BRAIN. Broad Research in Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience

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Neuroscience

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Authors:
Valentyna Afanasenko , Taisiia Komar , Natalia Potapchuk , Olena Vasylenko , Viacheslav Havrylkevych
Abstract:

The article examines the causes of conflicts in inclusive student groups and means of their prevention. It has been found that the success of inclusive education in higher education institutions mainly depends on interpersonal relationships in inclusive student groups. This is due to the fact that communicating with each other, students with special educational needs acquire skills of social interaction, widen the range of their social roles, learn more about their own personality. However, the peculiarities of moral attitudes, values, behavior, features of the emotional and volitional sphere development, cognitive processes of students with special educational needs lead to conflict situations in inclusive student groups. To determine the causes of conflicts in inclusive student groups, a diagnostic study was conducted among the full-time and part-time students with special educational needs of Khmelnytsky National University. The results of the diagnosis showed that main causes of conflicts in inclusive student groups are the following socio-psychological characteristics of students with special educational needs: low level of self-esteem due to which they get painful experiences because of critical remarks addressed to them, try to adapt to other people's opinions, have low motivation for achievement, feel lonely and anxious; low ability to establish new contacts for communication, low level of sociability; the desire to avoid conflict or to get out of it with dignity accepting the opinions and interests of others without seeking compromise solutions. Taking this into consideration, we have developed and substantiated conflict prevention tools for inclusive student groups that can help students with special educational needs to interact effectively with other students while studying at higher education institution.

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Authors:
Viktoriia Bedan , Iryna Brynza , Mykola Budiianskyi , Iryna Vasylenko , Olha Vodolazska , Tetiana Ulianova
Abstract:
Neuropsychologists pay much attention to career guidance for young people who are faced with the challenge of choosing the profession. Numerous studies on motivation and professional determination prove the need to identify individual features of the brain organization of mental functions in the context of psychological support for the educational process at school and career guidance. Neuropsychological research indicates the links between the predominant activity of a certain hemisphere of the brain and professional realization in certain areas. The empirical study was conducted using reliable and valid psycho-diagnostic techniques ("Questionnaire of professional self-realization" by O. M. Kokun (2014; 2016); the "Motivational profile" technique by S. Richie, & P. Martin (2004); correlation analysis). At the stage of qualitative analysis, two groups of subjects with different levels of professional self-realization were identified (using the «ace» method). A visual analysis of the motivational factors profile structure in groups with high and low levels of professional self-realisation demonstrated differences in the graphs configuration and their location, and also provided an opportunity to characterize the psychological motivation characteristics of representatives of each of the groups. Against the general background of communicative self-sufficiency, adaptability and self-confidence, in a group of persons with a high level of professional self-realisation, the dominant motives are constant improvement, recognition by others. Representatives of a group with a low level of the studied phenomenon are interested in the motives of good working conditions and high wages. It has been proved that persons with different levels of professional self-realization differ in the specificity of the dominance of motives.

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Authors:
Sofiia Berezka , Ellina Panasenko , Oksana Zhukova , Halyna Radchuk , Svitlana Sobolyeva , Yana Raievska
Abstract:

The article considers emotional intelligence as a complex integrative formation, which includes cognitive, behavioural and emotional qualities. These qualities ensure awareness, understanding and regulation of their own and others' emotions and effect on the success of interpersonal interaction and personal development. A review of relevant scientific sources has revealed the insufficient study of brain correlates and the specifics of future psychologists' emotional intelligence. In turn, it has determined the purpose of the study, that is the neuropsychological study of features of future psychologists' emotional intelligence. The parameters of emotional intelligence in the first- and second-year students majoring in Specialty 053 Psychology are received due to the test-questionnaire at simultaneous registration of electric activity of the brain. The Neuron-Spectrum 5 electroencephalograph was used for the EEG registration. The recording was performed monopolarly in 32 leads, using samples "eyes closed", "eyes opened" and filling out the test-questionnaire to identify the levels of emotional intelligence. The obtained results have made it possible to determine that the levels of psychology students' emotional intelligence are related to the activation indicators of different parts in the cortex of their brain. The students mostly are at average and initial levels of emotional intelligence, tend to show an interpersonal type of emotional intelligence and control their own and others' emotions rather than to differentiate the emotions and establish the cause of their occurrence.

