Search

N/A

Objective: This project was devised for evaluating and highlighting the impact of COVID-19 on the management of basic and clinical research activities conducted by the Italian laboratories of neuroscience, neurophysiology, and clinical neuropsychology during the pandemic and post-emergency phases. Participants and Methods: A total of 254 laboratories/units have been mapped on the Italian territory and clustered based on location, primary research field, and category of institution. A survey was designed including five different sections: i) consensus and introduction; ii) general data con the institution and the respondent and pre-pandemic phase; iii) research activity during Phase 1 – first lockdown (from February to May 2020); iv) research activity during Phase 2 – second lockdown (October 2020 to May 2021); and v) summary evaluations of the pandemic period (overall considerations regarding both Phase 1 and Phase 2). The survey was implemented on the Qualtrics XM platform and sent to the mapped centers and disseminated through the main Italian neuropsychological scientific societies. Results: Focusing on the sample of survey respondents, which almost equally represented primarily healthcare/clinical research professionals (53%) and primarily basic research professionals (47%), it is relevant to note that just about one-fourth of them reported the existence of emergency management guidelines to help strategic decision-making and inform the rearrangement of lab/unit activities in case of a disease outbreak, a percentage that has grown up to 94% after the COVID-19 emergency. This led to a closure rate equal to 92% for purely research laboratories/units during Phase 1, compared to 52% of mixed clinical and research units and 60% of primarily clinical units. A similar –though more restrained– scenario was observed even in Phase 2, with 44% of purely research units still closed, vs. 5% of mixed units and 10% or primarily clinical ones. Another impactful observation emer

N/A

N/A

Recently, the use of wearable devices and neurotechnologies for well-being and neurocognitive empowerment has increased, allowing users to achieve better awareness and control of their mindset and mood states. We present an overview of main results from a research line on the effectiveness of an intensive training protocol supported by wearable neurofeedback devices in the field of neurocognitive empowerment and stress management. Specifically, the potential of such neurotechnology-supported training was tested by collecting behavioural, psychometric, neuropsychological, and physiological outcomes and comparing experimental and active control groups. The protocol was tested in different experimental and applied contexts—including sports, workplace, and healthy aging. Based on the multi-level assessment of training outcomes, results highlighted the effectiveness of using intensive neurotechnology-mediated protocols to enhance focusing and attention regulation skills and to reduce anxiety/stress levels while increasing mental vigour, hinting at the potential of such new technologies for neurocognitive empowerment.

Objective: Previous neuroscientific research explored howboth moral values and economic scenarios can influence individuals’ brain activity. This study investigated the relationship between peripheral and neural activity during fairness and unfairness perception in moral and economic conditions. Method: Thirty-one participants underwent a modified version of the Ultimatum Game, which proposed various offers (fair, unfair, equal) concerning two different contexts: economic and moral conditions. During the task, the peripheral (heart rate [HR], skin conductance level/response [SCL, SCR]) and central (oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin [O2Hb, HHb]) individuals’ responses were recorded using the autonomic indices recording and functional near-infrared spectroscopy. The peripheral activity was correlated with motivational systems (Behavioral Inhibition/Activation System[ BIS/BAS]) and individuals’ personality traits. Results: Findings highlighted a positive correlation between SCL and O2Hb in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) during fair, unfair, and equal offers in the economic condition and a negative correlation between SCL and O2Hb in the dmPFC for fair and equal offers in the moral condition. Also, HR negatively correlated with HHb in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during the presentation of equal and unfair offers in the economic condition. Finally, correlations between SCL and BAS subscales (Drive and Fun Seeking) and SCR and emotional stability trait suggested the link between motivation and emotional regulation during different conditions. Conclusions: In conclusion, the relationship between autonomic, central activity, and motivational and personality traits in moral and economic offers’ condition was discussed in light of different brain networks supporting these processes

N/A

Recently, the neurosciences have become interested in the investigation of neural responses associated with the use of gestures. This study focuses on the relationship between the intrabrain and inter-brain connectivity mechanisms underlying the execution of different categories of gestures (positive and negative affective, social, and informative) characterizing non-verbal interactions between thirteen couples of subjects, each composed of an encoder and a decoder. The study results underline a similar modulation of intra- and inter-brain connectivity for alpha, delta, and theta frequency bands in specific areas (frontal or posterior regions) depending on the type of gesture. Moreover, taking into account the gestures’ valence (positive or negative), a similar modulation of intra- and inter-brain connectivity in the left and right sides was observed. This study showed congruence in the intra-brain and inter-brain connectivity trend during the execution of different gestures, underlining how non-verbal exchanges might be characterized by intra-brain phase alignment and implicit mechanisms of mirroring and synchronization between the two individuals involved in the social exchange.

