Level Of Mental Activity Research Articles

The influence of situational factors on changes in mental state, depending on the level of development of reflection (using the example of students’ educational activities)

When considering the determinants of mental state, the most relevant research appears to be the study of the “situation — mental state” relationship, since this relationship opens up opportunities for understanding the underlying mechanisms of determination and regulation of mental states in situations of life. In this context, the consideration of the category of situation as an element in the structure of mental phenomena remains poorly studied. At the same time, the success of student learning depends on a well-structured educational situation, as a structural unit of educational activity, which includes: diverse factors, mental states of students, their characterological characteristics, etc. Studying the role of the influence of situational factors on the mental states of students in the learning process, it is noted that in different educational situations, factors influencing the mental state are given indirect significance. Based on this, the purpose of this article was to consider the influence of situational factors on changes in state, depending on the level of development of reflection, using the example of students’ educational activities. The empirical study was conducted in two real learning situations (lecture and exam), where the lesson was interrupted and respondents were asked to answer Вестник СПбГУ. Психология. 2024. Т. 14. Вып. 3 559 methodological questions. 130 respondents took part in the study: 98 girls and 32 boys. All students are 1st and 2nd year psychologists whose average age was 21 years. Research methods included logical-theoretical analysis of scientific literature, a testing method and, at the stage of processing the results, methods of mathematical statistics. It was revealed that in a lecture situation states of low levels of mental activity are experienced; in an exam situation — highlevel states. It has been established that in a lecture situation, the following factors influence the change in the mental state of low-reflective and highly reflective respondents: “Social interaction”, “Action and behavior”. In an exam situation respondents with a high level of reflection are influenced by the “Bodily manifestations” factor.

The Development of Moral Values of School Children with Visual Impairments Folk Music

The relevance of the presented paper is conditioned upon the fact that today, the subject of the development of moral values in children with visual impairment through musical motifs of folklore is a very understudied issue. However, based on the statistics of the World Health Organisation for 2021, about 2.2 billion people worldwide have visual impairments. The purpose of this paper is to study the features of the psychological and pedagogical characteristics of children with visual impairments, their moral development, and the development of ways of spiritual and moral education through folk music. To achieve this purpose, the following methods were used: analysis, synthesis, comparison, induction, statistical analysis, and deduction. In particular, the method of statistical analysis of sources of American, Kazakh, and Russian researchers within the boundaries of the subject was used. The practical basis was the statistical data of the WHO company for 2021. The result of the study was a complete analysis of the statistics of children with visual impairment in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The study’s main conclusion is that modern methods of teaching children with visual impairment are based on the musical accompaniment of educational activities since the musical form allows the development of moral values. Visually impaired students are characterised by insufficient development of the visual-imaginative level of mental activity, which determines the uniqueness of specific conceptual thinking due to visual perception disorders and limited visual experience. The alienation of a child with visual impairments from others entails secrecy and lack of communication, which can be expressed in a large volume of complexes in the future. The applied value of this paper lies in the development of recommendations for improving the system of pedagogical education of children with visual impairment through folklore-applied developmental classes.

DETERMINING THE KNOWLEDGE LEVEL OF PUPILS IN THE INFORMATION SYSTEM OF "SMART SCHOOL"

At a time when current information technologies are rapidly developing, the effectiveness of the quality of education in secondary schools, the transparency of the teacher evaluation system and the analysis of several other indicators with the help of artificial intelligence are the urgent issues of the day. In this method of analysis, initially the value is entered by school experts. This value consists of a pupil in a certain category among pupils and his grades. The term category refers to various criteria, such as pupils with different levels of mental activity, pupils who are learning poorly, who are missing a lot of lessons, and the level of learning is high or low within the specified subjects or topics. The "Smart School" information system forms arrays consisting of the number of grades and grades of pupils according to the criteria entered by experts, and has the ability to sort the values that are similar to the entered value. The solution to the problem posed in this article is explained mathematically and practically. Based on the proposed mathematical models, the business process was modeled, a business process software product was developed, and statistical data was obtained.

