Recent reports suggest that over half of the world's population regularly uses two or more languages (or dialects) in their daily lives. The U.S. Census Bureau reports 21.6% of the population communicates in a language other than English within their homes. Thus, it is essential to methodically investigate how language processing and learning vary between monolingual and bilingual individuals. To date, research on the effects of bilingualism on language processing has been inconsistent or conflicting. The present study was designed to empirically examine if bilingual speakers differ in language processing and comprehension compared to their monolingual counterparts. It was hypothesized that the bilingual switching process would impact language processing as measured by accuracy and reaction time (RT). A sample of 60 participants was used and consisted of 15 monolingual English speakers and 45 bilingual Spanish, French, and Arabic speakers. All participants completed a series of language decision tasks consisting of 44 congruent and incongruent sentences presented randomly and sequentially. Results showed that participants were more accurate in detecting incongruent than congruent sentences. Similarly, participants also responded faster to incongruent than congruent sentences. In addition, results also showed that participants had higher accuracy scores when the sentences were presented sequentially than randomly and responded faster when sentences were presented randomly than sequentially. Interestingly, results also showed a significant interaction between congruency and presentation mode on participants' accuracy scores. Tests of simple effects indicated that for the sequentially presented sentences, there was a significant difference between congruent and incongruent sentences. Similarly, for the congruent sentences, there was a significant difference between the sequentially and randomly presented sentences. Furthermore, our results also showed a significant interaction between congruency and presentation mode on participants' reaction time scores. Tests of simple effects indicated that participants had faster reaction time scores in the congruent sentences when they were presented randomly than sequentially. A series of General Linear Models (GLM) was conducted to examine the effects of language tested, congruency, and presentation mode on participants' accuracy scores. Results also showed a marginally significant interaction between congruency and language tested on accuracy and reaction time scores. Tests of simple effects indicated that only the Arabic speakers had significantly higher accuracy scores on concurrent than incongruent sentences. None of the other language groups had significant differences between congruent and incongruent accuracy scores for the other language groups. Finally, there was a significant interaction between congruency and language tested on participants' reaction time scores. Results showed that for the congruent sentences, French speakers had significantly faster reaction times than Spanish speakers and English speakers had significantly faster reaction times than Spanish speakers. However, English speakers had significantly faster reaction time scores for incongruent sentences than Arabic speakers. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed, and future research directions are presented.

No description available.

Lima-Silva TB. Funcionalidade e desempenho cognitivo na demência frontotemporal variante comportamental. [Dissertação]. São Paulo: Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, 2012. Resumo Introdução: Existem poucos estudos sobre alterações funcionais na Demência Frontotemporal variante comportamental (DFTvc). Subtipos de demência menos estudados, como a DFTvc, vêm ganhando destaque, por também apresentarem importância epidemiológica. Objetivou-se no presente estudo: 1. Caracterizar o desempenho funcional e cognitivo de pacientes com diagnóstico prévio de DFTvc, atendidos em ambulatórios de Neurologia e Psiquiatria e compará-los a pacientes com Doença de Alzheimer (DA) e controles saudáveis; 2. Examinar a correlação entre o desempenho em escalas funcionais (DAFS-BR, DAD e PFAQ) e o desempenho cognitivo; 3. Avaliar a acurácia diagnóstica da DAFS-BR para a detecção da DFTvc e da DA. Métodos: Participaram 96 indivíduos com idade igual ou superior a 45 anos, com escolaridade formal acima de dois anos. Destes, 31 haviam recebido o diagnóstico de DFTvc, 