Health Education for preschool children in daycare centers.

BACKGROUND: The promotion of health is carried out in preventive services of medical units, in educational programs and textbooks from the general perspective of the population. OBJECTIVE: To determine baseline characteristics of health education for pre-school children, their parents and teachers, by means of specialist doctors. METHOD: Cross-sectional study of an educational program for preschool children. Life skills and health competencies were evaluated. RESULTS: The preschoolers developed resilience (84.12%), empathy (92.23%), assertive communication (93.5%), interpersonal relationships (91.0%), correct decision making (92.56%), problem solving (81.05%), creative thinking (98%), critical thinking (86.08%), emotion management (80.76%), physical activation (97.94%), self-knowledge (98.96%), hygienic habits (94.90%) and co-responsibility (86.25%); 95.59% liked the workshop and 95.75% chose the correct option in the problems described. 63.04% of parents generated changes in their habits and those of their children. CONCLUSION: The educational program implemented can promote empowerment in health from childhood.

[Educación para la salud en preescolares de guarderías].

BACKGROUND: The promotion of health is carried out in preventive services of medical units, in educational programs and textbooks from the general perspective of the population. OBJECTIVE: To determine baseline characteristics of health education for pre-school children, their parents and teachers, by means of specialist doctors. METHOD: Cross-sectional study of an educational program for preschool children. Life skills and health competencies were evaluated. RESULTS: The preschoolers developed resilience (84.12%), empathy (92.23%), assertive communication (93.5%), interpersonal relationships (91.0%), correct decision making (92.56%), problem solving (81.05%), creative thinking (98%), critical thinking (86.08%), emotion management (80.76%), physical activation (97.94%), self-knowledge (98.96%), hygienic habits (94.90%) and co-responsibility (86.25%); 95.59% liked the workshop and 95.75% chose the correct option in the problems described. 63.04% of parents generated changes in their habits and those of their children. CONCLUSION: The educational program implemented can promote empowerment in health from childhood.

ANTECEDENTES: La promoción de la salud se realiza en servicios preventivos de unidades médicas, en programas educativos y libros de texto desde la perspectiva general de la población. OBJETIVO: Determinar características basales de educación en salud a preescolares, sus padres y maestros, mediante médicos especialistas. MÉTODO: Estudio transversal de un programa educativo para preescolares en estancias infantiles. Se evaluaron habilidades para la vida y competencias para la salud. RESULTADOS: Los preescolares desarrollaron resiliencia (84.12%), empatía (92.23%), comunicación asertiva (93.5%), relaciones interpersonales (91.0%), toma correcta de decisiones correctas (92.56%), solución de problemas (81.05%), pensamiento creativo (98%), pensamiento crítico (86.08%), manejo de emociones (80.76%), activación física (97.94%), autoconocimiento (98.96%), hábitos higiénicos (94.90%) y corresponsabilidad (86.25%); al 95.59% les agradó el taller y el 95.75% eligió la opción correcta en los problemas descritos. El 63.04% de los padres generaron cambios en sus hábitos y en los de sus hijos. CONCLUSIÓN: El programa educativo implementado puede favorecer el empoderamiento en salud desde la infancia.

Educación para la salud en preescolares de guarderías / Health education in nursery preschoolers

Resumen Antecedentes: La promoción de la salud se realiza en servicios preventivos de unidades médicas, en programas educativos y libros de texto desde la perspectiva general de la población. Objetivo: Determinar características basales de educación en salud a preescolares, sus padres y maestros, mediante médicos especialistas. Método: Estudio transversal de un programa educativo para preescolares en estancias infantiles. Se evaluaron habilidades para la vida y competencias para la salud. Resultados: Los preescolares desarrollaron resiliencia (84.12%), empatía (92.23%), comunicación asertiva (93.5%), relaciones interpersonales (91.0%), toma correcta de decisiones correctas (92.56%), solución de problemas (81.05%), pensamiento creativo (98%), pensamiento crítico (86.08%), manejo de emociones (80.76%), activación física (97.94%), autoconocimiento (98.96%), hábitos higiénicos (94.90%) y corresponsabilidad (86.25%); al 95.59% les agradó el taller y el 95.75% eligió la opción correcta en los problemas descritos. El 63.04% de los padres generaron cambios en sus hábitos y en los de sus hijos. Conclusión: El programa educativo implementado puede favorecer el empoderamiento en salud desde la infancia.