Застосування тест-тренажерів для контролю психофізіологічного стану юних спортсменів

The purpose of the study was to find out the effectiveness of using computer tests simulators, in particular the "MY_TIMER" program, to assess the functional state of students before and after training and to choose the optimal load in the training process. Materials and methods. The methods which were used in the study were theoretical analysis and generalization of scientific theoretical literature, computer test simulators, the "MY_TIMER" program, which was designed to assess a person's condition based on the analysis of his/her subjective perception of different periods of time. Standard test procedure: 1) Install time interval of 10 seconds on the scale. 2) Instructions to the subject: "After the start of the stopwatch, press the left mouse button 12 times every 10 seconds". 3) The subject, looking at the stopwatch, fixes 12 times by pressing buttons for a time interval of 10 seconds (we get objective indicators). 4) Then close the eyes and perform the same task without visual control (we get subjective indicators). 5) Comparison of results shows a subjective shift of subjective assessment of a time interval of 10 seconds. 14 participators of the experiment are 12-14-year-old students of Slavutych secondary school, who regularly attend swimming training in the pool. Statistical processing of data was carried out using Microsoft Excel. Results and discussion. Analysis of the obtained results before objective and subjective training of perception of different periods of time showed an increased level of mental activity, that is, the state of excitement of young athletes, their optimal readiness for surgery activity. After the training, there are only qualitatively unreliable changes in the results of schoolchildren. Negative average result (subjective shift of subjective assessment) is an indicator that it will be possible to increase the load of swimmers on the next training. Out of 14 subjects, only one had a positive subjective test result (just over one second). Increasing the subjective assessment of the interval time longer than 3 seconds is usually accompanied by a decrease in the level of mental activity due to fatigue, decreased concentration of attention, drowsiness – that is, it characterizes a state of apathy, emotional "burnout". Therefore, for this student, physical and emotional load was quite significant. In other students, in whom psychophysiological indicators were determined, unspent resources after training were remained. Conclusion. Use of computer test simulators, in particular the program "MY_TIMER" is relevant and promising, it gives an opportunity to determine readiness of schoolchildren to perform physical exercise and psychophysiological control states of young athletes after training. The obtained negative average result (subjective shift of subjective assessment) after training by young swimmers is an indicator for increasing the physical load in the next training session. Computer test simulators with other programs for determination psychophysiological indicators must be used for correcting construction training and determining the individual workload for every athlete

Auditory cognitive aging in amateur singers and non-singers

The notion that lifestyle factors, such as music-making activities, can affect cognitive functioning and reduce cognitive decline in aging is often referred to as the mental exercise hypothesis. One ubiquitous musical activity is choir singing. Like other musical activities, singing is hypothesized to impact cognitive and especially executive functions. Despite the commonness of choir singing, little is known about the extent to which singing can affect cognition in adulthood. In this cross-sectional group study, we examined the relationship between age and four auditory executive functions to test hypotheses about the relationship between the level of mental activity and cognitive functioning. We also examined pitch discrimination capabilities. A non-probabilistic sample of 147 cognitively healthy adults was recruited, which included 75 non-singers (mean age 52.5 ± 20.3; 20–98 years) and 72 singers (mean age 55.5 ± 19.2; 21–87 years). Tests of selective attention, processing speed, inhibitory control, and working memory were administered to all participants. Our main hypothesis was that executive functions and age would be negatively correlated, and that this relationship would be stronger in non-singers than singers, consistent with the differential preservation hypothesis. The alternative hypothesis - preserved differentiation – predicts that the difference between singers and non-singers in executive functions is unaffected by age. Our results reveal a detrimental effect of age on processing speed, selective attention, inhibitory control and working memory. The effect of singing was comparatively more limited, being positively associated only with frequency discrimination, processing speed, and, to some extent, inhibitory control. Evidence of differential preservation was limited to processing speed. We also found a circumscribed positive impact of age of onset and a negative impact of singing experience on cognitive functioning in singers. Together, these findings were interpreted as reflecting an age-related decline in executive function in cognitively healthy adults, with specific and limited positive impacts of singing, consistent with the preserved differentiation hypothesis, but not with the differential preservation hypothesis.

