Browsing by Author "Machado, Sergio"
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- Activity-dependent neurorehabilitation beyond physical trainings: "mental exercise" through mirror neuron activationPublication . Yuan, Ti-Fei; Chen, Wei; Shan, Chunlei; Rocha, Nuno; Arias-Carrión, Oscar; Paes, Flávia; de Sa, Alberto Souza; Machado, SergioThe activity dependent brain repair mechanism has been widely adopted in many types of neurorehabilitation. The activity leads to target specific and non-specific beneficial effects in different brain regions, such as the releasing of neurotrophic factors, modulation of the cytokines and generation of new neurons in adult hood. However physical exercise program clinically are limited to some of the patients with preserved motor functions; while many patients suffered from paralysis cannot make such efforts. Here the authors proposed the employment of mirror neurons system in promoting brain rehabilitation by "observation based stimulation". Mirror neuron system has been considered as an important basis for action understanding and learning by mimicking others. During the action observation, mirror neuron system mediated the direct activation of the same group of motor neurons that are responsible for the observed action. The effect is clear, direct, specific and evolutionarily conserved. Moreover, recent evidences hinted for the beneficial effects on stroke patients after mirror neuron system activation therapy. Finally some music-relevant therapies were proposed to be related with mirror neuron system.
- Aerobic Exercise Does Not Predict Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor And Cortisol Alterations in Depressed PatientsPublication . Lamego, Murilo Khede; Souza Moura, Antonio Marcos de; Paes, Flávia; Rocha, Nuno; de Sá Filho, Alberto Souza; Lattari, Eduardo; Rimes, Ridson; Manochio, João; Budde, Henning; Wegner, Mirko; Mura, Gioia; Arias-Carrión, Oscar; Yuan, Ti-Fei; Nardi, Antonio Egidio; Machado, SergioThe pathophysiology of depression is related to neurobiological changes that occur in the monoamine system, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, neurogenesis system and the neuroimmune system. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the research of the effects of exercise on brain function, with a special focus on its effects on brainderived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), cortisol and other biomarkers. Thus, the aim of this study is to present a review investigating the acute and chronic effects of aerobic exercise on BDNF and cortisol levels in individuals with depression. It was not possible to establish an interaction between aerobic exercise and concentration of BDNF and cortisol, which may actually be the result of the divergence of methods, such as type of exercises, duration of the sessions, and prescribed intensity and frequency of sessions.
- Aerobic exercise reduces anxiety symptoms and improves fitness in patients with panic disorderPublication . Lamego, Murilo Khede; Lattari, Eduardo; Sá Filho, Alberto Souza de; Paes, Flávia; Mascarenhas Jr., Jarbas; Maranhão Neto, Geraldo; Oliveira, Aldair José de; Campos, Carlos; Rocha, Nuno; Nardi, Antonio E.; Machado, SergioTo investigate the effects of a regularly repeated aerobic exercise series on anxiety and maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max) in Panic Disorder patients. METHODS: Ten previously sedentary female subjects diagnosed with Panic Disorder performed 36 sessions of aerobic exercise (at 70 to 75% of VO2max), 3 times per week during 12 weeks. A cardiopulmonary evaluation (ergospirometry test) was used to set the intensity of training as well as to establish baseline and post-training VO2max parameters. The assessment of anxiety symptoms was performed at baseline, at the end of the 6th and 12th weeks, using the Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T) and State Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S), and the Subjective Units of Distress Scale (SUDS) questionnaires. One-way ANOVA for repeated measurements (at 3 moments: Baseline, 6th week (mid-training) and 12th week (post-training) was used to compare the evolution of the questionnaires; the Bonferroni post hoc test was applied to identify differences between moments. A dependent t-test was performed for measures of VO2max. RESULTS: Compared to baseline, (a) STAI-T showed significant anxiety reductions at mid- and post-training moments; (b) STAI-S and SUDS recorded anxiety reductions only at Post-training; (c) VO2max showed a significant improvement at Post-training. CONCLUSION: This protocol promoted beneficial effects on cardiorespiratory fitness and anxiety levels of Panic Disorder patients.