31 de DA e 34 eram adultos saudáveis pareados aos pacientes com DFTvc e DA para idade e escolaridade. Foram aplicados: questionário sociodemográfico e de variáveis clínicas; Escala de Depressão Geriátrica (Geriatric Depression Scale - GDS) de 15 itens, Escala de Ansiedade Geriátrica (Geriatric Anxiety Inventory - GAI), Addenbrooke Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R) que engloba as questões do Mini Exame do Estado Mental (MEEM), Executive Interview (EXIT-25), Direct Assessment of Functional Status (DAFS-BR). O protocolo dos acompanhantes conteve a Escala Cornell de Depressão em Demência, Pfeffer Functional Activities Questionnaire (PFAQ), Disability Assessment for Dementia (DAD), Inventário Neuropsiquiátrico (NPI) e a Escala de Avaliação Clínica da Demência (CDR). Resultados: Pôde-se observar que o grupo com DFTvc apresentou pior desempenho em Alimentação na DAFS-BR e nos domínios de Iniciação e Planejamento/Organização na DAD, comparado aos idosos com DA, sugerindo que a dependência na DFTvc é mais acentuada. A pontuação mais elevada na PFAQ, sugeriu que a dependência na DFTvc é mais acentuada. Foram encontradas correlações significativas entre o desempenho cognitivo e funcional. Os dados de acurácia para a DAFS-BR sugeriram que a escala pode auxiliar na identificação das demências, apresentando limitações no diagnóstico diferencial entre os subtipos. Considerações finais: Os resultados apresentados sugerem que indivíduos com DFTvc apresentam maior prejuízo funcional, quando comparados com participantes com DA e adultos saudáveis. Os resultados apresentados destacaram a importância da avaliação funcional de pacientes com suspeita de DFTvc, devido à relevância destas alterações para o diagnóstico e manejo clínico deste subtipo de demência. / Summary Introduction: There are but a few research studies on functional impairment in behavioral variant Frontotemporal Dementia. Less studied dementia subtypes, such as bvFTD, have been gaining prominence due to their epidemiological significance. The objectives of the present research were to: 1. Characterize the functional and cognitive performance of patients previously diagnosed with bvFTD treated at outpatient clinics of Neurology and Psychiatry, and compare their performance with that of patients with AD and normal controls; 2. Examine the correlation between performance in the functional scales (DAFS-BR, DAD e PFAQ) and cognitive performance; and 3. Evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the DAFS-BR for detecting bvFTD and AD. Methodology: The sample consisted of 96 individuals aged 45 or older, with at least two years of formal education. Of these, 31 had been diagnosed with bvFTD, 31 with AD, and 34 were healthy adults paired with the patients with bvFTD and AD for age and education. The following instruments were used: sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire; 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS); Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI); Addenbrooke Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R), which includes the questions of the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE); Executive Interview (EXIT-25); and the Direct Assessment of Functional Status Revised (DAFS-BR). The protocol for caregivers included the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia, Pfeffer Functional Activities Questionnaire (PFAQ), Disability Assessment for Dementia (DAD), Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) and the Clinical Dementia Rating scale (CDR). Results: Individuals in the bvFTD group had lower performance in the ´Eating skills´ item of the DAFS-BR, and in ´Initiation´ and in ´Planning/Organization´ in the DAD, suggesting a higher level of dependence in bvFTD, and Higher scores in the PFAQ suggested that dependence in bvFTD is more pronounced. Significant correlations were found between cognitive and functional performances. The accuracy data for the DAFS-BR indicated that the scale can help identify dementia however, it has limitations in the differential diagnosis among subtypes. Final Considerations: The results suggest that individuals with bvFTD display greater functional impairment when compared to individuals with AD and to healthy adults. These results highlight the importance of assessing functionality status among patients suspected to have bvFTD. These deficits are relevant for the diagnosis and clinical management of this subtype of dementia.