Analytical review of methods for automatic detection of user engagement in virtual communication

Introduction: The solution of the task of the recognition and assessment of user engagement in the acts of human-machine interaction or telecommunication, achieved through the use of automatic means, is highly important in computer recognition of human psycho-emotional states. This is necessary for e-learning, business and entertainment applications design. Purpose: To conduct a comparative analysis of the current information support in the field of automatic recognition and assessment of user involvement in human-machine interaction or virtual communication, as well as to establish a methodology for building a data body based on the idea of multimodal communication. Results: The conducted analysis of research papers has shown that in most existing databases there is a substantial lack of data for natural online communication. Moreover, not all databases contain different modalities in “human-machine-human” communication system. Text and audio modalities turn out to be important for a multilevel engagement classification task, aimed at the determination of engagement intensity. It is also promising to take into account “body language” features, such as facial expressions, movements of the body and the head, gestures. For the correct assessment of involvement, an engagement database must contain meta-data on the psycho-emotional states of communicants. Neural network-based approaches to the automatic detection of user engagement show the best performance. Practical relevance: Based on the obtained analytical conclusions, the authors of the paper are going to elaborate an original software system for automatic recognition of user engagement, and to collect a data set for machine learning purposes. The presented review formulates basic requirements for such systems and contributes to the solution of the problem of automatic recognition of psycho-emotional states. Discussion: The survey leads to the conclusion that the notion of engagement as understood in studies on automatic emotion recognition differs from that used in psychology. User (or communicant) engagement in terms of info- and communicative sphere implies the manifestation of a person's mental activity level (emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components) changing dynamically while interacting with another person or computer system.

INTERRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FIXED AND SITUATIONAL MENTAL ENTITIES

According to our assumption, D. Uznadze’s situational set is a mental entity, similarly to attitude, person- ality trait and fixed set. Situational set is the basis of the formation of fixed set and vice versa (i.e. it can be a further differentiation stage of fixed set, its product). Fixed dispositions are realized in behavior through situational set. For this purpose, situational set orga- nizes the structural components of the fixed disposition and unites them with the actual givenness of a specific moment. In addition, successful behavioral realization ensured by situational set improves the characteristics of dispositional set (ნადირაშვილი, 1985) and increases the effectiveness of adaptation achieved through its participation.At the high levels of mental activity, behavior is regulated with the involvement of conscious resources.  The article focuses on conscious regulation, which, for the purpose of analysis, is distinguished from the unconscious regulation ensured by underlying set. The above resources take part in the internalization of  social values and their use for the formation of individual/personal sets.The proposed approach confirms a) an organic relationship between different forms and types of set; b)  the possibility of their synergic relationship and mutual transformation; c) the existence of different, but  mutually supplementary sources (including the sources of socio-cultural origin, e.g. common values) en- dowing activity with the needed energy; d) the possibility and necessity of the inclusion of D. Uznadze’s  situational set in the international theoretical and methodological context related to ‘dispositional’ con- structs.Our approach is also productive for the further elaboration of the relationship between the constituents of  legal culture (e.g. legal awareness) and normative behavior when their unity is based on two, interrelated  forms of set – fixed and non-fixed disposition, i.e. ‘dispositional’ and situational sets.&nbsp

