Frontiers in psychiatry
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Frontiers in psychiatry · Jan 2015
ReviewADHD Rehabilitation through Video Gaming: A Systematic Review Using PRISMA Guidelines of the Current Findings and the Associated Risk of Bias.
Empirical research studies have highlighted the need to investigate whether video game can be useful as a tool within a neuropsychological rehabilitation program for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) patients. However, little is known about the possible gains that this kind of video game-based interventions can produce and even if these gains can be transferred to real life abilities. The present paper aims to uncover key information related to the use of video game in ADHD neuropsychological rehabilitation/intervention by focusing on its gains and its capability to transfer/generalize these gains to real life situation via a systematic review of the empirical literature. ⋯ Cognitive and behavioral gains were reported after the video game training (VGT). However, many bias related to the choice of outcome instruments, sampling and blindness of assessors, weaken the results power. Additional researches are important to clarify the effects and stability of the VGT programs, and an important effort should be made to construct better methods to assess improvements on everyday cognitive abilities and real world functioning.
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Frontiers in psychiatry · Jan 2015
ReviewContingency Management and Deliberative Decision-Making Processes.
Contingency management is an effective treatment for drug addiction. The current explanation for its success is rooted in alternative reinforcement theory. ⋯ We suggest that contingency management is effective because it offers a concrete and immediate alternative to using drugs, which engages deliberative processes, improves the ability of those deliberative processes to attend to non-drug options, and offsets more automatic action-selection systems. This theory makes explicit predictions that can be tested, suggests which users will be most helped by contingency management, and suggests improvements in its implementation.
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Frontiers in psychiatry · Jan 2015
ReviewIs Dysregulation of the HPA-Axis a Core Pathophysiology Mediating Co-Morbid Depression in Neurodegenerative Diseases?
There is increasing evidence of prodromal manifestation of neuropsychiatric symptoms in a variety of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and Huntington's disease (HD). These affective symptoms may be observed many years before the core diagnostic symptoms of the neurological condition. It is becoming more apparent that depression is a significant modifying factor of the trajectory of disease progression and even treatment outcomes. ⋯ In this review, we will summarize the current state of knowledge regarding HPA-axis pathology in Alzheimer's, PD and HD, differentiating between prodromal and later stages of disease progression when evidence is available. Both clinical and preclinical evidence will be examined, but we highlight animal model studies as being particularly useful for uncovering novel mechanisms of pathology related to co-morbid mood disorders. Finally, we purpose utilizing the preclinical evidence to better inform prospective, intervention studies.
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Frontiers in psychiatry · Jan 2015
ReviewMental Imagery and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Neuroimaging and Experimental Psychopathology Approach to Intrusive Memories of Trauma.
This hypothesis and theory paper presents a pragmatic framework to help bridge the clinical presentation and neuroscience of intrusive memories following psychological trauma. Intrusive memories are a hallmark symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, key questions, including those involving etiology, remain. ⋯ Unanswered questions that exist in our understanding of intrusive memories are considered using the proposed framework. Overall, we suggest that mental imagery is key to bridging the experience, memory, and intrusive recollection of the traumatic event. Further, we suggest that by considering the brain mechanisms involved in the component parts of an intrusive memory, in particular mental imagery, we may be able to aid the development of a firmer bridge between patients' experiences of intrusive memories and the clinical neuroscience behind them.
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Frontiers in psychiatry · Jan 2015
ReviewPhilosophical and Psychopathological Perspective of Exile: On Time and Space Experiences.
This article addresses the experience of exile from an interdisciplinary perspective (philosophy and psychiatry). The main purpose is to try to understand the experience of exile by rehearsing a psychopathological perspective to address it, so it can help with the treatment of disorders that come with this experience. Furthermore, the article tries to explore the experience and reflection of philosophers and thinkers who, being exiled themselves, tried to understand and explain this radical human experience, focusing on the experience of time and space.