Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

La meningitis tuberculosa es una forma grave y poco frecuente de tuberculosis extrapulmonar, con alta morbimortalidad, especialmente en personas con coinfección por VIH. Se presenta el caso de un varón de 66 años con hipoacusia neurosensorial bilateral severa de larga data, que acude al Servicio de Emergencia por un cuadro progresivo de siete días de evolución, caracterizado por anorexia, astenia, vómitos y cefalea bitemporal, seguido de un deterioro agudo del estado mental con desorientación, afasia y estupor. Al examen físico, se encuentra febril (38,6 °C), con rigidez de nuca, signo de Kernig positivo, mioclonías generalizadas y cuadriparesia, además de hiperreflexia global y dolor muscular. El cuadro clínico fue compatible con meningitis tuberculosa, constituyendo una presentación atípica en un paciente adulto mayor sin antecedentes conocidos de tuberculosis activa o coinfección por VIH.

Objetivo: Describir las características de la producción científica latinoamericana sobre salud pública en el periodo 2011-2020. Material y métodos: Estudio descriptivo, transversal, retrospectivo y de análisis bibliométrico de 9138 artículos originales y originales breves recuperados de Scopus y SciELO. Se estudiaron los indicadores de productividad (IP) y visibilidad (IV), el enfoque de la investigación, el tipo de colaboración, el idioma, la categoría temática y la periodicidad de publicación. Para el análisis de correlación entre los indicadores cuantitativos y cualitativos, se utilizaron las pruebas estadísticas Rho de Spearman, Chi cuadrado y ANOVA. Resultados: Los mayores productores de artículos científicos fueron Brasil (61,3 %), Colombia (10,6 %) y México (7,1 %); el idioma de publicación más frecuente fue el portugués (41,9 %); la colaboración nacional fue mayor (86,1 %), seguida de la colaboración internacional (9,9 %) y latinoamericana (1,8 %). El tema más investigado fue la vigilancia epidemiológica (14,1 %), seguido de enfermedades metabólicas (10,6 %). El idioma se asocia con el tipo de colaboración y con la visibilidad; se encontró correlación entre los indicadores bibliométricos de productividad y visibilidad. Conclusiones: El desarrollo de la producción científica en salud pública muestra fluctuaciones sin avances significativos; la colaboración internacional, así como la latinoamericana, es baja. Se encuentra correlación positiva entre la productividad y la visibilidad científica.  

La telemedicina ha cobrado relevancia en la atención sanitaria, especialmente durante la pandemia de COVID-19, y la educación digital se presenta como un factor clave para su adopción. Este artículo tiene como objetivo analizar el impacto de la educación digital en el uso de la telemedicina, explorando cómo la capacitación en tecnologías de la información y la comunicación influye en la satisfacción y acceso a estos servicios. Se realizó una revisión sistemática de la literatura, utilizando el método PRISMA para identificar y evaluar estudios relevantes publicados en los últimos cinco años. Los resultados indican que una mayor educación digital está asociada con un uso más frecuente y efectivo de la telemedicina, así como con una mayor satisfacción del paciente. Sin embargo, se identificaron barreras significativas, como la falta de habilidades tecnológicas en ciertos grupos demográficos. Las conclusiones destacan la necesidad de implementar programas de educación digital para mejorar el acceso y la equidad en la atención médica a través de la telemedicina. Este estudio sugiere que futuras investigaciones deben centrarse en la evaluación a largo plazo de estas intervenciones y su adaptación a poblaciones vulnerables, contribuyendo así al desarrollo de políticas de salud más inclusivas.

Este primer número del volumen 51 de la Revista Mexicana de Análisis de la Conducta (RMAC) está revestido con un carácter especial, pues incluye un conjunto de manuscritos en honor del profesor Kennon Andy Lattal, analista experimental y aplicado de la conducta de larga trayectoria y significativas aportaciones, siempre con el mayor apego a los planteamientos teóricos y metodológicos que definen ambas vertientes de la propuesta conceptual de B. F. Skinner. La sección especial en honor del Dr. Lattal se planteó como un complemento al premio que le entregó la Sociedad Mexicana de Análisis de la Conducta en 2021, por su labor como editor en lengua inglesa de la RMAC. La tarea de reunir y editar los manuscritos estuvo a cargo de los colegas y amigos de Andy, los doctores Laura Acuña y Carlos A. Bruner (q.e.p.d.).

