Loading...
Search for:
anxiety
0.005 seconds
The Effect of Robot Assisted Language Learning (RALL) on Iranian EFL Junior High School Students’ Vocabulary Learning and Retention
, M.Sc. Thesis Sharif University of Technology ; Alemi, Minoo (Supervisor) ; Meghdari, Ali (Co-Advisor)
Abstract
This study investigated the effect of Robot Assisted Language Learning (RALL) on the vocabulary learning and retention as well as anxiety and attitude of Iranian English as Foreign Language (EFL) junior high school students in Tehran-Iran. After taking a vocabulary pretest, 46 beginner level female students at the age of 12, studying in their first year of junior-high participated in two groups of RALL (30 students) and non-RALL (16 students) in this study. The textbook used was the English book (Prospect-1) devised by the Iranian Ministry of Education for 7th graders, and the vocabulary taught and tested (pretest and posttest) were taken from this book. Moreover, the treatment given by a...
Modeling and Dynamic Investigation of Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal (HPA) Axis in Response to Stress
, M.Sc. Thesis Sharif University of Technology ; Vafa, Ehsan (Supervisor)
Abstract
The “hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal” axis is one of the most important axes of the human body, and cortisol is one of its key products, which plays an essential role in the immune system, stress management, and many diseases. Appropriate modeling and simulation of this axis can help us to understand how the body reacts to stress and inflammation, to examine relevant diseases, and how drugs affect the body. In this study, by combining an axial model of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis with a model of adrenal cells, a bi-level model including several time delays has been developed that can predict the effect of stress on this axis. Some parameters of the model have been modified through...
The Anxiety-based Scheduling of Operating Rooms: An Idea to Develop Psyche-based Optimization
, M.Sc. Thesis Sharif University of Technology ; Salmasi, Naser (Supervisor)
Abstract
The traditional point of view on the scheduling of the healthcare systems, which is in common with the scheduling of other service and manufacturing systems, has contributed to inattention to patients’ psychological status and has given rise to many negative effects not only on them, but also on hospitals. However, this perspective has not been modified yet with respect to the features of healthcare systems, in which patients, rather that machines, are the main entities of the system. In this study, to address this draw back, a new concept, psyche-based optimization, as well as a new scheduling problem, anxiety-based scheduling of operating rooms, as the advent of this concept, have been...
Effect of utilizing a humanoid robot as a therapy-assistant in reducing anger, anxiety, and depression
, Article 2014 2nd RSI/ISM International Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics, ICRoM 2014 ; 15- 17 October , 2014 , pp. 748-753 ; ISBN: 9781479967438 ; Meghdari, A ; Ghanbarzadeh, A ; Moghadam, L. J ; Ghanbarzadeh, A ; Sharif University of Technology
Abstract
Treatment of cancer involves many invasive procedures that could be a source of distress in kids suffering from cancer. Distress itself can be an important obstacle in patients' acceptance of treatment and their adaptation to it, consequently reducing its efficiency. Distress symptoms, in a spectrum from mild to critical, are shown to be widespread in children struggling with cancer. In recent years to alleviate this psychological condition, researchers have proposed and examined several methods such as relaxation, hypnosis, desensitization, and distraction. This study presents a new approach to explore the impact of utilizing a humanoid robot as a therapy-assistant in dealing with patients'...
The effect of employing humanoid robots for teaching English on students' anxiety and attitude
, Article 2014 2nd RSI/ISM International Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics, ICRoM 2014 ; Oct , 2014 , p. 754-759 ; Meghdari, A ; Ghazisaedy, M ; Sharif University of Technology
Abstract
This study aims at examining the effect of Robot Assisted language learning (RALL) on the anxiety level and attitude in the English language learning classroom. Forty-six female students who were beginners at the age of 12 participated in this study and were randomly assigned into two groups of RALL (30 students) and non-RALL (16 students). The treatment was given by a teacher accompanied by a humanoid robot assistant for the RALL group. Two questionnaires of anxiety [15] and attitude [19] were utilized to measure the students' anxiety and attitude. The results of descriptive and t-tests indicated that there was lower anxiety and positive attitude towards English learning in the RALL group...
Impact of a social humanoid robot as a therapy assistant in children cancer treatment
, Article Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics) ; Volume 8755 , 2014 , Pages 11-22 ; ISSN: 03029743 ; ISBN: 9783319119724 ; Meghdari, A ; Ghanbarzadeh, A ; Moghadam, L. J ; Ghanbarzadeh, A ; Sharif University of Technology
Abstract
Treating cancer encompasses many invasive procedures that can be a source of distress in oncology patients. Distress itself can be a major obstruction in the path of acceptance of treatment and the patient's adaptation to it, thereby reducing its efficiency. These distress symptoms have been found to be prevalent in children suffering from cancer, in a spectrum from mild to critical. In the past years in response to this psychological suffering, researchers have proposed and tested several methods such as relaxation, hypnosis, desensitization, and distraction. This paper propounds a new approach by exploring the effect of utilizing a humanoid robot as a therapy-assistive tool in dealing with...