- Altered Gamma-Band Activity as a Potential Biomarker for the Recurrence of Major Depressive DisorderPublication . Yamamoto, Tetsuya; Sugaya, Nagisa; Siegle, Greg J.; Kumano, Hiroaki; Shimada, Hironori; Machado, Sergio; Murillo-Rodriguez, Eric; Rocha, Nuno; Nardi, Antonio E.; Takamura, Masahiro; Okamoto, Yasumasa; Yamawaki, ShigetoBackground: The neurophysiological mechanisms of cognitive reactivity, the primary vulnerability factor of major depressive disorder (MDD) recurrence, remain unclear in individuals with recovered MDD (rMDD). Because gamma-band responses (GBRs) can be used to measure cognitive processing, they may also be useful for elucidating the mechanisms underlying cognitive reactivity. Identifying these mechanisms may permit the development of an index for predicting and preempting MDD recurrence. Here, to identify the neurophysiological mechanisms of cognitive reactivity, we examined the characteristics of the GBRs evoked/induced by emotional words in participants with and without rMDD after inducing a negative mood. Methods: Thirty-three healthy control participants and 18 participants with rMDD completed a lexical emotion identification task during electroencephalography along with assessments of cognitive reactivity after negative mood induction. Results: No between-group differences were identified for the task reaction times; however, the rMDD group had significantly higher cognitive reactivity scores than did the control group. Furthermore, the power of late GBRs to positive words was significantly greater in the rMDD group, with the greater power of late GBRs being related to higher cognitive reactivity. Limitations: Considering the population studied, our findings cannot be completely generalized to populations other than adolescents, people with rMDD, and those without a history of co-morbid disorders and early life stress. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the dysfunction of neural circuits related to higher-order processes like memory and attention might underlie cognitive reactivity. Altered late GBRs to positive information may be persistent biomarkers of the depression recurrence risk.
- Bilateral DMPFC-rTMS Leads to Sustained Remission in Geriatric Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Case ReportPublication . Sender, David; Nazar, Bruno Palazzo; Baczynski, Tathiana; Paes, Flávia; Fettes, Peter; Downar, Jonathan; Campos, Carlos; Nardi, Antonio Egidio; Machado, SergioMajor Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a highly prevalent condition that has been labeled the current leading cause of disability adjusted life years (Ferrari et al. 2013). Approximately 30% of MDD patients are treatment resistant, not achieving remission after two or more antidepressant trials (Baldessarini et al. 2015). In the geriatric population, MDD is associated with both lower rates of remission and increased levels of recurrence (Kiosses & Alexopoulos 2013). Geriatric MDD not only shows an impoverished response to pharmacological approaches, but also presents new treatment challenges associated with clinical limitations such as frequent metabolic issues, comorbidity and poly-medication. Hence, additional therapeutic alternatives such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) might be beneficial in these resistant cases (Downar & Daskalakis 2013).
- Comparative Study of Subcortical Atrophy in Patients with Frontotemporal Dementia and Dementia with Extrapyramidal SignsPublication . Caixeta, Leonardo; Vieira, Renata Teles; Paes, Flávia; Carta, Mauro Giovanni; Nardi, Antonio Egidio; Arias-Carrión, Oscar; Rocha, Nuno; Budde, Henning; Machado, SergioTo investigate the severity of subcortical atrophy in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) without extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) and dementia with EPS. In addition, we aim to verify if there is correlation between demographic and clinical characteristics and subcortical atrophy in the groups. Methodology : The sample was composed of 21 patients with dementia and EPS as well as 19 patients with FTD without EPS. A linear assessment was conducted in order to identify the degree of subcortical atrophy (i.e., bifrontal index - BFI) using MRI. Moreover, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Pfeffer Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ) and the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) were used to investigate clinical aspects. Results : It was verified that patients with dementia and EPS was older than the patients with FTD (p=0.01). The severity of cognitive deficits was associated with BFI, as well as the dementia severity in the EPS group. Conclusion : FTD group presented mean BFI scores above the cutoff for normal elderly population, indicating the presence of subcortical atrophy in this group. Mean BFI was higher (although not statistically significant) in FTD group than in dementia with EPS, which can suggest at least that subcortical pathology in FTD may be as important as in the dementia with EPS group. Subcortical atrophy is a good biological marker for cognitive deterioration in FTD and in dementia with EPS.
- Comparison Among Aerobic Exercise and Other Types of Interventions to Treat Depression: A Systematic ReviewPublication . de Souza Moura, Antonio Marcos; Lamego, Murilo Khede; Paes, Flávia; Rocha, Nuno; Simoes-Silva, Vitor; Rocha, Susana; de Sá Filho, Alberto Souza; Rimes, Ridson; Manochio, João; Budde, Henning; Wegner, Mirko; Mura, Gioia; Arias-Carrión, Oscar; Yuan, Ti-Fei; Nardi, Antonio Egidio; Machado, SergioDepression is a common and disabling disease that affects over 100 million people worldwide and can have a significant impact on physical and mental health, reducing their quality of life. Thus, the aim of this article was to provide information on research results and key chains related to the therapeutic effects of chronic aerobic exercise compared with other types of interventions to treat depression, which may become a useful clinical application in a near future. Researches have shown the effectiveness of alternative treatments, such as physical exercise, minimizing high financial costs and minimizing side effects. In this review, the data analyzed allows us to claim that alternative therapies, such as exercise, are effective on controlling and reducing symptoms. 69.3% of the studies that investigated the antidepressant effects of exercise on depressive were significant, and the other 30.7% of the studies improved only in general physiological aspects, such as increased oxygen uptake, increased use of blood glucose and decreased body fat percentage, with no improvement on symptoms of depression. From the sample analyzed, 71.4% was composed of women, and regarding the severity of symptoms, 85% had mild to moderate depression and only 15% had moderate to severe depression. However, there is still disagreement regarding the effect of exercise compared to the use of antidepressants in symptomatology and cognitive function in depression, this suggests that there is no consensus on the correct intensity of aerobic exercise as to achieve the best dose-response, with intensities high to moderate or moderate to mild.