In recent years, sustainability has received significant interest from companies and structures that have adopted new marketing and business models to improve the living conditions of the environment and consumers. Given the growing interest and attention, the issue of sustainability has been investigated by different disciplines, such as neuroscience, which have proved useful for investigating the emotional responses and cognitive processes of individuals, allowing us to understand the relationship between consumers and sustainability better. In this regard, this paper offers an overview on the topic of sustainability in a specific sector, such as tourism marketing, on the use of neuroscience to investigate sustainability and on the application of a multimethodological paradigm, involving the use of electroencephalography (EEG) and biofeedback, to measure individuals’ electroencephalographic and autonomic activity during the exploration of a green hotel.

Background: Industry 4.0 aims at developing collaborative robotic technology (co-bot) to improve efficiency, ergonomics and safety in the workplace. Aims: The aim of this contribution was to propose a quality-cycle to optimize human robot interaction (HRI) for co-bot technology and highlighting if the perceived cognitive effort and spatial perception change in HRI compared to human-to-human interactions. Methods: Based on the Deming quality-cycle and the concept of neuro-industrial engineering, we selected the following neuroscientific dimensions which should be integrated in the quality cycle for co-bot designing: fatigue, executive functions, attentional coordination, selective attention and space perception. Regarding the latter, we propose the consideration of peripersonal and extrapersonal dimensions. Results: The outcome is a four-phases cycle composed by the first step (planning) where a compartmentalization of the industrial processes is made and the brain-computer interface and neuroscientific methods are selected based on the type of HRI [e.g. to assess cognitive and emotional planning, (a/h)/b or (a/h)/(a?b) ratios in the frontal and central brain can be selected]. In the second phase (doing) virtual/real scenarios are executed while data is retrieved. In the third phase (modelling) data are used to create bottom-up models, which will be tested again in the future. Finally, in the last phase (change), evidence-based adjustments are implemented. Conclusion: An integrated perspective, which considers the worker from a holistic viewpoint, as the one presented, might make co-bots more human-oriented, leading to increased efficiency and safety by using data on human perception and spatial representation.

Background: In the last years, marketing has adopted new sustainable market strategies to limit the adverse effects of products and environments improving individuals’ living conditions and environmental well-being. The effects of adopting these new approaches have recently been investigated thanks to neuroscience’s contribution able to provide information about cognitive and emotional mechanisms related to consumers’ behaviors. Aims: In order to investigate consumer behavior towards the adoption of a sustainable approach in tourism marketing, a neuroscientific paradigm, consisting in the use of electroencephalography (EEG) to record individuals’ neural responses, has been implemented to understand individuals’ cognitive processes during the exploration of a green hotel. Methods: In particular, neural correlates of a sample of 19 healthy subjects were collected through the use of EEG, for the recording of fronto-central and temporo-parietal activity. Specifically, participants were asked to explore four different areas of the hotel (restaurant, bedroom, hall, and bar) composed of eco-friendly elements. Results: The results of the study revealed a different cortical activation concerning the activity of EEG alpha, beta, delta, and theta frequency bands during the exploration of the green hotel spaces, with an increase in temporoparietal beta and theta activity. This result underlines an increase in individuals’ attentional and cognitive processing and emotional engagement during the exploration of the environment. Conclusion:These results allow us to underline how the application of a neuroscientific paradigm is useful for investigating individuals’ attitudes and preferences to design spaces that are both ergonomic and comfortable but attentive to the issue of sustainability

Recently, social neurosciences have been interested in the investigation of neurophysiological responses related to the experience of positive emotions, such as gratitude, during social interactions. Specifically, the aim of the present research was to investigate whether gratitude related to gift exchange could favor cooperative behavior and bond construction, by improving behavioral and autonomic responsivity. At this regard, the autonomic synchronization and behavioral performance of 16 friends coupled in dyads were recorded during a joint attentional task. Gift exchange could be occurred either at the beginning or in the middle of the task. For the recording of simultaneous autonomic activity [heart rate (HR) and skin conductance level (SCL)], a hyperscanning biofeedback paradigm was used. Intra-subjective analysis showed an increase in behavioral [accuracy (ACC)] and autonomic responses (HR and SCL) when the gift exchange took place at the beginning of the task rather than in the middle. Moreover, inter-subjective analysis revealed an increase in behavioral performance and greater autonomic synchronization of HR index. The present research, therefore, shows how gratitude and trust experienced following gift exchange can modify participants’ reactions by creating a shared cognition and the adoption of joint strategies.