The Impact of Social Robotics on L2 Learners’ Anxiety and Attitude in English Vocabulary Acquisition
, Article International Journal of Social Robotics ; Volume 7, Issue 4 , 2015 , Pages 523-535 ; 18754791 (ISSN) ; Meghdari, A ; Ghazisaedy, M ; Sharif University of Technology
Abstract
This study aimed to examine the effect of robot assisted language learning (RALL) on the anxiety level and attitude in English vocabulary acquisition amongst Iranian EFL junior high school students. Forty-six female students, who were beginners at the age of 12, participated in this study and were randomly assigned into two groups of RALL (30 students) and non-RALL (16 students). The textbook, the materials, as well as the teacher were the same in the two groups. However in the RALL group, the treatment was given by a teacher accompanied by a humanoid robot assistant. Two questionnaires of anxiety and attitude were utilized to measure the students’ anxiety and attitude (Horwitz et al. 1986;...
Young EFL learners’ attitude towards rall: An observational study focusing on motivation, anxiety, and interaction
, Article 9th International Conference on Social Robotics, ICSR 2017, 22 November 2017 through 24 November 2017 ; Volume 10652 LNAI , 2017 , Pages 252-261 ; 03029743 (ISSN); 9783319700212 (ISBN) ; Meghdari, A ; Haeri, N. S ; Sharif University of Technology
Springer Verlag
2017
Abstract
In this paper we aimed to explore young Iranian EFL learners’ attitude towards Robot Assisted Language Learning (RALL) in an English language classroom. To this end, 19 preschool children ranging from 3 to 6 years old were randomly assigned to a RALL group which had a robot as an assistant to the teacher. Their attitude towards the robot was video recorded for one month, during ten sessions of their English classroom course. Their overall attitude was examined focusing on the three factors of anxiety, motivation and interaction based on human-robot interaction (HRI) theory. The result of this study showed that children’s motivation increased as a result of interacting with the robot and...
The effects of anxiety and external attentional focus on postural control in patients with Parkinson’s disease
, Article PLoS ONE ; Volume 13, Issue 2 , 2018 ; 19326203 (ISSN) ; Azad, A ; Mehdizadeh, H ; Habibi, S. A ; Mandehgary Najafabadi, M ; Saberi, Z. S ; Rahimzadegan, H ; Moradi, S ; Behzadipour, S ; Parnianpour, M ; Taghizadeh, G ; Khalaf, K ; Sharif University of Technology
Public Library of Science
2018
Abstract
Background Although anxiety is a common non-motor outcome of Parkinson's disease (PD) affecting 40% of patients, little attention has been paid so far to its effects on balance impairment and postural control. Improvement of postural control through focusing on the environment (i.e. external focus) has been reported, but the role of anxiety, as a confounding variable, remains unclear. Objectives This study aimed to investigate the influence of anxiety and attentional focus instruction on the standing postural control of PD patients. Methods Thirty-four patients with PD (17 with high anxiety (HA-PD) and 17 with low anxiety (LA-PD)), as well as 17 gender- and age-matched healthy control...
Time-course investigation of postural sway variability: Does anxiety exacerbate the sensory reweighting impairment in chronic stroke survivors?
, Article Neuropsychologia ; Volume 127 , 2019 , Pages 185-194 ; 00283932 (ISSN) ; Azad, A ; Mehdizadeh, H ; Doostdar, A ; Hoseinpour, F ; Mehdizadeh, M ; Niazi Khatoon, J ; Shokouhyan, M. R ; Parnianpour, M ; Taghizadeh, G ; Khalaf, K ; Sharif University of Technology
Elsevier Ltd
2019
Abstract
Although anxiety is one of the most prevalent psychological disorders in stroke survivors, its effect on sensory reweighting has not yet been fully studied. The aim of this work was to investigate how anticipation of collision avoidance events affects sensory reweighting in chronic stroke survivors with low and high levels of anxiety (LA-stroke and HA-stroke, respectively), as compared with healthy controls (HC), under the condition of perturbed proprioception. Eighteen LA-stroke and 18 HA-stroke survivors, as well as 18 gender- and age-matched HC, participated in this study. Postural sway variability (i.e. Root Mean Square (RMS) of the COP velocity) was measured for a duration of 180 s...