A violência contra a criança constitui-se como um problema de saúde pública ao implicar simultaneamente fatores individuais, familiares e sociais. Estudos enfatizam prejuízos cognitivos na população de crianças vítimas de abuso sexual, principalmente quanto aos aspectos atencionais, memória e funções executivas. Esta pesquisa teve por objetivo estudar os fatores clínicos e de risco associados ao desempenho cognitivo de crianças vítimas de abuso sexual. A amostra do estudo foi composta por 50 crianças com idade entre sete e 12 anos, distribuídas em dois grupos, o de pesquisa (n = 25), crianças com histórico de abuso sexual (atendidas no Programa de Psiquiatria Forense e Psicologia Jurídica (NUFOR) do Instituto de Psiquiatria do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo e o de controle (n = 25) composto por crianças, sem histórico de violência sexual, oriundas de Escolas Públicas de ensino infantil e fundamental da Rede Estadual de São Paulo. O método do trabalho foi composto por: questionário de avaliação do abuso sexual, com o objetivo de verificar os dados sociodemográficos, consequências clínicas relacionadas com sintomatologia do Transtorno de estresse pós-traumático e indicadores de risco. Para avaliação das funções cognitivas foram utilizados os seguintes instrumentos: Vocabulário, Dígitos, Cubos, Semelhanças [subtestes da Escala Wechsler de Inteligência para Crianças (WISC-III)], Teste Wisconsin de Classificação de Cartas (WCST), Selective Reminding Test (SRT), Trail Making, Teste de Fluência Verbal - Semântica (FAS) e Figura Complexa de Rey. Da avaliação do abuso sexual, identificamos a prevalência do abuso intrafamiliar, e a criança ainda ter um contato com o abusador, e por isso, destacamos a necessidade de melhora na eficácia de medidas de proteção dessas vítimas. Encontramos os seguintes aspectos clínicos: dificuldade para dormir, dificuldade de concentração, alterações comportamentais raiva/irritabilidade e alteração emocional medo. E constatamos uma influência clínica, a alteração emocional medo, que quando presente, o tempo de execução da prova Trail Making, principalmente na parte que avaliou a atenção alterada visual, aumentou de modo significativo, demonstrando a associação entre os aspectos clínicos e desempenho cognitivo, mais especificamente na esfera atencional. Destacamos, ainda, resultados significativamente inferiores do grupo de pesquisa, nas provas Trail Making, no aspecto perdas de set (flutuação atencional) no teste Wisconsin. Assim, os achados sugerem a possibilidade de um déficit atencional primário na referente população, que influencia no desempenho das demais funções cognitivas. Concluímos que o estudo contribuiu para a possibilidade do estabelecimento de um protocolo de avaliação de crianças vítimas de abuso sexual / Violence against children is constituted as a public health problem while simultaneously involve individual, family and social factors. Studies emphasize cognitive impairments in the population of children victims of sexual abuse, especially regarding the attention aspects, memory and executive functions. This research aimed to study the clinical and risk factors associated with cognitive performance of children victims of sexual abuse. The study sample consisted of 50 children aged between seven and 12 years, divided into two groups, the research (n = 25), children with a history of sexual abuse (seen at the Forensic Psychiatry Program and Legal Psychology (NUFOR) Institute of Psychiatry, Hospital Clinical, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo and the control (n = 25) consisted of children with no history of sexual violence, coming from Public Schools kindergarten and elementary of the State of São Paulo. The method consisted of: assessment questionnaire of sexual abuse, in order to verify the sociodemographic, clinical consequences related to symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and risk indicators for assessing cognitive function were used the following instruments: Vocabulary, Digit, cubes, Similarities [subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-III)], Test Wisconsin Card Sorting (WCST), Selective Reminding Test (SRT), Trail Making, Fluency Test Verbal Semantic (FAS) and the Rey Complex Figure. The evaluation of sexual abuse, identified the prevalence of intra-family abuse, and the child still have contact with the abuser, and therefore highlight the need for improvement in the effectiveness of protective measures these victims. We found the following clinical features: difficulty sleeping, difficulty concentrating, behavioral changes anger / irritability and emotional fear change. And we find a clinic influence, changing emotional fear, that when present, the execution time of the Trail Making test, mostly in evaluating the visual amended attention, increased significantly, demonstrating the association between clinical and cognitive performance, more specifically in attentional ball. We point, also, significantly lower results of the research group, the Trail Making tests in respect of losses set (attentional fluctuations) in the Wisconsin test. Thus, the findings suggest the possibility of a primary deficit in attentional regarding population, which influences the performance of the other cognitive functions. We conclude that the study contributed to the possibility of establishing an evaluation protocol of child victims of sexual abuse

