Impacto del abuso de pantallas sobre el desarrollo mental / No disponible

Introducción: el presente estudio valora la antropometría, el desarrollo intelectual y lashabilidades sociales de los niños según su exposición al abuso de pantallas (televisión, videojuegos,ordenador).Material y métodos: 130 entrevistas a niños entre 5 y 10 años recogiendo: sexo, edad,entorno familiar, horas de pantallas, horas de deporte, somatometría, puntuación del gradode responsabilidad y sociabilidad y test de Goodenough (como estimación del cociente intelectual).Resultados: los modelos de regresión lineal múltiple mostraron una asociación estadísticamentesignificativa entre el índice de masa corporal (IMC) y las horas de televisión y vídeos(B = 0,06; p = 0,05) y entre el IMC y las horas de ordenador y videojuegos (B = 0,34; p <0,01), así como entre la estimación del cociente intelectual y las horas de ordenador y videojuegos(B = -1,67; p = 0,02).Conclusiones: deben desarrollarse estrategias para concienciar a las familias sobre losefectos perjudiciales del abuso de pantallas, tanto de los asociados al sedentarismo y a loscontenidos negativos, como del daño sobre el desarrollo intelectual que produce el abuso delos juegos electrónicos(AU9

Objective: the present study examines anthropometric measurements, mental developmentand social skills in children exposed to screen-viewing (television, video games, computer). Methods: one hundred and thirty interviews were addressed to children aged 5 to 10 years.Information about gender, age, family, screen-viewing time, sport-practicing time, anthropometricmeasurements, responsibility punctuation, sociability punctuation and Goodenough’stest (as estimation of intelligence quotient) was collected.Results: multiple regression models showed a statistically significant association betweenbody mass index (BMI) and television and video viewing time (B = 0.06; p = 0.05) andbetween BMI and computer and videogame use time (B = 0.34; p < 0.01), as well as betweenestimated intelligence quotient and computer and video game use time (B = -1.67; p = 0.02).Conclusions: screen-viewing abuse is associated with a higher risk of overweight. Electronicgames abuse is associated with a lower intelligence quotient. Wide strategies to warnfamilies about these risks are needed(AU)

The role of the anterodorsal thalami nuclei in the regulation of adrenal medullary function, beta-adrenergic cardiac receptors and anxiety responses in maternally deprived rats under stressful conditions.

Maternal separation can interfere with growth and development of the brain and represents a significant risk factor for adult psychopathology. In rodents, prolonged separation from the mother affects the behavioral and endocrine responses to stress for the lifetime of the animal. Limbic structures such as the anterodorsal thalamic nuclei (ADTN) play an important role in the control of neuroendocrine and sympathetic-adrenal function. In view of these findings we hypothesized that the function of the ADTN may be affected in an animal model of maternal deprivation. To test this hypothesis female rats were isolated 4.5 h daily, during the first 3 weeks of life and tested as adults. We evaluated plasma epinephrine (E) and norepinephrine (NE), cardiac adrenoreceptors and anxiety responses after maternal deprivation and variable chronic stress (VCS) in ADTN-lesioned rats. Thirty days after ADTN lesion, in non-maternally deprived rats basal plasma NE concentration was greater and cardiac beta-adrenoreceptor density was lower than that in the sham-lesioned group. Maternal deprivation induced a significant increase in basal plasma NE concentration, which was greater in lesioned rats, and cardiac beta-adrenoreceptor density was decreased in lesioned rats. After VCS plasma catecholamine concentration was much greater in non-maternally deprived rats than in maternally-deprived rats; cardiac beta-adrenoreceptor density was decreased by VCS in both maternally-deprived and non-deprived rats, but more so in non-deprived rats, and further decreased by the ADTN lesion. In the plus maze test, the number of open arm entries was greater in the maternally deprived and in the stressed rats. Thus, sympathetic-adrenal medullary activation produced by VCS was much greater in non-deprived rats, and was linked to a down regulation of myocardial beta-adrenoceptors. The ADTN are not responsible for the reduced catecholamine responses to stress in maternally-deprived rats. Maternal deprivation or chronic stress also induced a long term anxiolytic effect, which was also not affected by ADTN lesion.

Periodic maternal deprivation and lesion of anterodorsal thalami nuclei induce alteration on hypophyso adrenal system activity in adult rats.

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is normally regulated by extrahypothalamic limbic structures, among these, the anterodorsal thalami nuclei (ADTN), which exert an inhibitory influence on HPA, in basal and acute stress conditions in rats. In the present work we have investigated whether neonatal maternal deprivation (MD) produces long-term changes in the ADTN regulation of HPA activity. Maternal deprivation, in female rats, for 4.5 hs daily, during the first 3 weeks of life, produced at 3 months old, a significant decrease in plasma ACTH concentration (p<0.001) and an increase in plasma corticosterone (C) (p<0.001), compared to control non-deprived rats (NMD). Also MD showed higher plasma epinephrine (E) and norepinephrine (NE) levels than NMD rats. The increase of NE (66.6% p<0.001) was higher than that observed in E (19%). After 30 days of ADTN lesion, plasma ACTH values were higher than in sham lesioned rats, in both NMD and MD animals. ACTH response was greater in MD rats. Plasma C, in NMD, was higher, whereas in MD lesioned animals, it was significantly lower than in sham lesioned. In MD rats, lesion produced a significant increase in plasma E and NE (p<0.001), and again, NE increase was higher than E increase. The more accentuated increase of NE than E, suggests sympathetic nervous system hyperactivity. In summary, neonatal maternal deprivation induces long-term alterations on HPA axis sensitivity and medullo adrenal secretion; enhanced sympathetic nervous system activity and, therefore affected the ADTN inhibitory influence on ACTH and adrenal glands secretion.