Fiabilidad y validez de las pruebas v-sit-and-reach y toe-touch en preescolares

Este estudio de carácter psicométrico tuvo como objetivo evaluar la fiabilidad y validez de las pruebas V-Sit and Reach (VS) y Toe –Touch (TT) en población preescolar. De un total inicial de 158 participantes, 132 realizaron las pruebas en tres ocasiones. La prueba de elevación pasiva de la pierna recta (PSLR) se usó como indicador de validez. Ambas pruebas mostraron una fiabilidad excelente (CCI=0,91-0,93 para el VS; CCI=0,93-0,97 para el TT). Se observaron correlaciones estadísticamente significativas (p<0,05) entre ambas herramientas y la prueba de PSLR para todos los grupos analizados, excepto en el TT en el grupo de 3 años de edad. En conclusión, estos hallazgos indican que tanto el VS como el TT son pruebas con una validez moderada para evaluar la flexibilidad de la parte inferior del cuerpo en preescolares. La prueba VS puede ser preferible sobre la prueba TT.

Am I the same person across my life span? An event-related brain potentials study of the temporal perspective in self-identity

While self-identity recognition has been largely explored, less is known on how self-identity changes as a function of time. The present work aims to explore the influence of the temporal perspective on self-identity by studying event-related brain potentials (ERP) associated with face processing. To this purpose, participants had to perform a recognition task in two blocks with different task demands: (i) identity recognition (self, close-friend, unknown), and (ii) life stage recognition (adulthood -current-, adolescence, and childhood). The results showed that the N170 component was sensitive to changes in the global face configuration when comparing adulthood with other life stages. The N250 was the earliest neural marker discriminating self from other identities and may be related to a preferential deployment of attentional resources to recognize own face. The P3 was a robust index of self-specificity, reflecting stimulus categorization and presumably adding an emotional value. The results of interest emerged for the subsequent late positive complex (LPC). The larger amplitude for the LPC to the self-face was probably associated with further personal significance. The LPC, therefore, was able to distinguish the continuity of the self over time (i.e., between current self and past selves). Likewise, this component also could discriminate, at each life stage, the self-identity from other identities (e.g., between past self and past close-friend). This would confirm a remarkable role of the LPC reflecting higher self-relevance processes. Taken together, the neural representation of oneself (i.e., "I am myself") seems to be stable and also updated across time.