse I; l'ultima manifestazione dissociativa, descritta dall'amnesia dissociativa, sembra avere una caratteristica prevalentemente tipologica che non la qualifica come un'esperienza comunemente distribuita nella popolazione generale. Il riconoscimento di sintomi dissociativi ha importanti implicazioni per ciò che riguarda la valutazione e il trattamento.
Revista Latinoamericana de Psicopatologia Fundamental, 2012
Creativity is one of the central dimensions of human achievement and social development and has a... more Creativity is one of the central dimensions of human achievement and social development and has always fascinated scientists and non-scientists alike. But what is the essential nature of creativity? And what is the role of consciousness in the emergence of creativity? If it is true that it has been explored in many aspects in the cognitive and neurobiological field, it is also true that the lore chest—from which the conscious mind through unconscious mechanisms extracts the rough material that is then brought to the surface—has been less investigated. The purpose of this article is to give an account of how the multiplicity of levels of awareness is made possible by a spontaneous order that has nothing to do with a monolithic view of creativity.
— The intent of our study, conducted on a sample of 98 psychiatric outpatients, was to explore th... more — The intent of our study, conducted on a sample of 98 psychiatric outpatients, was to explore the correlations between executive functions and traits of temperament and character. Executive functions were assessed through Frontal Assessment Battery and the traits of temperament and character using the Temperament and Character Inventory. From our sample, a significant link between certain traits of temperament and character and a lower efficiency of some specific executive functions and higher efficiency of others clearly emerge. The interpretation that we propose of the data which emerges from the study appears to be coherent with a modern vision of the mental phenomena which seem to achieve non linear interactions among the psychological, biological and relational dimensions which are characteristic of the human being. The complex system of interactions between brain, mind and relations described could be conceptualized as a process embodied and situated in a specific environment, not separable from the body and relationships. The knowledge of this embodied process is important for grounding the " affective computing " direction research. It is necessary to increase the size of the sample group in order to be able to generalize the statements, program experiments finalized at verifying the predictions of the model.
This paper focuses on one of the biggest challenges we face: the possibility of reproducing in an... more This paper focuses on one of the biggest challenges we face: the possibility of reproducing in an artificial agent (based on formal algorithms) some typically human capacities (based on natural logic algorithms) such as consciousness, the ability to deliberate and make moral judgments. Recent evidences arising from dynamic systems theory and statistical learning, from the psychobiology of development and molecular neuroscience are overcoming some of the fundamental assumptions of artificial intelligence and the cognitive science of the last 50 years. From the molecular level to the social one, these new approaches analyze and exploit the structure of complex causal systems physically incorporated and integrated with the environment, setting the stage for the emergence of organisms capable of adaptive flexibility and intelligent behavior.
Rivista di estetica, 2008
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Scientific American
Criatividade pode ser considerada de diferentes pontos de vista, da história natural dos mamífero... more Criatividade pode ser considerada de diferentes pontos de vista, da história natural dos mamíferos à análise de estados mentais envolvidos na solução de desafios, entre outros estágios intermediários.
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Papers by Nelson Mauro Maldonato
A number of studies have evaluated the association between cognitive function, pain, and
physical activity. To our knowledge, however, no previous studies have evaluated these factors
at the population level.
Aims
To evaluate the association between cognitive function in the elderly with pain, physical
activity, and the interaction between these variables. Estimates are generated for the United
States population.
Methods
We made use of the NHANES database (1999±2002), making adjustments so that our
results represent the United States population. Cognitive function was evaluated through
the Digit Symbol Substitution Test. Our main predictors were (1) pain, defined as soreness
of either the shoulder, neck, lower back and joint, or a severe headache (2) physical activity,
measured as the performance while performing tasks at home, physical activity intensity,
walking, bicycle riding, and muscle strengthening.
