A child diagnosed with a life-threatening illness such as cancer, and is hospitalized for extensive periods of time, is faced with innumerable stressful and traumatic circumstances. This emotionally challenging life situation can bring on much emotional distress such as anxiety. Thus, it has become imperative that the oncology child is assisted and supported, in his individual struggle to cope with the harshness of his strained reality. In this study the hospitalized oncology child was provided with a means of support and intervention through the use of Gestalt play therapy. Gestalt play therapy was conducted to assist the child to express and work through feelings of anxiety and related emotional distress associated with his present life experience. Gestalt play therapy was presented with six case studies. The researcher explored and described the experiences of each case study from which, the researcher drew conclusions and made recommendations. / Social Work / M.Diac. (Play Therapy)

Le trouble du spectre de l’autisme (TSA) est défini par l’atteinte de deux domaines: une diminution de la réciprocité sociale et une inflexibilité comportementale. Il n'existe pas de test diagnostique ni de mesure des mécanismes impliqués. En population adulte TSA, l’utilisation d’un jeu d’interaction dynamique, dyadique et intégratif présentant alternativement un contexte social ou non social, a permis d’obtenir un phénotype computationnel de la réciprocité sociale révélant une insensibilité au type de contexte, une utilisation de stratégie spécifique à ce groupe et une variation de performance dépendante de la sophistication de l’adversaire. Cette étude vise à étendre cette compréhension de la réciprocité sociale en population TSA pédiatrique et de la distinguer d'éléments psychopathologiques comme l'anxiété ou les symptômes de TDAH, parfois associés ou confondus avec des symptômes autistiques. L’analyse des données de performance des participants au jeu a permis de valider son utilisation en population pédiatrique, en répliquant l’impact du type d’algorithme sur la performance des participants. Une approche dimensionnelle utilisant des outils standardisés et permettant la quantification de la sévérité des symptômes autistiques, TDAH et troubles anxieux, a permis de spécifier l’impact des symptômes autistiques et anxieux sur la performance des participants contre un algorithme de type ToM d’ordre 0. Cette étude est une étape dans la compréhension des mécanismes impliqués dans l'interaction sociale au cours du développement, et dans la capacité à les mesurer. Des analyses computationnelles complémentaires permettront d’affiner ce phénotype computationnel en apportant des précisions quant aux stratégies utilisées pendant le jeu et à la flexibilité des participants à varier dans leur utilisation. / Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is defined by two main domains of impairment: decreased social reciprocity and behavioural inflexibility. There is no diagnostic test or measurement of the mechanisms involved. A study with ASD adults used a dynamic, dyadic and integrative interaction game which alternately presents a social or non-social context, it resulted in a computational phenotype of social reciprocity revealing insensitivity to the type of context, a use of strategy specific to this group and a variation in performance depending on the opponent’s sophistication. This study aims to extend this understanding of social reciprocity in the pediatric ASD population and to distinguish psychopathological symptoms such as anxiety or ADHD symptoms, which are sometimes associated or confused with autistic symptoms. Analysis of the participants’ performance data validated its use in the pediatric population by replicating the impact of the algorithm on the participants’ performance. A dimensional approach using standardized tools and allowing the quantification of the autistic, ADHD and anxiety disorders symptoms’ severity, permits the emphasis of the impact of autistic and anxious symptoms on participants’ performance against a ToM-0 agent. This study is a step in the understanding of the mechanisms developed in social interaction during development and in the ability to measure them. Complementary computational analyzes will help refine this computational phenotype by giving more details about the strategies used during the game and the participants' flexibility to vary in their use.

