Vol 51, No 5 (2025)

In order to clarify EEG-correlates and features of neurophysiological mechanisms of anxiety in depressive patients, EEG spectral parameters and their relationships with quantitative clinical and psychological parameters were analyzed before the start of the course of therapy in 40 female patients aged 16–25 years with depressive disorders, divided into 2 subgroups with different severity of anxiety symptoms. The subgroup of patients with a greater severity of anxiety spectrum disorders is characterized by a greater overall severity of the clinical and psychological state, which is associated with EEG-signs of increased activation in the frontotemporal and occipital regions of the cerebral cortex. The data obtained emphasize the important role of increased activation of brain cortex in the manifestation of anxiety spectrum disorders in the clinical picture of depression and, in the future, can be used to clarify the individual prognosis and optimize the treatment of depression.

In the experimental task of the emotional Stroop test, the influence of the level of personal and situational anxiety and the degree of dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system on selective attention was assessed. A group of 49 healthy girls performed the task of determining the valence of facial expressions of anger, fear, disgust and joy, complicated by the imposition of words on the images of faces and names of emotions congruent or incongruent to facial expressions. Based on the results of the questionnaires (Spielberger questionnaire, Wein questionnaire and questionnaire of somatic manifestations of depression), using the method of cluster analysis, the subjects were divided into groups differing in 1) the level of anxiety and 2) the degree of autonomic dysfunction. It was shown that in groups of girls with increased anxiety and in groups with pronounced autonomic dysfunction, higher values of the Stroop effect are recorded compared to subjects with a low level of these characteristics. In this case, an increase in anxiety is associated with high values of interference in the Stroop test with the emotion of fear associated with the «self-defense system», and an increase in autonomic dysfunction is associated with high values of interference in the Stroop test with the emotion of disgust associated with the «disease prevention» system.

Aftercontraction effect, or post-activation effect (PAE) is a special type of involuntary normal muscle tone. It is assumed that aging can specifically modify such characteristics of PAE as duration, latency, prevalence in the population, the presence of an «oscillatory» pattern and the parameters of the surface electromyogram (sEMG). PAE was studied in the groups of junior (JU, 18–23 years, n = 46), young (YU, 24–44 years, n = 23) and middle-age and older people (MO, 45–75 years, n = 24). In the deltoid muscles, PAE was triggered in 89% of individuals in the JU group, 87% – in YU, and in 75% of individuals in the MO group. In the JU group, the «oscillatory» pattern (repeated periods of PAE) was present in 32% trials, in the YU group – in 15%, and was completely absent in the MO group. The amplitude of sEMG during PAE was reduced in the MO group compared to JU by approximately two times (p < 0.05). The duration of PAE did not differ among the groups of different ages, and the latency of PAE was the lowest in the JU group (p < 0.05). The mean frequency of the sEMG spectrum during PAE compared to voluntary isometric contraction was higher in the JU and MO groups. Thus, PAE is generally characteristic of neurotypical persons under 75 years of age, but in middle and old age, PAE is characterized by the absence of repeated periods of PAE («oscillatory pattern»), lower amplitude of sEMG and longer latency. It is assumed that with aging, the tonic automatisms of skeletal muscles are inhibited is less proned to oscillate.

Two groups of cosmonauts were examined in the dynamics of the post-flight period: a young age group (35–43 years old), 15 people who completed flights lasting from 139 to 200 days and a middle-aged group (46–53 years old), after expeditions lasting from 125 to 203 days. The serum levels of cholesterol, high, low and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoproteins A1 and B, triglycerides, nonesterified fatty acids and phospholipids were determined. The values of the ratio of HDL cholesterol/ LDL cholesterol, Apolipoprotein B/Apolipoprotein A1 and the value of the atherogenicity index were calculated. It was found that on the first day of the post-flight period, both young and middle-aged cosmonauts observed a redistribution of the content of apolipoproteins A1 and B in the blood. In both groups, there is an increase in lipolysis, more pronounced in the middle-aged group. At the same time, in the middle-aged group, the level of cholesterol and its atherogenic fraction of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol increases. On the 7th day of the recovery period, young cosmonauts show a return of all the above-mentioned indices to the background level, while in the middle-aged group the changes persist, indicating a higher risk of developing cardiovascular pathology in them.