Methods of theaching geography in profile 10th grades

Introduction. The study of geography in modern conditions is very important for the development of youth and the nation as a whole. There is a growing need in the society to study geographical science at a level higher than the standard one. At present, there is an opportunity to study geography in senior classes in depth at the profile level. The purpose of this article is to highlight the methods of teaching geography for students of specialized 10th grade. Main material. The authors consider the method of teaching profile level geography for 10th grade students. The article analyzes curriculum, the main tasks and nature of geography study, singles out directions of practical activity in different kinds of work, as well as the teacher’s work in different employment conditions. Practical activities for the 10th grades of the profile level have a fairly large workload in hours, so most work should be done independently to demonstrate the results and knowledge to the teacher and the class. During the study, the authors made a list of requirements for the study of geography, including approaches, types, technologies, methods of teaching students. The article analyzes practical works on the course of profile geography in the 10th grade and the main forms of conducting lessons during the study. Conclusions. The curriculum in geography is aimed at developing students in various fields. Teachers need to adapt quickly to the latest conditions in teaching geography and help students learn about the world. The curriculum of the profile level for the 10th grade contains a rather large workload for geography teachers and students, so it is aimed at effective study of the course and a large amount of work done. The basic requirements for the study of geography, levels of mental activity, types of learning and different methods of cognitive activity in teaching geography were analyzed in the course of study. During the analysis of two practical works, the authors have singled out basic knowledge and skills that students consolidate and develop during the task. Each student develops research skills and the ability to achieve the expected result while completing the task.

Influence of Task-evoked Mental Workloads on Oculo-motor indices and their connections

The frequency of microsaccades is often used as a measurement of eye movement in order to estimate the level of effort required, because some indices of oculo-motors suggest the level of mental activity. In an experiment involving several task-manipulation levels, ocular information including micros

Achieving the maximum synergistic effect in production

Practical activities aimed at improving the efficiency of production often determine the theoretical developments in this area. In this practical activity, it is always possible to discover hidden patterns that can be of great importance for the completion of the relevant theoretical provisions. The article attempts to comprehend some aspects of practical human activity in the direction of increasing the efficiency of production in order to use them to build a synergistic effect management apparatus. Due to the novelty of the issue and the wide range of different approaches, it is necessary to limit ourselves only to a conceptual consideration in order to gain an opportunity to get into the field of practical use in production activities on this basis. The authors propose the concept of achieving the maximum synergistic effect in production on the basis of a new organizational form of cooperative activity, which allows purposefully obtaining an emergent, super-effective result. In order to develop and justify the concept of achieving the maximum synergistic effect in production, a multi-level analysis was carried out at the level of mental activity to develop ways to obtain a synergistic effect, at the level of distinctive features of global innovations in production, and at the level of compatibility of actions to obtain a synergistic effect. Taking into account the synonymy of the concepts of «synergy» and «cooperation», the conclusion about the dominant role of cooperation in obtaining an emergent synergistic property in man-made activities is made. It is shown that the emergent property is most evident in the new organizational form, which is the ergodynamic cooperative (EDC). Borrowing certain features of the analyzed global innovations in the formation of the EDC, the authors suggest that the EDC can claim to be an independent global innovation.

ФАКТОРЫ ВОСПИТАНИЯ ЛИЧНОГО СОСТАВА ПОДРАЗДЕЛЕНИЙ РОСГВАРДИИ

At present, the education of personnel of the Federal National Guard Troops Service in line with their professional activities plays an important role in maintaining the high combat readiness of the troops of the Russian Guard, as well as in successful completing service and combat missions for their intended purpose at a stated time. The paper studies the factors influencing the formation and development of professional attributes of personnel of the Federal National Guard Troops Service within the service and fighting activity. Based on the analysis of scientific literature, the author specifies three groups of factors influencing the training of servicemen and the staff of the Federal National Guard Troops Service: service-professional, environmental, and personal. The service-professional factors involve military (professional) training activities, performance of duties of combat service (on military duty), moral and psychological support, and other areas of service and combat activities. The environmental factors include the information environment, military personnel, family, friends, acquaintances, military rituals, wearing military uniforms, and military symbols. Personal factors reflect the intrapersonal level of mental activity of servicemen (employees) and imply motivation for self-improvement, the own activity of a person, and professional reflection. The author studied the opinions of officers regarding the importance of specified factors. The result showed the importance of all three groups of factors influencing the training of the RF National Guard personnel. According to the obtained data, the author concludes on the necessity to optimize the training process of the Russian Guard personnel by covering all areas of military professional activity.