Magister Artium - MA / This biography of Dr Vera Bührmann is an intersectional and interdisciplinary investigation of an unusual Afrikaner woman who occupied several unusual places in South African society. Through rigorous archival research and a wide reading of English and Afrikaans secondary sources, I examine the mythology that has grown up around Dr Bührmann and expose contradictions and inaccuracies inherent within these myths. I adopt a chronological approach but focus on certain key motifs. I dwell on her family background in order to demonstrate the depths of the Afrikaner nationalist tradition to which she was heir. I uncover the impact that physical anthropology had on her during her initial medical training at Wits and UCT in the 1930s. I highlight the intensity of her commitment to, and leadership roles in, the Ossewa-Brandwag and Dietse Kinderfonds, both extremist right-wing Afrikaner nationalist organisations. Vera’s marital crises reveal something of her ‘human’ side but are an important component of her story because she reinvented herself following her divorce in the early 1950s, furthering her medical qualifications as well as training as a Jungian analyst. I investigate the various fields in which she worked following her return to South Africa in late 1959 but focus on her cross-cultural psychiatry research with a Xhosa igqira in the 1970s and 1980s since much of the mythology that surrounds her is based on publications that flowed from that research. I engage critically with her published works and associated archival records and present evidence which shows that the view that she underwent a ‘Damascus Road’ experience with respect to her racial politics is unfounded. The racial politics of her ancestors and the ideology of the radical right-wing Ossewa-Brandwag remained with her throughout her life, despite attempts (by Vera and others) to camouflage it. In addition, I show that her use of Jungian depth psychology as a framework for cross-cultural psychiatry research contributed to the reification of apartheid racial politics. This study draws attention to the many pioneering achievements of this remarkable woman but argues that a more nuanced approach to her legacy is needed in light of the evidence of her persistent racial prejudice.

Denna studie har genomförts på en barn- och ungdomspsykiatrisk mottagning i norra Sverige. Syftet med studien var att beskriva vad barn och ungdomar gestaltar i sina bilder i väntrummet. I väntrummet anslog frivilliga deltagare i studien sina bilder på skärmar. Datainsamlingen pågick under 4 månader. Data analyserades med ett för ändamålet konstruerat skattningsformulär som vilade på en bildsemiotisk teorigrund samt med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultatet visade på sex kategorier baserat på bildanalysen och nio kategorier baserat på textanalysen. Kommunikation av känslor och tankar kunde identifieras i såväl bild som text. Slutsatsen är att en del av besökarna i BUPs väntrum använder möjligheten att skapa bilder där och att formen för bildskapande där bilden anslås till öppet beskådande stimulerar ett slags samtal mellan bilderna i väntrummet. Bilderna hade i vissa fall ett starkt emotionellt innehåll som gestaltades i såväl bild som text. / This study was carried out on a child and adolescent psychiatric unit in northern Sweden. The aim of the study was to describe what children and young people create in their pictures in the waiting room. In the waiting room voluntary participants were invited to create and put up images on screens. Data collection lasted for 4 months. Data were analyzed using a specially designed assessment form which rested on a theory of visual semiotics basis and using qualitative content analysis. The results showed six categories based on image analysis and nine categories based on text analysis. Communication of thoughts and feelings could be identified in both images and texts. The conclusion is that some of the visitors in the child and adolescent psychiatry waiting room take the opportunity to create images and that the project stimulated a kind of visual dialogue in the waiting room. The images hade in some cases a strong emotional content that was both visual and verbal.

Cette thèse veut optimiser l’évaluation d’enfants de 2 à 5 ans vivant avec un trouble développemental du langage (TDL), en se centrant moins sur leurs déficits et davantage sur leur participation sociale. Premièrement, la stabilité des atteintes langagières documentées par l’orthophoniste à l’âge préscolaire est vérifiée dans un échantillon d’enfants référés en clinique spécialisée. Deuxièmement, les méthodes d’évaluation de la participation pertinentes à cet âge, particulièrement dans le domaine de la socialisation, sont recensées. Troisièmement, l’applicabilité d’un modèle d’évaluation hiérarchique de la compétence sociale en collaboration avec le personnel éducateur et enseignant est testée dans une population clinique. Deux études de cohorte ont été menées avec des données extraites des dossiers médicaux d’enfants ayant consulté dans une clinique psychiatrique en petite enfance sur une période de dix ans (N = 466), et les écrits scientifiques ont été synthétisés par une revue de la portée. Selon la première étude, la présence ou l’absence de difficultés langagières demeure très stable (94%) entre deux conclusions orthophoniques, chez des enfants référés en clinique spécialisée durant la petite enfance (n = 149). Au terme de la revue de littérature, les 480 publications retenues font état de 186 méthodes différentes visant à évaluer la participation d’enfants de 2 à 5 ans, notamment dans le domaine de la socialisation. Cette revue confirme aussi que le Profil socio-affectif de l’enfant (PSA; LaFreniere et al., 1997) est une mesure de la compétence sociale répandue dans le monde. La dernière étude permet d’identifier dans l’échelle de compétence sociale du PSA deux facteurs distincts, proposés selon le modèle théorique d’Ashton (2018). En contrôlant plusieurs caractéristiques d’enfants consultant en clinique avec TDL (n = 217) et sans TDL (n = 99), un modèle d’équation structurelle supporte la pertinence d’évaluer d’abord l’adaptation sociale (liée à la satisfaction des enfants, des pairs et des adultes dans l’interaction) puis, seulement si des difficultés d’adaptation sont observées, le fonctionnement social (lié aux comportements que l’enfant actualise). Les retombées de cette thèse sont importantes. D’abord, elle démontre que des enfants référés en bas âge vers des services spécialisés ont un profil langagier extrêmement stable au préscolaire, par opposition à ce qui avait été documenté dans la population générale. L’identification précoce du risque de persistance peut influencer les services offerts à ces enfants durant une période critique de leur développement. Ensuite, l’évaluation des impacts fonctionnels, désormais requise pour conclure à un TDL, peut être facilitée par la recension interdisciplinaire de mesures d’évaluation de la participation, notamment dans le domaine de la socialisation. Finalement, l’applicabilité d’un modèle hiérarchique d’évaluation de la compétence sociale, testé dans une population clinique en utilisant un outil déjà utilisé au Québec, pourrait favoriser la concertation de l’orthophoniste, du personnel éducateur et des partenaires d’autres disciplines, afin de favoriser l’inclusion de l’enfant dans les contextes éducatifs en petite enfance. En somme, les trois études offrent des ressources supplémentaires à l’orthophoniste et à toutes les personnes intéressées par un paradigme d’évaluation plus social que médical, dans le cadre de pratiques collaboratives et centrées sur la famille. / This thesis aims to optimize the assessment of children aged 2 to 5 years with a developmental language disorder (DLD), focusing less on their deficits and more on their social participation. First, the stability of language impairments documented by the speech-language pathologist (SLP) at preschool age is verified in a sample of children referred to a specialized clinic. Second, participation assessment methods relevant to children aged 2 to 5 years, particularly in the area of socialization, are identified. Third, the applicability of a hierarchical assessment model of social competence in collaboration with educators and teachers is tested in a clinical population. Two cohort studies were conducted using data extracted from the medical records of children seen in an early childhood psychiatric clinic over a ten-year period (N = 466), and the scientific literature was synthesized by a scoping review. The first study’s results documented that the presence or absence of language difficulties remained very stable (94%) in children referred to a specialized clinic during early childhood (n = 149) when two SLP assessments were compared. The 480 publications retained at the end of the literature review report 186 different methods for assessing the participation of children aged 2 to 5 years, particularly in the area of socialization. This review also confirms that the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation (SCBE; LaFreniere & Dumas, 1995) is a widely used measure of social competence in the world. The last study identifies two distinct factors in the SCBE social competence scale, based on Ashton's (2018) theoretical model. Controlling for several characteristics of children consulting in clinic with DLD (n = 217) and without DLD (n = 99), a structural equation model supports the appropriateness of first assessing social adjustment (related to child, peer, and adult satisfaction with interaction) and then, only if adjustment difficulties are observed, social functioning (related to the behaviors the child actualizes). The implications of this thesis are significant. First, it demonstrates that children referred to specialized services at an early age have an extremely stable language profile in the preschool period, in contrast to what has been documented in the general population. Early identification of persistence risk may influence the services provided to the child during a critical period of development. Second, the assessment of functional impacts, now required to conclude that a child has DLD, can be facilitated by the interdisciplinary review of measures of participation, particularly in the area of socialization. Finally, the applicability of a hierarchical model of social competence assessment, tested in a clinical population using a standardized tool already in use in Quebec, could foster collaboration among SLPs, preschool educators and teachers, and partners from other disciplines, to promote child inclusion in early childhood and preschool settings. In sum, all three studies provide additional resources for the SLP and all those interested in a more social than medical assessment paradigm, within collaborative, family-centered practices.