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Authors:
Huseyin Bicen , Burak Demir , Zohre Serttas
Abstract:
The purpose of this research is to determine how active the students are participating in the mobile learning process, as well as how active the distance education mobile learning and technological tools are in education due to the Covid-19 epidemic in today's world. determination. With this, the Mobile Learning Readiness Scale adapted by Şata, Çorbacı and Koyuncu (2019) was used in this study. The scale consists of three dimensions: optimism towards mobile learning, self-directed learning and self-efficacy. The participants of the study, on the other hand, consist of 25 Primary Education students and 42 Special Education students who are continuing their education life in the Northern Cyprus. It was concluded that their readiness for mobile learning was high.

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Authors:
Olga Boiagina
Abstract:
The corpus callosum in the interval between the cerebral hemispheres is a plate of white matter, uneven in thickness, in which two surfaces are distinguished - the upper and lower ones, bent according to its lateral profile. The objective of the study was to study the individual variability of location of the lateral and medial longitudinal strips on the upper surface of the corpus callosum, as well as structural features of its lower surface. The material was the brain of men and women (10 specimens each) of the second period of adulthood, who died for the causes not related to the pathology of the central nervous system. After two weeks of fixation in a 10% formalin solution, the brain was prepared by separating the cerebral hemispheres and other parts of the brain from the corpus callosum, resulting in exposure of its upper and lower surface, which was photographed using a digital camera. As evidenced by the obtained data, the width of the trunk of the corpus callosum in men varies from 9 to 16 mm, whereas in women the difference between the minimum (11.0 mm) and the maximum (20.0 mm) values is greater than in men, when in fact there is only small difference of the arithmetic mean value. Thus, we offer to consider the lateral longitudinal strips to be the boundaries of the corpus callosum hemispherical part and the distance between them determines the width of this formation, which in average is 13.0 ± 2.5 mm in men and 14.4 ± 2.7 mm in women. In the meantime, the nature of the individual variability of the width of the corpus callosum trunk in women is more diverse than in men.

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Authors:
Liudmyla Chepurna , Yuliia Bondarenko , Oleg Lisovets , Iryna Kuzava , Larysa Odynchenko , Tetiana Dehtiarenko
Abstract:

The history of the use of school textbooks as a special teaching tool dates back more than two centuries. Throughout its existence, the textbook has played a significant role in teaching students. It records the amount of knowledge, skills and abilities to be acquired in the learning process. The textbook is a special didactic object, which is both a carrier of the content of education, forms of recording its various elements and a project of the educational process. It implements the substantive and procedural aspects of learning in their organic unity, because the content of education and the learning process are closely interrelated, without each other impossible. One of the important areas of research in the history of pedagogy is the study of the history of school textbooks, a phenomenon that has come a long way in history, and at the present stage is an important tool for learning. The didactic functions of the school textbook are determined: informational, consolidation and control, systematization, self-education, integrating, coordinating, reference, developmental and educational. It is established that foreign and domestic correctional pedagogy has accumulated some experience in the practical creation of textbooks for the auxiliary school. Most of all in Ukraine it concerns textbooks on native language and reading. It was found that the formation and development of textbooks for children with intellectual disabilities in Ukraine were not the subject of a comprehensive analysis that would overcome the fragmentary historical and pedagogical knowledge to understand the historical experience gained in Ukraine and help identify the most progressive ideas and provide useful material for use by authors of textbooks in modern conditions.

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Authors:
Edgar Demeter , Dana Rad , Evelina Balaș
Abstract:
In a digitally developed civilization access to different kinds of content and information can be easily acquired. From all the available content, some individuals chose and prefer to consume aggressive or violent content. In this light, the scope of this investigation is to determine the connection between the level of Violent Content Preferences (VC) and the levels of General Antisocial Behaviour (AS) and Schadenfreude (SCH) and the relationship between the intensity of life satisfaction (LS) and the intensity of Violent Content Preferences (VC), General Antisocial Behaviour (AS) and Schadenfreude (SCH). The present investigation is part of a chain of studies with reference to violent behaviours and cognitions. In this study, a number of 81 students (M = 27.57 SD = 9.25) from Arad, Romania, Aurel Vlaicu University, were investigated. VC and SCH were measured with the explorative affirmations, AS scores were obtained with the help of the How I Think Questionnaire (HIT) and LS was calculated with the help of the Satisfaction with life scale (SWLS). The obtained data ilustrates that VC is positively associated with AS an SCH, furthermore, AS is positively related with SCH, and LS was negatively associated with VC, AS and SCH. These outcomes point out the requirement to take into consideration the content we consume in regard to one's satisfaction with life and can offer literature meaningful information in regards to the prevention or reduction of anti-social tendencies or cognitions.