The oil and gas industry is characterized by performing professional activities in extreme conditions (intensive work, difficult climatic conditions, etc.). Minimizing the negative impact of those factors that can be influenced by the employer is critical for the industry. Disturbances in the sleep–wake cycle are one of the key risk factors for the development of fatigue and, as a consequence, injuries and occupational diseases in any industry, especially in risk groups. The purpose of this study was to identify deviations in the sleep–wake cycle in individuals working in the oil and gas industry and having chronic diseases. It was shown that the duration of night sleep in 16.6% of oil and gas workers participating in the study was less than 6 hours. Night sleep was characterized by an extension of falling asleep (more than 30 min) in 5.3% of the subjects, the duration of night awakenings of more than one hour was noted in 6.8% of workers. According to the Berlin questionnaire, workers (14.6%) were identified who had a high probability of having obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep inertia lasting more than 2 hours was observed in 8.8% of workers. Observed daytime sleepiness interfered with work in 14.0% of cases. Workers with chronic diseases compared to apparently healthy individuals had: a 3.5-fold increased risk of sleep apnea (35.0% versus 10.0%), worse sleep quality, increased time to fall asleep, a greater number of night awakenings, and pronounced daytime fatigue and sleepiness (all p ≤ 0.05). We assume that workers registered with a dispensary can be a group for the implementation of additional monitoring measures for the quality of both sleep and the wakefulness. Implementation of complex measures (screening for deviations in the sleep-wake cycle, educational programs, improvement of working and rest conditions, promotion of a healthy lifestyle) will improve the overall performance of personnel, reduce the level of fatigue and improve the health of workers in general.

In some areas of physiology (for example, space physiology), researchers have to deal with small samples, which makes it impossible to use classical data analysis methods and requires other approaches. Small samples are characterized by an increased influence of individual characteristics of a specific organism on the nature of the adaptation process. In this regard, a relevant task is to separate the effect of the influencing factor and individual reactions. We propose a new approach to the small sample data analysis using the example of adaptive changes in the cardiovascular system (CVS) in women under reproducing the effects of microgravity in a 5-day dry immersion (DI). Changes in the cardiovascular system were assessed using indicators reflecting hemodynamics and autonomic modulating effects on the heart rhythm. The aim of the work was to identify indicators reflecting the influencing factor effect, as well as indicators reflecting the individual characteristics of the test subjects in the experimental sample. For this purpose, our data analysis employed a methodological approach based on analysis of variance (ANOVA). As a result, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the small sample data with a statistically justified separation of the studied factor influence and the subject individual reactions, and also identified specific individuals influencing the homogeneity of the entire sample. The presented approach allows, at the initial stage of analysis, to select those indicators that reflect the impact of the factor being studied and, accordingly, meet the set goals, while excluding indicators in which the contribution of individual characteristics is so great that it makes them inappropriate for consideration in the current study.

This review attempts to systematize the few pieces of information available in the literature on the physical capabilities and functional characteristics of senior preschool and primary school children when it is time to start playing sports. It is shown that children of this age are characterized by the predominance of aerobic mechanisms for energy supply of muscular activity, as well as the absence of specialization in motor adaptations in combination with small gender differences in the level of the body’s response to exercise. At the same time, children demonstrate significantly lower performance than adolescents and adults, apparently due to lower efficiency of work, despite the high level of aerobic capacity. Before puberty, the level of anaerobic capacity in children is reduced, which imposes significant restrictions on the loads used in sports.

The article is devoted to the life and scientific activities of experimental physiologist and space physician Boris Vladimirovich Morukov. The paper examines the main stages of his professional journey and his contribution to the development of space medicine and physiology. The authors emphasize the significance of B.V. Morukov’s scientific achievements for modern medicine and cosmonautics.