Submitted by Maicon Juliano Schmidt (maicons) on 2015-04-15T18:41:58Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Edilson Pastore.pdf: 1708498 bytes, checksum: cb7f365a867bba996d379bf77353991f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-15T18:41:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Edilson Pastore.pdf: 1708498 bytes, checksum: cb7f365a867bba996d379bf77353991f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-01-31 / Nenhuma / A presente dissertação de Mestrado investigou o desempenho cognitivo de participantes com Transtorno de Personalidade Borderline (TPB) com e sem histórico de tentativas de suicídio. A apresentação da revisão de literatura e dos resultados empíricos deste trabalho foi descrita em um artigo teórico e um artigo empírico sobre o TPB, suicídio e funções cognitivas. Primeiramente, apresenta-se o artigo teórico, que traz uma revisão assistemática e crítica da literatura sobre o transtorno, abordando as particularidades do desenvolvimento dessa patologia e discutindo sobre os aspectos cognitivos. Essa revisão teve como foco as funções executivas, especialmente: atenção, concentração, tomada de decisões, organização do pensamento e memória operacional, sugerindo que déficits nessas funções podem ser fatores de risco para o suicídio em pacientes com esse diagnóstico. As conclusões do artigo teórico apontam para a existência de déficits específicos na cognição, especialmente na área de execução em participantes com diagnóstico de TPB. Discutiram-se artigos atuais encontrados sobre a temática e problematizou-se a necessidade e relevância de investigações e achados dessa natureza. O artigo empírico apresenta os resultados de uma pesquisa quantitativa, transversal e de comparação entre grupos realizada com uma amostra de 82 pacientes (M=31,80; DP=0,96) diagnosticados com TPB internados em uma clínica psiquiátrica de Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Foi aplicada a Escala Wechsler de inteligência para adultos (WAIS III), a Escala Barratt de Impulsividade, a Escala Beck de Suicídio e a Escala FAST, além de um questionário contendo dados sociodemográficos. Não foi encontrada diferença significativa em termos de QI total entre os participantes com TPB com e sem histórico de tentativas de suicídio, indicando assim que a heterogeneidade dos pacientes que apresentam esse diagnóstico, assim como o grande número de comorbidades apresentadas por essa população, podem ter sido fatores importantes para explicar esse resultado. Entretanto, verificou-se que pacientes com histórico de tentativas de suicídio apresentam índice de impulsividade mais elevado, especialmente abaixo de 30 anos de idade, o que salienta que nesta idade pacientes com TPB podem ser mais vulneráveis tanto para tentativas de suicídio quanto para sua efetivação. Embora não se tenha encontrado diferença significativa entre os grupos, as médias na Escala Wechsler (funções cognitivas) quanto ao QI total situaram-se dentro do nível médio de funcionamento cognitivo com QI de 92,73 (DP=14,39) para o grupo dos pacientes com histórico de tentativa de suicídio e 96,06 (DP=17,8) para o grupo sem tentativas de suicídio. Os níveis de impulsividade foram maiores no grupo de pacientes com histórico de tentativas de suicídio, assim como o grau de adaptação medido pela Escala FAST se mostrou mais prejudicado no mesmo grupo. Os resultados desta dissertação elucidam aspectos sobre o TPB e permitem refletir sobre adequadas formas de tratamento. Fica também evidenciada a necessidade da realização de outros estudos dentro dessa mesma temática, em virtude da carência de pesquisas neuropsicológicas ou sobre funções cognitivas em pacientes com diagnóstico de TPB no Brasil. / The objective of the present Master's thesis was to investigate the cognitive performance of participants with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) with and without a history of suicide attempts. The review of the literature and the empirical results of this study were described in a theoretical article and an empirical article about BPD, suicide, and cognitive functions. The theoretical article consisted of an asystematic and critical review of the literature on the disorder, addressing the characteristics of the development of this pathology and discussing its cognitive aspects. This review of the literature focused on executive functions, especially: attention, concentration, decision making, organization of thought, and working memory, suggesting that deficits in these functions may be risk factors for suicide in patients with this diagnosis. The conclusions of the theoretical article indicate the presence of specific cognition deficits, mainly in the executive functions of the participants diagnosed with BPD. We discussed recent articles on the topic and approached the need and relevance of further studies and similar