We investigated pain evoked activity in the human secondary sensory cortex (SII) following clonidine administration in six healthy volunteers using multi-channel magnetoencephalography (MEG). Pain was elicited by electrical shocks applied intracutaneously to the fingertip. Subjects rated pain intensity and perceptions of tiredness and passiveness by numerical ranking scales. Each subject underw...

BACKGROUND Cell phone is a mere fascinating, as well as entertainment object and serves to keep young individuals in constant contact with their peers; and gives them a feeling of autonomy, identity and credibility. OBJECTIVES Considering the increasing trend of using cell phones, the aim of the current study was to assess the extent to which the students of Mazandaran university of medical s...

BACKGROUND In recent years, breast cancer (BC) mortality rates have declined, reflecting advances in early detection. Prevention and management of treatment sequelae that could impair function or quality of life have increased in relevance. Lymphoedema after BC treatment is one of these sequelae. It is caused by an acquired interruption or damage to the axillary lymphatic system and it is chara...

Impression formation is profoundly influenced by facial attractiveness, but the existence of facial cues which affect judgments beyond such an "attractiveness halo" may be underestimated. Because depression and tiredness adversely affect cognitive capacity, we reasoned that facial cues to mood (mouth curvature) and alertness (eyelid-openness) affect impressions of intellectual capacity. Over 4 ...

The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the presence of antipolymer antibody (APA) seropositivity in 285 Italian patients affected by primary fibromyalgia (FM) and to verify whether APA levels correlate with disease severity and with cytokine levels.APA levels were determined on serum samples by an indirect ELISA kit that detects IgG APA. Cytokines (IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and TNFa...

The present study investigated sex-differences in reports of depressive symptoms on a Norwegian translation of the short version of the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ). The sample comprised 9702 Norwegian adolescents (born 1993-1995, 54.9% girls), mainly attending highschool. A set of statistical analyses were run to investigate the dimensionality of the SMFQ. Girls scored significantly ...

BACKGROUND This study was conducted to determine the ability of 2 questionnaires (ie, child and parent versions) to measure physical and psychosocial quality-of-life changes after surgical repair of pectus excavatum. METHODS The authors administered these questionnaires by telephone interviews with 22 parents and 19 children (ages 8 to 18) before surgery and 6 to 12 months after repair by the...

STUDY OBJECTIVE The upper limbs are involved in the activities of daily living (ADLs). Normal subjects usually perform such activities without noticing the energy cost, but patients with COPD report tiredness when performing them. This study was designed to assess the metabolic and ventilatory demands in patients with COPD during the performance of four ADLs involving the upper limbs. DESIGN ...

Medically unexplained symptoms such as headache, tiredness and stomach problems are common amongst children and research highlights the potential importance of the family environment in their development and maintenance. The present qualitative study aimed to explore how mothers make sense and manage their child's unexplained recurrent somatic symptoms. Mothers (n = 13) with children with heada...

We propose that the critical function of sleep [3] is to prevent uncontrolled neuronal feedback while allowing rapid responses and prolonged retention of short-term memories. The goal of learning is optimal behavior, and this sometimes requires the integration of sensory stimuli that are widely separated in time. At a neuronal level, this corresponds to persistent activity in local networks. Un...