El arte da lugar a la expresión de las representaciones mentales del sujeto, asociadas a sentimientos, situaciones y emociones; sin embargo, desde una mirada científica, abarca una serie de actividades cerebrales que están relacionadas con el acto de crear. Así bien, la pintura, la literatura y la música, entre otras manifestaciones, pueden orientarse como técnicas facilitadoras de rehabilitación y estimulación en personas con daño o afección neurológica. Cabe anotar que el proceso de rehabilitación involucra habilidades visuoperceptivas, visuoconstruccionales y visuoespaciales, memoria a corto y largo plazo, atención sostenida y selectiva, praxias, funciones ejecutivas y otros procesos neuropsicológicos. Además, el arte favorece componentes psicológicos relacionados con el trabajo en grupo y las relaciones interpersonales, por lo que la producción artística se constituye como una actividad eficaz para la rehabilitación integral del funcionamiento cerebral. Finalmente, los inconvenientes en las prácticas de rehabilitación, a través del arte, se relacionan con el desconocimiento de las bases biológicas involucradas en las expresiones artísticas.

The hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis (HPA axis) and the sympathetic–adrenal–medullary system (SAM system), two neuroendocrine systems associated with the stress response, have often been implicated to modulate decision-making in various domains. This systematic review summarizes the scientific evidence on the effects of pharmacological HPA axis and SAM system modulation on decision-making. We found 6375 references, of which 17 studies fulfilled our inclusion criteria. We quantified the risk of bias in our results with respect to missing outcome data, measurements, and selection of the reported results. The included studies administered hydrocortisone, fludrocortisone (HPA axis stimulants), yohimbine, reboxetine (SAM system stimulants), and/or propranolol (SAM system inhibitor). Integrating the evidence, we found that SAM system stimulation had no impact on risk aversion, loss aversion or intertemporal choice, while SAM system inhibition showed a tentative reduction in sensitivity to losses. HPA axis stimulation had no effect on loss aversion or reward anticipation but likely a time-dependent effect on decision under risk. Lastly, combined stimulation of both systems exhibited inconsistent results that could be explained by dose differences (loss aversion) and sex differences (risk aversion). Future research should address time-, dose-, and sex-dependencies of pharmacological effects on decision-making.

This study was aimed at establishing the subcorticals substrates of the cognitive and visceromotor circuits of the A32 and A25 cortices of the medial prefrontal cortex and their projections and interactions with subcortical complexes in the common marmoset monkey (Callithrix jacchus). The study was primarily restricted to the nuclei of the diencephalon and amygdala. The common marmoset is a neotropical primate of the new world, and the absence of telencephalic gyrus favors the mapping of neuronal fibers. The biotinylated dextran amine was employed as an anterograde tracer. There was an evident pattern of rostrocaudal distribution of fibers within the subcortical nuclei, with medial orientation. Considering this distribution, fibers originating from the A25 cortex were found to be more clustered in the diencephalon and amygdala than those originating in the A32 cortex. Most areas of the amygdala received fibers from both cortices. In the diencephalon, all regions received projections from the A32, while the A25 fibers were restricted to the thalamus, hypothalamus, and epithalamus at different densities. Precise deposits of neuronal tracers provided here may significantly contribute to expand our understanding of specific connectivity among the medial prefrontal cortex with limbic regions and diencephalic areas, key elements to the viscerocognitive process.

Temporal discounting is a phenomenon where a reward loses its value as a function of time (e.g., a reward is more valuable immediately than when it delays in time). This is a type of intertemporal decision-making that has an association with impulsivity and self-control. Many pathologies exhibit higher discounting rates, meaning they discount more the values of rewards, such as addictive behaviors, bipolar disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders, social anxiety disorders, and major depressive disorder, among others; thus, many studies look for the mechanism and neuromodulators of these decisions. This systematic review aims to investigate the association between pharmacological administration and changes in temporal discounting. A search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct and Cochrane. We used the PICO strategy: healthy humans (P-Participants) that received a pharmacological administration (I-Intervention) and the absence of a pharmacological administration or placebo (C-Comparison) to analyze the relationship between the pharmacological administration and the temporal discounting (O-outcome). Nineteen studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The most important findings were the involvement of dopamine modulation in a U-shape for choosing the delayed outcome (metoclopradime, haloperidol, and amisulpride). Furthermore, administration of tolcapone and high doses of d-amphetamine produced a preference for the delayed option. There was a time-dependent hydrocortisone effect in the preference for the immediate reward. Thus, it can be concluded that dopamine is a crucial modulator for temporal discounting, especially the D2 receptor, and cortisol also has an important time-dependent role in this type of decision. One of the limitations of this systematic review is the heterogeneity of the drugs used to assess the effect of temporal discounting.

El desarrollo de la investigación propendió establecer la influencia de la condición de nacimiento prematuro en el funcionamiento de los diferentes componentes de la Teoría de la Mente (ToM). Para ello, tomó un enfoque cuantitativo de diseño comparativo-correlacional, mediante una muestra seleccionada por modelo no probabilístico; los sujetos fueron 160 niños, con edades entre los 6 y 10 años, 80 nacidos pretérmino y 80 niños en condición par, nacidos a término. Se elaboró un protocolo compuesto por ocho cuestionarios para medir los diversos componentes de la ToM. Se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre los dos grupos. Los resultados sugieren que la condición de nacimiento prematuro, afecta la comprensión adecuada de manifestaciones sociales, que contengan elementos relacionados con la ironía y la comprensión de los justificantes de la mentira, dificultad en interpretar la presencia de dos o más emociones opuestas en una misma situación y compromete el reconocimiento de emociones faciales complejas, pero no de las emociones básicas. Sin embargo, la cantidad de semanas de gestación no es determinante en estas alteraciones, como sí lo es la condición misma de prematurez.