No abstract

Meditation is a mental training, which involves attention and the ability to maintain focus on a particular object. In this study we have applied a specific attentional task to simply measure the performance of the participants with different levels of meditation experience, rather than evaluating meditation practice per se or task performance during meditation. Our objective was to evaluate the performance of regular meditators and non-meditators during an fMRI adapted Stroop Word-Colour Task (SWCT), which requires attention and impulse control, using a block design paradigm. We selected 20 right-handed regular meditators and 19 non-meditators matched for age, years of education and gender. Participants had to choose the colour (red, blue or green) of single words presented visually in three conditions: congruent, neutral and incongruent. Non-meditators showed greater activity than meditators in the right medial frontal, middle temporal, precentral and postcentral gyri and the lentiform nucleus during the incongruent conditions. No regions were more activated in meditators relative to non-meditators in the same comparison. Non-meditators showed an increased pattern of brain activation relative to regular meditators under the same behavioural performance level. This suggests that meditation training improves efficiency, possibly via improved sustained attention and impulse control.

Objetivo: investigar percepções de idosos sobre grupos de convivência. Método: estudo exploratório, com abordagem qualitativa, realizado em seis grupos de convivência da cidade de Cajazeiras-PB, Brasil, no período de setembro a outubro de 2010, utilizando a técnica de discurso do sujeito coletivo. Resultados: dos 60 participantes deste estudo, 48 (80%) eram mulheres, 21 (35%) tinham entre 65 e 69 anos, 30 (50%) eram viúvos, 46 (77%) aposentados, 32 (53%) não concluíram o ensino fundamental, 40 (67%) moravam acompanhados de familiares, 25 (42%) tinham entre seis e dez anos de participação nos grupos, 33 (55%) participavam espontaneamente e 30 (50%) apontaram a dança como a melhor atividade desenvolvida no grupo. Diante dos questionamentos, foram obtidas as ideias centrais e os discursos coletivos representados por três temas: razões/motivos para idosos buscarem grupos de convivência; importância dos encontros com o grupo para os idosos; mudanças ocorridas na vida após o ingresso no grupo. Dos temas, foram extraídas as ideias centrais: solidão, lazer, convivência, liberdade, mudou tudo, vontade de viver. Conclusão: Os grupos proporcionam ganhos para os idosos, sinalizando entre estes o direito de envelhecer com dignidade e melhorando a qualidade de vida.

BackgroundAlthough the availability and use of mobile mental health apps has grown exponentially in recent years, little data are available regarding their efficacy.ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an app developed to promote stress management and well-being among working women compared with a control app.MethodsFemale employees at a private hospital were invited to participate in the study via mailing lists and intranet ads. A total of 653 individuals self-enrolled through the website. Eligible participants were randomized between control (n=240) and intervention (n=250) groups. The well-being mobile app provides an 8-week program with 4 classes per week (including a brief theoretical portion and a 15-min guided practice). The active control app also provided 4 assessments per week that encouraged participants to self-observe how they were feeling for 20 min. We also used the app to conduct Web-based questionnaires (10-item Perceived Stress Scale and 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index) and ask specific questions to assess subjective levels of stress and well-being at baseline (t1), midintervention (t4=4 weeks after t1) and postintervention (t8=8 weeks after t1). Both apps were fully automated without any human involvement. Outcomes from the control and intervention conditions at the 3 time points were analyzed using a repeated measures analysis of variance.ResultsAmong the randomized participants (n=490), 185 participants were excluded at the 4-week follow-up and another 79 at the 8-week follow-up because of noncompliance with the experimental protocol. Participants who did not complete t4 and t8 assessments were equally distributed between groups (t4: control group=34.6% [83/240] and intervention group=40.8% [102/250]; P=.16; t8: control group=29.9% [47/157] and intervention group=21.6% [32/148]; P=.10). Both groups showed a significant increase in general well-being as a function of time (F2,426=5.27; P=.006), but only the intervention group presented a significant increase in work-related well-being (F2,426=8.92; P<.001), as well as a significant reduction in work-related and overall stress (F2,426=5.50; P=.004 and F2,426=8.59; P<.001, respectively).ConclusionsThe well-being mobile app was effective in reducing employee stress and improving well-being.Trial RegistrationClinicaltrials.gov NCT02637414; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02637414.

The Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R) is used to screen for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The aim of this study was to assess the cross-cultural adaptation of the IES- IntroduçãoO transtorno do estresse pós-traumático é definido como um conjunto de sintomas associados a um evento traumático 1 A Escala do Impacto do Evento -Revisada (IES-R) tem sido referida como o instrumento de rastreamento da sintomatologia do transtorno do estresse pós-traumático que demonstra melhor validade discriminante e utilidade diagnóstica 2 , podendo ser utilizada em qualquer fase do desenvolvimento dos sintomas (agudo, crônico e tardio). Estudos com a IES-R demonstraram bons escores de consistência interna, com coeficientes de Alfa de Cronbach de 0,81 a 0,96 3,4,5,6,7,8 , de validade com 100% de sensibilidade e 78% de especificidade 9 .A IES-R é o instrumento de rastreio mais citado na literatura, mas nenhum estudo foi feito no Brasil e poucos foram os que realizaram a validação da IES-R contra entrevistas clínicas estruturadas. Assim, o presente trabalho teve como objetivos o desenvolvimento de uma versão da IES-R adaptada para o português do Brasil, avaliação da confiabilidade e validade discriminante.NOTA RESEARCH NOTE