findings. The empirical article presents the results of a quantitative, cross-sectional and comparative study conducted with a sample of 82 patients (M=31.80, SD=0.96) diagnosed with BPD and admitted to a psychiatric clinic in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS III), the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, the Beck Suicide Scale, the FAST scale, and a questionnaire containing sociodemographic data were administered to the participants. There was no significant difference in terms of total IQ among the participants with BPD with and without a history of suicide attempts, suggesting that the heterogeneity of patients with this diagnosis, as well as the large number of comorbidities in this population, may have been important factors to explain this result. However, we found that patients with a history of suicide attempts have higher index of impulsivity, especially patients younger than 30 years, leading to the conclusion that individuals of this age group with BPD may be more vulnerable to both suicide and suicide attempts. Although there was no significant difference between the groups, the means on the Wechsler Scale (cognitive functions) in terms of total IQ were within the mean level of cognitive functioning with an IQ of 92 for the group of patients with a history of suicide attempt and 96 for the group without suicide attempts. Levels of impulsivity were higher in patients with a history of suicide attempts; in addition, the degree of adaptation measured by the FAST Scale was lower in the same group. These results explain aspects of BPD and provide the opportunity of developing appropriate therapeutic methods. The need for further studies on this topic was also evidenced by the lack of neuropsychological research or studies on cognitive functions in patients diagnosed with BPD in Brazil.

Identifying the causes and consequences of intra-specific variation in cognitive abilities is fundamental to our understanding of the evolution of cognition. The social environment and cognitive abilities appear inextricably linked, yet evidence for how the social environment affects cognitive performances and further, how cognitive performances influence the social environment, has seldom been explored. Using the pheasant, Phasianus colchicus, I explore the relationships between individual variation in cognitive performances in relation to broad and fine-scale structure of the social environment and endeavour to separate cause and consequence. I demonstrate a positive causal effect of the broad-scale social environment on cognitive performances by observing increases in the accuracy of spatial discrimination performances when individuals are in larger groups (Chapter Two and Chapter Four). I show that the positive effects of larger group size occur over a relatively short period (less than one week), suggesting that cognitive performances are flexible in response to the social environment and I suggest four potential mechanisms. I show that while males are part of a social hierarchy, spatial discrimination performances are related to this fine-scale social structure and higher-ranking males outperform lower ranking males (Chapter Three). When attempting to determine cause and consequence, I found that spatial learning performances early in life did not predict adult cognitive performances on the same task or predict their adult social rank (Chapter Four). Hence, my results do not support that social rank is a consequence of spatial learning abilities in male pheasants. The relationship between spatial learning performances and social rank was found in adult males that had their social rank artificially elevated, suggesting that cognitive performances were not simply the result of the current social environment but remain closely related to past agonistic relationships. I did not find a relationship between early life aggression with performances on either a spatial or a non-spatial task in females or males (Chapter Five). This highlights the importance of investigating early life relationships and suggests that the relationship between spatial learning and aggression in adult males may become associated over time as a consequence of further spatial learning experiences, and, or, aggressive interactions. I then demonstrate a consequence of individual variation in cognitive abilities and show that adult foraging associations in the wild disassort by early life cognitive performances (Chapter Six). Individuals with good inhibitory control performance and poor visual discrimination performances were more central in social networks. I propose that differences in cognitive abilities manifest in foraging strategy and influence the resulting social structure. The implications of this predictable social structure remain to be explored. Finally, I discuss these results and how they contribute to our understanding of how the social environment causes individual differences in cognitive performances, as well as how variation in cognitive performances may shape the social environment. I suggest the potential implications of these findings and ideas for future work.

