Development of a 12-Word Version of a Verbal Learning Test for Persian-Speaking Older Adults: Reliability, Construct Validity, and Normative Standards.

OBJECTIVE: As people enter old age, they develop diseases, challenges, and cognitive and behavioral deficits that are associated with decreased abilities. Memory abilities and deficiencies and impaired models can be assessed using neuropsychological instruments, and a rehabilitation program can be developed based on the individuals' memory deficits. The present cross-sectional research aims to develop a new test (henceforth known as the Persian Verbal Learning Test, or PVLT) that is appropriate for Persian-speaking older adults. METHODS: For normative data, we administered PVLT to a group of 374 Persian-speaking healthy older adults consisting of both genders (190 women and 184 men) who were aged 60-89 years old. To determine reliability and validity, we evaluated neurologically healthy older adults and analyzed the results using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Pearson's correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The present findings showed that age, education, and gender significantly affect subtests of the PVLT. In the evaluation of reliability, significant positive correlations were observed between the variables of the PVLT in the standard/standard form. Furthermore, moderate correlations were observed between PVLT variables (immediate recall, short-delay recall, long-delay recall, and recognition), and the Immediate and Delayed Logical Memory subtests of Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R). However, subtests of the PVLT also showed significantly positive correlations with MoCA and non-verbal variables of WMS-R. CONCLUSION: According to the results of this study and given the good psychometric properties obtained, PVLT can potentially be used as a more appropriate tool than the SVLT for Persian-speaking older adults.

A Smartphone-Gamified Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy Augmented With Biofeedback for Ailurophobia: Development and Evaluation Study.

BACKGROUND: To the best of our knowledge, no specialized research has been conducted to address ailurophobia (fear of cats) in Iran or globally. This has driven our project, along with the prevalence of ailurophobia and the absence of a gamified virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) that incorporates affordable and easily accessible biofeedback (BF) tools. We hypothesize that a gamified VRET augmented with BF will yield more positive effects than a similar device lacking BF. OBJECTIVE: This study primarily focuses on the development and preliminary evaluation of a smartphone-gamified VRET integrated with BF, targeting animal phobia, with a specific case study on ailurophobia. The secondary objectives are using affordable and readily available BF found in devices such as smart bands and smartwatches and creating a mobile virtual reality gamified app to improve patients' adherence to treatments while simultaneously enhancing the app's accessibility, scalability, and outreach. METHODS: Evaluations encompassed 3 methods. First, we identified the tool's potential positive effects on phobia interventions, exploring 4 effects: intrinsic motivation, simulation of fearful situations, management of stressful circumstances without therapists' presence and mitigation of catastrophic thoughts, and preliminary effects on ailurophobia treatment. Participants were divided into BF and non-BF groups. Second, we gathered user preferences and opinions about the treatment. Third, we conducted heuristic evaluations using 44 heuristics from existing system usability scales assessing user interfaces, virtual reality platforms, and video games' playability. To interpret the data, mean scores; ANOVA, single factor; and ANOVA, 2-factor with replication were used. A total of 29 individuals were identified, of which 10 met the eligibility criteria or were accessible. RESULTS: The smartphone-gamified VRET augmented with BF exhibited better results on the identified effects compared with the non-BF version and contributed to normalizing encounters with cats. Moreover, 41 of the 44 heuristics achieved a percentage above 62%, indicating its potential as a therapeutic product and its ability to enhance patient adherence to treatments. Patient preferences on the treatment and its strengths and weaknesses were provided for further improvement. CONCLUSIONS: The tool has the potential to evolve into a comprehensive solution by incorporating various types of cats and their behaviors, simulating environments in which they are commonly found, and enhancing its appeal through an increased sense of adventure without inducing unrealistic fears. By adapting fear elements, the game can be tailored to treat various animal phobias. Phobia-focused games should avoid action and combat scenarios to prevent reinforcement of fear responses. After rigorous evaluation, further exploration is required to provide remote use beyond clinical settings.

