Avicenna Journal of Neuro Psycho Physiology
Volume:9 Issue: 1, Feb 2022

A great deal of stress is experienced by medical students, causing the medical community to pay attention to yoga practices. Suryanamaskar is a yoga practice composed of dynamic muscular movements that are synchronized with an in-depth rhythmic breathing process and considered the best all-around exercise. To determine the effect of Suryanamaskar practice on cardiovascular, respiratory, and cognitive performances among medical students.

A total of 85 first-year medical students (50 males and 35 females) were entered the study voluntarily and received 60-minute training sessions on Suryanamaskar for 6 days weekly for 3 months. Cardiovascular-respiratory parameters and cognitive functions were assessed. Resting blood pressure, pulse rate, vital capacity (ml), maximum ventilatory volume (MVV) (l/min), peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), maximal oxygen consumption in l/min/kg body weight, and Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination-Revised for cognitive function testing were recorded at the baseline and after 12 weeks of Suryanamaskar training. Data were analyzed statistically in SPSS software, and the significance was checked by the student's paired t-test. The significance level was considered < 0.005.

After 12 weeks of regular Suryanamaskar practice, a significant decrease was found in resting pulse rate and blood pressure and an increase in vital capacity (ml), MVV (l/min), PEFR, and cognitive functions in both male and female participants.

Based on the results, after 3 months of Suryanamaskar training, it had a significant effect on the improvement of cardiovascular, respiratory, and cognitive functions among medical students.

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), known as an obsessive-compulsive disorder, is considered a risk factor for mental health and well-being, especially during adolescence and particularly among adolescent girls. Body image anxiety and suicidal ideation are two categories of complications that have been linked to BDD. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on body image anxiety and suicidal ideation of adolescent girls with BDD.

This study was a quasi-experimental longitudinal study in the form of a pretest-posttest design with experimental and control groups. It was conducted from April 9, 2020, to August 18, 2020. The participants included 25 adolescent girls with a BDD score of more than 25, who were randomly selected from among the adolescent girls studying in schools of District 5 in Tehran, Iran. Data were analyzed in the SPSS software (version 22) using the one-way ANCOVA test.

The findings revealed that by removing the effect of pre-test scores as a covariate variable, the main effect of treatment on post-test scores (is significant for body image anxiety (P<0.01), determined at 16%. The findings also showed that by eliminating the effect of pre-test scores as a covariate variable, the main effect of treatment on post-test scores was significant for suicidal ideation (P<0.01), estimated at 10.2%.

The results suggest that this approach can be helpful in effectively helping to improve body image anxiety, as well as reducing suicidal ideation, in adolescent girls with BDD.

The relationship of borderline personality traits with childhood teasing and traumatic experiences is a major risk factor in the development of borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms; nonetheless, this relationship is not fully understood.  The present study aimed to provide further evidence on the role of childhood teasing, traumatic experiences, and other pathological personality traits, such as negative affectivity, antagonism, psychoticism, disinhibition, detachment, depression, anxiety, and stress symptom, in the development of borderline personality disorder, especially in Iranian non-clinical populations.

A total of 385 college students were assessed by teasing questionnaire-revised (TQ-R), childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ), Personality Inventory for DSM-5 Brief Form (PID-5-BF), the borderline personality scale (SIB), and the depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21).

Descriptive statistics, Pearson Correlations, and stepwise regression analysis statistics were conducted to examine the relationship of borderline personality traits with childhood teasing and traumatic experiences. The current study supported the significant positive correlation of borderline personality disorder with PID-5-BF, such as negative affectivity, antagonism, psychoticism, disinhibition, detachment, depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms, as well as teasing and traumatic experiences in non-clinical individuals.

As evidenced by the results of this study, childhood traumatic experiences have a prominent role to play in the development of borderline personality psychopathology.

Divorce is one of the most stressful events leading to emotional distress and behavioral problems that affect the metacognitive beliefs and psychological well-being of family members. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of compassion-focused therapy (CFT) on metacognitive beliefs, forgiveness, and psychological well-being of women applying for divorce in Shahr-e Ray, Iran, between 2018 and 2019.

This study followed a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The study population included all women applying for divorce in Shahar-e Ray city of Iran, from whom 28 applicants were selected using the convenience sampling method. The study population was randomly assigned to two groups of experiment (n=14) and control (n=14). The CFT was applied for eight sessions to the participants in the experimental group who were further divided into two groups. Women in the control group were put on the waiting list and did not receive any intervention. The tools used in this study consisted of Wells’ Metacognitive Beliefs Questionnaire (MCQ-30), Pollard’s Family Forgiveness Scale, and Ryff’s Scale of Psychological Well-being, which was administered to the participants in the pre-and post-test phases. The data were analyzed using SPSS software (Version 16) through descriptive statistics and analysis of covariance.