INTRODUÇÃO: Os polimorfismos do gene da proteína priônica (PRNP) podem estar associados a doenças neurológicas não priônicas. Estudos em pacientes com doença de Alzheimer (DA) apontam para possível associação entre os polimorfismos do códon 129 do PRNP e DA. Essa associação não foi estudada na população brasileira. Neste estudo, descrevemos a associação entre os diferentes polimorfismos do PRNP e DA. MÉTODOS: Foi estudada amostra composta por 100 pacientes com DA, acompanhados no Ambulatório de Neurologia Cognitiva e do Comportamento e no Centro de Referência em Distúrbios Cognitivos do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, pareados para grupo controle com 111 indivíduos, em relação à frequência dos diferentes polimorfismos do PRNP e o desempenho cognitivo. Os polimorfismos do PRNP foram estudados pelo método de cromotografia líquida de fase reversa desnaturante (DHPLC). Foi realizada extratificação da amostra pelo genótipo da apolipoproteína E (apoE). RESULTADOS: A frequência dos polimorfismos do códon 129 foi: 45,5% M/M, 42,4% M/V e 12,2% V/V nos pacientes com DA; e 39,6% M/M, 50,5% M/V e 9,9% V/V nos indivíduos controles (p=0,503). O códon 117 apresentou variante alélica silenciosa em 5% dos pacientes com DA e 3% dos controles (p=0,780). A deleção de um ocatapeptídeo repetido ocorreu em 5% dos pacientes com DA e 4% dos controles (p=0,738). Todos os pacientes com DA e os controles eram N171N. Uma paciente do grupo com DA apresentou a mutação V180I. A análise bivariada e regressão logística não mostraram associação entre os diferentes polimorfismos do códon 129 e o desempenho cognitivo nos pacientes com DA, assim como nos indivíduos cognitivamente normais. A extratificação segundo genótipo da apoE não revelou diferença em relação aos polimorfismos do códon 129 do PRNP entre os grupos DA e controles. CONCLUSÕES: Não houve diferença de frequência dos diferentes polimorfismos do códon 129 do PRNP entre os pacientes com DA e idosos cognitivamente normais, bem como em relação aos demais códons polimórficos do gene. Não houve diferença em relação ao desempenho cognitivo nos pacientes com DA e nos controles segundo o polimorfismo do códon 129 do PRNP. Um paciente apresentou mutação do códon 180 (V180I), e recebeu o diagnóstico de doença de Creutzfeldt-Jakob genética / INTRODUCTION: The polymorphism in the prion protein gene (PRNP) may influence non prion neurological diseases. Some reports associate Alzheimers disease (AD) and the polymorphic codon 129 of the PRNP. This association has not been studied in Brazilian population. In this study we aimed to describe the association between the polymorphisms of codon 129 of the PRNP and AD. METHODS: One hundred AD patients were evaluated in the Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology Unit and Cognitive Disorders Reference Center of the Hospital das Clínicas of the University of São Paulo School of Medicine, matched for 111 controls, regarding to the PRNP polymorphism and cognitive measures. The PRNP polymorphisms were analyzed using denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC). Analyzes stratifying by apoE genotype was performed. RESULTS: The distribution of the codon 129 polymorphisms were: 45.5% M/M, 42.4% M/V and 12.2% V/V in AD patients; 39.6% M/M, 50.5% M/V and 9.9% V/V in the control group (p=0.503). The 117 codon analysis revealed silent allelic variant in 5% of AD patients and 3% of controls (p=0.780). The octarepeat deletion occurred in 5% of AD and 4% of controls (p=0.738). All AD patients and controls were N171N. One AD patient had a point mutation at codon 180 (V180I). Logistic regression failed to confirm any association between AD cognitive performance and the codon 129 of PRNP, as well as in the control group. There was no association between the codon 129 genotypes and genotypes and AD according to the apoE stratification. CONCLUSIONS: There were no differences in the frequency of the codon 129 polymorphism between AD. control group, according to the codon 129 polymorphisms. A point mutation at the codon 180 (V180I) was diagnosed in one patient