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Authors:
Roxana Maier
Abstract:
Changing the relational environment from face-to-face to the online one led to new problems regarding the student classroom's functionality, which led to the students' difficulties in relation to the new situation and the adaptability process. In this new context brought by the pandemic, the relationship's dynamic between student's changes, as well as the one between students and teachers. The endeavour includes the analysis of a small group of students, who resorted to therapy throughout the lockdown, to remit the difficulties that emerged due to the teaching environment's change from face-to-face to the online medium. The objectives' focus highlighted the participatory behaviour's optimization of the students in the new conditions, the enhancement of the students' wellbeing's, in order to optimally face the teaching process and finish the academic year.

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Authors:
Yakubu Bala Mohammed , Fezile Ozdamli
Abstract:
Gamification is considered by many scholars to be an effective tool for engaging individuals in teaching and learning process, organizational task, business environment, and other recreational activities. However, some students and tutors of various institutions of learning across the globe lack clear understanding on how gamification applications positively affect teaching and learning via intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Despites all its potential benefits as suggested by prior literatures with regards to flexibility and externalization of learning process, yet some colleges and universities are not fully convinced that use of gamification elements motivate students to engage more on their learning activities which in turns change attitudes and behaviours. Hence, the need for study to extract these motivational effects of gamifications applications from the existing body of knowledge. Therefore, this study utilized some of the comprehensive databases such as ScienceDirect, Web of science, IEEE Xplore, and SpringerLink, with the aims of identifying, extracting, analyzing and highlighting the motivational effects of gamification systems in education. Out of the articles discovered, 37 were fully read and analyzed. The study results highlight the motivational effects of gamification applications in education, and found badges, levels, feedbacks, points, and leader-board to be the most pleasant elements of gamification applications that motivate individuals, as they increase participation and engagement in learning process. Finally, the study suggests area of future work.

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Authors:
Olena Tonne , Olena Varetska , Olena Khaustova , Victoria Tarasova
Abstract:

The article substantiates that in the context of organizing the independent cognitive activity of teachers in the post-Soviet space, the process of improving their qualifications, which takes place on the basis of their free choice of forms of education, programs and educational institutions, is of particular importance. At the heart of this choice, decision-making on independent cognitive activity and emotional-motivational resource are not only external stimuli, but also neurophysiological and psychological mechanisms. The purpose of the study is a scientific substantiation of the necessary and sufficient psychological and pedagogical conditions and models of organization of independent cognitive activity of teachers of secondary schools in the process of competence development. The analysis of the experimental data showed a noticeable difference between samples B3 and B4 at the end of the experiment for each of the defined criteria, as well as for the general indicator of the organizing of independent cognitive activity. The results obtained during the pedagogical experiment proved that the organizing of independent cognitive activity of teachers on the basis of the author's model helped to increase the effectiveness of this activity. During the discussion, it was proved that an important component of a person's professional training for any activity, especially in educational, is the development of neurophysiological and psychological potential for subjective self-determination of self-learning, self-improvement, and in micro-development - for independent choice and decision-making in a situation of cognitive or activity-related uncertainty. Therefore, decision-making is a basic component of any constructive activity.

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Authors:
Yegnanarayanan Venkatraman , Krithicaa Narayanaa Y , Valentina E. Balas , Dana Rad
Abstract:

Theory of Graphs could offer a plenty to enrich the analysis and modelling to generate datasets out of the systems and processes regarding the spread of a disease that affects humans, animals, plants, crops etc., In this paper first we show graphs can serve as a model for cattle movements from one farm to another. Second, we give a crisp explanation regarding disease transmission models on contact graphs/networks. It is possible to indicate how a regular tree exhibits relations among graph structure and the infectious disease spread and how certain properties of it akin to diameter and density of graph, affect the duration of an outbreak. Third, we elaborate on the presence of a suitable environment for exploiting several streams of data such as genetic temporal and spatial to locate case clusters one dependent on the other of a disease that is infectious. Here a graph for each stream of data joining all cases that are created with pairwise distance among them as edge weights and altered by omitting exceeding distances of a cut-off assigned that relies on already existing assumptions and rate of spread of a disease information. Fourth we provide an overview of epidemiology, disease transmission, fatality rate and clinical features of zoonotic viral infections of epidemic and pandemic magnitude since 2000. Fifth we indicate how the clinical data and virus spread data can be exploited for the creation of health knowledge graph. Graph Theory is an ideal tool to model, predict, form an opinion to devise strategies to quickly arrest the outbreak and minimize the devastating effect of zoonotic viral infections.