The Effect of Leisure Intervention on Occupational Performance and Occupational Balance in Individuals with Substance Use Disorder: A Pilot Study.

Methods: The sample for this quasiexperimental pretest-posttest with a two-month follow-up design comprised nine individuals aged between 18 and 55 years, selected using a convenience sampling method. The intervention consisted of a 2-month group leisure participation program, conducted twice a week, followed by a 2-month follow-up period. Primary outcome measures included occupational performance and occupational balance, and secondary outcome measures were leisure participation, quality of life, and drug craving. Outcome measures were assessed three times: preintervention, postintervention, and after the follow-up period. The outcome measures included the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), Occupational Balance Questionnaire-11 (OBQ11), Nottingham Leisure Questionnaire (NLQ), 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), and Desire to Drug Questionnaire (DDQ). Data analysis was performed using the Friedman test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test as a post hoc procedure, with a significance level set at 5%. Results: The findings showed significant improvements in participants' occupational performance in postintervention and follow-up assessments (p < 0.01, r = 0.59) and better occupational balance from pre- to postintervention (p < 0.01, r = 0.59) and after the follow-up period (p < 0.01, r = 0.60). Furthermore, significant enhancements were observed in leisure participation, quality of life, and a reduction in drug craving. Conclusion: The findings indicate that leisure intervention positively impacted both occupational performance and occupational balance, suggesting its potential as a beneficial therapeutic approach for individuals with substance use disorder. Additional research is warranted to delve deeper into and validate the effectiveness of leisure intervention within this specific population.

Comparative Effects of Cognitive Rehabilitation and Photobiomodulation on Drug Craving in Treatment-Seeking Opioid Addicts.

Background: Drug addiction refers to a maladaptive pattern of drug use that frequently leads to substance abuse problems and accompanying cognitive and behavioral symptoms. Among the crucial criteria of drug addiction, craving stands out as a potent factor contributing to ongoing drug abuse and relapse following period of abstinence. To date, there is no definitive method for eradicating opioid cravings. The introduction of novel neurocognitive interventions, such as cognitive rehabilitation and photobiomodulation (PBM), into the realm of psychiatric treatments holds promise due to the parallels between drug addiction and other psychiatric disorders. These innovative techniques offer potential value in addressing drug addiction. Objective: This study aimed to assess and compare the efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation and PBM in alleviating drug cravings among individuals undergoing addiction treatment in clinical settings. Methods: The research used randomized clinical trial as the chosen research method. The statistical population encompassed all clients receiving treatment for addiction at clinics, selected through the convenience sampling method, with α = 0.05 significance level and an effect size of 85%. Gpower software was utilized to determine three equal groups. Sixty-three participants, each having a mean total score higher than 3 out of 5 on the Desire for Drug Questionnaire (DDQ), were randomly assigned to two experimental groups (n = 21 each) and a control group (n = 21). For the assessment of immediate and periodic opioid craving, the DDQ and the Obsessive Compulsive Drug Use Scale were used. In the low-level laser group, an 810 nm wavelength with continuous irradiation was applied twice a week at a distance of 1 cm by 1 cm to the prefrontal part of the brain for duration of 6 weeks (12 sessions). In the brain rehabilitation group, the stop signal and n-back tasks software were used twice a week for period of 6 weeks (comprising 12 sessions, each lasting 30 min). Results: The results demonstrated that each intervention significantly reduced drug craving in both the post-test and follow-up phases compared to the control group. The Bonferroni post hoc test indicated that PBM was more effective than cognitive rehabilitation in terms of working memory (WM) and inhibitory control for reducing drug craving (p < 0.05). Conclusions: While both PBM and cognitive rehabilitation targeting WM and inhibitory control effectively reduced opioid drug craving, low-level laser therapy proved to be more effective than cognitive rehabilitation in this regard.