INTRODUÇÃO: Os polimorfismos do gene da proteína priônica (PRNP) podem estar associados a doenças neurológicas não priônicas. Estudos em pacientes com doença de Alzheimer (DA) apontam para possível associação entre os polimorfismos do códon 129 do PRNP e DA. Essa associação não foi estudada na população brasileira. Neste estudo, descrevemos a associação entre os diferentes polimorfismos do PRNP e DA. MÉTODOS: Foi estudada amostra composta por 100 pacientes com DA, acompanhados no Ambulatório de Neurologia Cognitiva e do Comportamento e no Centro de Referência em Distúrbios Cognitivos do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, pareados para grupo controle com 111 indivíduos, em relação à frequência dos diferentes polimorfismos do PRNP e o desempenho cognitivo. Os polimorfismos do PRNP foram estudados pelo método de cromotografia líquida de fase reversa desnaturante (DHPLC). Foi realizada extratificação da amostra pelo genótipo da apolipoproteína E (apoE). RESULTADOS: A frequência dos polimorfismos do códon 129 foi: 45,5% M/M, 42,4% M/V e 12,2% V/V nos pacientes com DA; e 39,6% M/M, 50,5% M/V e 9,9% V/V nos indivíduos controles (p=0,503). O códon 117 apresentou variante alélica silenciosa em 5% dos pacientes com DA e 3% dos controles (p=0,780). A deleção de um ocatapeptídeo repetido ocorreu em 5% dos pacientes com DA e 4% dos controles (p=0,738). Todos os pacientes com DA e os controles eram N171N. Uma paciente do grupo com DA apresentou a mutação V180I. A análise bivariada e regressão logística não mostraram associação entre os diferentes polimorfismos do códon 129 e o desempenho cognitivo nos pacientes com DA, assim como nos indivíduos cognitivamente normais. A extratificação segundo genótipo da apoE não revelou diferença em relação aos polimorfismos do códon 129 do PRNP entre os grupos DA e controles. CONCLUSÕES: Não houve diferença de frequência dos diferentes polimorfismos do códon 129 do PRNP entre os pacientes com DA e idosos cognitivamente normais, bem como em relação aos demais códons polimórficos do gene. Não houve diferença em relação ao desempenho cognitivo nos pacientes com DA e nos controles segundo o polimorfismo do códon 129 do PRNP. Um paciente apresentou mutação do códon 180 (V180I), e recebeu o diagnóstico de doença de Creutzfeldt-Jakob genética / INTRODUCTION: The polymorphism in the prion protein gene (PRNP) may influence non prion neurological diseases. Some reports associate Alzheimers disease (AD) and the polymorphic codon 129 of the PRNP. This association has not been studied in Brazilian population. In this study we aimed to describe the association between the polymorphisms of codon 129 of the PRNP and AD. METHODS: One hundred AD patients were evaluated in the Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology Unit and Cognitive Disorders Reference Center of the Hospital das Clínicas of the University of São Paulo School of Medicine, matched for 111 controls, regarding to the PRNP polymorphism and cognitive measures. The PRNP polymorphisms were analyzed using denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC). Analyzes stratifying by apoE genotype was performed. RESULTS: The distribution of the codon 129 polymorphisms were: 45.5% M/M, 42.4% M/V and 12.2% V/V in AD patients; 39.6% M/M, 50.5% M/V and 9.9% V/V in the control group (p=0.503). The 117 codon analysis revealed silent allelic variant in 5% of AD patients and 3% of controls (p=0.780). The octarepeat deletion occurred in 5% of AD and 4% of controls (p=0.738). All AD patients and controls were N171N. One AD patient had a point mutation at codon 180 (V180I). Logistic regression failed to confirm any association between AD cognitive performance and the codon 129 of PRNP, as well as in the control group. There was no association between the codon 129 genotypes and genotypes and AD according to the apoE stratification. CONCLUSIONS: There were no differences in the frequency of the codon 129 polymorphism between AD. control group, according to the codon 129 polymorphisms. A point mutation at the codon 180 (V180I) was diagnosed in one patient