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Authors:
Yegnanarayanan Venkatraman , Krithicaa Narayanaa Y , Valentina E. Balas , Marius M. Balas
Abstract:
Notice that the synapsis of brain is a form of communication. As communication demands connectivity, it is not a surprise that "graph theory" is a fastest growing area of research in the life sciences. It attempts to explain the connections and communication between networks of neurons. Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression in brain is due to a deposition and development of amyloid plaque and the loss of communication between nerve cells. Graph/network theory can provide incredible insights into the incorrect wiring leading to memory loss in a progressive manner. Network in AD is slanted towards investigating the intricate patterns of interconnections found in the pathogenesis of brain. Here, we see how the notions of graph/network theory can be prudently exploited to comprehend the Alzheimer's disease. We begin with introducing concepts of graph/network theory as a model for specific genetic hubs of the brain regions and cellular signalling. We begin with a brief introduction of prevalence and causes of AD followed by outlining its genetic and signalling pathogenesis. We then present some of the network-applied outcome in assessing the disease-signalling interactions, signal transduction of protein-protein interaction, disturbed genetics and signalling pathways as compelling targets of pathogenesis of the disease.

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Authors:
Nina Yarosh , Vladyslava Artiukhova , Oleksii Zimovin
Abstract:

This research was aimed at investigating the relationship between belief in conspiracy theory and personality behaviors in quarantine. Belief in conspiracy theory has been hypothesized to predict the degree of adherence to quarantine restrictions (wearing protective equipment, isolation, hygiene) and influences antisocial behavior such as aggression and selfishness, as well as prosocial behavior such as help and altruism. The obtained data of the empirical research indicate the absence of functional connections that could demonstrate the defining role of conspiracy mindset in the manifestations of prosocial and asocial behavior; however, there is still a statistical consistency of changes in indicators.

Also, preventive behavior was practically not associated with the personality's conspiracy beliefs about COVID-19 (the regression equation explains less than 1% of the variance). It is emphasized that the data obtained contradict the results of some previous researches, which are devoted to the research of the behavioral consequences of conspiracy mindset and adherence to preventive measures in a pandemic, in particular.

Special issue papers

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Authors:
Oana Mihailov , Loredana Matei , Alexandru Bogdan Ciubara , Miruna Dragostin , Raul Mihailov , Anamaria Ciubara
Abstract:

The Covid-19 pandemic has transformed the world since the beginning of 2020 and has produced many changes in key aspects of healthcare delivery. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 has been seen as the promoter of many dramatic changes, especially in the medical field, having a huge impact on health systems around the world. Both patients and healthcare professionals have been subjected to a new stress factor that has resonated strongly in everyday life. This leads to an increased risk of association of psychological disorders, especially for patients suffering from chronic diseases, as they have already had a history of psycho-vulnerability. Patients with known chronic pathologies therefore have several concerns about important issues in the future, therefore, they are associated with an increased risk of occurrence of psychological phenomena. The present research represents an observational study, with a prospective case-witness type, carried out over a period of 2 years, between 2019 and 2020. The patients included in this research are part of the databases of the Children's Pneumology Department of "Sfântul Spiridon" Pneumoftiziology Hospital of Galati and in the TB (Tuberculosis) Clinics in Galati County, being patients diagnosed and treated in these departments. We aimed to study the association between the presence of tuberculosis and depressive disorders reported in children aged 7-18 years, during 2019 and 2020 and in addition, to expose the results of the psychological effects of the pandemic on these chronic patients. We finally hypothesized that depression, but also the symptoms associated with them, will have a significantly higher incidence among patients with tuberculosis during the Covid pandemic.

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Authors:
Mihai Terpan , Anamaria Ciubara
Abstract:

Excessive alcohol consumption that causes disorders of social conduct, causes a rejection reaction with the intervention of the authorities. The paper compares trends related to people with the diagnosis of acute intoxication (F10.0) admitted to the "Elisabeta Doamna" Psychiatry Hospital in Galati, from the 1st of January to the 31th of December 2020 with the period from the 1st of January to the 31th of December 2019. In the retrospective study we selected people discharged with acute intoxication, code (F10.0), and harmful use (F10.1), excluding all patients with other psychiatric diagnoses from the database of the "Elisabeta Doamna" Psychiatry Hospital from 2020 to 2019. ICD-10 (Classification of mental and behavioral disorders) was used for diagnosis of psychiatric disorders. The data was processed statistically using: Microsoft Office-Excel, The Jamovi Project (2021). jamovi (Version 1.6) [Computer Software]. In 2020 there were 39.58% fewer discharges by a total of (7973 cases) compared to (13197 cases) in 2019. In 2020, acute intoxication (F10.0) accounted for 7.41% of total discharges compared to a percentage of (8.27%) in 2019, showing a decline by a percentage of 45.92%. Comparing the years 2020 with 2019 by gender (of the total number of discharges with acute intoxication (F10.0), there is an increase in the percentage of discharges by 1.16% (from 86.98% in 2019 to 88.14% in 2020), while in the female gender, the percentage trend has decreased by a percentage of 1.16% (from 13.02% in 2019 to 11.86% in 2020).

