Healthy full-term infants' brain responses to emotionally and linguistically relevant sounds using a multi-feature mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm

We evaluated the feasibility of a multi-feature mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm in studying auditory processing of healthy newborns. The aim was to examine the automatic change-detection and processing of semantic and emotional information in speech in newborns. Brain responses of 202 healthy newborns were recorded with a multi-feature paradigm including a Finnish bi-syllabic pseudo-word/ta-ta/as a standard stimulus, six linguistically relevant deviant stimuli and three emotionally relevant stimuli (happy, sad, angry). Clear responses to emotional sounds were found already at the early latency window 100-200 ms, whereas responses to linguistically relevant minor changes and emotional stimuli at the later latency window 300-500 ms did not reach significance. Moreover, significant interaction between gender and emotional stimuli was found in the early latency window. Further studies on using multi-feature paradigms with linguistic and emotional stimuli in newborns are needed, especially those containing of follow-ups, enabling the assessment of the predictive value of early variations between subjects.Peer reviewe

Is the oral health-related quality of life associated with quality of life among pregnant Finnish families : a cross-sectional study

AbstractObjective: The objectives of this study was to find out if oral health-related quality of life and its dimensions (OHRQoL) are associated with overall quality of life (QoL) among mothers and fathers during pregnancy and whether these two constructs were associated within the family sharing the same living environment.Material and methods: The data (mothers n = 2580, fathers n = 1467) for this cross-sectional data study were collected from the FinnBrain Birth Cohort study during 2011–2015. OHRQoL was measured using a 14-item Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) questionnaire and QoL by using the WHOQoL-Bref questionnaire. Spearman correlation coefficients were used to assess the statistical significance of the associations.Results: OHRQoL was weakly associated at the individual level with the overall QoL (mothers r = 0.21, fathers r = 0.22, p Conclusions: Our findings suggest that overall QoL is a different construct than OHRQoL though slightly overlapping.Abstract Objective: The objectives of this study was to find out if oral health-related quality of life and its dimensions (OHRQoL) are associated with overall quality of life (QoL) among mothers and fathers during pregnancy and whether these two constructs were associated within the family sharing the same living environment. Material and methods: The data (mothers n = 2580, fathers n = 1467) for this cross-sectional data study were collected from the FinnBrain Birth Cohort study during 2011–2015. OHRQoL was measured using a 14-item Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) questionnaire and QoL by using the WHOQoL-Bref questionnaire. Spearman correlation coefficients were used to assess the statistical significance of the associations. Results: OHRQoL was weakly associated at the individual level with the overall QoL (mothers r = 0.21, fathers r = 0.22, p < 0.001), but the correlations within families were low for QoL and OHRQoL. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that overall QoL is a different construct than OHRQoL though slightly overlapping

Oxytocin receptor genotype moderates the association between maternal prenatal stress and infant early self-regulation

Introduction: Maternal prenatal stress may have long-term adverse consequences for child development. Accumulating evidence shows that the oxytocin-receptor genotype may play a role in differential susceptibility to early-life adversity, but no studies have examined whether this moderation extends to the prenatal stress exposures. Methods: In the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, a sample of 1173 mother-child dyads were examined. We studied the possible moderating effect of the cumulative effect of infant oxytocin-receptor risk genotypes (rs53576GG and rs2254298A) in the association between maternal prenatal stress, and infant negative reactivity and emerging self-regulation at 6 months of age. Results: The number of OTr risk genotypes moderated the association between maternal prenatal anxiety and infant self-regulation, implying a cumulative effect of genotype, although effects sizes were small. In infants with two risk genotypes, a negative association between prenatal anxiety and self-regulation was observed, whereas in infants with one or no risk genotypes, the association between maternal prenatal anxiety and temperament was non-significant. Conclusion: Oxytocin-receptor genotype may moderate the association of maternal stress during pregnancy and child social-emotional development. Possible mechanisms for this moderation effect are discussed. Further studies with a more comprehensive polygenic approach are needed to confirm these results.Peer reviewe

När makten blir din kompis - en studie i polisens kommunikation på Facebook

Today, many organizations, both within the private and the public sector, have developed a presence in different social media channels. It is of most importance to perpetually scrutinize entities because of their position of power in the society. This study examines how the Swedish Police use Facebook as a strategic tool to communicate with citizens, but also what the potential advantages and disadvantages could be with building a strong public sector brand. We have carried out a qualitative study, with empirical data gathered through observations and content analysis from three different Facebook pages, and their national social media guidelines. Our theoretical framework is based on theories regarding communications, corporate branding, legitimacy and transparency in the public sector. Our analysis shows that the Swedish Police, intentionally or unintentionally, use strategies from corporate branding, including brand-as-a-person and storytelling. Furthermore, we have found that too much transparency and informal communication can lead to citizens distrusting the Swedish Police’s competence and therefore undermine their legitimacy. Ergo, we stress the importance of well-defined social media strategies for a public sector organization to distinguish the real purpose of their social media presence.Idag har många organisationer, både inom privat och offentlig sektor, etablerat en närvaro på olika sociala medieplattformar. Det är av högsta relevans att granska aktörer i samhället som innehar en stor maktposition. Denna studie undersöker hur den svenska polisen använder Facebook som ett strategiskt verktyg för att kommunicera med medborgare, men också vilka möjligheter och faror som finns kopplade till byggandet av ett starkt varumärke inom offentlig sektor. Vi har genomfört en kvalitativ studie, med insamlat empiriskt material från observationer och innehållsanalyser av tre olika Facebook-sidor, samt polisen nationella handledningsdokument för sociala medier. Det teoretiska ramverket baseras på teorier om kommunikation, varumärkesbyggande, legitimitet och transparens inom offentlig sektor. Vår analys visar att den svenska polisen, medvetet eller omedvetet, använder strategier inom varumärkesbyggande, så som brand-as-aperson och storytelling. Vidare visar analysen att för mycket transparens och informell kommunikation kan leda till att medborgare tappar tron på den svenska polisens kompetens och därigenom undermineras deras legitimitet. Vi vill därför poängtera vikten av väldefinierade sociala mediestrategier för organisationer inom offentlig sektor, för att kunna urskilja deras egentliga syfte med en närvaro i sociala medier

Kön, Diagnos och Mognad - en kvalitativ innehållsanalys av information om transsexualism på hemsidor

This study aims to examine how the concepts of gender, diagnose, maturation and transsexualism are described and socially constructed on websites. To understand how the concepts we prepared to interpret nine sites using Berger and Luckmann's social constructivist perspective, and by Foucault´s theory about power. The theories focus on that we are living within a society which perpetuates normative gender roles. The different owners of the websites presented concepts differ depending on the purpose they had with their information. Summary we saw during our work how complex all the concepts were and how difficult it was to find a unified description of the concepts. Although we live in a society well developed we did find during our work how the gender roles is still solid and it seems like we live in a society hard to understand and accept the grey area between the constructed gender roles man and woman. Our results shows that through the power of language and how we use it we keep the gender roles alive and maintains the society´s way of looking at gender as a specific role

Nuorten depressio : Tietoa nuorten kanssa työskenteleville aikuisille

Liitteenä mielialakysely RBDI(2002, päivitetty 2006