The present study aimed to investigate functional class formation in dogs. For this purpose, an automatic device was used to present visual stimuli and record the subjects' responses in simultaneous simple discrimination tasks. The operant response consisted of touching (with the nose) visual stimuli presented on a touchscreen. Three pairs of stimuli were used (i.e., A1/A2; B1/B2; C1/C2) in five experimental phases. Namely, training and reversals with pair A were carried out in Phase I; training and reversals with pair B in Phase II; training and reversals with pairs A and B presented in the same session in Phase III; training and reversals with pair C in Phase IV; and training and reversals with pairs A, B, and C in Phase V. After the acquisition of discrimination (e.g., A1/S+ and A2/S-), the discriminative functions of the stimuli were reversed. It was evaluated whether, from the reversal of the first pair of stimuli, the subjects would change their pattern of responses to the remaining pair of stimuli before direct exposure to the new contingencies. The results show that the designed procedure established a complex and flexible discriminative repertoire in dogs; however, it was insufficient to demonstrate relational responding in the probes.

Observational learning is defined as the acquisition of a new response based on observing others come into contact with different contingencies of reinforcement. Previous studies demonstrated that children with neurodevelopmental disorders acquire verbal behaviors through observational learning.  The purpose of the study was to explore the effect of an observational learning procedure on the acquisition of tacts and pointing responses to pictures mediated by the mother of two adolescents with Down syndrome. During baseline session pictures were presented to each participant and the responses were not followed by specific consequences. The mother was trained to conduct the instructional sessions for one of the participants while the other observed.  The percentage of correct responses increased compared to baseline for both participants after the instructional sessions. The percentage of correct responses was higher for the participant exposed to direct training than for the observer participant. The results of the present study extend the results of previous research in which observational acquisition of verbal operants were demonstrated.

In behavior analysis it is usually believed that the temporal contiguity between a response and its reinforcer is fundamental for conditioning. Nevertheless, the acquisition of a new response with delayed reinforcement is possible. Although this phenomenon is reliable, little is known about the systematic effects of magnitude of reinforcement on the acquisition of a new response. The present study explored the effects of magnitude of reinforcement on the acquisition and maintenance of lever-pressing by rats with delayed reinforcement. A 5 (magnitude: 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 food-pellets) x 4 (delay: 3, 6, 12 or 24 s) factorial design was used, with three rats in each combination. Results showed that the acquisition of lever-pressing was faster and frequency of responding higher as a function of increasing the magnitude of reinforcement. However, the effects of magnitude of reinforcement did not vary orderly according to the number of food-pellets, nor with each delay combination. Results replicated the findings of acquisition and maintenance of lever-pressing with delayed reinforcement and of the decreasing delay-gradient. The possibility that acquisition of a new response with delayed reinforcement is a phenomenon of a motivational or superstitious nature is offered.

This review is a research autobiography of the author. It is organized around the inductive method of research modeled by B. F. Skinner and described in his 1956 article, A case history in scientific method. Starting with an experiment on punishment effects on behavioral interactions in a multiple schedule of reinforcement, following the results of successive experiments illustrates how the inductive method spawns new research areas and embellishes extant ones. As the research program expands, some areas fade into the background, disappear, reappear, and morph into other areas, but their influence on contemporary research remains. Along the way, incidents and people that affected the course of the research are discussed. The research areas reviewed and connected are response-reinforcer relations, the role of dependency and contiguity in establishing and maintaining operant responding, delay of reinforcement, behavioral history, operant response resurgence, and extinction. The final section considers some general issues related to the inductive method, notably the interplay between objective and subjective assessments of research. The role of aesthetics in behavioral research and its impact on both the consumer and producer of the research also is discussed.

The Andy Lattal Operant Conditioning Laboratory at West Virginia University is a carefully designed learning environment where students become behavior analysts. Andy has applied his deep knowledge of behavioral principles to establish and maintain the expected behavior of good scientists within a harmonious environment, achieved through his masterful use of positive reinforcement and his reluctance to use punishment or coercion. These practices align with those used in organizational behavior management and can serve as a model for other laboratories. This paper extracts some principles that Andy uses in his laboratory and provides examples aimed at inspiring laboratory leaders seeking to eliminate aversive contingencies and foster harmonious and collaborative learning environments. The paper includes an analysis of Skinner’s views on what constitutes “good” to clarify the behavior of a good scientist, a good mentor, and a good person.

The present special section of the Mexican Journal of Behavior Analysis (RMAC, by its acronym in Spanish) is dedicated to the achievements of Dr. Kennon Andy Lattal in the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. Mario Serrano, the current editor of RMAC, decided to honor Dr. Lattal’s distinguished career, his extensive collaboration with our journal and his contributions to behavior analysis (BA) in Mexico. Mario asked the first author of this paper to serve as guest editor of this special section given his close friendship with Dr. Lattal (Andy as called by his friends). All the articles included in this issue are written by behavior analysts who have had close contact with him or by former students from Mexico or from other countries. The topics of the articles are related to at least one of Dr. Lattal’s many research interests.