Gestural communication characterizes daily individuals’ interactions in order to share information and to modify others’ behavior. Social neuroscience has investigated the neural bases which support recognizing of different gestures. The present research, through the use of the hyperscanning approach, that allows the simultaneously recording of the activity of two or more individuals involved in a joint action, aims to investigate the neural bases of gestural communication. Moreover, by using hyperscanning paradigm we explore the inter-brain connectivity between two inter-agents, the one who performed the gesture (encoder) and the one who received it (decoder), with functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) during the reproduction of affective, social and informative gestures with positive and negative valence. Result showed an increase in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration (O2Hb) and inter-brain connectivity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) for affective gestures, in the superior frontal gyrus (SFG) for social gestures and the frontal eye fields (FEF) for informative gestures, for both encoder and decoder. Furthermore, it emerged that positive gestures activate more the left DLPFC, with an increase in inter-brain connectivity in DLPFC and SFG. The present study revealed the relevant function of the type and valence of gestures in affecting intra- and inter-brain connectivity.

N/A

Objective: Recently the interest in neuroscience has allowed us to investigate the neural correlates underlying different social interactional contexts, such as prosocial behavior. The present study aimed to observe the behavioral synchronization underlying the cognitive performance and brain-to-brain coupling mechanisms during a co-operative task, through an hyperscanning paradigm (coupled participants, donors, and receivers), involving a gift exchange. Method: To this aim, neural activity was recorded through the use of electroencephalography (EEG) and hemodynamic brain activity (functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy—fNIRS). The neural and behavioral (performance accuracy—ACC and reaction times—RTs) measures were subsequently correlated among them to test the direct correspondence and the correlation of these three levels. Results: From the results, an increase in behavioral synchronization has emerged, with an improved performance after the gift exchange. Moreover, an increase of neural (EEG, fNIRS) interbrain connectivity has emerged after gift exchange, with a maximum of brain-to-brain coupling in the frontal area for EEG delta and theta bands and hemodynamic activity. Finally, a direct correlation between behavioral, EEG, and fNIRS data has emerged. Conclusion: Thus, prosocial behavior is able to improve the cognitive-behavioral performance and electrophysiological and hemodynamic interindividual synchronization, showing the direct relationship between this three-order synchronization.

Gestural communication allows providing information about thoughts and feelings, characterizing face-to-face interactions, also during non-verbal exchanges. In the present study, the autonomic responses and peripheral synchronization mechanisms of two individuals (encoder and decoder) were recorded simultaneously, through the use of biofeedback in hyperscanning, during two different experimental phases consisting in the observation (watching videos of gestures) and reproduction of positive and negative different types of gestures (affective, social and informative) supported by linguistic contexts. Therefore, the main aim of this study was focused on the analysis of simultaneous individuals' peripheral mechanisms during the performing of complex joint action, consisting of the observation (watching videos) and the reproduction of positive and negative social, affective, and informative gestures each supported by a linguistic script. Single-subject and inter-subject correlation analyses were conducted to observe individuals' autonomic responses and physiological synchronization. Single-subject results revealed an increase in emotional arousal, indicated by an increase in electrodermal activity (skin conductance level - SCL and response - SCR), during both the observation (watching videos) and reproduction of negative social and affective gestures contextualized by a linguistic context. Moreover, an increase of emotional engagement, expressed by an increase in heart rate (HR) activity, emerged in the encoder compare to the decoder during gestures reproduction (simulation of gestures). Inter-subject correlation results showed the presence of mirroring mechanisms, indicated by an increase in SCL, SCR, and HR synchronization, during the linguistic contexts and gesture observation (watching videos). Furthermore, an increase in SCL and SCR synchronization emerged during the observation (watching videos) and reproduction of negative social and affective gestures. Therefore

