1.Systematic Review of the Utility of Functional MRI to Investigate Internet Addiction Disorder: Recent Updates on Resting State and Task-Based fMRI
Hamed SHARIFAT ; Aida Abdul RASHID ; Subapriya SUPPIAH
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2018;14(1):21-33
Introduction: Internet addiction disorder (IAD) particularly the internet gaming disorder (IGD) is recognized as a type of addiction similar to substance abuse. This addiction carries similar social impact as the latter, as it can cause serious impairment of interpersonal relationship, and even deterioration of academic or occupational performances. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is able to act as a non-invasive objective biomarker to detect functional neuronal connectivity in areas of the brain affected by IAD by utilizing blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) imaging. Methods: A systematic review was conducted from original articles published from January 2014 to January 2017 that had the keywords “internet addiction” and fMRI. Results: Initial data collection had 170 articles, however after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, there were 34 articles in the final analysis (17 resting-state fMRI studies and 18 task-based fMRI studies). The striatal nucleus and dopaminergic system demonstrated impaired functioning in subjects with IAD. Conclusion: Task-based and resting-state fMRI are able to detect areas of the brain that are activated in subjects with internet addiction, similar to those observed in subjects with substance abuse and other addictions. This review also introduces a newly arising subtype which is smartphone addiction disorder.
2.The objective assessment of the effects on cognition functioning among military personnel exposed to hypobaric-hypoxia: A pilot fMRI study
Nisha Syed Nasser ; Fathinul Fikri Ahmad Saad ; Aida Abdul Rashid ; Salasiah Mustafa ; Hamed Sharifat ; Rohit Tyagi ; Amei Farina Abd Rashid ; Loh Jia Ling ; Mazlyfarina Mohamad ; Subapriya Suppiah
The Medical Journal of Malaysia 2020;75(1):62-67
Objective: To identify regions of the brain affected during
cognitive working memory during tasks to assess attention,
planning and decision making among military aviation
personnel who have chronic intermittent exposure to high
altitude environment.
Method: A case-control study was conducted in the
Universiti Putra Malaysia among eight military personnel,
four of whom had chronic intermittent exposure to high
altitude training. They were divided into two groups, chronic
intermittent exposure group (CE) (n=4) and a control group
(n=4). They underwent a task-based functional magnetic
resonance imaging (fMRI) that utilised spatial working
memory task to objectively evaluate the neural activation in
response to the Tower of London paradigm. Each correct
answer was given a score of one and the maximum
achievable score was 100%.
Results: A consecutive dichotomised group of CE (4/8) and
control (4/8) of age-matched military aviation personnel with
a mean age of 37.23±5.52 years; showed significant
activation in the right middle frontal gyrus (MFG). This in
turn was positively correlated with response accuracy. A
significant difference in the response accuracy was noted
among both the groups at p<0.05.
Conclusion: At the minimum results of power analysis of
this preliminary fMRI study, our group of aviation personnel
who had chronic intermittent exposure to hypobaric hypoxic
environment, did not have any significant decrease in
cognitive function namely attention, decision-making and
problem solving compared to controls during a working
memory task
3.COVID-19 Pandemic Fatigue: A Scoping Review of the Literature
Mohd Radzniwan Abdul Rashid ; Afiqah Syazwani Abdullah Suhaimi ; Sharifah Najwa Syed Mohamad ; Ahmad Izzat Ahmad Tajjudin ; Nuruliza Roslan ; Aida Jaffar ; Fathima Begum Syed Mohideen ; Faizul Helmi Addnan ; Nizam Baharom ; Muslimah Ithnin
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2024;20(No.1):330-342
Pandemic fatigue encompasses exhaustion, emotional strain, and decreased motivation due to prolonged pandemic
effects. This scoping review examines pandemic fatigue issues related to COVID-19, aiming to suggest effective management strategies. We assessed 2,558 records from 1st of December 2019 until 27th of March 2022 in PubMed,
Science Direct, ProQuest, and ClinicalKey. Following Arksey and O’Malley (2005) and PRISMA-ScR principles, we
selected 31 studies including research papers employing either quantitative or qualitative methods and editorials
and other summary articles after excluding redundant and irrelevant works. The authors provide six critical answers
to understand better and manage pandemic fatigue, including the need for more research and support, the collaboration between key stakeholders and the community, and the use of information to address pandemic fatigue. The
review found that pandemic fatigue is prevalent among certain groups, such as students and healthcare workers.
Factors contributing to pandemic fatigue include age, gender, high perceived severity of COVID-19, low trust in
government or health organizations, and low social connectedness. The review also identified an instrument, the
COVID-19 Pandemic Fatigue Scale, that can be used to measure pandemic fatigue. The review concluded that
identifying pandemic fatigue as early as possible is absolutely important and people and their government should
work together to handle the fatigue. Many countries have acknowledged the presence hence manage it differently.
Nonetheless the strategy suggested by WHO has provided an excellent framework to tackle the pandemic fatigue.
4.A survey on smartphone dependence and psychological effects among undergraduate students in a Malaysian University
Nisha Syed Nasser ; Loh Jia Ling ; Aida Abdul Rashid ; Hamed Sharifat ; Umar Ahmad ; Buhari Ibrahim ; Salasiah Mustafa ; Hoo Fan Kee ; Ching Siew Mooi ; Subapriya Suppiah
The Medical Journal of Malaysia 2020;75(4):356-362
Objective: Problematic smartphone use (PSU) is the
development of pathological dependence at the expense of
performing activities of daily living, thus having negative
health and psychological impact on the users. Previous PSU
studies focused on medical students and little is known
regarding its effect on students undergoing other courses. The
objective of this study is to identify the pattern of smartphone
usage and determine the psychological factors affecting PSU
among undergraduate students in Malaysia and compare the
pattern among students from different fields of study.
Method: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted
using the validated Smartphone Addiction Scale–Malay
version (SAS-M) questionnaire. One-way ANOVA was used to
determine the correlation between the PSU among the students
categorised by their ethnicity, hand dominance and by their
field of study. MLR analysis was applied to predict PSU based
on socio-demographic data, usage patterns, psychological
factors and fields of study.
Results: A total of 1060 students completed the questionnaire.
Most students had some degree of problematic usage of the
smartphone. Students used smartphones predominantly to
access SNAs, namely Instagram. Longer duration on the
smartphone per day, younger age at first using a smartphone
and underlying depression carried higher risk of developing
PSU, whereas the field of study (science vs. humanities based)
did not contribute to an increased risk of developing PSU.
Conclusion: Findings from this study can help better inform
university administrators about at- risk groups of
undergraduate students who may benefit from targeted
intervention designed to reduce their addictive behaviour
patterns