Introdução: Os maus tratos na infância e adolescência são considerados um problema de saúde pública devido a alta prevalência no Brasil e no mundo. A exposição a maus tratos está associada a alterações no desenvolvimento cognitivo, porém, há uma escassez de estudos brasileiros que investiguem o tema. Objetivos: Comparar o funcionamento neuropsicológico de adolescentes com e sem histórico de maus tratos, bem como estudar as relações entre essas vivências, desempenho neuropsicológico e sintomas psiquiátricos relacionados a impulsividade, oposição, hiperatividade e desatenção. Método: Cento e oito adolescentes foram selecionados em dois programas de atendimento a população em situação de vulnerabilidade e/ou risco social de São Paulo (SP). De acordo com a pontuação do Questionário de Traumas na Infância (QUESI), foram classificados em três grupos: GMT1 (grupo de maus tratos leves, n=35), GMT2 (grupo de maus tratos moderado a grave, n=19) e GC (grupo de comparação, n=54). Os adolescentes passaram por avaliação neuropsicológica com o foco na investigação de funções relacionadas a percepção visual e spam atencional (primeira unidade funcional), processamento e armazenamento de informações (segunda unidade funcional) e funcionamento executivo (terceira unidade funcional). Foram utilizadas escalas para avaliação psiquiátrica (K-SADS-PL) e investigação de sintomas de impulsividade, hiperatividade, desatenção e oposição (BIS-1, SNAP-IV). Os resultados obtidos nos grupos foram comparados com o controle estatístico de variáveis sociais (dificuldades socioeconômicas, escolaridade e abrigamento) e clínicas (transtornos psiquiátricos internalizantes e externalizantes, uso de medicação psiquiátrica e quociente intelectual estimado- QI). Por fim, foram feitas associações entre exposição a maus tratos, funcionamento neuropsicológico e sintomas psiquiátricos. Resultados: Os GMTs (grupos de maus tratos) apresentaram pior funcionamento intelectual em relação ao GC, sendo que o pior desempenho foi encontrado no GMT2 (p< 0,001). Medidas menores de QI estiveram associadas a prejuízo nas três unidades funcionais (p<= 0,049) e a mais sintomas de hiperatividade e desatenção (p <= 0,008). Foi encontrado pior desempenho dos GMTs nos testes para avaliação de segunda unidade funcional (p<= 0,001), porém, não foram encontradas diferenças entre os grupos na primeira e terceira unidades. Apesar disso, os testes de correlação indicaram que o aumento das pontuações no QUESI estava associado à piora do desempenho em todas as unidades funcionais (p<= 0,046). Os GMTs apresentaram maior impulsividade e oposição (p<= 0,008) e, quanto maior a pontuação no QUESI, maior a presença de sintomas de impulsividade, oposição, sintomas isolados de desatenção e sintomas mistos de desatenção e hiperatividade (p<= 0,006). Conclusão: Os resultados obtidos corroboram a associação entre exposição a maus tratos e dificuldades cognitivas e psiquiátricas. Os dados obtidos poderão contribuir para o planejamento de políticas públicas voltadas tanto à prevenção quanto para o tratamento de patologias associadas ao desenvolvimento neurobiológico alterado de crianças e adolescentes que crescem em condições adversas. / Introduction: Maltreatment experiences in childhood and adolescence are considered a public health problem due to high prevalence in Brazil and worldwide. The exposure to maltreatment is associated with changes in cognitive development; however, there is a shortage of Brazilian research that investigates this topic. Objectives: Comparison of neuropsychological functioning of adolescents with and without maltreatment history, as well as the research of relationships between these experiences, neuropsychological performance, and psychiatric symptoms relating to impulsivity, opposition, hyperactivity, and inattention. Methods: One hundred and eight adolescents were selected from two assistance programs for people in vulnerability and social risk situation in the city of Sao Paulo (SP). According to the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), three groups were classified: GMT1 Group (Mild Maltreatment, n = 35), GMT2 (group of moderate to severe maltreatment, n = 19) and GC (comparison group, n = 54). The adolescents underwent neuropsychological evaluation with a focus on the investigation of functions related to visual perception and attention spam (first functional unit), processing and retention of information (second functional unit) and executive functioning (third functional unit). Scales were used for psychiatric assessment (K-SADS-PL) and investigation of impulsivity, hyperactivity, inattention, and opposition symptoms (SNAP-IV, BIS-11). Results obtained in these groups were compared with statistical control of social variables (socioeconomic, school level, and shelter), and clinical variables (internalizing and externalizing psychiatric disorders, use of psychiatric medication, and estimated intellectual quotient - IQ). Lastly, associations between exposure to maltreatment, neuropsychological functioning and psychiatric symptoms were made. Results: The GMT (maltreatment groups) had a worse intellectual functioning compared to GC, while the worst performance was found in GMT2 (p < 0.001). Lower IQ measures were associated to impairment on the three functional units (p<= 0.049) and to more symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity (p <= 0.008). Worse performance on tests for evaluation of the second functional unit (p<= 0.001) was found for GMT, but no differences were found between the groups on the first and third units. Nevertheless, the correlation tests indicated that the increase in CTQ scores was associated to worse performance in all of the functional units (p<= 0,046). The GMT presented higher impulsivity and opposition (p<= 0,008) and the higher the CTQ score the more symptoms of impulsivity, opposition, isolated symptoms of inattention, and mixed symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity (p<= 0,006). Conclusion: The results confirm the negative association between exposure to maltreatment and psychiatric and cognitive difficulties. The data obtained will contribute to the planning of public policies for both prevention and treatment of diseases associated to altered neurobiological development of children and adolescents who grow up in adverse conditions.

O transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo (TOC) é um transtorno psiquiátrico que acomete cerca de 1 a 3,1% das pessoas ao longo da vida. Embora o seu modelo neurobiológico ainda não esteja completamente estabelecido, inúmeras evidências apontam para áreas relacionadas ao circuito córtico-estriado-pálido-talâmico-cortical (CEPTC). Em especial, o córtex órbito-frontal (COF) é uma região que desempenha um papel fundamental dentro da hipótese fisiopatológica do TOC. Paralelamente, esta região já foi associada, em sujeitos saudáveis, com a habilidade de utilização espontânea da estratégia de agrupamento semântico na memorização de palavras - o que facilita sua evocação posterior. Ao mesmo tempo, estudos neuropsicológicos evidenciaram que pacientes com TOC apresentam déficits na memória episódica verbal (MEV) e que tais déficits poderiam ser mediados por dificuldades em funções executivas ligadas ao planejamento, como utilização de estratégias. Portanto, para testar a hipótese de que há diferenças no correlato neural da codificação da MEV entre pacientes com TOC e controles saudáveis, foi utilizado um teste neuropsicológico adaptado para ressonância magnética funcional (RMf): o paradigma tinha apresentação em bloco. O objetivo do presente estudo foi investigar a etapa de codificação da MEV e a capacidade de agrupamento semântico espontâneo em crianças e adolescentes com TOC. Assim, o paradigma foi constituído por duas listas de palavras: uma, semanticamente relacionada (SR), na qual as palavras eram divididas em categorias semânticas e outra, não relacionada (NR), na qual não havia relação aparente entre as palavras. O contraste de maior interesse do estudo foi a diferença entre essas duas condições (SR > NR). O nível de agrupamento semântico foi quantificado por um índice semântico. Os grupos foram formados por 25 crianças e adolescentes com TOC e 25 controles saudáveis, pareados por sexo, idade, escolaridade, preferência manual e QI. Embora os grupos estivessem pareados por essas características, eles se diferiram em sintomas clínicos, tais como sintomas de depressão, ansiedade e necessidade de rotina por parte da criança/adolescente. Os resultados comportamentais do teste de MEV mostraram que os grupos não se diferenciaram: ambos evocaram a mesma quantidade de palavras e não apresentaram diferenças no índice semântico. Apesar disso, a comparação entre os grupos - controlada para variáveis clínicas - revelou menor ativação (sinal BOLD) nos pacientes em diversas regiões cerebrais: frontais, parietais e occipito-temporais. Por outro lado, a análise de interação psicofisiológica (PPI) revelou que os pacientes apresentaram um aumento da conectividade do COF com regiões temporais em relação aos controles. Isso ocorreu para três das quatro regiões de interesse que foram posicionadas no COF: lateral e medial de ambos os hemisférios. Além disso, o grupo de pacientes apresentou uma correlação positiva entre o índice semântico e o efeito BOLD no COF, o que não ocorreu para o grupo controle. Esses resultados indicam diferenças no funcionamento cerebral de crianças e adolescentes com TOC tanto em regiões que estão dentro do modelo neurobiológico proposto para o TOC (circuito CEPTC), como fora dele também. De acordo com os resultados do presente estudo, as diferenças de ativação e de conectividade poderiam ser consideradas como um déficit latente, uma vez que ambos os grupos apresentaram o mesmo desempenho no paradigma / The obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric disorder that affects 1-3.1% of the general population (lifetime rate). Although its neurobiological model has not been completely establish, numerous evidences indicate that areas of the cortico-striatalpale- thalamic-cortical (CSPTC) circuit are engaged in the disease. In particular, the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is a region that plays a key role in the pathophysiological hypothesis of OCD. In parallel to this, in healthy controls this region has been associated with the ability of using spontaneous strategies of semantic clustering at the encoding of related words - in a way that facilitates the posterior retrieval of these words. At the same time, neuropsychological studies showed that OCD patients present verbal episodic memory (VEM) deficits, and that these deficits could be mediated by executive