Results
Most individual pain sites were not significantly associated with cognitive function, while all
physical activity factors were associated with an increase in cognitive function. When evaluating
the sample subset of those with cognitive scores lower than the median, a combination
of more pain and less physical activity was consistently associated with lower cognitive
scores when compared to those performing more physical activity with or without pain.When evaluating individuals with cognitive scores above the median, a similar association
pattern was perceived.
Conclusions
Among the population of individuals above the age of 60, higher cognitive levels are associated
with more physical activity and less with pain, although both factors might impact cognition.
Public policy resources should be commensurate with these findings when targeting
cognitive function among the aging population.
psychological that, from the early stages of development, prepare the emergence soil of the Self. It is a complex of tangible and intangible
characters distinct from one another - neural infrastructure, awareness, temporality, qualitative subjectivity, intentionality - to
such an extent as to seem welded faces of the same prism. Consciousness is not a simple function of the mind, but its organization. In
this paper we intend to show how its order is not strictly hierarchical, but sustained by multiple horizontal levels, each of which in a
structural and functional continuum with several emerging phenomena. The same distinction between quantitative aspects (surveillance)
and qualitative (content of consciousness) of consciousness is founded on the premise that the supervision is regulated by
widespread in projection systems of the brain stem, hypothalamus and thalamus; while the content of consciousness depends on the
cortical activity, and particularly from the associative areas of the cortex connected between them. The so-called disturbances of
consciousness (vegetative state, the minimally conscious state, a coma, the Locked in syndrome) suggests the existence of an alteration
of a common underlying system. Although the current heterogeneity of the data makes it impossible to attribute with certainty
whether positive or negative about the alleged absence of consciousness in the individual patient, the search is deriving significant
benefits from the accumulation of neuroimaging evidence in paintings like coma, general anesthesia , sleep, epilepsy and somnambulism.
In this sense, it seems increasingly urgent a deeper understanding of the neural correlates during sleep or general anesthesia,
as well as the relationships between neural processes and altered states of consciousness generated by pharmacological manipulations.
maintaining wakefulness. There are two types of orexin peptides: the orexin-A (OXA or hypocretin 1) and orexin-B (OXB or hypocretin
2). The Majority of the central nervous system orexin peptides are synthesized in neurons located in the lateral and back hypothalamus
and send projections throughout the brain regions Orexin neurons are “multi-tasking” hence regulating also energy homeostasis,
reward systems and feeding behaviour through connection with hypothalamic nuclei and through responsiveness to leptine and
glucose. It has recently been found a connection with lymbic system suggesting a further possible role of orexins in regulating emotions.
All the studies conducted confirm that orexin system regulates vigilance states, energy homeostasis, reward system, and emotions.
These crucial role might be the target to develope treatments of narcolepsy, obesity, emotional stress, and drug addiction.
real-time, melodic, and rhythmic sequences in harmony with those from other
musicians. The study of musical improvisation helps one to understand not only
the cognition of creativity, but also the complex neuronal basis of executive functions,
the relation between conscious and unconscious action, and even more. So
far, the prevailing models, founded on the brain imaging method, have focused
on the connection between the cortical areas and their cognitive processes. Little
attention, on the other hand, has been given to the huge variety of subcortical
activities, especially in the basal ganglia. This fundamental subcortical component,
through its implicit procedures and the role it plays in memory, is responsible
to produce new information all the time, allowing the prefrontal cortex to
transform a huge and disordered amount of data in explicit creative acts. The
basal ganglia are strongly related to the activation of chemical signals generated
by dissonance or lack of symmetry between perception and expectation, participating
even in the responses to environmental demands according to the circumstances.