The digitalization process for organizations, which was inevitably accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, raises relevant challenges for Human Resource Management (HRM) because every technological implementation has a certain impact on human beings. Between many organizational HRM practices, recruitment and assessment interviews represent a significant moment where a social interaction provides the context for evaluating candidates’ skills. It is therefore relevant to investigate how different interaction frames and relational conditions affect such task, with a specific focus on the differences between face-to-face (FTF) and remote computer-mediated (RCM) interaction settings. In particular, the possibility of qualifying and quantifying the mechanisms shaping the efficiency of interaction in the recruiter-candidate dyad—i.e. interpersonal attunement—is potentially insightful. We here present a neuroscientific protocol aimed at elucidating the impact of FTF vs. RCM modalities on social dynamics within assessment interviews. Specifically, the hyperscanning approach, understood as the concurrent recording and integrated analysis of behavioural-physiological responses of interacting agents, will be used to evaluate recruiter-candidate dyads while they are involved in either FTF or RCM conditions. Specifically, the protocol has been designed to collect self-report, oculometric, autonomic (electrodermal activity, heart rate, heart rate variability), and neurophysiological (electroencephalography) metrics from both inter-agents to explore the perceived quality of the interaction, automatic visual-attentional patterns of inter-agents, as well as their cognitive workload and emotional engagement. The proposed protocol will provide a theoretical evidence-based framework to assess possible differences between FTF vs. RMC settings in complex social interactions, with a specific focus on job interviews.

Internet and smartphone adoption have led to ubiquitous connectivity, which is the possibility to connect anytime and anywhere. This phenomenon, with several different implications on the life of human beings and on society, has also resulted in the daily use of mobile applications (apps). This study analyses, via a multi-method neuroscientific approach, using electroencephalography (EEG, in terms of alpha, beta, delta and theta cortical oscillations) and auto-nomic indices (Pulse Volume Amplitude (PVA), Blood Volume Pulse (BVP), Skin Conductance Level (SCL) and Skin Conductance Response (SCR)), the impact of both the Content (Current news, Health and Environment) and of two advertising features (Animation and Interactivity) on the app User Experience (UX). Results showed a significant effect for content, with current news being cognitively and emotionally more stimulating, with an increased activity of beta and theta bands and in SCR. Also, a significant interaction between content and lateralization was found, with an increased theta power in the left hemisphere in response to current news, determined by a possible greater engagement and a greater involvement of the working memory.

Introduction: Gestures characterize individuals' nonverbal communicative exchanges, taking on different functions. Several types of research in the neuroscientific field have been interested in the investigation of the neural correlates underlying the observation and implementation of different gestures categories. In particular, different studies have focused on the neural correlates underlying gestures observation, emphasizing the presence of mirroring mechanisms in specific brain areas, which appear to be involved in gesture observation and planning mechanisms. Materials and methods: Specifically, the present study aimed to investigate the neural mechanisms, through the use of functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS), underlying the observation of affective, social, and informative gestures with positive and negative valence in individuals' dyads composed by encoder and decoder. The variations of oxygenated (O2Hb) and deoxygenated (HHb) hemoglobin concentrations of both individuals were collected simultaneously through the use of hyperscanning paradigm, allowing the recording of brain responsiveness and interbrain connectivity. Results: The results showed a different brain activation and an increase of interbrain connectivity according to the type of gestures observed, with a significant increase of O2Hb brain responsiveness and interbrain connectivity and a decrease of HHb brain responsiveness for affective gestures in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and for social gestures in the superior frontal gyrus (SFG). Furthermore, concerning the valence of the observed gestures, an increase of O2Hb brain activity and interbrain connectivity was observed in the left DLPFC for positive affective gestures compared to negative ones. Conclusion: In conclusion, the present study showed different brain responses underlying the observation of different types of positive and negative gestures. Moreover, interbrain connectivity calculation allowed us to underline

The neuroscience interest for moral decision-making has recently increased. To investigate the processes underlying moral behavior, this research aimed to investigate neurophysiological and behavioral correlates of decision-making in moral contexts. Specifically, functional Near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) allowed to record oxygenated (O2Hb) and deoxygenated (HHb) cerebral hemoglobin concentrations during different moral conditions (professional fit, company fit, social fit) and offers types (fair, unfair, neutral). Moreover, individuals’ responses to offers types and reaction time (RTs) were considered. Specifically, from hemodynamic results emerged a difference in O2Hb and HHb activity according to moral conditions and offers types in different brain regions. In particular, O2Hb increase and a HHb decrease were observed in ventromedial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (VMPFC, DLPFC) for fair offers in professional fit condition and in superior temporal sulcus (STS) for unfair offers in social fit condition. Moreover, an increase of left O2Hb activity in professional fit condition and in right VMPFC for unfair offers in company fit condition was observed. In addition, from behavioral results, an RTs increase in company and social fit condition for fair and unfair offers emerged. This study, therefore, shows the behavioral and neurophysiological correlates of moral decision-making that guide moral behavior in different context, such as company one.