dysfunction - like planing and utilization of strategies. Thus, to investigate the hypothesis that there are differences at the neural correlates of VEM encoding between children and adolescents with OCD and healthy controls, we used a blocked design functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) paradigm to evaluate both groups. The main objective of the study was to investigate the VEM encoding and the ability to spontaneously organize words according to their semantic categories. In order to do this, the fMRI paradigm consisted of two kinds of word lists: a semantically related list (SR), in which words were divided into semantic categories and a unrelated list (UR), were there was no apparent relationship between the words. However, the contrast of most interest of this study, was the difference between the conditions (\'SR > UR\'). The semantic clustering level was quantified by a semantic clustering index. Groups were constituted by 25 children and adolescents with OCD and 25 healthy controls paired by gender, age, educational level, handedness and IQ. Although both groups were matched for these characteristics, they differed in clinical symptoms such as depression, anxiety and routines. Behavioral results showed that the groups were similar in terms of retrieved words and semantic index. Nevertheless, the comparison between groups - controlled for clinical variables - showed less activation (BOLD signal) in patients in several brain regions: frontal, parietal and occipito-temporal. On the other hand, the psychophysiological interaction analysis (PPI) revealed that patients have had an increase in the OFC connectivity with the temporal regions. This has occurred in three of the four regions of interest that were placed in the OFC: lateral and medial of both hemispheres. Also, the patients showed a positive correlation between the semantic index and the BOLD effect in the OFC, which was not observed in the control group. These results suggest that there are differences in brain functioning of children and adolescents with OCD in regions that are inside/outside of the neurobiological model for OCD (CSPTC circuit). In accordance with the present results, these differences in brain activation and connectivity could be regarded as a latent deficit, since both groups presented the same behavioral performance

No description available.

Introdução: Os maus tratos na infância e adolescência são considerados um problema de saúde pública devido a alta prevalência no Brasil e no mundo. A exposição a maus tratos está associada a alterações no desenvolvimento cognitivo, porém, há uma escassez de estudos brasileiros que investiguem o tema. Objetivos: Comparar o funcionamento neuropsicológico de adolescentes com e sem histórico de maus tratos, bem como estudar as relações entre essas vivências, desempenho neuropsicológico e sintomas psiquiátricos relacionados a impulsividade, oposição, hiperatividade e desatenção. Método: Cento e oito adolescentes foram selecionados em dois programas de atendimento a população em situação de vulnerabilidade e/ou risco social de São Paulo (SP). De acordo com a pontuação do Questionário de Traumas na Infância (QUESI), foram classificados em três grupos: GMT1 (grupo de maus tratos leves, n=35), GMT2 (grupo de maus tratos moderado a grave, n=19) e GC (grupo de comparação, n=54). Os adolescentes passaram por avaliação neuropsicológica com o foco na investigação de funções relacionadas a percepção visual e spam atencional (primeira unidade funcional), processamento e armazenamento de informações (segunda unidade funcional) e funcionamento executivo (terceira unidade funcional). Foram utilizadas escalas para avaliação psiquiátrica (K-SADS-PL) e investigação de sintomas de impulsividade, hiperatividade, desatenção e oposição (BIS-1, SNAP-IV). Os resultados obtidos nos grupos foram comparados com o controle estatístico de variáveis sociais (dificuldades socioeconômicas, escolaridade e abrigamento) e clínicas (transtornos psiquiátricos internalizantes e externalizantes, uso de medicação psiquiátrica e quociente intelectual estimado- QI). Por fim, foram feitas associações entre exposição a maus tratos, funcionamento neuropsicológico e sintomas psiquiátricos. Resultados: Os GMTs (grupos de maus tratos) apresentaram pior funcionamento intelectual em relação ao GC, sendo que o pior