Thus, they interact with the frontal cortex and with the limbic system,
playing a key role in planning and selecting appropriate actions and in decision
making. In this text, we try to explain in which sense improvisation is connected
to the processes of executive functions, to creativity and to the integrated activity
of cortical–subcortical areas controlling the free flow of ideas and to expressive
spontaneity. Eventually, we purpose a model according to which structure
(improvisational field) and process (improvisational time) take part at the centrencephalic
space of functional integration, which, through both competing and
cooperating dynamics, gives way to spontaneous composition.
access to their own “productive” (creative) or “reproductive” (mnestic) tonal
imagery: a field of consciousness that includes experiences, images that are internal,
combined, distorted, associated, or in competition between themselves. In
the highly original form of life that is jazz, narrating means directing time: a
time of epiphanies and introversions, of intuitions and revelations, of syncopated
rhythms and aesthetic insights, which appear and disappear on the edges of interference
between consciousness and the unconscious. The performing urgency of
gestures, voices, and sounds, although arranged in the same scene, highlights the
difference in individual time. In this intense activity of opposition and resolution
the experience becomes an unstable territory that rests on the capacity of the
body to remember, decide, anticipate, and invent. The ego reveals itself to be an
emerging representation of our nerve structures and, even if conscious organization
continues to be attributed to it, its role is not at all crucial. Unity, if anything,
means coordination. The conscious ego is the
Abstract. In the past half century extensive research has been carried out to clarify the relationship between music and mind. Neuroscientists have proved that not only does the ability to perceive music appear very early in the development of a child, but that music and language also share the same neurobiological relationship, although there is no evidence of a functional identity between these two structures. Music, due to it's relations over the years, has to do with consciousness. In its various determinations, the passing of ordinary activities of life will be stopped and thus will allow the rise of an original stream of consciousness, a new sense of time.
A number of studies have evaluated the association between cognitive function, pain, and
physical activity. To our knowledge, however, no previous studies have evaluated these factors
at the population level.
Aims
To evaluate the association between cognitive function in the elderly with pain, physical
activity, and the interaction between these variables. Estimates are generated for the United
States population.
Methods
We made use of the NHANES database (1999±2002), making adjustments so that our
results represent the United States population. Cognitive function was evaluated through
the Digit Symbol Substitution Test. Our main predictors were (1) pain, defined as soreness
of either the shoulder, neck, lower back and joint, or a severe headache (2) physical activity,
measured as the performance while performing tasks at home, physical activity intensity,
walking, bicycle riding, and muscle strengthening.
Results
Most individual pain sites were not significantly associated with cognitive function, while all
physical activity factors were associated with an increase in cognitive function. When evaluating
the sample subset of those with cognitive scores lower than the median, a combination
of more pain and less physical activity was consistently associated with lower cognitive
scores when compared to those performing more physical activity with or without pain.When evaluating individuals with cognitive scores above the median, a similar association
pattern was perceived.
Conclusions
Among the population of individuals above the age of 60, higher cognitive levels are associated
with more physical activity and less with pain, although both factors might impact cognition.
Public policy resources should be commensurate with these findings when targeting
cognitive function among the aging population.
psychological that, from the early stages of development, prepare the emergence soil of the Self. It is a complex of tangible and intangible
characters distinct from one another - neural infrastructure, awareness, temporality, qualitative subjectivity, intentionality - to
such an extent as to seem welded faces of the same prism. Consciousness is not a simple function of the mind, but its organization. In
this paper we intend to show how its order is not strictly hierarchical, but sustained by multiple horizontal levels, each of which in a
structural and functional continuum with several emerging phenomena. The same distinction between quantitative aspects (surveillance)
and qualitative (content of consciousness) of consciousness is founded on the premise that the supervision is regulated by
widespread in projection systems of the brain stem, hypothalamus and thalamus; while the content of consciousness depends on the
cortical activity, and particularly from the associative areas of the cortex connected between them. The so-called disturbances of
consciousness (vegetative state, the minimally conscious state, a coma, the Locked in syndrome) suggests the existence of an alteration
of a common underlying system. Although the current heterogeneity of the data makes it impossible to attribute with certainty
whether positive or negative about the alleged absence of consciousness in the individual patient, the search is deriving significant
benefits from the accumulation of neuroimaging evidence in paintings like coma, general anesthesia , sleep, epilepsy and somnambulism.