Investigating the Psychometric Properties of Sex Addiction Screening Test-revised for Persian Population.

Introduction: Sexual addiction is known as a disorder that afflicts a person with difficulty in controlling or delaying sexual behaviors. To prevent social, physical, and psychological consequences, validated screening tests are needed to diagnose this disorder. One of these tests is established by Carnes with the name of sexual addiction screening test-revised (SAST-R). In this study, SAST-R has been translated and verified in the Persian language. Methods: The original screening test was translated into the Persian language and also back-translated for matching by two separate expert teams. The data was collected through an online survey of 1268 participants who were in the age range of 18 to 65 years (Mean±SD 29.44±6.90), and 56.1% and 43.9% of the population were women and men, respectively. Three questionnaires, including the SAST-R, the hypersexual behavior consequences scale, and the Connor-Davidson resilience scale as the principal, convergent, and divergent tests were administered to the participants. Results: The reliability of the test's internal consistency (Cronbach α=0.883), split-half (Cronbach α=0.779), and Guttman (lambda coefficients were between 0.773 to 0.883) tests were used. In addition, 4 methods of content validity (sexual hyperactivity specialist approved), convergent structure validity (P<0.001, R=0.731), the validity of divergent structure (P<0.09, R=-0.132), and factor validity (comparative fit index=0.884, goodness of fit index=0.873, root mean square error of approximation=0.047) were measured and confirmed the validity of the test. Conclusion: The Persian version of SAST-R is a reliable preclinical tool to assess the severity of sexual desire in patients. Highlights: The Persian version of sexual addiction screening test-revised (SAST-R) serves as a dependable pre-clinical instrument for evaluating the intensity of sexual desire in patients.Expose various subsets of the original questionnaire that explore different aspects, such as understanding sexual orientation.Proposed cutting-off scores as the guidelines for clinicians to distinguish various aspects of the original questionnaire. Plain Language Summary: This study translated and validated the sexual addiction screening test-revised (SAST-R) in Persian. The study involved 1,268 participants who completed the translated test and other questionnaires. Results showed that the Persian version of the SAST-R is a reliable tool for assessing the severity of sexual desire in patients. It demonstrated good internal consistency, reliability, and validity. This validated screening test is important for diagnosing sexual addiction in Persian-speaking individuals, enabling healthcare professionals to identify and support those struggling with the disorder.

Effect of RehaCom cognitive rehabilitation software on working memory and processing speed in chronic ischemic stroke patients.

Stroke survivors need assistance to overcome cognitive impairments. Working memory (WM) and processing speed (PS) as two critical cognitive functions are disrupted by stroke. The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of RehaCom rehabilitation software on WM and PS in participants with chronic ischemic stroke with hemiplegia (right/left side). Participants were selected among stroke patients who were referred to our special rehabilitation clinic. Fifty participants were assigned to control (n = 25) and experimental (n = 25) groups. The results of the experimental group were compared with the control group before and after the treatment with RehaCom (ten 45-min sessions across five weeks, two sessions per week). The results showed a significant improvement in WM and PS in the experimental group in comparison with the control group after a 5-week training with RehaCom. In conclusion, our findings indicate that treatment with RehaCom software improves WM and PS in chronic ischemic stroke participants with hemiplegia. The exact mechanism of RehaCom is largely unknown and further studies are needed, but its effects on the function of brain regions involved in modulating cognitive functions such as the prefrontal cortex, cingulate cortex, and parietal cortex may be mechanisms of interest.

The Effect of Different Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) Protocols on Drug Craving and Cognitive Functions in Methamphetamine Addicts.