- Comprehensive treatments for social cognitive deficits in schizophrenia: A critical review and effect-size analysis of controlled studiesPublication . Kurtz, Matthew M; Gagen, Emily; Rocha, Nuno; Machado, Sergio; Penn, David LRecent advances in psychosocial treatments for schizophrenia have targeted social cognitive deficits. A critical literature review and effect-size (ES) analysis was conducted to investigate the efficacy of comprehensive programs of social cognitive training in schizophrenia. Results revealed 16 controlled studies consisting of seven models of comprehensive treatment with only three of these treatment models investigated in more than one study. The effects of social cognitive training were reported in 11/15 studies that included facial affect recognition skills (ES=.84) and 10/13 studies that included theory-of-mind (ES=.70) as outcomes. Less than half (4/9) of studies that measured attributional style as an outcome reported effects of treatment, but effect sizes across studies were significant (ESs=.30-.52). The effect sizes for symptoms were modest, but, with the exception of positive symptoms, significant (ESs=.32-.40). The majority of trials were randomized (13/16), selected active control conditions (11/16) and included at least 30 participants (12/16). Concerns for this area of research include the absence of blinded outcome raters in more than 50% of trials and low rates of utilization of procedures for maintaining treatment fidelity. These findings provide preliminary support for the broader use of comprehensive social cognitive training procedures as a psychosocial intervention for schizophrenia.
- A Cross-National Investigation of Hallucination-Like Experiences in 10 Countries: The E-CLECTIC StudyPublication . Siddi, Sara; Ochoa, Susana; Laroi, Frank; Cella, Matteo; Raballo, Andrea; Saldivia, Sandra; Quijada, Yanet; Laloyaux, Julien; Rocha, Nuno; Lincoln, Tania M; Schlier, Björn; Ntouros, Evangelos; Bozikas, Vasileios P; Gawęda, Łukasz; Machado, Sergio; Nardi, Antonio E; Rodante, Demián; Deshpande, Smita N; Haro, Josep Maria; Preti, AntonioHallucination-like experiences (HLEs) are typically defined as sensory perceptions in the absence of external stimuli. Multidimensional tools, able to assess different facets of HLEs, are helpful for a better characterization of hallucination proneness and to investigate the cross-national variation in the frequencies of HLEs. The current study set out to establish the validity, factor structure, and measurement invariance of the Launay-Slade Hallucinations Scale-Extended (LSHS-E), a tool to assess HLEs. A total of 4419 respondents from 10 countries were enrolled. Network analyses between the LSHS-E and the 3 dimensions of the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE) were performed to assess convergent and divergent validity of the LSHS-E. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test its measurement invariance. The best fit was a 4-factor model, which proved invariant by country and clinical status, indicating cross-national stability of the hallucination-proneness construct. Among the different components of hallucination-proneness, auditory-visual HLEs had the strongest association with the positive dimension of the CAPE, compared with the depression and negative dimensions. Participants who reported a diagnosis of a mental disorder scored higher on the 4 LSHS-E factors. Small effect size differences by country were found in the scores of the 4 LSHS-E factors even after taking into account the role of socio-demographic and clinical variables. Due to its good psychometric properties, the LSHS-E is a strong candidate tool for large investigations of HLEs.
- Detrimental role of prolonged sleep deprivation on adult neurogenesisPublication . Fernandes, Carina; Rocha, Nuno; Rocha, Susana; Herrera-Solís, Andrea; Salas-Pacheco, José; García-García, Fabio; Murillo-Rodríguez, Eric; Yuan, Ti-Fei; Machado, Sergio; Arias-Carrión, OscarAdult mammalian brains continuously generate new neurons, a phenomenon called adult neurogenesis. Both environmental stimuli and endogenous factors are important regulators of adult neurogenesis. Sleep has an important role in normal brain physiology and its disturbance causes very stressful conditions, which disrupt normal brain physiology. Recently, an influence of sleep in adult neurogenesis has been established, mainly based on sleep deprivation studies. This review provides an overview on how rhythms and sleep cycles regulate hippocampal and subventricular zone neurogenesis, discussing some potential underlying mechanisms. In addition, our review highlights some interacting points between sleep and adult neurogenesis in brain function, such as learning, memory, and mood states, and provides some insights on the effects of antidepressants and hypnotic drugs on adult neurogenesis.
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