In this sense, it seems increasingly urgent a deeper understanding of the neural correlates during sleep or general anesthesia,
as well as the relationships between neural processes and altered states of consciousness generated by pharmacological manipulations.
maintaining wakefulness. There are two types of orexin peptides: the orexin-A (OXA or hypocretin 1) and orexin-B (OXB or hypocretin
2). The Majority of the central nervous system orexin peptides are synthesized in neurons located in the lateral and back hypothalamus
and send projections throughout the brain regions Orexin neurons are “multi-tasking” hence regulating also energy homeostasis,
reward systems and feeding behaviour through connection with hypothalamic nuclei and through responsiveness to leptine and
glucose. It has recently been found a connection with lymbic system suggesting a further possible role of orexins in regulating emotions.
All the studies conducted confirm that orexin system regulates vigilance states, energy homeostasis, reward system, and emotions.
These crucial role might be the target to develope treatments of narcolepsy, obesity, emotional stress, and drug addiction.
real-time, melodic, and rhythmic sequences in harmony with those from other
musicians. The study of musical improvisation helps one to understand not only
the cognition of creativity, but also the complex neuronal basis of executive functions,
the relation between conscious and unconscious action, and even more. So
far, the prevailing models, founded on the brain imaging method, have focused
on the connection between the cortical areas and their cognitive processes. Little
attention, on the other hand, has been given to the huge variety of subcortical
activities, especially in the basal ganglia. This fundamental subcortical component,
through its implicit procedures and the role it plays in memory, is responsible
to produce new information all the time, allowing the prefrontal cortex to
transform a huge and disordered amount of data in explicit creative acts. The
basal ganglia are strongly related to the activation of chemical signals generated
by dissonance or lack of symmetry between perception and expectation, participating
even in the responses to environmental demands according to the circumstances.
Thus, they interact with the frontal cortex and with the limbic system,
playing a key role in planning and selecting appropriate actions and in decision
making. In this text, we try to explain in which sense improvisation is connected
to the processes of executive functions, to creativity and to the integrated activity
of cortical–subcortical areas controlling the free flow of ideas and to expressive
spontaneity. Eventually, we purpose a model according to which structure
(improvisational field) and process (improvisational time) take part at the centrencephalic
space of functional integration, which, through both competing and
cooperating dynamics, gives way to spontaneous composition.
access to their own “productive” (creative) or “reproductive” (mnestic) tonal
imagery: a field of consciousness that includes experiences, images that are internal,
combined, distorted, associated, or in competition between themselves. In
the highly original form of life that is jazz, narrating means directing time: a
time of epiphanies and introversions, of intuitions and revelations, of syncopated
rhythms and aesthetic insights, which appear and disappear on the edges of interference
between consciousness and the unconscious. The performing urgency of
gestures, voices, and sounds, although arranged in the same scene, highlights the
difference in individual time. In this intense activity of opposition and resolution
the experience becomes an unstable territory that rests on the capacity of the
body to remember, decide, anticipate, and invent. The ego reveals itself to be an
emerging representation of our nerve structures and, even if conscious organization
continues to be attributed to it, its role is not at all crucial. Unity, if anything,
means coordination. The conscious ego is the
Abstract. In the past half century extensive research has been carried out to clarify the relationship between music and mind. Neuroscientists have proved that not only does the ability to perceive music appear very early in the development of a child, but that music and language also share the same neurobiological relationship, although there is no evidence of a functional identity between these two structures. Music, due to it's relations over the years, has to do with consciousness. In its various determinations, the passing of ordinary activities of life will be stopped and thus will allow the rise of an original stream of consciousness, a new sense of time.
Comprendere origini e ragioni di questa attività della mente è la sfida di un libro che intraprende un viaggio lungo l’arcipelago di isole, dai bordi frastagliati e mutevoli, che chiamiamo azione umana. La decisione è un processo della vita psichica in cui intervengono razionalità, intuito, fattori biologici, norme culturali, desideri inconsapevoli. Emerge nell’incognito, da processi che sfidano il pensiero.