desempenho foi encontrado no GMT2 (p< 0,001). Medidas menores de QI estiveram associadas a prejuízo nas três unidades funcionais (p<= 0,049) e a mais sintomas de hiperatividade e desatenção (p <= 0,008). Foi encontrado pior desempenho dos GMTs nos testes para avaliação de segunda unidade funcional (p<= 0,001), porém, não foram encontradas diferenças entre os grupos na primeira e terceira unidades. Apesar disso, os testes de correlação indicaram que o aumento das pontuações no QUESI estava associado à piora do desempenho em todas as unidades funcionais (p<= 0,046). Os GMTs apresentaram maior impulsividade e oposição (p<= 0,008) e, quanto maior a pontuação no QUESI, maior a presença de sintomas de impulsividade, oposição, sintomas isolados de desatenção e sintomas mistos de desatenção e hiperatividade (p<= 0,006). Conclusão: Os resultados obtidos corroboram a associação entre exposição a maus tratos e dificuldades cognitivas e psiquiátricas. Os dados obtidos poderão contribuir para o planejamento de políticas públicas voltadas tanto à prevenção quanto para o tratamento de patologias associadas ao desenvolvimento neurobiológico alterado de crianças e adolescentes que crescem em condições adversas. / Introduction: Maltreatment experiences in childhood and adolescence are considered a public health problem due to high prevalence in Brazil and worldwide. The exposure to maltreatment is associated with changes in cognitive development; however, there is a shortage of Brazilian research that investigates this topic. Objectives: Comparison of neuropsychological functioning of adolescents with and without maltreatment history, as well as the research of relationships between these experiences, neuropsychological performance, and psychiatric symptoms relating to impulsivity, opposition, hyperactivity, and inattention. Methods: One hundred and eight adolescents were selected from two assistance programs for people in vulnerability and social risk situation in the city of Sao Paulo (SP). According to the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), three groups were classified: GMT1 Group (Mild Maltreatment, n = 35), GMT2 (group of moderate to severe maltreatment, n = 19) and GC (comparison group, n = 54). The adolescents underwent neuropsychological evaluation with a focus on the investigation of functions related to visual perception and attention spam (first functional unit), processing and retention of information (second functional unit) and executive functioning (third functional unit). Scales were used for psychiatric assessment (K-SADS-PL) and investigation of impulsivity, hyperactivity, inattention, and opposition symptoms (SNAP-IV, BIS-11). Results obtained in these groups were compared with statistical control of social variables (socioeconomic, school level, and shelter), and clinical variables (internalizing and externalizing psychiatric disorders, use of psychiatric medication, and estimated intellectual quotient - IQ). Lastly, associations between exposure to maltreatment, neuropsychological functioning and psychiatric symptoms were made. Results: The GMT (maltreatment groups) had a worse intellectual functioning compared to GC, while the worst performance was found in GMT2 (p < 0.001). Lower IQ measures were associated to impairment on the three functional units (p<= 0.049) and to more symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity (p <= 0.008). Worse performance on tests for evaluation of the second functional unit (p<= 0.001) was found for GMT, but no differences were found between the groups on the first and third units. Nevertheless, the correlation tests indicated that the increase in CTQ scores was associated to worse performance in all of the functional units (p<= 0,046). The GMT presented higher impulsivity and opposition (p<= 0,008) and the higher the CTQ score the more symptoms of impulsivity, opposition, isolated symptoms of inattention, and mixed symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity (p<= 0,006). Conclusion: The results confirm the negative association between exposure to maltreatment and psychiatric and cognitive difficulties. The data obtained will contribute to the planning of public policies for both prevention and treatment of diseases associated to altered neurobiological development of children and adolescents who grow up in adverse conditions.

O transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo (TOC) é um transtorno psiquiátrico que acomete cerca de 1 a 3,1% das pessoas ao longo da vida. Embora o seu modelo neurobiológico ainda não esteja completamente estabelecido, inúmeras evidências apontam para áreas relacionadas ao circuito córtico-estriado-pálido-talâmico-cortical (CEPTC). Em especial, o córtex órbito-frontal (COF) é uma região que desempenha um papel fundamental dentro da hipótese fisiopatológica do TOC. Paralelamente, esta região já foi associada, em sujeitos saudáveis, com a habilidade de utilização espontânea da estratégia de agrupamento semântico na memorização de palavras - o que facilita sua evocação posterior. Ao mesmo tempo, estudos neuropsicológicos evidenciaram que pacientes com TOC apresentam déficits na memória episódica verbal (MEV) e que tais déficits poderiam ser mediados por dificuldades em funções executivas ligadas ao planejamento, como utilização de estratégias. Portanto, para testar a hipótese de que há diferenças no correlato neural da codificação da MEV entre pacientes com TOC e controles saudáveis, foi utilizado um teste neuropsicológico adaptado para ressonância magnética funcional (RMf): o paradigma tinha apresentação em bloco. O objetivo do presente estudo foi investigar a etapa de codificação da MEV e a capacidade de agrupamento semântico espontâneo em crianças e adolescentes com TOC. Assim, o paradigma foi constituído por duas listas de palavras: uma, semanticamente relacionada (SR), na qual as palavras eram divididas em categorias semânticas e outra, não relacionada (NR), na qual não havia relação aparente entre as palavras. O contraste de maior interesse do estudo foi a diferença entre essas duas condições (SR > NR). O nível de agrupamento semântico foi quantificado por um índice semântico. Os grupos foram formados por 25 crianças e adolescentes com TOC e 25 controles saudáveis, pareados por sexo, idade, escolaridade, preferência manual e QI. Embora os grupos estivessem pareados por essas características, eles se diferiram em sintomas clínicos, tais como sintomas de depressão, ansiedade e necessidade de rotina por parte da criança/adolescente. Os resultados comportamentais do teste de MEV mostraram que os grupos não se diferenciaram: ambos evocaram a mesma quantidade de palavras e não apresentaram diferenças no índice semântico. Apesar disso, a comparação entre os grupos - controlada para variáveis clínicas - revelou menor ativação (sinal BOLD) nos pacientes em diversas regiões cerebrais: frontais, parietais e occipito-temporais. Por outro lado, a análise de interação psicofisiológica (PPI) revelou que os pacientes apresentaram um aumento da conectividade do COF com regiões temporais em relação aos controles. Isso ocorreu para três das quatro regiões de interesse que foram posicionadas no COF: lateral e medial de ambos os hemisférios. Além disso, o grupo de pacientes apresentou uma correlação positiva entre o índice semântico e o efeito BOLD no COF, o que não ocorreu para o grupo controle. Esses resultados indicam diferenças no funcionamento cerebral de crianças e adolescentes com TOC tanto em regiões que estão dentro do modelo neurobiológico proposto para o TOC (circuito CEPTC), como fora dele também. De acordo com os resultados do presente estudo, as diferenças de ativação e de conectividade poderiam ser consideradas como um déficit latente, uma vez que ambos os grupos apresentaram o mesmo desempenho no paradigma / The obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric disorder that affects 1-3.1% of the general population (lifetime rate). Although its neurobiological model has not been completely establish, numerous evidences indicate that areas of the cortico-striatalpale- thalamic-cortical (CSPTC) circuit are engaged in the disease. In particular, the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is a region that plays a key role in the pathophysiological hypothesis of OCD. In parallel to this, in healthy controls this region has been associated with the ability of using spontaneous strategies of semantic clustering at the encoding of related words - in a way that facilitates the posterior retrieval of these words. At the same time, neuropsychological studies showed that OCD patients present verbal episodic memory (VEM) deficits, and that these deficits could be mediated by executive dysfunction - like planing and utilization of strategies. Thus, to investigate the hypothesis that there are differences at the neural correlates of VEM encoding between children and adolescents with OCD and healthy controls, we used a blocked design functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) paradigm to evaluate both groups. The main objective of the study was to investigate the VEM encoding and the ability to spontaneously organize words according to their semantic categories. In order to do this, the fMRI paradigm consisted of two kinds of word lists: a semantically related list (SR), in which words were divided into semantic categories and a unrelated list (UR), were there was no apparent relationship between the words. However, the contrast of most interest of this study, was the difference between the conditions (\'SR > UR\'). The semantic clustering level was quantified by a semantic clustering index. Groups were constituted by 25 children and adolescents with OCD and 25 healthy controls paired by gender, age, educational level, handedness and IQ. Although both groups were matched for these characteristics, they differed in clinical symptoms such as depression, anxiety and routines. Behavioral results showed that the groups were similar in terms of retrieved words and semantic index. Nevertheless, the comparison between groups - controlled for clinical variables - showed less activation (BOLD signal) in patients in several brain regions: frontal, parietal and occipito-temporal. On the other hand, the psychophysiological interaction analysis (PPI) revealed that patients have had an increase in the OFC connectivity with the temporal regions. This has occurred in three of the four regions of interest that were placed in the OFC: lateral and medial of both hemispheres. Also, the patients showed a positive correlation between the semantic index and the BOLD effect in the OFC, which was not observed in the control group. These results suggest that there are differences in brain functioning of children and adolescents with OCD in regions that are inside/outside of the neurobiological model for OCD (CSPTC circuit). In accordance with the present results, these differences in brain activation and connectivity could be regarded as a latent deficit, since both groups presented the same behavioral performance