The results indicate that there is a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of metacognitive beliefs variables, family forgiveness, and psychological well-being scales (P<0.001).

CFT is a third-wave psychological therapy that improve acceptance of unpleasant emotions, thoughts, metacognitive beliefs, forgiveness, and psychological well-being of women applying for a divorce.

Kaempferol (KM) is a flavonoid found in plant-derived foods and medicinal plants. Recently, it has been well established that KM plays a protective role against the development of Alzheimer's disease. This study evaluated the effect of intracerebroventricular microinjection of KM on depression and identified the potentially related serotonergic mechanisms in rats.

Male rats were assigned to control, vehicle (dimethyl sulfoxide), KM, fluoxetine, cyproheptadine, KM (20 mg/rat) + cyproheptadine (1 mg/rat), and KM (20 mg/rat) + cyproheptadine (4 mg/rat) groups. All the groups received their respective treatments for 30 days. Depression was evaluated by both forced swimming and tail suspension tests. Monoamine oxidase-A (MAO-A), as a neurochemical parameter, was also evaluated in the liver and brain of animals.

Treatment with KM significantly decreased immobility time in both forced swimming and tail suspension tests, compared to the vehicle. In the forced swimming test, remarkable effects in immobility time were induced by KM + cyproheptadine after a single dose during weeks 2, 3, and 4 of treatment, compared to the cyproheptadine group. In the tail suspension test, both fluoxetine and KM indicated remarkable effects in the immobility time during weeks 3 and 4. In addition, in both the brain and liver, MAO-A activity was decreased after treatment with KM.

These results indicated the antidepressant-like effects of KM through the involvement of 5HT2 receptors in male rats.

Since mental health problems in children can not only have individual complications and costs but can also affect the family and society, this study aimed to investigate the relationship of quarantine caused by coronavirus with sleep quality, irritability, and self-esteem of primary school students in District one of Karaj, Iran.  

The statistical population of this correlational study included all primary school students in District one of Karaj, Iran, who were studying in the second semester of the academic year 2019-20. The total number of students in the first semester of 2019-20 was 4860 cases, and the statistical sample size based on Cochran's formula was estimated at 377 individuals from six schools selected by multi-stage cluster random sampling. The data were collected using Coronavirus Quarantine Questionnaire, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Questionnaire, Irritability Questionnaire, and Self-Esteem Questionnaire. The obtained results were then analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency distribution tables, bar graphs, center orientation indices [e.g., mean], and dispersion indices [e.g., minimum, maximum, and standard deviation]).

According to the results of the Pearson correlation coefficient, a positive and significant relationship was observed between quarantine and total self-esteem (0.39) (P<0.01). Therefore, it can be said that the longer quarantine time of individuals leads to a higher level of their total self-esteem. In addition, there was a positive and significant relationship between quarantine and all components of self-esteem, except for academic (educational) self-esteem (P<0.05). Accordingly, a longer time of quarantine in the students results in higher educational self-esteem levels. Among the components of self-esteem, quarantine revealed the strongest and weakest relationships with family self-esteem and academic self-esteem (educational) (P<0.01), respectively.

The results showed the relationship of quarantine caused by Coronavirus with sleep quality, irritability, and self-esteem of primary school students in District one of Karaj, Iran.

Based on the available data, the elderly people are the most vulnerable population during the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic since they both suffer from the disease and have to tolerate the quarantine that has been imposed to control the outbreak of the virus. Rumination is one of the most important variables during the COVID-19 epidemic due to the fact that people experience traumatic problems. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of Internet Attachment-based Compassion Therapy on rumination and fear of COVID-19 in elderly women during the epidemic.

 This was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest, posttest design, and a control group with a one-month follow-up. The statistical population included older women at Hamedan city, Iran, in 2020. The participants included 32 individuals who were randomly assigned into two groups of experiment (n=16) and control (n=16). The experiment group received eight sessions of Internet-based compassion treatment, and the control group did not receive any intervention. The data were collected using the Ruminative Response Scale to measure the fear of COVID-19 disease. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software (Version 25) through one-way repeated measures analysis of variance and Bonferroni test, in two levels of descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics.

The analysis of obtained results in the post-test showed a significant decrease in rumination and fear of COVID-19 in the elderly women in the experiment group, compared to the control group during the pandemic. This result was consistent after a one-month follow-up (P<0.01).

 According to the results, it is recommended that health professionals and therapists use the Internet attachment-based compassion therapy approach along with other training and therapeutic approaches to decrease rumination and fear of coronavirus disease in the elderly women during the coronavirus epidemic.