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The COVID-19 pandemic has changed individuals' lifestyles to a great extent, particularly in Italy. Although many concerns about it have been highlighted, its impact on children and adolescents has scarcely been examined. The purpose of this study was to explore behavioral consequences and coping strategies related to the pandemic among families in Italy, by focusing on developmental ages from the caregivers' perspective, 3 weeks into quarantine. An exploratory cross-sectional online survey was conducted over 14 days. Google Forms was employed to conduct the survey. Demographic variables and pre-existing Psychological Weaknesses (PsW) were asked. Adults' sleep difficulties (SleepScore) and coping strategies during quarantine were assessed. Behavioral changes related to quarantine of both subjects completing the form (COVIDStress) and their children (when present) were questioned. Of the 6,871 respondents, we selected 6,800 valid questionnaires; 3,245 declared children aged under 18 years of age (caregivers). PsWs were recognizable in 64.9% among non-caregivers and in 61.5% of caregivers, with a mean PsW score of 1.42 ± 1.26 and 1.30 ± 1.25 over 3 points, respectively. The 95.5% of the non-caregivers and the 96.5% of caregivers presented behavioral changes with a mean COVIDStress of 3.85 ± 1.82 and 4.09 ± 1.79 over 8, respectively (p

The aim of this study was to develop and validate a questionnaire designed to measure the impact of sleep impairment on emotional distress in patients with various sleep disorders.Five experts created an item data-bank pertaining to sleep-related psychological symptoms and somatic perceptions. Fifty patients in two focus groups examined each item for: a) word clarity (indicating any ambiguity of interpretation) and b) appropriateness for the target population. This process permitted to identify 36 appropriate items. Classical Test Theory and Rasch Analysis were used to further refine the questionnaire, yielding the final 17-item set. Concurrent validation of the new scale was tested with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and the Anxiety and Depression questionnaires.Starting from the initial item data-bank, a 17-item questionnaire, the Maugeri Sleep Quality and Distress Inventory (MaSQuDI-17), was produced. Parallel Analysis on the MaSQuDI-17 confirmed the presence of a single dimension; exploratory factor analysis showed salient loading for each item, explaining 58.7% of total variance. Item-remainder correlation ranged from 0.72 to 0.39 and Cronbach alpha was 0.896. Rasch analysis revealed satisfactory psychometric properties of the new scale: the rating structure performed according to expectations, model fit was good and no item dependencies emerged. The scale presented good convergent validity and scores significantly distinguished healthy subjects from OSAS or Insomnia or BSD (p < 0.001).MaSQuDI -17 shows good psychometric qualities, and can be used to assess the impact of sleep disorders such as Insomnia, OSAS, Central Hypersomnia and BSD on emotional stress.

In this paper a didactical method that has been proven effective for evaluating the “resistance to the treatment” of the student is presented. This parameter is essential for distinguishing the learning difficulties in mathematics from the learning disorder of dyscalculia. The method is based on GimmeFive, an application that has been designed to develop skills in mental calculation of multi-digit additions and subtractions. In this paper we present the results of two experiments conducted with groups of students respectively with learning difficulties in mathematics and dyscalculia. These experiments allowed to show the effectiveness of the didactical method in the evaluation of the resistance to the treatment and to discuss the features that make it adequate for the evaluation of the learning disorder. An educational method for evaluating the resistance to the treatment in the diagnosis of dyscalculia In questo lavoro viene presentato un metodo didattico che si è dimostrato efficace per valutare la resistenza al trattamento dello studente che è uno dei parametri fondamentali per distinguere la difficoltà di apprendimento in matematica dal disturbo di apprendimento noto come discalculia. Il metodo si basa sull’uso dell’applicazione GimmeFive che è stata progettata per sviluppare competenze nel calcolo mentale di addizioni e sottrazioni a più cifre. In questo lavoro vengono presentati risultati di due sperimentazioni condotte con gruppi di studenti rispettivamente con difficoltà di apprendimento e con diagnosi di discalculia. Queste sperimentazioni hanno consentito di mostrare l’efficacia del metodo didattico nella valutazione della resistenza al trattamento e di discutere le caratteristiche che lo rendono adeguato per la valutazione del disturbo di apprendimento.

BACKGROUND: There is compelling evidence indicating that sleep plays a crucial role in the consolidation of new declarative, hippocampus-dependent memories. Given the increasing interest in the spatiotemporal relationships between cortical and hippocampal activity during sleep, this study aimed to shed more light on the basic features of human sleep in the hippocampus. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We recorded intracerebral stereo-EEG directly from the hippocampus and neocortical sites in five epileptic patients undergoing presurgical evaluations. The time course of classical EEG frequency bands during the first three NREM-REM sleep cycles of the night was evaluated. We found that delta power shows, also in the hippocampus, the progressive decrease across sleep cycles, indicating that a form of homeostatic regulation of delta activity is present also in this subcortical structure. Hippocampal sleep was also characterized by: i) a lower relative power in the slow oscillation range during NREM sleep compared to the scalp EEG; ii) a flattening of the time course of the very low frequencies (up to 1 Hz) across sleep cycles, with relatively high levels of power even during REM sleep; iii) a decrease of power in the beta band during REM sleep, at odds with the typical increase of power in the cortical recordings. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our data imply that cortical slow oscillation is attenuated in the hippocampal structures during NREM sleep. The most peculiar feature of hippocampal sleep is the increased synchronization of the EEG rhythms during REM periods. This state of resonance may have a supportive role for the processing/consolidation of memory.