Introduction: Drug craving is a major problem in addiction treatment. Neuroimaging research has revealed various areas for drug craving, among which two key areas are the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC) and the cerebellum. The DLPFC is involved in different cognitive tasks, such as inhibitory control over seductive options that promise an immediate reward. The cerebellum is related to cognition and memory and activated by drug-related cues. Therefore, we decided to study the effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on six different protocols in reducing drug craving and increasing cognitive functions in methamphetamine addicts. Methods: The present study is quasi-experimental, with a pre-test-post-test design and a control group. Based on a simple sampling method, 15 male methamphetamine addicts were recruited from two rehabilitation centers in Tehran City, Iran. The participants were aged 18-65 years with a minimum of 12-month history of methamphetamine dependence. The Visual Analog Scale (VAS), the go/no-go task and the n-back task were administered before and after a single session of tDCS. The tDCS was applied on six protocols: 1) the right DLPFC anodal and the left DLPFC cathodal stimulation, 2) the right DLPFC cathodal and the left DLPFC anodal stimulation, 3) the right DLPFC anodal and the right arm cathodal stimulation, 4) the left DLPFC anodal and the left arm cathodal stimulation, 5) the right cerebellar hemisphere (O2) anodal and the left cerebellar hemisphere (O1) cathodal stimulation, and 6) the right cerebellar hemisphere (O2) cathodal and the left cerebellar hemisphere (O1) anodal stimulation. The data were analyzed by covariance method using SPSS software v. 22. Results: Study results indicated that while single-session tDCS effects on craving were not significant, it increased cognitive inhibition, especially in protocol 2: the right DLPFC cathodal and the left DLPFC anodal stimulation. Conclusion: Single-session tDCS affects craving insignificantly, but it can increase cognitive inhibition significantly. These findings support the results of previous studies on the effects of brain stimulation on reducing drug craving in other drug-type settings. Highlights: One session of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) intervention is ineffective for reducing addiction craving in methamphetamine addicts.DCS intervention significantly increases cognitive inhibition.The best results with tDCS intervention in addiction recovery are use of the right DLPFC cathodal stimulation and left DLPFC anodal stimulation protocol. Plain Language Summary: One of the primary concerns in treating addiction is to choose an effective intervention for reducing craving. tDCS is a non-invasive and safe way of reducing craving, which can be used in different ways to decrease addiction craving and treat addiction. While his study founds that one session of tDCS protocols is not effective in reducing the methamphetamine craving, They are effective for increasing cognitive inhibition, which is essential in addiction recovery and saying no to cravings. This effect on the cognitive inhibition ability has important implications for those seeking new and non-invasive addiction recoveries, especially in methamphetamine addiction.

Validation of Persian Version of Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) in Iranian Women with Breast Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is now the most significant health issue in women, threatening diverse aspects of human health, including mental health and cognitive function. This research aimed to validate the Persian version of Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) in Iranian women with breast cancer. METHODS: We gathered data on 229 women with breast cancer in Tehran through convenience sampling. They completed a demographic questionnaire, the Persian version of MAAS, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, and DASS-21. SPSS-22 analyzed the Pearson correlation between the Persian version of MAAS, general self-efficacy, and DASS-21. Also, LISREL 8.8 was used to analyze the internal structure of the MAAS. RESULTS: Findings from the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed that the model with one factor fits well with the data (sbχ2=4.29 (P=0.36); SRMR=0.058; CFI=1.0; NFI=0.91; IFI=0.95; RFI=0.97; GFI=0.90; RMSEA=0.069). Significant negative correlations were found between MAAS and DASS-21 scores for anxiety (r=-0.51), depression (r=-0.48) and stress (r=-0.49), indicating an acceptable divergent validity. There was also a positive relationship between MAAS and general self-efficacy (r=0.37; P<0.01). CONCLUSION: The Persian version of MAAS seems to be a valid scale for evaluating the extent of mindfulness of Iranian women with breast cancer.

Effects of the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Binaural Beat Brain Stimulation and Short-Term Training on Simultaneously Assessed Visuospatial and Verbal Working Memories, Signal Detection Measures, Response Times, and Intrasubject Response Time Variabilities: A Within-Subject Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.

