Modulação pela progesterona da sensibilidade dolorosa a estímulos mecânicos e isquêmicos em mulheres saudáveis e jovens

BRUNO, S. S. ; SOUSA, M. B. C. . Modulação pela progesterona da sensibilidade dolorosa a estímulos mecânicos e isquêmicos em mulheres saudáveis e jovens. RBGO. Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia , v. 30, p. 306-311, 2008

Processing of hierarchical syntactic strusture in music

Hierarchical structure with nested nonlocal dependencies is a key feature of human language and can be identified theoretically in most pieces of tonal music. However, previous studies have argued against the perception of such structures in music. Here, we show processing of nonlocal dependencies in music. We presented chorales by J. S. Bach and modified versions inwhich the hierarchical structure was rendered irregular whereas the local structure was kept intact. Brain electric responses differed between regular and irregular hierarchical structures, in both musicians and nonmusicians. This finding indicates that, when listening to music, humans apply cognitive processes that are capable of dealing with longdistance dependencies resulting from hierarchically organized syntactic structures. Our results reveal that a brain mechanism fundamental for syntactic processing is engaged during the perception of music, indicating that processing of hierarchical structure with nested nonlocal dependencies is not just a key component of human language, but a multidomain capacity of human cognition.

Prevalência e fatores associados à sintomatologia dolorosa e a qualidade de vida de odontólogos da cidade de Teresina-PI

Objective: Identify the factors associated to the painful symptomatology and the quality of life and in dentists in the city of Teresina-PI. Brazil. Methods It was accomplished a cross-sectional study with 175 dentists registered with the Regional Council of Dentistry-PI from March to May, 2007. For characterization of the dentists we used a multidimensional questionnaire containing sociodemographic (age, sex) and professional information (time of service, journey to work). The evaluation of the presence of pain was performed by the Protocol of Painful Symptoms of McGILL. The WHOQOL-Bref was used to assess quality of life through physical, psychological, social and environmental domains. Results / Conclusions The painful symptomatology was reported in 69,7% of individuals, being observed in 77.3% of women and 60.3% of men. Body regions where pain was prevalent was the regions of neck (69,2%) lower back (69,7%). The dentists had high levels of self-perception of quality of life satisfaction and health. 96,0% of the individuals reported quality of life as very good, and only 16.6% reported dissatisfied with health. The Physical and Environmental domains showed values higher than the psychological and social domains. The painful symptomatology of studied dentists is associated with female sex (RP=1.28; IC95% 1.04-1.58; p<0.01). A multivariate analysis by logistic regression was performed and only the painful symptoms (OR = 2.51, IC95% 1,21-5,21) remained associated with the quality of life of these professionals when adjusted for other variables studied

Avaliação do cortisol, dehidroepiandrosterona sulfato e dos perfis lipídico e imunológico e suas correlações com a sensibilidade dolorosa, depressão e funcionalidade em mulheres com fibromialgia na pós-menopausa

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a non-inflammatory rheumatic syndrome characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain with palpable tender points, muscle stiffness, fatigue, and sleep disturbances. Patients with FM have hormonal changes that are directly correlated with symptoms of the syndrome. The neuroendocrine regulation may be impaired, with abnormalities in the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis with various hormones showing changes in their levels. In women in fertile period, various gonadal hormones are associated with symptoms of the syndrome, but studies focusing only a population of women in post-menopausal period who do not use hormone replacement are rare. We developed an analytical cross sectional study to assess the plasma levels of cortisol and dehidroepiandrosterona sulfate (DHEA-S) with quimioluminescence method in a group of 17 women with FM and 19 healthy women in post-menopause who do not use hormone replacement and observe the correlation with the symptoms of pain through algometry, depression and physical functional capacity measured from the Beck Depression Index (BDI) and the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ). Three blood samples were collected in the morning (between 8:00 9:30) with an interval of 24 hours for the measurements of hormonal levels and biochemical profile. There were no immunological or lipid changes in patients with FM. Comparing the two groups, there is no difference in levels of cortisol and a tangential effect for DHEA-S (p=0,094) with the lowest levels in the FM. DHEA-S also correlated with pain threshold (r=0,7) and tolerance (r=0,65) in group FM. We found the presence of depressive state and low physical functional capacity in FM. It was also evident that women in post-menopausal period, DHEA-S should influence the symptoms of increased sensitivity to pain, but not the presence of depressive status and low physical functional