Quando decidiamo ci esorta a indagare da una prospettiva inconsueta, ci conduce sul versante in ombra della conoscenza, propone un’idea di razionalità limitata: prendere una decisione è soltanto per metà un processo consapevole, perché nel “sistema aperto” che è il nostro cervello gioca la sua parte anche la sovranità invisibile dell’inconscio.
Comprendere origini e ragioni di questa attività della mente è la sfida di un libro che intraprende un viaggio lungo l’arcipelago di isole, dai bordi frastagliati e mutevoli, che chiamiamo azione umana. La decisione è un processo della vita psichica in cui intervengono razionalità, intuito, fattori biologici, norme culturali, desideri inconsapevoli. Emerge nell’incognito, da processi che sfidano il pensiero.
Quando decidiamo ci esorta a indagare da una prospettiva inconsueta, ci conduce sul versante in ombra della conoscenza, propone un’idea di razionalità limitata: prendere una decisione è soltanto per metà un processo consapevole, perché nel “sistema aperto” che è il nostro cervello gioca la sua parte anche la sovranità invisibile dell’inconscio. Sono gli indimenticabili versi del poeta Antonio Machado a ricordarci che l’incertezza è soprattutto un forte stimolo all’azione: caminante, no hay camino, se hace camino al andar.
For every one of us, consciousness is a primary, immediate, permanent fact – the core of life itself. Why, then, are we so far from forming any definitive picture of what it is, and what it means for us? The study of the biological bases for consciousness has shown how physics is incapable of providing credible solutions; the lack of means to describe the interactions between neuronal structures and qualitative experiences leads to an investigative dead end. But this explanatory shortfall does not authorise us to postulate the existence of an inaccessible sancta sanctorum. A scientific project to naturalise consciousness – attempting to ground our relational life and human action in biology – has to recognise issues of complexity, and the irreversibility and historical contingency of our individual phenomenalistic experience. The groundbreaking Archipelago of Consciousness follows the author’s well received writings on Natural Logic, Decision Making and the Predictive Brain.
Nonostante gli enormi progressi compiuti in meno di un secolo nell’ambito delle conoscenze sui meccanismi biologici delle funzioni cerebrali superiori, si avverte sempre più forte l’esigenza di nuove categorie interpretative e apparati logico-concettuali per una scienza della mente che possa creare un’alleanza tra varie discipline come la filosofia della mente, la psichiatria, la linguistica, la neurobiologia, la psicologia, la logica, la scienza cognitiva. Difficilmente, infatti, le neuroscienze potranno colmare i propri gap esplicativi se, oltre alle indiscutibili determinazioni biologiche di ogni individuo, non si riconoscerà piena dignità scientifica anche a temi come l’empatia, l’intersoggettività, le qualità estetiche, il libero arbitrio, gli interessi individuali. Contributi di Edoardo e Francesco Boncinelli, Mario Maj, Mauro Maldonato, Giuseppe Mininni, Alberto Oliverio
socio-demographic, clinical, psychopathological and neuropsychological features
of outpatients—who consecutively enter for treatments in a private service of
psychiatry and psychotherapy—are examined. The involved participants (63 sub-
jects, 24 males and 39 females aged from 18 to 66, mean age years) were
assessed for personality disorders (PDs) by administering the Structured Clinical
Interview for Diagnosis of axis II disorders (SCID-II) and for frontal lobe
hypo-functioning activities by administering the Frontal Assessment Battery
(FAB). 21 subjects reached a FAB total score less than 13.5, indicating the presence
of frontal function deficits. 21 subjects had a diagnosis of Personality Disorder
16 (PD). The remaining 42 subjects did not meet sufficient criteria for any diagnosis of
PD even though they showed one or more typical PD symptoms. It was found that
the PD syndromic diagnosis did not significantly correlate with frontal functions
deficits, while some PD symptoms (such as abnormal behavior, emotional experiences and pathological cognitive processes) correlated negatively with the FAB
total scores and therefore with a frontal lobe hypo-functioning.