Introduction: Binaural beats (BBs) are phantom sound illusions perceived when two sounds of slightly different frequencies are separately transmitted to the ears. It is suggested that some BB frequencies might entrain the brain and enhance certain cognitive functions such as working memory or attention. Nevertheless, studies in this regard are very scarce, quite controversial, and merely covering a very small portion of this vast field of research (e.g., testing only a few BB frequencies), not to mention adopting some limited methodologies (e.g., no assessment of the loudness of the BB sound, adopting only between-subject analyses, and testing only one perceptual modality). Hence, we aimed to assess the potential effects of alpha, beta, and gamma BBs on cognitive-behavioral parameters of working memory and attention examined simultaneously in two different modalities (visuospatial and auditory-verbal). Methods: This within-subject five-arm randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial included 155 trials in 31 healthy right-handed subjects (17 women, 14 men, 30.84 ± 6.16 years old). Each subject listened to 8-minute sessions of 10 Hz, 16 Hz, and 40 Hz binaural beats versus 240 Hz pure tone and silence (in random orders). In each 8-minute block, they played a dual 2-back task with feedback enabled. Their cognitive-behavioral parameters (working memory capacities, signal detection measures (hit rate, false alarm rate, sensitivity, and response bias), and reaction speed measures (response time and intrasubject response time variability)) were calculated. The effects of the sound interventions and short-term training on these working memory and attention measures were assessed statistically using mixed-model linear regressions, repeated-measures ANOVAs and ANCOVAs, Bonferroni post hoc tests, and one-sample t-tests (α = 0.05). Results: The following are some major statistically significant findings (P ≤ 0.05): In the visuospatial modality, the 10 Hz BB reduced the response time and intrasubject response time variability and reduced the extent of decline over time in the case of visuospatial working memory, sensitivity, and hit rate. In the auditory-verbal modality, the 10 Hz intervention reduced the hit rate, false alarm rate, and sensitivity. The 10 Hz intervention also caused the lowest intermodality discrepancies in hit rates and false alarm rates, the highest response time discrepancies, and negative discrepancies in working memories and sensitivities (indicating the superiority of the visuospatial modality). The response biases tended to be liberal-to-neutral in the verbal modality and rather conservative in the visuospatial modality. Reactions were faster in the visuospatial modality than the auditory-verbal one, while the intrasubject variability of reaction times was smaller in the auditory-verbal modality. Short-term training can increase the hit rate, working memory, and sensitivity and can decrease the false alarm rate and response time. Aging and reduced sound intervention volume may slow down responses and increase the intrasubject variability of response time. Faster reactions might be correlated with greater hit rates, working memories, and sensitivities and also with lower false alarm rates. Conclusions: The 8-minute alpha-band binaural beat entrainment may have a few, slight enhancing effects within the visuospatial modality, but not in both modalities combined. Short-term training can improve working memory and some cognitive parameters of attention. Some BB interventions can affect the intermodality discrepancies. There may be differences between the two modalities in terms of the response speeds and intrasubject response time variabilities. Aging can slow down the response, while increasing the volume of audio interventions may accelerate it.

The effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on cerebellum in reduction of the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is one disabling psychiatric condition.  Investigations reported the effectiveness of trans-cranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in regulating orbito-fronto-striato-pallido-thalamic network activity in OCD patients. In these patients, hypo- or hyper-activity of different brain areas including orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA), cingulate gyrus, putamen, thalamus, parietal cortex and cerebellum have been reported.The purpose of this study is determination the efficacy of three different tDCS protocols and finding the best one to mitigate OCD symptoms.This study was a quasi-experimental research with pre-test-post-test and a one-month follow-up. Of the patients that referred to Brain and Cognitive Clinic in Tehran, 40 OCD subjects were randomly selected and assigned into four groups (three experimental groups and one control group). Of the mentioned patients, those who scored 16 or above on the Yale-Brown obsessive-compulsive scale were chosen. tDCS was delivered over a period of 5 days at an intensity of 2 mA for 15 minutes twice a day. In the three intervention groups, tDCS was delivered in one of the following electrode montages: (i) anode over the right cerebellum (O2) and cathode over the supplementary motor area (pre-SMA; c3/c4); (ii) anode over O2 and cathode over the left OFC (FP1); or (iii) anode over O2 and cathode over the left cerebellum (O1). The control group received sham stimulation (anode over O2 and cathode over the left FP1). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to evaluate the results.The results showed that two of the tDCS protocols reduced OCD symptoms (P < 0.001). Data also revealed that the effect of the anodal stimulation of the O2 led to better outputs as compared to O1..