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Authors:
Dan Gabriel Sîmbotin
Abstract:
The changes regarding the perception of reality under the impact of the development of information technologies also determined the conceptual rethinking of the truth. In this article we briefly follow the limits of the epistemic integration of the cyberspace, the need to develop new methodological perspectives and introduce a new concept of synthesis: the e-truth. It is viewed from the perspective of seeking truth in relation to data processing, computational simulation, AI and VR development. This research must be performed from the perspective of the epistemic-ontic correspondence using a positivist methodology correlated to the cyberspace (e-positivism). Finally, we briefly review the construction of the e-truth within the context of the pandemic caused by Covid 19.

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Authors:
Liliana Baroiu , Elena Dumea , Florentina Năstase , Elena Niculeț , Silvia Fotea , Alexandru Bogdan Ciubara , Ioana Anca Stefanopol , Aurel Nechita , Lucreția Anghel , Anamaria Ciubara
Abstract:

The COVID-19 pandemic is probably the greatest natural disaster of our generation and the 21st century with a great impact on mental health. The present study aims to quantify, with the help of the Beck questionnaire, the degree of depression in a group of 109 patients with moderate forms of COVID-19, hospitalized in the Second Clinic of the Clinical Hospital for Infectious Diseases St. Cuv. Parascheva Galati during the period: 1.01-30.03.2021. Of these, 35 patients (32.11%) had varying degrees of depression, and had an age and body mass index statistically significantly higher than those without depression. These patients also had statistically significantly higher Charlson scores of cumulative comorbidities and required longer hospitalization than patients without depression. The severity of COVID-19 and the percentage of favorable prognosis did not show statistically significant differences between the two groups. Our study reveals a lower incidence of depression among patients with COVID-19 compared to existing studies in the literature. This can be explained by the fact that our study is conducted at the end of the first year of the pandemic when antiviral therapy schemes stabilized and population vaccination began. The high genetic variability of the virus, which can determine at any time the appearance of new strains with greater aggression, contagion or with mutations on the spike protein, maintains the need to keep non-specific preventive measures and the mental tension related to this pathology. Thus, intrapandemic psychiatric disorders remain a major public health problem and require strong government prevention and control measures.

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Authors:
Cosmina-Alina Moscu , Mihaela Anghele , Liliana Dragomir , Sorina Munteanu , Aurelian Anghele , Aurel Nechita , Anamaria Ciubară
Abstract:

Introduction: Burnout is a syndrome conceptualized as result of the chronic stress at the work place which was not successfully managed. The possible negative effects on the medical staff, the patients and the health institutions have generated interest and motivated the research to understand the possible causes, these effects also influence the burnout predictors. The medical services suppliers within the emergency department have had one of the greatest exhaution occurences even before the pandemic. Being in the first line in contact with the suspected patients or confirmed with COVID-19 infection intensifies this fact. Both the working factors (working hours, years of practice, number of treated patients, professional development activities) and the socio- demographic factors (age, sex, civil status, income, education) are associated with the exhaustion at the work place.

Material and methods: I have studied a total of 120 participants, receiving 115 valid questionnaires, the answering ratio being 95,83%. This was a descriptive, multicentre, transversal study of the medical and the auxiliary staff within the department UPU-SMURD of the County Clinic Emergency Hospital "Sf. Ap. Andrei" Galați. The staff gave their consent and attended a combined interview which consisted of a pilot questionnaire and a demographic questionnaire.  

Results and discussions: The average score of exhaustion at the staff level was 3.25, a great percentage of the doctors within the ED (45.8%), (n=24) indicates an increased level of exhaustion, only 26.8% (n=80) of nurses show an increased level of exhaustion. The average score of the stress level shown by the staff is 3.1, 66.6% (n=24) among which the doctors with an increased stress level 9.1% (n=9) auxiliary staff, 23.8% (n=80) of nurses.

Conclusions: The results show us a high exhaustion, stress and depression ratio at the emergency doctors in comparison with the other professional categories within the ED. A high level of professional satisfaction is accompanied by an increased level of stress and of self-esteem.