The Influence of Mental, Physical, and Social Activity on Episodic Memory of Americans Aged 50 and Older

The aim of this study was to describe the relationship between mental, physical, and social activity and episodic memory (EM) and further examine whether the relationship between these activities and EM is moderated by each activity type and demographics such as gender, marital status, and race. Participants were 3,903 cognitively intact persons who completed the 2016 Health and Retirement Study core interview and the 2015 Consumptions and Activities Mail Survey. Preliminary results showed no significant relationship between EM and mental, physical, and social activity. Mental activity significantly moderated the relationship between physical activity and EM, revealing a positive association between physical activity and EM for participants reporting low mental activity levels and a negative but non-significant association for participants with high mental activity scores. Although women demonstrated higher EM scores than men, there was a negative association between mental activity and EM for women. A significant reduction of EM performance was observed in participants who were divorced and widowed, compared to participants who were married. There was a positive relationship between physical activity and EM only for participants who were widowed. Furthermore, race significantly related to EM: African Americans had lower EM scores than Whites/Caucasians, but no significant association was found for the other race groups. Effect sizes were small throughout the analyses. Results emphasize the underlying relationship between different activity types and demographics in terms of EM performance. Further investigation is needed to explore changes over time in this relationship for persons who are cognitively intact or impaired.

ANALYSIS OF THE FACTORS OF INTENSIFICATION OF LABOR ACTIVITY OF SCIENTIFIC AND PEDAGOGICAL PERSONNEL OF HIGHER EDUCATION

In the conditions of development of the domestic market of educational services an important task of university leaders is to study the factors of motivation of the activity of scientific and pedagogical staff. Therefore, the purpose of the article was to analyse the factors that influence the work processes of operators of the market of educational services, and to study the motivational components of the effectiveness of scientific and pedagogical composition of higher education institutions. Structural and functional analysis was used; survey and observation methods; factor analysis; time studies; economic modelling, statistical methods and correlation analysis. Personnel vision of the motivational aspects of the activity is crucial, because it is education workers who directly carry out their work in higher education, who are best aware of the latent elements of departments and other structural units. Therefore, according to the results of the questionnaire developed by the author and the discovery of «Statistica» statistical analysis package, the factors that most stimulate work efficiency were worked out: 1) the nature of the works that make up the content of the work; 2) staff qualification and ability to use professional competencies in the work process; 3) the level of ownership and use of computer equipment by specific employees; 4) work experience of employees; 5) individual work intensity; 6) the level of mental activity of the staff. The method of estimation of degree of influence of factors of intensification of work activity of scientific and pedagogical workers is offered. It has been proved that the number of times of personnel training is not a factor in influencing the efficiency of their work. While the qualifications and quality of the work performed are significant parameters. There is a close inverse relationship between the duration of professional functions and the level of mental activity. According to the results of the research it is possible to improve the system of motivation of scientific and pedagogical workers. Keywords: institutions of higher education, scientific and pedagogical staff, factors of work efficiency, motivational elements.

P128 Temporal dynamics between activities and fatigue dimensions in knee osteoarthritis: an exploratory within day study