A methodological checklist for fMRI drug cue reactivity studies: development and expert consensus.

Cue reactivity is one of the most frequently used paradigms in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of substance use disorders (SUDs). Although there have been promising results elucidating the neurocognitive mechanisms of SUDs and SUD treatments, the interpretability and reproducibility of these studies is limited by incomplete reporting of participants' characteristics, task design, craving assessment, scanning preparation and analysis decisions in fMRI drug cue reactivity (FDCR) experiments. This hampers clinical translation, not least because systematic review and meta-analysis of published work are difficult. This consensus paper and Delphi study aims to outline the important methodological aspects of FDCR research, present structured recommendations for more comprehensive methods reporting and review the FDCR literature to assess the reporting of items that are deemed important. Forty-five FDCR scientists from around the world participated in this study. First, an initial checklist of items deemed important in FDCR studies was developed by several members of the Enhanced NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta-Analyses (ENIGMA) Addiction working group on the basis of a systematic review. Using a modified Delphi consensus method, all experts were asked to comment on, revise or add items to the initial checklist, and then to rate the importance of each item in subsequent rounds. The reporting status of the items in the final checklist was investigated in 108 recently published FDCR studies identified through a systematic review. By the final round, 38 items reached the consensus threshold and were classified under seven major categories: 'Participants' Characteristics', 'General fMRI Information', 'General Task Information', 'Cue Information', 'Craving Assessment Inside Scanner', 'Craving Assessment Outside Scanner' and 'Pre- and Post-Scanning Considerations'. The review of the 108 FDCR papers revealed significant gaps in the reporting of the items considered important by the experts. For instance, whereas items in the 'General fMRI Information' category were reported in 90.5% of the reviewed papers, items in the 'Pre- and Post-Scanning Considerations' category were reported by only 44.7% of reviewed FDCR studies. Considering the notable and sometimes unexpected gaps in the reporting of items deemed to be important by experts in any FDCR study, the protocols could benefit from the adoption of reporting standards. This checklist, a living document to be updated as the field and its methods advance, can help improve experimental design, reporting and the widespread understanding of the FDCR protocols. This checklist can also provide a sample for developing consensus statements for protocols in other areas of task-based fMRI.

Treatment with RehaCom computerized rehabilitation program improves response control, but not attention in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common psychiatric disorder in children. ADHD impairs attention, response control, emotion regulation, and other cognitive functions. On the other hand, RehaCom is a cognitive rehabilitation software that has therapeutic effects on cognitive dysfunctions in many diseases such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, and schizophrenia. The goal of the present study was to investigate the effect of treatment with RehaCom on auditory and visual response control, and auditory and visual attention in children with ADHD. Forty patients were selected. The participants were assigned to control (n = 20) and experimental (n = 20) groups, while only the participants in the experimental group were trained by RehaCom for five weeks (ten 45-min sessions, two sessions per week). At weeks 0 and 5, performance of the participants of experimental group was compared with the participants of control group. The results showed that treatment with RehaCom significantly improved auditory and visual response control in children with ADHD, with no effect on auditory and visual attention. In conclusion, RehaCom may alter brain's structural and functional properties that are related to response control. We suggest that attention deficit in ADHD may be a result of more complicated dysfunctions in the brain, that are not affected by RehaCom.