Abstract Background: The promotion of health is carried out in preventive services of medical units, in educational programs and textbooks from the general perspective of the population. Objective: To determine baseline characteristics of health education for pre-school children, their parents and teachers, by means of specialist doctors. Method: Cross-sectional study of an educational program for preschool children. Life skills and health competencies were evaluated. Results: The preschoolers developed resilience (84.12%), empathy (92.23%), assertive communication (93.5%), interpersonal relationships (91.0%), correct decision making (92.56%), problem solving (81.05%), creative thinking (98%), critical thinking (86.08%), emotion management (80.76%), physical activation (97.94%), self-knowledge (98.96%), hygienic habits (94.90%) and co-responsibility (86.25%); 95.59% liked the workshop and 95.75% chose the correct option in the problems described. 63.04% of parents generated changes in their habits and those of their children. Conclusion: The educational program implemented can promote empowerment in health from childhood.

Effective connectivity during successful and unsuccessful recollection in young and old adults.

Aging effects on regional brain activation have been studied extensively to explain the gradual recollection failure that occurs with advancing age. However, little is known about the consequence of aging on the interaction among brain regions that support recollection. The purpose of this study was to examine effective connectivity at encoding and retrieval during successful and unsuccessful recollection in young and old adults. In particular, we analyzed a recollection network that is characterized by its susceptibility to aging effects by middle age or later, which is comprised of the occipital cortex, hippocampus and orbitofrontal cortex. Participants' brains were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging while they performed a spatial source memory task. Dynamic causal modeling and Bayesian model selection revealed that subsequent recollection during encoding and recollection during retrieval modulated the influence of the orbitofrontal cortex on the hippocampus in both age groups; this particular connectivity was not modulated by unsuccessful encoding in either group. Successful encoding and retrieval of item-source associations modulated all connections within the network in old adults. The findings revealed that the orbitofrontal cortex influences processes in the hippocampus to ensure successful recollection, and aging alters the recollection network by engaging non-specialized connections.

Brain activity during source memory retrieval in young, middle-aged and old adults.

We investigated neurofunctional changes associated with source memory decline across the adult life span using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Young, middle-aged and old adults carried out a natural/artificial judgment of images of common objects that were randomly presented in one of the quadrants of the screen. At retrieval, the images were displayed at the center of the screen and the participants judged whether each image was new or old and, if old, they indicated in which quadrant of the screen the image had originally been presented. Comparing the items associated with correct versus incorrect source judgments revealed that no regions showed greater activity in young adults than in middle-aged adults; however, in young and middle-aged adults the activity in the left hippocampus and left anterior temporal cortex was of greater magnitude than in the older adults. Several regions also exhibited greater activity in young adults than in old adults. These results suggest that in middle age the recollection neural network, assessable by fMRI, is still preserved.

fMRI subsequent source memory effects in young, middle-aged and old adults.

The ability to remember the spatial context in which our experiences occur declines linearly across the adult lifespan. However, little is known about whether this source memory decline is associated with neural activity changes. In the present study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans were recorded in young, middle-aged and old adults to investigate brain activity variations across the adult lifespan during encoding of subsequent spatial source memory retrieval. Twelve healthy individuals of both sexes were enrolled in each age group. During encoding, participants performed natural/artificial judgment of images of common objects that were randomly presented in one of the quadrants of the screen. During retrieval, the images presented at encoding were randomly mixed with new ones and displayed at the center of the screen. Participants judged whether each image was new or old and, if an image was old, they were instructed to indicate in which quadrant the image was presented in the encoding session. The contrast between study items that were later recognized and assigned a correct source judgment with those whose sources were subsequently forgotten revealed that positive subsequent memory effects disappear by middle age in the left medial orbitofrontal gyrus and appear in the left superior occipital gyrus. This under-recruitment and over-recruitment brain activity was also present in old adults. The results allowed us to identify the specific brain regions that first fail to encode spatial information into an episodic representation during the adult lifespan.

Neural correlates of source memory retrieval in young, middle-aged and elderly adults.

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded in young (21-27 years old), middle-aged (50-57 years old) and older adults (70-77 years old) to determine whether the decline in source memory that occurs with advancing age coincides with contemporaneous neurophysiological changes. Source memory for the spatial location (quadrant on the screen) of images presented during encoding was examined. The images were shown in the center of the screen during the retrieval task. Retrieval success for source information was characterized by different scalp topographies at frontal electrode sites in young adults relative to middle-aged and older adults. The right frontal effect during unsuccessful retrieval attempts showed amplitude and latency differences across age groups and was related to the ability to discriminate between old and new images only in young adults. These results suggest that the neural correlates of the retrieval success and attempt were affected by age and these effects were present by middle-age.