Aim of the study: Prospective memory (PM) is a cognitive high load activity. Two main models showed the relation between working memory (WM) and PM. The preparatory attentional and memory processes model (PAM) posits an interdependence between WM and PM; while, the multiprocess framework assumes independence between these two functions. Materials and methods: With the aim to investigate this relation, two tasks were administered to a sample of 21 healthy participants. The first task (arithmetic) required low cognitive and WM load together with a prospective task, the second (PASAT) required high cognitive and WM load together with a prospective switching task. The prospective task included two modalities of administration: based on a sound cue (event-based) or at a given moment (time-based). Results: PM accuracy was influenced by WM only when paired to complex tasks that require high cognitive load on WM and active PM self-retrieval processes (time-PASAT). Conclusions: These results support partial independence between these two mechanisms.

Non-verbal communication is a joint action defined by the use of different gestures’ types. The present research aimed to investigate the electrophysiological (EEG) correlates during the observation of affective, social and informative gestures in non-verbal communication between encoder and decoder. Moreover, the hyperscanning paradigm allows investigating the individuals’ inter-brain connectivity. Regarding gestures’ type, the study’s results showed a decrease of alpha (increased brain activity), and an increase of delta and theta brain responsiveness and inter-brain connectivity for affective and social gestures in frontal and posterior areas for informative ones. Concerning gestures’ valence, an increase of left frontal theta activity and inter-brain connectivity was observed. Finally, about the inter-agents’ role, the same brain responses and inter-brain connectivity patterns emerged both in encoder and decoder. This study allows discovering neural responses underlying gestures’ type and valence during action observation, highlighting the validity of hyperscanning to investigate inter-brain connectivity mechanisms

N/A

Decisional conflicts have been investigated with social decision-making tasks, which represent good models to elicit social and emotional dynamics, including fairness perception. To explore these issues, we created two modified versions of the UG framed within an economic vs. a moral context that included two kinds of unfair offers: advantageous (upside, U) or disadvantageous (downside, D) from the responder’s perspective, and vice-versa for the proponent. The hemodynamic activity of 36 participants, 20 females and 16 males, was continuously recorded with fNIRS to investigate the presence of general or specific circuits between the different experimental conditions. Results showed that disadvantageous offers (D) are associated with an increased widespread cortical activation. Furthermore, we found that advantageous moral choices at the expense of others (U) were related to the activation of the right prefrontal cortex. Finally, we found gender-related differences in brain activations in the different frameworks. In particular, the DLPFC was recruited by females during the economic task, and by males during the moral frame. In conclusion, the present study confirmed and expanded previous data about the role of the prefrontal cortices in decision-making, suggesting the need for further studies to understand better the different prefrontal networks serving moral and economic decisions also considering gender-related differences.

Prospective memory (PM) is a complex process involving multiple cognitive abilities. Several studies demonstrated the role of working memory (WM) in PM. However, to date, the extent to which PM and WM shared resources or, rather, they are distinct mechanisms is still debated. With the aim to investigate the role of WM in PM, we developed two experiments manipulating the WM load required by ongoing tasks to examine a patient with PM difficulties and dysexecutive syndrome following brain damage. Experiment 1 required a simple arithmetic activity together with a PM switching-task to be performed at a given time (time-based condition) or following cue presentation (event-based condition). In Experiment 2, we varied the complexity of the ongoing task (PASAT test). Patient MB’s performance in PM tasks significantly differs from the controls only in the PASAT time-based condition. We demonstrated a partial independence between WM and PM in tasks involving automatic retrieval.

N/A

Recently, the use of wearable devices and neurotechnologies for well-being and neurocognitive empowerment has increased, allowing users to achieve better awareness and control of their mindset and mood states. We present an overview of main results from a research line on the effectiveness of an intensive training protocol supported by wearable neurofeedback devices in the field of neurocognitive empowerment and stress management. Specifically, the potential of such neurotechnology-supported training was tested by collecting behavioural, psychometric, neuropsychological, and physiological outcomes and comparing experimental and active control groups. The protocol was tested in different experimental and applied contexts - including sports, workplace, and healthy aging. Based on the multi-level assessment of training outcomes, results highlighted the effectiveness of using intensive neurotechnology-mediated protocols to enhance focusing and attention regulation skills, and reduce anxiety/stress levels while increasing mental vigour, hinting at the potential of such new technologies for neurocognitive empowerment.

