RESUMEN
In neuroscience, empathy is often conceived as relatively automatic. The voluntary control that people can exert on brain mechanisms that map the emotions of others onto our own emotions has received comparatively less attention. Here, we therefore measured brain activity while participants watched emotional Hollywood movies under two different instructions: to rate the main characters' emotions by empathizing with them, or to do so while keeping a detached perspective. We found that participants yielded highly consistent and similar ratings of emotions under both conditions. Using intersubject correlation-based analyses we found that, when encouraged to empathize, participants' brain activity in limbic (including cingulate and putamen) and somatomotor regions (including premotor, SI and SII) synchronized more during the movie than when encouraged to detach. Using intersubject functional connectivity we found that comparing the empathic and detached perspectives revealed widespread increases in functional connectivity between large scale networks. Our findings contribute to the increasing awareness that we have voluntary control over the neural mechanisms through which we process the emotions of others.
Asunto(s)
Encéfalo/diagnóstico por imagen , Encéfalo/fisiología , Empatía/fisiología , Imagen por Resonancia Magnética/métodos , Películas Cinematográficas , Adulto , Humanos , Masculino , Estimulación Luminosa/métodos , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
Ectopic pancreatic tissue at the umbilicus is very rare. To our best knowledge, only fourteen cases of ectopic pancreatic tissue at the umbilicus are reported. In this paper we present the case of a two-year-old boy with an abrasion at the umbilicus. He had a poorly healing scar that started bleeding after recurrent injuries. Abdominal ultrasound revealed an unclear cystic structure with no communication to intra-abdominal structures. Surgical resection was performed without complications. Histology diagnosed an ectopic pancreatic tissue with reactive epidermal changes. We present a review of the literature and the clinical manifestations and treatment of the previously reported fourteen cases.
Asunto(s)
Coristoma/patología , Páncreas , Ombligo , Preescolar , Coristoma/cirugía , Diagnóstico Diferencial , Humanos , Masculino , Ombligo/patología , Ombligo/cirugíaRESUMEN
Sleep quality is one of the major sources of dissatisfaction among patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Insomnia, parasomnia and daytime sleep disorders are all common. The motor problems accompanying PD are well studied and documented, yet little is known about sleep and the other non-motor problems. Dopaminergic medications, the neurochemical and neurodegenerative changes may all contribute to the pathogenesis of sleep disorders in PD. Subjective or objective sleepiness assessment should routinely be performed by physicians looking after PD patients. Patients should be informed of the risks associated with excessive daytime sleepiness. Management is difficult and should be targeted to the specific sleep disorder and its likely cause. Simple sleep measures such as sleep hygiene should be tried first before pharmacological treatment is initiated.
Asunto(s)
Enfermedad de Parkinson/complicaciones , Trastornos del Sueño-Vigilia/etiología , Antiparkinsonianos/efectos adversos , Humanos , Levodopa/efectos adversos , Dolor/etiología , Calidad de Vida , Sueño/efectos de los fármacos , Sueño/fisiología , Trastornos del Sueño-Vigilia/terapiaRESUMEN
Medicinal leeches (Hirudo medicinalis) have been used in medicine for thousands of years to treat a wide range of ailments. Nowadays, leeches are used successfully for only a few conditions, notably in the field of reconstructive or microsurgery, to salvage tissue flaps and skin grafts whose viability is threatened by venous congestion. The anticoagulant properties of hirudin, contained in leech saliva, may lead to wider therapeutic applications in the prevention and treatment of thromboembolic disease. Optimal care is needed when applying leeches, because their use can be complicated by serious bacterial infections.
Asunto(s)
Sanguijuelas , Aplicación de Sanguijuelas/métodos , Terapia Recuperativa/métodos , Animales , Predicción , Terapia con Hirudina , Humanos , Aplicación de Sanguijuelas/efectos adversos , Aplicación de Sanguijuelas/tendencias , Sepsis/microbiología , Tromboembolia/prevención & controlRESUMEN
We describe a patient presenting with voluminous diarrhoea, hypokalaemic acidosis and hypercalcaemia who was found to have a vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-producing tumour. His diarrhoea was initially mild and intermittent requiring no medical attention.