Anxiety and cognitive load affect upper limb motor control in Parkinson's disease during medication phases
, Article Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences ; Volume 1494, Issue 1 , 2021 , Pages 44-58 ; 00778923 (ISSN) ; Mehdizadeh, H ; Azad, A ; Mehdizadeh, M ; Reyhanian, E ; Saberi, Z. S ; Meimandi, M ; Soltanzadeh, A ; Roohi Azizi, M ; Vasaghi Gharamaleki, B ; Parnianpour, M ; Khalaf, K ; Taghizadeh, G ; Sharif University of Technology
John Wiley and Sons Inc
2021
Abstract
Anxiety is among the most debilitating nonmotor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). This study aimed to determine how PD patients with low and high levels of anxiety (LA-PD and HA-PD, respectively) compare with age- and sex-matched controls at the level of motor control of reach-to-grasp movements during single- and dual-task conditions with varying complexity. Reach-to-grasp movement kinematics were assessed in 20 LA-PD, 20 HA-PD, and 20 sex- and age-matched healthy controls under single- as well as easy and difficult dual-task conditions. Assessment of PD patients was performed during both the on- and off-drug phases. The results obtained during dual-task conditions reveal deficits in...
The effects of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) on the cognitive and motor functions in rodents: A systematic review and meta-analysis
, Article Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews ; Volume 140 , 2022 ; 01497634 (ISSN) ; Abbaszadeh, M ; Ghazizadeh, A ; Sharif University of Technology
Elsevier Ltd
2022
Abstract
Memory and motor deficits are commonly identified in Parkinson's disease (PD). 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) is transformed to MPP+ via monoamine oxidase B (MAOB), which causes oxidative stress and destroys dopaminergic (DA) neurons in substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and is widely used to create animal models of PD. However, to-date, a comprehensive analysis of the MPTP effects on various aspects of PD does not exist. Here, we provide a systematic review and meta-analysis on the MPTP effects on memory and motor functions by analyzing 51 studies on more than one thousand animals mainly including rats and mice. The results showed that in addition to motor functions...
Apathy exacerbates postural control impairments in stroke survivors: The potential effects of cognitive dual-task for improving postural control
, Article Neuropsychologia ; Volume 174 , 2022 ; 00283932 (ISSN) ; Mehdizadeh, H ; Azad, A ; Cheraghifard, M ; Jamali, S ; Davoudi, M ; Shokouhyan, S. M ; Taghizadeh, G ; Sharif University of Technology
Elsevier Ltd
2022
Abstract
Apathy is a stressor and debilitating common condition for both stroke survivors and their caregivers. However, its effects on the postural control of these patients have not yet been investigated. Improved postural stability through withdrawing attention from postural control by concurrent cognitive task (i.e. dual-task condition) has been reported previously, but the effect of apathy, as a confounding factor, remains unknown. This study aimed to examine the effects of apathy and dual-task condition on postural control of chronic stroke survivors from biomechanical and neurophysiological perspectives. Twenty non-apathetic stroke survivors, 20 apathetic stroke survivors, and 20 sex-, age-,...
Effects of COVID-19-related psychological distress and anxiety on quality of sleep and life in healthcare workers in Iran and three European countries
, Article Frontiers in Public Health ; Volume 10 , 2022 ; 22962565 (ISSN) ; Tahvilian, P ; Koohestani, S ; Maghooli, K ; Jafarnia Dabanloo, N ; Sarhangi Kadijani, M ; Jahantigh, S ; Zangeneh Soroush, M ; Saliani, A ; Sharif University of Technology
Frontiers Media S.A
2022
Abstract
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has considerably affected human beings most of whom are healthcare workers (HCWs) combating the disease in the front line. Methods: This cross-sectional study aims to explore the effects of stress and anxiety caused by COVID-19 on the quality of sleep and life in HCWs, including physicians, nurses, and other healthcare staff. In this global study, we asked 1,210 HCWs (620 and 590 volunteers from Iran and European countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy, respectively), who age 21–70, to participate in the test. Several measures of COVID-related stress, anxiety, sleep, and life quality, including the 12-item General Health Questionnaire...
Asthma induces psychiatric impairments in association with default mode and salience networks alteration: A resting-state EEG study
, Article Respiratory Physiology and Neurobiology ; Volume 300 , 2022 ; 15699048 (ISSN) ; Salimi, M ; Nazari, M ; Tabasi, F ; Bamdad, S ; Dehdar, K ; Mikaili, M ; Mahdaviani, S. A ; Salari, F ; Lookzadeh, S ; Jamaati, H ; Salimi, A ; Raoufy, M. R ; Sharif University of Technology
Elsevier B.V
2022
Abstract
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease associated with a high prevalence of psychiatric disorders. There are specific brain networks responsible for emotional processes, including two important networks associated with psychiatric problems: the default mode network (DMN), which is more active in the resting state, and the salience network (SN), which is structurally connected to DMN. Although previous studies suggested that neuro-phenotypes of asthma may be recognizable by the neural activity of brain circuits, an association between the brain's functional alterations and psychiatric impairments induced by asthma remains unknown. We aimed to assess DMN and SN activity and its association...