Aims: Moral decision-making in the company is an essential topic, as organizational decisions can have significant personal and social consequences. This study aims to investigate behavioral and neurophysiological correlates underlying moral decision-making in company contexts. Methods: The present study has recorded the electrophysiological (EEG) and behavioral responses of 18 managers during the execution of a decision-making task that has proposed three choice contexts: professional fit proposing a monetary sum division for a work with a colleague; company fit providing a monetary sum for some company benefits and social fit providing a monetary sum for the financial care of a sick relative of a colleague. For each context, three offers were proposed: neutral, who proposed an equal money division between the two parties; fair, which proposed an advantageous subdivision for participants; unfair, which proposed a disadvantageous money subdivision for participants. Results: Results have shown a difference in brain and behavioral responses during moral decision-making. Behavioral data showed an increase of accepted responses for fair and neutral offers in professional and social fit conditions and longer reaction times (RTs) for unfair offers in company fit condition. Concerning EEG, an increase of frontal delta, theta, and beta activity was observed for fair offers in professional fit condition highlighting a positive emotional engagement; while an increase of right frontal activity emerged for unfair offers in company fit condition, showing negative emotional responses. Conclusion: This research provides evidence about cognitive and emotional processes that influence moraldecision making in a company context, highlighting decision-making complexity.

Neuroenhancement intensive protocols combining cognitive training and mindfulness-based practices through wearable neurofeedback (NF) devices were demonstrated to reduce physiological and subjective stress markers and improve neurocognitive efficiency in healthy samples. This work aims to explore the potential of this integrated neurocognitive enhancement protocol in different age groups. 55 volunteers (30 young adults, 15 adults over 50, 10 elderly over-65) were randomly divided into an active control group and an experimental group. All participants were subjected to intensive 3-weeks training protocols, with daily sessions. Experimental groups (young adults, over-50 and over-65) practiced mindfulness-based exercises with NF, while the control group has practiced breathing exercises without the device. Participants underwent standardized psychometric, neuropsychological and psychophysiological assessment sessions before and after the training. After the training, all experimental groups improved executive control skills, reduced perceived stress levels and showed increased psychophysiological markers of vagal tone and parasympathetic control of stress. The young-adult experimental participants improved the electrophysiological markers of attention regulation (amplitude of the ERP N2 component in attentional tasks); the electroencephalographic markers of reactivity and balancing between relaxation state and activation in resting state were boosted in the experimental over-50 participants; while the experimental over-65 participants ameliorated the electrophysiological markers of emotional regulation (index of frontal asymmetry for the alpha band). The study highlights the potential of the integration of traditional strengthening interventions and new technologies both from the point of view of promoting subjective well-being and affective regulation abilities, and of neurocognitive strengthening with preventive purpose, through different age groups.

Recentemente, l’interesse delle neuroscienze si è rivolto in modo significativo verso lo studio dei meccanismi neurofisiologici e periferici sottostanti l’osservazione e la riproduzione di diverse tipologie di gesti. Nello specifico, la presente ricerca si è posta l’obiettivo di investigare, durante un’interazione comunicativa non-verbale tra encoder e decoder, i meccanismi di sintonizzazione cerebrale e autonomica coinvolti nell’osservazione e nella riproduzione di differenti tipologie di gesti (affettivi, sociali e informativi) a valenza positiva e negativa, grazie all’utilizzo della spettroscopia funzionale nel vicino infrarosso (fNIRS) e del biofeedback con un paradigma di analisi in hyperscanning. In particolare, durante l’interazione comunicativa, è stato chiesto ad entrambi i soggetti della coppia di osservare specifiche tipologie di gesti che dovevano essere successivamente riprodotte dall’encoder. I risultati dello studio hanno mostrato un aumento di emoglobina ossigenata (O2Hb) e di connettività inter-cerebrale nella corteccia prefrontale dorsolaterale (DLPFC) durante l’osservazione di gesti affettivi e nella circonvoluzione frontale superiore (SFG) durante la riproduzione e l’osservazione di gesti sociali. Inoltre, è stato osservato un aumento di O2Hb e di connettività inter-cerebrale nella DPLFC dell’emisfero sinistro durante l’osservazione di gesti con valenza positiva. A livello autonomico, invece, è emerso un aumento di sintonizzazione nella risposta elettrodermica (livello e risposta di conduttanza, SCL, SCR) durante l’osservazione di gesti sociali e affettivi a valenza negativa. La presente ricerca ha evidenziato la presenza di meccanismi di sintonizzazione cerebrale e periferica specifici per la tipologia e la valenza dei gesti osservati e riprodotti durante l’interazione comunicativa.