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Authors:
Puiu Olivian Stovicek , Dragoș Marinescu , Liana Păuna-Cristian , Ileana Marinescu
Abstract:

Schizophrenia is a major health problem in which diversification and increase in the quality of antipsychotic molecules did not yield the anticipated results. that the etiopathogenesis of schizophrenia accounts for a combination of genetic factors forming the genetic spectrum of vulnerability for schizophrenia. The neurodevelopmental anomalies correlated with the gestational period and obstetric traumatisms raises major pharmacological management issues. The two levels of vulnerability (genetic and neurodevelopmental) are the basis of the pathogeny of side effects induced by antipsychotic medication. The most severe side effects are related to extrapyramidal symptoms, hyperhomocysteinemia, hypofrontality, impairment of the neurovascular unit and neuronal metabolic processes. Understanding these particular mechanisms will allow the clinician to identify the pathogenic model of schizophrenia, customized for each specific case. The adverse drug reaction decreases the compliance and adherence to the treatment, determining repeated discontinuations with psychotic relapses, and may trigger psychopathogenic bursts deteriorating the structural and cerebral functional balance. The type of psychotropic medication must be taken into account, as well as the concomitant medication administered for comorbidities associated with schizophrenia. The cerebral vascular modifications are correlated with the metabolic syndrome induced by antipsychotic medication. This complex syndrome, associated also with modifications in the homocysteine metabolism, determines weight gain, obesity, high blood pressure, ischemic cardiopathy, hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia. Identification of possible biological or neuroimaging markers helps and their early correction may prevent the onset of neurodegenerative evolution and irreversible cerebral atrophies, as well as decrease the risk of side effect that may endanger the life of the schizophrenic patient. The complexity of the pathogenic mechanisms requires a prophylactic behavior, not based on therapeutic switch, but on the proactive, customized pharmacologic intervention, addressing the pathogenic chains.

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Authors:
Charles Joussellin
Abstract:

Habits like addictions are resulting from tensions between multiple living phenomenons, unknowables and unobjectivables ; inside of organs, consciousness, humain body, there are subjectif language and interhumain relation-sheeps. Being affraid about the possible drift of the game of neuroscientific images, those of algorithms and protocols, we prefere the possibilities emerging from an intersubjectivity, with care-giving target. Take care of somebody else represents, first of all, a meeting-point between two subjects and the quality of this meeting will considerably influence the technicity or the effects of some medecines. The technical healthcare proposed in addictions does not escape the influence of the healthcare relation-sheep and the support of hypnosis for a person called « addict » is a good way between other possibles propositions. In the practice of hypnosis, we prefer images founded by the person that we support; in other words, a visualisation of their insight, in the middle of their intimate immensity: an ephemeral space rich in possibilities insight the subjectivity, wich remains unobjectivable. The person is not « thrown into the world » but opens a world of a hidden depth and greatness, singular, radicaly subjective, intimate, constructive. The « elsewhere » and the « once » are stronger than the « here » and « now ».

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Authors:
Daniela Stan , Maria-Daniela Tuta , Alin Laurentiu Tatu
Abstract:

Performed urgently or out of necessity, tracheostomy is one of the most traumatic surgeries that seriously affects the patient's quality of life. It has a profound impact on the ability to communicate and on self-esteem, so that the patient can experience a storm of emotions and major changes that can affect their existence.

The patient with tracheostomy is a special patient with special needs. The care of such a patient involves a constant multidisciplinary effort supported by specialists in many fields: ENT specialists, oncologists, radiotherapists, anesthetists, neurosurgeons, general surgeons, physiotherapists, speech therapists, nutritionists especially psychotherapists.

Tracheostomy affects the basic needs of the individual: communication, nutrition, sexuality, social relationships.

Numerous studies show that patients with tracheostomy show a high level of psychological distress. Depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, frustration, alienation, isolation, tendency to suicide are the negative consequences of this mutilating surgery.

Perceived as a permanent disability, tracheostomy requires special care from a psychological point of view.

Sometimes, however, it is observed that both patients and their families are not sufficiently informed about the management of tracheostomy. Due to lack of means or staff, not enough emphasis is placed on preoperative training so that the patient fully understands both the benefits   and the disadvantages of this surgical technique. Therefore, often the patient's family, which later assumes the role of caregivers of the tracheotomized, perceives it as a burden, excessive fatigue, helplessness,   abandonment from society.

This paper aims to highlight the importance of pre- and postoperative psychological training of both the patient and his family and to demonstrate that tracheostomy care can be one of the most suggestive examples of interdisciplinarity that seeks to provide effective solutions in this regard.

