Sistemas neurales de relevancia en el contexto de la psicobiología de la ansiedad: una revisión

Resumen

La ansiedad es un estado emocional central de características muy complejas que, al menos en términos de respuesta, se asemeja en gran medida al miedo. En las ültimas décadas, estudios neurobiológicos y psicobiológicos han identificado numerosas estructuras y circuitos cerebrales estrechamente relacionados con este tipo de respuestas, así como con el estado central característico. Destacan, por su especial relevancia, el sistema límbico (incluyendo el sistema septohipocampal, la amígdala y el hipotálamo posterior) y los sistemas monoaminérgicos ascendentes (principalmente de serotonina y norepinefrina), lugares donde, además, las sustancias ansiolíticas podrían ejercer su efecto terapéutico. El principal objetivo del presente trabajo es revisar la precisa implicación de estos sistemas neurales en la modulación de ese estado emocional definido como ansiedad.     

Balancing the ledger: An application of Nagy's theories to the study of continuity and change among generations

This study uses an interpretive interview method to examine the micro-processes of generational continuity and change among a group of social activists. Boszormenyi-Nagy's theory of responsibility between generations, alternative models outside the family, and choice are used to explain the instances of change. Implications for research and practice are addressed.     

Emotional adjustment in victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying and traditional bullying

Given the rise in cyberbullying among secondary education students and the importance of certain psychological adjustment variables for the comprehension of this type of violent behavior, both in bullies and in victims, the purpose of the present study was to analyse the emotional adjustment of those involved in cyber- and traditional bullying. The adjustment variables studied were self-concept, perceived stress, loneliness, depressive symptomatology, social anxiety, life satisfaction, and emotional intelligence. Using a sample of 1318 adolescents (47% boys), aged between 11 and 17 years, four groups were established to compare victims and cybervictims (uninvolved students, traditional victims, cybervictims, and traditional–cybervictims). The analysis of variance showed that students who performed the same role (bully or victim) in both contexts (at school and online). In particular, those who suffered traditional or cyberbullying or both conjointly presented lower scores in physical and social self-concept, life satisfaction, emotional clarity, and emotion regulation, as well as higher scores in perceived stress, loneliness, depression, and social anxiety. In bullies—traditional, cyberbullying or both simultaneously—higher scores were observed in perceived stress, loneliness, depressive symptomatology, fear of negative assessment, avoidance, and general social anxiety, and lower scores in the dimensions of academic and family self-concept, life satisfaction, emotional clarity, and emotion regulation. In general, the findings indicate that students who were involved in bullying situations, both victims and bullies, presented more damaged emotional profiles than those who are uninvolved, especially students who performed the same role (bully or victim) in both contexts (at school and online).

     

Does the Order of Face-to-Face and Computer-Mediated Communication Matter in Diverse Project Teams? An Investigation of Communication Order Effects on Minority Inclusion and Participation

Purpose  

This study investigated whether meeting electronically first using computer-mediated communication (CMC) before meeting face-to-face (FTF) increases the inclusion of a female group member in a predominantly male project team.     

Stress during puberty boosts metabolic activation associated with fear-extinction learning in hippocampus, basal amygdala and cingulate cortex

Adolescence is characterized by major developmental changes that may render the individual vulnerable to stress and the development of psychopathologies in a sex-specific manner. Earlier we reported lower anxiety-like behavior and higher risk-taking and novelty seeking in rats previously exposed to peri-pubertal stress. Here we studied whether peri-pubertal stress affected the acquisition and extinction of fear memories and/or the associated functional engagement of various brain regions, as assessed with 2-deoxyglucose. We showed that while peri-pubertal stress reduced freezing during the acquisition of fear memories (training) in both sexes, it had a sex-specific effect on extinction of these memories. Moreover hippocampus, basal amygdala and cingulate and motor cortices showed higher metabolic rates during extinction in rats exposed to peri-pubertal stress. Interestingly, activation of the infralimbic cortex was negatively correlated with freezing during extinction only in control males, while only males stressed during puberty showed a significant correlation between behavior during extinction and metabolic activation of hippocampus, amygdala and paraventricular nucleus. No correlations between brain activation and behavior during extinction were observed in females (control or stress). These results indicate that exposure to peri-pubertal stress affects behavior and brain metabolism when the individual is exposed to an additional stressful challenge. Some of these effects are sex-specific.     

"Having it all": women's perception of impact of female promotion on threat of domestic violence

This study involved 219 women participants. The main aim of the present study is to examine the perceived consequences of a work-related promotion for the female partner in a heterosexual relationship. The impact of the promotion was manipulated - both partners share paid and domestic work, the male partner taking responsibility for all the domestic work - or female partner continuing to do all the domestic work, as well as the male partner's sexist ideology. Finally, the study examined gender ideology of participants. The results showed that participants felt that violence was more likely when the male partner was presented as sexist and that this was due to a perception of threat on the part of the male partner.     

Validation of a Buddhist Coping Measure Among Primarily Non‐Asian Buddhists in the United States

Researchers have developed scales to measure religious coping among Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Hindus. However, there is no quantitative measure of religious coping for Buddhists. The present study describes the development and initial validation of a scale of Buddhist coping (BCOPE). Eight hundred sixty participants in the United States completed the BCOPE along with demographic information and scales of adjustment to stress. Construct validity of the BCOPE is demonstrated through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, which reveals 14 types of Buddhist coping. BCOPE subscales exhibited criterion validity through significant correlations with outcome measures. The BCOPE has incremental validity, predicting adjustment over and above demographic and global religious measures. The research and practical implications of the BCOPE are discussed.     

Feeling and Thinking of Others: Affective and Cognitive Empathy and Emotion Comprehension in Prosocial/Hostile Preschoolers

This study aims at investigating the affective and cognitive components of empathy in relation to both emotion comprehension and prosocial/hostile behaviors in preschoolers. A total of 219 children (54% boys; aged between 3 and 6: mean age 4.10) and 20 teachers (two for each class: group A and group B) took part in this research. Pupils’ empathy and hostile/prosocial roles were assessed by teacher reports [Belacchi and Farina, 2010] and children's emotion comprehension by a nonverbal test [Test of Emotion Comprehension: Pons and Harris, 2000; adapted by Albanese and Molina; 2008]. As expected, the results showed a significant influence of gender, with girls being more empathic than boys, according to all of the teachers’ perception. Contrary to our expectations, no systematic age influence emerged. Regarding the relations of children's emotion comprehension with both empathy measures and their prosocial/hostile attitudes, we have found: (1) a low significant relation with the total empathy measure, according to all the teachers, but with the cognitive empathy only according to teachers B; (2) a robust negative relationship of both affective and cognitive empathy with Hostile roles and with Outsider role, contrary to a positive correlation of only affective empathy with Prosocial roles. No relationships emerged between empathy measures and Victim role.     

Factor analysis of ipsative data: a simulation study

This paper introduces a summary on how to proceed to conduct a factor analysis when the input data are ipsative. The classical factor analysis procedures cannot be used because the covariance matrix is singular. Additionally, previous research on the optimal conditions to conduct factor analysis for ipsatized data is reviewed, and the results of a simulation study are presented. The study includes conditions of sample size, model complexity, and model specification (correct vs. incorrect). The results suggest that researchers should be careful when factor analyzing ipsatized data, particularly if they suspect that the model is incorrectly specified and includes a smaller number of factors.