Motor Activity and Depression Severity in Adolescent Outpatients

Objectives: The present study investigated the association between motor activity and severity of depression in 6 depressed adolescent outpatients. Method: Motor activity was assessed by actigraphy and the severity of depression was assessed weekly using the CDRS-R. The levels of motor activity were analyzed by considering activity parameters. Results: Among the parameters of motor activity studied, the mean total activity, the mean 24-hour activity levels, the mean waking activity, and the mean activity level between 12:00 and 18:00 h were inversely correlated with severity of depression. The means of the 10 most active hours tended toward a negative correlation with the depressive severity score. Conclusion: The results seem to suggest an association between motor activity level and severity of depression in adolescents. Nevertheless, in order to reach a more conclusive understanding, it would be necessary to replicate this study using a larger number of individuals as well as a longer observation period. Copyright (C) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel

Instrução verbal: solicitar foco de atenção não garante sua adoção e melhor desempenho

The purposes of this study were to investigate a) the effect of redundant and non-redundant instruction on external focus of attention adoption, b) the effect of adopting an external focus of attention on performance in a front crawl swimming task, and c) the effect of redundancy in the wording of a verbal instruction on the above variables. 43 college students (m/f) aged 17 to 46 swam 25 m crawl at maximum speed, once under each of three conditions: without focus instruction (SF), following a focus instruction (CF) and a redundant focus instruction (CFR), in counterbalanced order. For focus adoption control, after completing the task participants were asked about what they had focused on while swimming. As a measure of performance, time and number of strokes were taken and the stroke index was calculated. The results showed that under redundant focus instruction (CFR) condition, 42 % failed to adopt the attentional focus as asked, and following focus (CF) instruction, 23 %. Under CF condition, the frequency of participants that adopted the focus was higher than of those who did not. Performance did not differ significantly among the three conditions (p>0,05). These findings stress the need of manipulation checks in attentional focus research, regarding both performance and motor learning efficiency, as well as the need for further investigation into the relation between instruction extension and performance.

Analysis of MLL2 gene in the first Brazilian family with Kabuki syndrome

Most patients with Kabuki syndrome (KS) are the only person in their family with the condition. However, familial cases of KS have been described showing evidence that this syndrome can be inherited as a dominant trait with variable expressivity. We report on two related individuals with facial findings characteristic of KS. The proposita had arched eyebrows, long and upward slanting palpebral fissures, cleft lip and palate, retromicrognathia, brachydactyly of hands and feet, stubby fingers, nail hypoplasia, and prominent finger pads. Her mother had eyebrows with dispersed lateral half, long and upward slanting palpebral fissures, retrognathia, abnormal and posteriorly rotated ears, prominent finger pads, brachydactyly of feet, learning difficulties, and psychomotor development delay. DNA sequencing revealed a novel missense mutation in the MLL2 gene in both the proposita and her mother. The mutation (p.R5432Q) was found in the exon 51, within the SET domain of the gene, which confers methyltransferase activity on the protein. Therefore, the epigenetic and transcriptional regulatory properties of this protein may be altered and this suggests that the mutation is the cause of phenotype observed in both the patient and her mother. The clinical signs and the molecular evidence in this family further support the notion that KS is an autosomal dominant condition with variable expressivity. To our knowledge this is the first report of a Brazilian family with recurrence of this syndrome. (C) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The effect of overweight/obesity on cognitive function in euthymic individuals with bipolar disorder

Background. - Persistent impairment in cognitive function has been described in euthymic individuals with bipolar disorder. Collective work indicates that obesity is associated with reduced cognitive function in otherwise healthy individuals. This sub-group post-hoc analysis preliminarily explores and examines the association between overweight/obesity and cognitive function in euthymic individuals with bipolar disorder. Methods. - Euthymic adults with DSM-IV-TR-defined bipolar I or II disorder were enrolled. Subjects included in this post-hoc analysis (n = 67) were divided into two groups (normal weight, body mass index [BMI] of 18.5-24.9 kg/m(2); overweight/obese, BMI >= 25.0 kg/m(2)). Demographic and clinical information were obtained at screening. At baseline, study participants completed a comprehensive cognitive battery to assess premorbid IQ, verbal learning and memory, attention and psychomotor processing speed, executive function, general intellectual abilities, recollection and habit memory, as well as self-perceptions of cognitive failures. Results. - BMI was negatively correlated with attention and psychomotor processing speed as measured by the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (P < 0.01). Overweight and obese bipolar individuals had a significantly lower score on the Verbal Fluency Test when compared to normal weight subjects (P < 0.05). For all other measures of cognitive function, non-significant trends suggesting a negative association with BMI were observed, with the exception of measures of executive function (i.e. Trail Making Test B) and recollection memory (i.e. process-dissociation task). Conclusion. - Notwithstanding the post-hoc methodology and relatively small sample size, the results of this study suggest a possible negative effect of overweight/obesity on cognitive function in euthymic individuals with bipolar disorder. Taken together, these data provide the impetus for more rigorous evaluation of the mediational role of overweight/obesity (and other medical co-morbidity) on cognitive function in psychiatric populations. (C) 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Aprendizagem de uma habilidade motora seriada em diferentes estágios de desenvolvimento

Este estudo investigou a aprendizagem de uma tarefa motora seriada em diferentes estágios de desenvolvimento. Quinze crianças, 14 adultos e 13 idosos praticaram a tarefa de rastrear uma sequência de seis estímulos luminosos durante 10 blocos de tentativas ou até descobrir a sequência, constituindo a fase de estabilização e mais dois blocos de tentativas, referentes as fases de adaptação I e II. O desempenho foi mensurado por meio das respostas funcionais e não-funcionais e das sequências funcionais. Os resultados indicaram que os adultos foram superiores aos demais participantes, e idosos apresentaram melhor desempenho que crianças apenas no início da prática, sugerindo que o estágio de desenvolvimento interage com o processo de aprendizagem motora.