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Authors:
Gerard Fitoussi
Abstract:
Virtual addictions are more and more frequent and affect various audiences who are no longer limited to adolescents. This review will discuss the various points to be taken into account in the management of these addictions as well as the interest and place of hypnosis in this pathology. It will be based on the similarities between the hypnotic phenomenon and virtual addiction.

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Authors:
Mioara Grigoras , Anamaria Ciubara
Abstract:

This Article seeks to give an overview of how the pandemic has affected society throughout this period, which can be a source of many mental health problems. As in the Spanish influenza pandemic, the COVID-19 pandemic and the imposition of measures of social separation, isolation and limitation of contact with other people were, and are still, a major stress factor.   The stress associated with this period disrupted the functioning of people both individually and socially, being the main factor of the phenomenon called compensation. Under the current circumstances, people have a predisposition for emotional disorders such as: Anxiety, depression, stress, insomnia, anger, Emotional depletion and including post-traumatic symptoms of disorder, according to recent studies by the Lancet analyzing the psychological effects of quarantine. The COVID-19 crisis has a wide range of effects on our mental and emotional health: From negative emotions with greater intensity and duration, such as anxiety and depression, to unfinished emotional mourning, linked both to the loss of loved ones and even to emotional and relational disconnection. Also, all that has happened in recent times makes us live in "collective pain", we have lost our right to travel without restrictions or the freedom to participate in sad events or family and community joy, we have lost family or friends. In many cases of these losses, the strands of the dollar are also being cut, which is why people need additional support. We need to find solutions to this, because we have to deal with the natural grief caused by human disappearance, as we know it, but also an isolation characteristic of the suffering process that now overlaps the physical isolation imposed by the epidemic. Another important aspect is to prevent instability in the psycho-social element of the human Community. It is clear that there is a need to impose safety measures both jointly and individually. Psychological aspects should be addressed early, so that measures can be taken to reduce the psychological costs of pandemic, perceived isolation and to address uncertainties that can give rise to anxiety and depression. Addressing psychological issues has effects not only in the short term, motivating adherence to pandemic measures, but also in the long term, through lower incidence of post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, etc. The fastest change expected after this crisis will be the individual one, each crisis is a chance for every person to look further.

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Authors:
Roberta Pintus , Angelica Dessi' , Alice Bosco , Vassilios Fanos
Abstract:
Metabolomics is one of the newest "omics" sciences that is being applied to date to investigate several aspects of pathologies and medical topics in general. It provides a snapshot of the metabolic state of an individual by the detection of metabolites in several biological fluids, such as saliva, blood and sweat. Our research group has more than a decade of experience in this field and we ourselves applied this technology to investigate, for instance, every aspect of breast milk, different neonatal diseases and neuropsychiatric disorders. In this paper, which is adapted from the lecture given by Professor Fanos at the 5th edition of the Galatia Congress (2021), we discuss the usefulness of metabolomics in the investigation of paediatric neuropsychiatric disorders. We are convinced that this technique, in the future, will provide all the answer to the infinite questions concerning the paediatric brain and its disorders, in order to help the clinicians and families of these children to give the best life possible to these little patients.

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Authors:
Roxana-Cristina Oltenacu , Alexandru Bogdan Ciubara , Alexandru Nechifor , Stefan Lucian Burlea , Anamaria Ciubara
Abstract:
Introduction: The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental health on a sample of 37 patients with psoriasis in Brăila County. Methods: A cross-sectional study on a sample of 37 patients with psoriasis was conducted by questionnaires e-mailed to patients. The study was conducted between November 20th, 2020 - January 15th, 2021. Mental health was measured using the Hamilton Anxiety Assessment Scale (HAS). Data collected on predictors included, but were not limited to, sex, age, background, marital status, level of education, smoking, alcohol consumption, comorbidities, period of self-isolation, severity of psoriasis, and type of treatment for psoriasis.   Results: There were 37 participants included. Factors associated with poor mental health were: place of origin (54% from urban areas), sex (62.1% women), age (67.5% between 65 and 80 years old), period of self-isolation (81% in self-isolation for more than 14 days), comorbidities (75.6% with multiple comorbidities) and form of treatment for psoriasis (48.6% are systemically administered treatment for psoriasis). Conclusions: In this sample of patients with psoriasis from Brăila County who isolate or socially distance themselves, urban patients, women, elderly, those with comorbidities and those who are systemically administered treatment for psoriasis were associated with a high score on the Hamilton anxiety assessment scale. However, we have to admit that our research has some limitations. First, the number of participants included in the study was small. Secondly, we used an online way to conduct the study. Thirdly, we used a self-assessment scale to assess the anxiety symptoms of psoriasis patients, which might have some deviation from the outcome. Looking beyond the current situation, it is essential to evaluate and restructure the way we think about patient's care.