Psychometric properties of the shortened Farsi version of the Food Cravings Questionnaire-Trait.

BACKGROUND: Food craving contributes to the incidence of weight and food-related disorders. Thus, an accurate measurement of food craving is important for clinical and research purposes. AIMS: We aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the shortened Farsi version of the Food Craving Questionnaire- Trait (FCQ-T-r), an internationally validated tool. METHODS: For this cross-sectional study, data was collected from 153 students of the University of Tehran between February and March 2019 using the Farsi version of FCQ-T-r; Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21); and the Quality of Life questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF). Confirmatory factor analysis using SPSS AMOS (version 21) failed to support the one-factor structure of FCQ-T-r in Farsi, so we conducted an exploratory factor analysis to investigate the factor structure of the questionnaire. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis reflected a 3-factor structure responsible 73.3% of the variance factor 1 "preoccupation with food", factor 2 "lack of control over eating" and factor 3 "emotional eating". Internal consistency of the FCQ-T-r was excellent (McDonald's ω = 0.950). The FCQ-T-r scores were correlated with body mass index, DASS-21, and WHOQOL-BREF values, which supports concurrent validity of the tool. CONCLUSION: The Farsi version of FCQ-T-r is a reliable and valid self-administrated tool to measure food craving traits among Iranian university students. Given the unstable factor structure of the questionnaire in different studies, further research should be conducted explore the factor structure of the tool.

The Effect of Violent and Melodrama Movies on Risky Decision-making and Behavioral Inhibition in Adolescents.

Introduction: Brain functional performance is a collection of outstanding mental processing that provides a framework for achieving goals based on targeted behaviors. Disorders in executive functions make it difficult for a person to perform everyday tasks. One of the phenomena highlighted in various media is the violence that adolescents welcome with the production of violent movies. This study aimed to investigate the effect of violent movies on risky decision-making and behavioral inhibition of adolescents and compare the effects of violence with melodrama movies. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted with a pretest-posttest design with a control group among 60 adolescents (30 girls and 30 boys) living in Tehran City, Iran. They were selected using the available sampling method. For this purpose, neurological tests of Iowa Gambling and go-no go were used. Results: The results showed that violent movies caused a significant increase in risky decision-making (P<0.05). In addition, these types of movies caused a significant decrease in behavioral inhibition among adolescents (P<0.05). Conclusion: Movies with ill-mannered stories and content that glorify violence harm adolescents' decision-making and deterrence, leading them to make risky decisions and weaken their inhibition power.

RehaCom rehabilitation training improves a wide-range of cognitive functions in multiple sclerosis patients.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that impairs cognitive performance. Attention, response control, working memory, and processing speed are highly impaired in MS. On the other hand, RehaCom is a computerized software that improves cognitive dysfunctions. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of RehaCom on attention, response control, processing speed, working memory, visuospatial skills, and verbal/non-verbal executive functions in MS patients. Sixty patients were selected randomly and divided into control (n = 30) and experimental (n = 30) groups. Integrated Auditory Visual-2 (IVA-2), Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT), Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), Judgment of Line Orientation (JLO) and The Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (DKEFS) were used to assess cognitive functions. Patients in the experimental group were treated by RehaCom for 5 weeks (two 60-min sessions per week). Cognitive performance of all patients in both groups was assessed at weeks 5 and 10 (post-test and follow-up stages, respectively). The results showed that RehaCom treatment improved all studied cognitive functions at the post-test stage. This effect also remained at the follow-up stage for some cognitive functions. In conclusion, treatment with RehaCom may have significant therapeutic effects on cognitive dysfunctions in MS patients.

Computer Gaming and Physiological Changes in the Brain: An Insight from QEEG Complexity Analysis.