Efectos de la atención dividida sobre la memoria episódica en adultos jóvenes y mayores / Efeitos da atenção dividida sobre a memória episódica em adultos jovens e idosos / Effects of divided attention on episodic memory in young and older adults

El objetivo del estudio fue determinar los efectos de dividir la atención durante la codificación y la recuperación en adultos jóvenes y mayores cuando una tarea de memoria y otra secundariase realizaron en la misma modalidad. Los 72 participantes realizaron una tarea secundaria de discriminación visual mientras clasificaban imágenes(natural/artificial) en la codificación, o las reconocían (vieja/nueva) en la recuperación. Los adultos mayores cometieron más errores en la tarea secundaria que los adultos jóvenes. El reconocimiento en los adultos mayores no difirió cuando se dividió la atención en la codificación y la recuperación, mientras que en los adultos jóvenes fue menor cuando se dividió en la codificación. En el envejecimiento la capacidad para administrar los recursos de atención disminuye.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of dividing attention during encoding and retrieval in young and older adults, when the memory and secondary tasks are performed in the same modality. The 72 participants performed a visual discrimination secondary task while they classified images (natural-artificial) during encoding, or they recognized them (oldnew) during retrieval. The number of errors inthe secondary task was higher in the older adults than in the younger adults. The recognition accuracy of older adults did not vary when attention was divided during encoding and retrieval, while young adults’ recognition rates were lower when attention was divided during encoding. The ability to manage attentional resources diminishesduring aging.

O objetivo deste estudo foi determinar os efeitos de dividir a atenção durante a codificação e recuperação em adultos jovens e idosos, quando a tarefa de memória e outra secundária se realizamna mesma modalidade. Os 72 participantes realizaram uma tarefa secundária de discriminação visual enquanto classificavam imagens(natural/artificial) na codificação, ou as reconheciam (velha/ nova) na recuperação. Os idosos cometeram mais erros na tarefa secundária que os adultos jovens. Entre os idosos o reconhecimento não se diferenciou quando se dividiu a atenção na codificação e na recuperação, enquanto que, nos adultos jovens foi menorquando se dividiu na codificação. Na idade de envelhecimento a capacidade para administrar os recursos de atenção diminui.

Age-related changes in neural activity during source memory encoding in young, middle-aged and elderly adults.

Source memory, the ability to remember contextual information present at the moment an event occurs, declines gradually during normal aging. The present study addressed whether source memory decline is related to changes in neural activity during encoding across age. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded in three groups of 14 subjects each: young (21-26 years), middle-aged (50-55 years) and older adults (70-77 years). ERPs were recorded while the subjects performed a natural/artificial judgment on images of common objects that were presented randomly in one of the quadrants of the screen (encoding phase). At retrieval, old images mixed with new ones were presented at the center of the screen and the subjects judged whether each image was new or old and, if old, were asked to indicate at which position of the screen the image was presented in the encoding session. The neurophysiological activity recorded during encoding was segregated for the study items according to whether their context was correctly retrieved or not, so as to search for subsequent memory effects (SME). These effects, which consisted of larger amplitude for items subsequently attracting a correct source judgment than an incorrect one, were observed in the three groups, but their onset was delayed across the age groups. The amplitude of the SME was similar across age groups at the frontal and central electrode sites, but was manifested more at the posterior sites in middle-aged and older adults, suggesting that source memory decline may be related to less efficient encoding mechanisms.

Neurophysiology of successful encoding and retrieval of source memory.

Event-related potentials were recorded during encoding, to identify whether brain activity predicts subsequent retrieval of spatial source information, and during retrieval, to investigate the neural correlates of successful and unsuccessful spatial context recollection. The amplitude registered during encoding for study items that were later recognized and assigned a correct source judgment was more positive than the amplitude for recognized items given incorrect source judgments; this difference started 480 msec poststimulus, predominantly at central and anterior sites. During retrieval, the waveform was more positive from 250 to 1,600 msec poststimulus when the brain had retrieved episodic information successfully than when it had failed. These findings indicate that brain electrical activity recorded during the first presentation of an item within its context predicts the subsequent retrieval of the specific spatial context. During retrieval, brain activity differed quantitatively at anterior sites and qualitatively at posterior sites according to the accuracy of source memory.