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Authors:
Mihai Terpan , Anamaria Ciubara
Abstract:
In Romania, the consumption of alcoholic beverages has been and still is a cultural mechanism for socializing and reducing anxiety, regardless of age and gender. This paper evaluates the trends related to people diagnosed with acute intoxication (F10.0) and harmful use (F10.1) at the 'Elisabeta Doamna' Psychiatriy Hospital in Galati, during the pandemic, in the period between the 15th of March 2020 and the 15th of March 2021. We analysed the data base of discharges from the 'Elisabeta Doamna' Psychiatry Hospital from the 15th of March 2020 to the 15th of March 2021. ICD-10 (Classification of mental and behavioural disorders) was used for diagnosis of psychiatric disorders. We selected outpatients with the codes for acute intoxication (F10.0) and harmful use (F10.1) and excluded all patients with other psychiatric diagnoses. The data were statistically processed using: Microsoft Office-Excel, The jamovi project (2021) jamovi (Version 1.6) [Computer Software]. During the analysed period, there were 7614 discharges from the 'Elisabeta Doamna' Psychiatriy Hospital of which 1465 (20.08%) disorders were related to alcohol consumption. Disorders related to intoxication and alcohol use represent 13.14% (957 cases) of the total discharges and 65.46% of the total number of disorders related to alcohol. Disorders related to harmful use (F10.1) represent 30.31% (442 cases), and a percentage of 35.15% (515 cases) with disorders due to acute intoxication (F10.0) out of the total cases were related to alcohol consumption. From the view of the dispersion of the number of cases, there is a fluctuation in the tendency to follow the restrictions imposed by the authorities.

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Authors:
Bogdan Pavlovici
Abstract:

Virtual addiction is, like all addictions, first and foremost an attempt to find a SOLUTION by a patient, faced with a problem in their relationship to the world, to others or to themselves. This attempt at a solution, not being the best, becomes a PROBLEM in a second step.

Very often, the solution can emerge from the problem if it is well identified, via systemic modelling (modelling of the relationship between the individual and the relational system that surrounds him). So, the questioning techniques specific to systemists and so-called "brief" therapists and hypnotic techniques (including HTSMA, EMDR) are an excellent means by which a therapist can help treat his patient.

We see in the clinical illustration above that starting from the external screen to which the child is addicted and repatriating it inside oneself, and making it a "psychic working screen", will be able to quickly improve the symptoms.

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Authors:
Marcel-Alexandru Găină , Alexandra BoloȘ , Ovidiu Alexinschi , Ana-Caterina Cristofor , Alexandra-Maria Găină , Roxana Chiriță , Cristinel Ștefănescu
Abstract:

Although the therapeutic potential of virtual reality has been foreseen since over half a century ago, the lack of graphical processing power made it impossible to apply in medical therapeutic sciences until last decade; nowadays, the hardware required for virtual reality is even 100 times more affordable. A head-mounted display induces immersivity engulfing the subject's eyesight perception in a stereoscopic manner. The same tool that may aid better self understanding and bonding can also trigger psychopathological mechanisms through which the user becomes alienated from the real world. As virtual reality became even more popular during SARS-COV2 pandemic, users worldwide have spent more time into a virtual world. Depersonalization/derealization syndrome can occur if virtual reality is abused. The greater the person's involvement in virtual reality, the greater the chance of a lack of bodily self (depersonalization). Controllers that mimic hands could prevent the subject from acknowledging the real world as true — derealization. Virtual reality's dissociative potential is related to individual psychological traits and prolonged exposure. Children are the most prone to develop behavioral changes. Adults may develop behavioral problems related to virtual reality gaming, gambling, pornography and also social networking through created avatars. Blue light wavelength could harm sleep architecture and circadian rhythm by disrupting melatonin, therefore making virtual reality exposure problematic after sunset. State of the art reveals that using virtual reality in a therapeutic manner, actually facilitates the fight against addictions with cue therapy intended to extinguish conditioned response. The exposure to a substance (nicotine, alcohol, or any other psychoactive recreational abuse potential substances) can trigger craving in a controlled environment, that is malleable in the hands of the therapist. Virtual reality can offer an exposure perspective that is both vivid enough to be a challenge, but also safe enough to ensure patient involvement and to amplify the therapeutic alliance.