To compare the pattern of brain waves in video game addicts and normal individuals, a case-control study was carried out on both. Thirty participants were recruited from 14 to 20 years old males from two gaming centers. Twenty healthy participants were gathered from different schools in Tehran using the available sampling method. The QEEG data collection was performed in three states: closed-eye and open-eye states, and during a working memory task. As expected, the power ratios did not show a significant difference between the two groups. Regarding our interest in the complexity of signals, we used the Higuchi algorithm as the feature extractor to provide the input materials for the multilayer perceptron classifier. The results showed that the model had at least a 95% precision rate in classifying the addicts and healthy controls in all three types of tasks. Moreover, significant differences in the Higuchi Fractal Dimension of a few EEG channels have been observed. This study confirms the importance of brain wave complexity in QEEG data analysis and assesses the correlation between EEG-complexity and gaming disorder. Moreover, feature extraction by Higuchi algorithm can render support vector machine classification of the brain waves of addicts and healthy controls more accurate.

How Resiliency and Hope Can Predict Stress of Covid-19 by Mediating Role of Spiritual Well-being Based on Machine Learning.

Nowadays, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are playing a tremendous role in all aspects of human life and they have the remarkable potential to solve many problems that classic sciences are unable to solve appropriately. Neuroscience and especially psychiatry is one of the most important fields that can use the potential of AI and ML. This study aims to develop an ML-based model to detect the relationship between resiliency and hope with the stress of COVID-19 by mediating the role of spiritual well-being. An online survey is conducted to assess the psychological responses of Iranian people during the Covid-19 outbreak in the period between March 15 and May 20, 2020, in Iran. The Iranian public was encouraged to take part in an online survey promoted by Internet ads, e-mails, forums, social networks, and short message service (SMS) programs. As a whole, 755 people participated in this study. Sociodemographic characteristics of the participants, The Resilience Scale, The Adult Hope Scale, Paloutzian & Ellison's Spiritual Wellbeing Scale, and Stress of Covid-19 Scale were used to gather data. The findings showed that spiritual well-being itself cannot predict stress of Covid-19 alone, and in fact, someone who has high spiritual well-being does not necessarily have a small amount of stress, and this variable, along with hope and resiliency, can be a good predictor of stress. Our extensive research indicated that traditional analytical and statistical methods are unable to correctly predict related Covid-19 outbreak factors, especially stress when benchmarked with our proposed ML-based model which can accurately capture the nonlinear relationships between the collected data variables.

Frequency of Candida Species in the Oral Cavity of Narcotics and Stimulants Smokers in Isfahan, Using Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Method.

BACKGROUND: Candida species are a group of coexistent microorganisms in the oral cavity that opportunistically cause disease in vulnerable people, including addicts. This study is aimed at identifying and determining the frequency of Candida species in the oral cavity of the addicts to inform the epidemiological panel and to warn to prevent the resistance of the species. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, sampling was done from the oral cavity of 83 addicts who referred to Addiction Treatment Centers in Isfahan, Iran, using moist sterile swab. The presence of yeast on the direct microscope slides of 58 samples was confirmed. To carry out culture and the primary identification, Sabouraud dextrose agar medium with chloramphenicol as well as HiCrome Candida agar medium was used. Isolates were identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) restriction fragment length polymorphism (using specific primers ITS1-ITS4 and MSP I enzyme) and Duplex PCR test (using specific primers CDU1-CDU2/CAL1-CAL2). RESULTS: Out of 93 Candida isolates which had been isolated from 58 culture-positive samples of the oral cavity, Candida albicans (41.93%) were the most prevalent species, followed by Candida dubliniensis (24.73%), Candida glabrata (21.50%), Candida kefyr (8.60%), Candida tropicalis (2.15%), and Candida parapsilosis (1.07%), respectively. In 33 cases (56.90%), the presence of more than one Candida species was observed. CONCLUSION: Compared to the studies conducted on the oral cavity of healthy controls, smoking certain drugs can have a significant effect on the presence and frequency of Candida species, particularly C. dubliniensis and C. glabrata.