Aims: Recently, social neurosciences have investigated the neurophysiological correlates underlying specific moments of social interactions, such as gift exchange that involves the experience of positive emotions, as gratitude. The present research aimed to investigate the possible effects of gratitude experienced during gift exchange on behavioral and neurophysiological responsiveness. Methods: Neural activity, autonomic responsiveness and behavioral performance of 16 friends, coupled in dyads, were recorded during the execution of a joint attentional task before or after a gift exchange, that occurred for 8 dyads at the task beginning and for the other in the task middle. For the recording of electroencephalographic (EEG), hemodynamic, through the use of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), and autonomic activity (heart rate, HR; skin conductance level, SCL), a hyperscanning paradigm was used. Intra and inter-brain analyses were conducted. Results: From the results, an increase of behavioral performance and autonomic responses (HR, SCL) emerged after gift exchange. EEG results showed an increase of delta and theta intra- and inter-brain connectivity after gift exchange, highlighting the presence of neural coupling mechanisms. fNIRS results revealed an increase of oxygenated hemoglobin (O2Hb) in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) after gift exchange, highlighting the role of this area in social and emotional processes. Furthermore, inter-brain analysis showed an increase in behavioral performance and greater autonomic synchronization of HR index. Conclusion: The present research shows how prosocial behavior experienced following gift exchange is able to increase mechanisms of shared cognition, adoption of joint strategies and cooperation inducing positive effects on individuals’ cognitive performance.

N/A

N/A

N/A

The gift exchange represents a moment that characterizes interpersonal interactions. In particular, research in psychological and neuroscientific fields aimed to observe the social function of gift exchange. Specifically, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of prosocial behavior, experienced during gift exchange, on individuals’ cognitive performance and brain activity. To this aim, behavioral performance and neural activity of 15 dyads of participants, with a consolidated friendship, were collected during the execution of an attentional cooperative task before or after a gift exchange. Individuals’ brain activity was recorded through the use of Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) in hyperscanning. Results showed an increase of perceived cooperation and cognitive performance, in terms of accuracy (ACC), after gift exchange. The increase of interpersonal tuning and cooperation was also shown by neural activity with an increase of oxygenated hemoglobin (O2Hb) intra-brain and inter-brain connectivity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) following the gift exchange. Moreover, from ConIndex analysis emerged an increase of inter-brain connectivity compared to intra-brain in DLPFC area. The present study, therefore, highlights how prosocial behavior can have positive effects on cognitive performance improvement and interpersonal relationships and neural coordination strengthen, increasing intra and inter-brain connectivity mechanisms.

Background: Recently several studies in the psychological and social field have investigated the social function of gift exchange as a useful way for the consolidation of interpersonal and social relationships and the implementation of prosocial behaviors. Specifically, the present research wanted to explore if gift exchange, increased emotional sharing, gratitude and interpersonal cooperation, leading to an improvement in cognitive and behavioral performance. In this regard, neural connectivity and cognitive performance of 14 pairs of friends were recorded during the development of a joint attention task that involved a gift exchange at the beginning or halfway through the task. The moment of gift exchange was randomized within the pairs: for seven couples, it happened at task beginning, for the remaining seven later. Individuals' simultaneous brain activity was recorded through the use of two electroencephalograms (EEG) systems that were used in hyperscanning. Results: The results showed that after gift exchange there was an improvement in behavioral performance in terms of accuracy. For what concerns EEG, instead, an increase of delta and theta activation was observed in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) when gift exchange occurred at the beginning of the task. Furthermore, an increase in neural connectivity for delta and theta bands was observed. Conclusion: The present research provides a significant contribution to the exploration of the factors contributing to the strengthening of social bonds, increasing cooperation, gratitude and prosocial behavior.