The attachment system is activated when a threat is perceived in the environment. Attachment style differences moderate the levels of this activation. Whereas anxiously attached people are more hypervigilant to attachment-related stress, avoidant people have an ability to suppress their attachment related thoughts under stressful conditions. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the subliminal presentation of threat and attachment figure primes interfere with the cognitive task performance of participants with different attachment styles. It was hypothesized that anxious participants would perform worse than secure and avoidant participants under both conditions of attachment-related threat and attachment figure primes. Avoidant participants were expected to perform poorly only when a threat prime is followed by an attachment figure prime. The securely attached participants were expected to perform better than the other attachment groups. University students (N = 225) filled out a questionnaire package including the measures of attachment figure names (WHOTO), attachment anxiety and avoidance (The Experiences in Close Relationships, ECR) / and they were administered computerized Signal Detection and Stroop tasks representing cognitive attentional performance in the laboratory. The results showed that attachment avoidance was a significant predictor of decreased cognitive performance, and attachment anxiety makes people vulnerable to cognitive performance decline only under certain circumstances of attachment system activation. Attachment security was identified to make individuals immune to the effects of threat or attachment figure availability priming on cognitive performance. The findings were discussed considering previous work and implications for cultural differences.

AIM Poor iron status and under–nutrition among children are of concern not only in South Africa but worldwide. Both independent and combined associations between poor iron status, under–nutrition and cognitive development and function have been investigated. This mini–dissertation investigated possible associations between iron status indicators, anthropometric nutritional status and cognitive performance in the Beverage Fortified with Micronutrients (BeForMi) study population (black South African children aged 6–11 years in the North–West province of South Africa). METHODS The study was cross–sectional and based on the BeForMi study baseline data. Primary school children (n = 414) with the highest serum transferrin receptor (STR) and zinc protoporphyrin (ZnPP) levels were included. Anthropometric z–scores - BMI–for–age (BAZ), height–for–age (HAZ), and weight–for–age (WAZ) - and iron status indicators - haemoglobin (Hb), serum ferritin (SF), STR and ZnPP - were determined. The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second edition (KABC–II) was used to generate cognitive scores. RESULTS Fourteen percent of children were underweight (WAZ <= 2 SDs), 12.8% stunted (HAZ <= 2 SDs) and 8.4% wasted (BAZ <= 2 SDs). Of the children, 7.1% were anaemic (Hb < 11.5 g/dL), 13% iron depleted (Hb < 11.5 g/dL and SF < 12 ug/L) and 2.7% had iron deficiency anaemia (Hb < 11.5 g/dL and SF < 12 ug/L). Low iron stores (SF < 12 ug/L) were observed in 15.7% of the children. Positive correlations were found between SF and WAZ (r = 0.1, p = 0.047), Hb and HAZ (r = 0.13, p = 0.007) and WAZ (r = 0.13, p = 0.009). Positive correlations with small effect sizes were observed between some cognitive scores and z–scores (p < 0.05, r–value range 0.10 – 0.24). Negative correlations with small effect sizes were observed for the subtests Triangles and Rover (both subtests on simultaneous processing) with Hb (p = 0.008, r = –0.13) and SF (p = 0.04, r = –0.1) respectively. Higher HAZ, WAZ and education level of the head of household were all significantly associated with the likelihood that a child would fall within the upper quartile of Hb values in our study group (p = 0.036, p = 0.032 and p = 0.036 respectively). CONCLUSION The results suggested that under–nutrition was positively associated with poor iron status and lower cognitive scores in this study population. Further research, investigating specific effects of poor iron status at different stages of growth and the relationship with cognitive function later in life may help explain the negative correlations observed between current iron status indicators and cognitive scores. / Thesis (M.Sc (Dietetics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.