Abstract Background Fatigue is believed to include both physical and mental components, suggesting there may be fatigue dimensions. Evidence suggests that physical activity (PA) and mental activity (MA) play a role on fatigue in those with knee osteoarthritis (OA); however, it is unclear how the patterns of physical and mental activity relate to fatigue and its dimensions, particularly in knee OA population. Therefore, the study aims were (1) to estimate the within day contribution of physical fatigue (PF) and mental fatigue (MF) to general fatigue (GF) and (2) to explore within day dynamic and temporal associations between PA categories, MA intensity and fatigue dimensions (PF, MF, & GF) using an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and time series approach in individuals with doctor-diagnosed knee OA. Methods Twenty-three participants with self-reported doctor-diagnosed knee OA were included in this EMA study. Participants self-reported GF, PF, MF and MA intensity three times daily at designated periods for seven days using a 0-10 visual analogue scale. Concurrently, PA (step counts, standing time, light intensity physical activity [LIPA] time, LIPA+standing time and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity [MVPA] time) was measured using an activPAL accelerometer for one week. Compositional data analysis was used to estimate the contribution of within day PF and MF to GF and cross-correlation analyses to estimate within day association of PA categories, MA intensity and fatigue dimensions (PF, MF, & GF). The absolute value of cross correlation was considered significant if it fell within the 95% confidence interval of the mean. Results Compositional analysis revealed that PF contributed more than MF to GF within day. However, the contribution of MF to GF rose within day while PF’s contribution stayed stable. Cross-correlation analyses showed that previous GF negatively predicted future step count (r= -0.62; CI[-0.99, -0.25]), LIPA time (r= -0.62; CI[-0.99, -0.25]), LIPA + standing time (r= -0.43; CI[-0.85, -0.01]) within day. MA and GF had a bidirectional association, with MA positively predicting GF and GF negatively predicting MA intensity. A concurrent positive association was noted for MA and MF (r = 0.34; CI[0.01, 0.67]) and MF negatively predicted MA (r= -0.43; CI[-0.85, -0.01]). Conclusion These findings suggest higher contribution of PF to GF within day while noting the potential persistence of MF within day. Further, the within day cross-correlation support a potential reduction in GF may increase within day PA; but did not confirm a possible beneficial effect of within day increase in PA on fatigue types. GF and MF may be important components that influence MA intensity within day. Decreasing or treating MF may have positive impact on increasing MA intensity within day. It may be necessary to consider effective (daily) GF and MF treatment to increase PA and MA levels in knee OA. Disclosures H.O. Fawole None. J.L. Riskowski None. A. Dell'Isola None. M. Steultjens None. S.F.M. Chastin None.

Intellectual games concept review in THE XIX – XXI century (Google book Ngram Corpus scientific materials base)

In the context of the development of information technology in the world, modern scientists have noted in children, youth and adults the processes of creative and intellectual degradation, the growth of functional illiteracy. In the 20th century, the value of general intelligence for each new generation was one more statistical “norm” than the previous one. Scientists have discovered that the activity of a man of the 21st century in his free time becomes more significant for the development of his intellect and creativity (gaining a state of "flow") than activity during working hours. The intellectual load during leisure time allows a person to maintain a high level of mental activity until the end of his life, to prevent brain degradation. In the scientific community, from the mid-19th century, the verbal definition of the term “intellectual games” is enclosed in different types of games. Drawing analogies between the concepts of “Quiz” and “intellectual games”, the authors of the article determine that they are the product of two opposites: mass, entertainment culture and intellectual culture, which is characteristic of a rational person, capable of endless development. The authors described a modern tool for working in the database of scientific materials Google Book Ngram Corpus. This database contains also materials concerning architecture, construction, machine-buliding fields of research. With its help, connotations of intellectual games in the history of their development were considered.

Система Я в субъективном (ментальном) опыте переживания неравновесных психических состояний

In the article the features of the interrelationship between the self-system and the subjective (mental) experience of unbalanced states are considered. Correlations between the self-system’s characteristics and affective, cognitive, physiological and behavioral indicators of the perceptual, semantic, conceptual layers of the subjective experience of mental states are established. The connections are most pronounced for the states with extreme level of mental activity: excitement, rage, fatigue and loneliness. Indicators of the attitudes to oneself and to the world are more closely related to the perceptual and semantic layers of subjective (mental) experience.

Factors determining high efficiency of cyber athletes’ preparation for competitions

The conducted research identified factors that determine the high efficiency of cyber athletes’ preparation for competitions. The key factors that determine the high efficiency of cyber athletes’ preparation for competitions reported by the respondents included the availability of a scientifically justified training and preparation program for the cyber athletes, as well as psychological tools and methods to relieve high-level tension during the competition. The respondents also paid attention to such factors as monitoring the expenditure of functional reserves of the body during competitive activities, as well as recovery activities after the competitions, taking into account the individual features of the cyber athlete’s body. Important factors also include objective assessment of the dynamics of the mental activity level during the training process, as well as the implementation of measures to combat adverse factors that affect cyber athletes in the course of their preparation for competitive activities. An analysis of the performance of athletes at various competitions in the period from 2016 to 2018 was conducted. The survey involved 73 respondents, including athletes and coaches.

Frontal Lobe Functions in Normal Aging: Metacognition, Autonomy, and Quality of Life

ABSTRACTBackground: Starting from the “frontal lobe hypothesis of cognitive aging”, we aim to study the metacognitive functions (deception, reciprocity, cognitive and affective theory of mind), autonomy and quality of life in normal aging.Methods: Eighty healthy subjects (30 young adults [YA] aged 20–40, 30 old adults [OA] aged 65–79 and 20 very old adults [VOA] aged 80 and over) participated in our study. Standard and novel neuropsychological tasks have been used, assessing abilities to understand others’ mental and affective states, deceptive and cooperative situations.Results: OA and VOA’s performances are significantly poorer than those of YA on first-/second-order false beliefs, deception, reciprocity and emotion recognition tasks. VOA have made more errors than other participants on control false beliefs, general cognition, and memory tasks. Normal aging seems also to be characterized by a reduction in processing speed. The level of instrumental activities of daily living decreases with aging. Theory of mind is associated with individual general cognitive state and executive functions, but not with OA and VOA’s levels of autonomy and quality of life.Conclusion: In this study, we have shown an age-related deterioration of metacognitive functions, which does not seem to be associated with old adults’ autonomy and satisfaction of life. A good level of mental activity could be necessary to maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships.

Mental activity in preschool children with severe craniocerebral trauma

Currently, pedagogical assistance to children with severe craniocerebral trauma (TCMT) is an actual problem not only in healthcare, but also in special needs education. The aim of this research was to identify leading factors in the structure of mental activity in children with severe craniocerebral trauma (TCMT). The experiment involved 65 preschool children as participants (28 of them girls and 37 boys). The following research methods were used: observation of a child, psychological and pedagogical examination. According to clinical rates, all participating children had a combined type of severe craniocerebral injury. The majority of children were in a vegetative state. A scientific examination of the children was carried out over one year in the period of the early stages of hospital rehabilitation. The results showed a disharmonious distribution of the factors load in the structure of mental activity, depending on the severity of its manifestations in the early stages of rehabilitation. Despite a similar diagnosis of TCMT in terms of clinical parameters, three groups of factors were distinguished: the first factor encompasses characteristics that reflect the emotional-sensory level of mental activity; the second factor combines elementary arbitrary movements and actions, combined with involuntary manifestations, which may indicate difficulties in understanding the meaning of the speech addressed to the child; the third factor is saturated with the characteristics of arbitrary actions associated with the perception and purposefulness of movements and actions. This is supported by socially important forms of behavior of the child and an accessible way of communicating with the adult in a particular subject game or everyday situation. Although similar looking severe consequences of craniocerebral trauma are being demonstrated, the mental activity in patients in the study group had different manifestations depending on the prevailing factors. It was possible to differentiate the content of the educational training of patients in a variety of hospital rehabilitation activities.

The Relationship Between Personality and Neurocognition Among the American Elderly: An Epidemiologic Study.

Background:Although different personality traits have often been associated with different levels of mental activity and cognitive functioning, no previous studies have evaluated the association in a sample that mirrors a nationally-representative sample of elderly individuals.Objective:To evaluate the association between personality traits and neurocognitive functioning among individuals 51 years and older using the Cognition and Aging in the USA (CogUSA) database.Methods:We analyzed the association between personality traits and neurocognitive scores derived from Waves I and II of the study. Neurocognitive functions were modeled as an outcome variable using the Big Five Personality Traits as predictors.Results:All personality traits were associated with higher education except Conscientiousness. Older age was associated with higher levels of the Agreeableness and Openness traits. Extraversion, Conscientiousness and Openness were positively associated with increased neurocognitive function and self-rated present memory. Extraversion and Openness also had a positive association with long-term retrieval. Agreeableness was negatively associated with several neurocognitive functions, while Neuroticism was negatively associated with memory and cognitive effort.Conclusion:Extraversion, Conscientiousness and Openness personality traits are associated with good cognitive health. Individuals scoring high in Neuroticism and Agreeableness might benefit from tailored cognitive interventions to prevent age-related cognitive decline.