Empirical management research has focused more on the investigation of important interpersonal factors that could be beneficial for a company’s well-being, including emotional and empathic engagement between managers and employees. The capacity to understand and mirror others’ feelings could result in a mutual adaptation that generates interpersonal tuning (IT). In the present study, we measured IT by applying a hyperscanning approach with simultaneous recording of electroencephalographic (EEG) signals from two participants interacting together. Eleven leaders and 11 employees were recruited and asked to role-play an employee performance review with a rating (R) or no rating (NR) condition. In the NR condition leaders describe by words the employee’s proficiency, while in R they provided a quantitative rating. The NR condition emerged as a more engaging situation in terms of empathic responses and mirroring. This difference was detectable from the localization of neurophysiological effects over the frontopolar and frontal brain areas, and the higher synchronization of EEG delta frequency coherence. Behavioral results also revealed an increase of self-perceived emotional tuning, agreement on content, and interpersonal cooperation in the NR condition compared to R condition. These effects were present in both leaders and employees and have several implications for social and company well-being.

Background:Moral decision-making can be considered a multidimensional construct mediated by cognitive and emotional processes that appear to be influenced by several factors such as fairness and unfairness perception and personal or social gains or losses. The present research aimed to investigate the electrophysiological (EEG) and behavioral correlates underlying moral behavior in a company context during three choice contexts: professional fit, proposing managers to decide to divide a monetary sum for a work with a colleague; company fit, proposing to decide to donate a monetary sum for company benefits, and social fit proposing to decide to donate a monetary sum for sick colleague’s relative. For each context, three offers were proposed: fair, financially favorable for managers, unfair, financially unfavorable, and neutral, financially equal. Results:A difference in brain and behavioral responses during moral decision-making emerged. Specifically, EEG results showed an increase of frontal delta, theta, and beta activity. Furthermore, an increase of positive emotional engagement supported by an increase of beta, delta and theta left frontal activity was observed for fair offers in professional fit condition; while, an emotional engagement decrease emerged for unfair offers in company fit condition, as shown by an increase of right frontal activity. Moreover, an increase of empathic response supported by a delta and theta left parietal activity increase for unfair offers in social fit condition emerged. From behavioral data, an increase of accepted responses for fair and neutral offers emerged in professional and social fit conditions. Finally, longer reaction times for unfair offers in company fit condition emerged. Conclusion:These results provide evidence on the neural correlates underlying moral behavior in company context allowing us to better understand the cognitive and emotional processes and factors that influence moral decision-making.

N/A

Communication can be considered as a joint action that involves two or more individuals transmitting different information. In particular, non-verbal communication involves body movements used to communicate different information, characterized by the use of specific gestures. The present study aims to investigate the electrophysiological (EEG) correlates underlying the use of affective, social, and informative gestures during a non-verbal interaction between an encoder and decoder. From the results of the single brain and inter-brain analyses, an increase of frontal alpha, delta, and theta brain responsiveness and inter-brain connectivity emerged for affective and social gestures; while, for informative gestures, an increase of parietal alpha brain responsiveness and alpha, delta, and theta inter-brain connectivity was observed. Regarding the inter-agents’ role, an increase of frontal alpha activity was observed in the encoder compared to the decoder for social and affective gestures. Finally, regarding gesture valence, an increase of theta brain responsiveness and theta and beta inter-brain connectivity was observed for positive gestures on the left side compared to the right one. This study, therefore, revealed the function of the gesture type and valence in influencing individuals’ brain responsiveness and inter-brain connectivity, showing the presence of resonance mechanisms underlying gesture execution and observation.

Recently, different psychological studies have been interested in identifying the factors that regulate the development and maintenance of long-lasting interpersonal and social relationships. Specifically, the present research explored the link between gift exchange, gratitude and cognitive effects. The behavioral performance and neural activity of 32 participants were recorded during a cooperative game to be played before and after gift exchange. Specifically, participants had to perform the task coupled with a dear friend. Half of the couples were asked to exchange a gift before the task performance; the other half was asked to exchange a gift halfway through the task performance. For hemodynamic brain responses, functional near-infrared spectroscopy was used. Results showed that an increase in cognitive performance occurred after the exchange of gifts, with improved accuracy and lower response times in task performance. Regarding hemodynamic responses, an increase in oxygenated hemoglobin was detected, especially in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex following the gift exchange. Furthermore, it was observed that gift exchange before the beginning of the task increased the performance level. The present study provides a significant contribution to the identification of those factors that enable the increased cognitive performance based on cooperative relationships.

Storicamente gli studi in ambito advertising si sono focalizzati sulla pubblicità cartacea, televisiva e sul web. Poco spazio è stato destinato alle piattaforme mobile, in particolare alle app. Gli effetti di diversi contenuti, la presenza di animazione e/o interattività nei banner e come queste proprietà interagiscono in ambiente app sono poco conosciuti. Al fine di sondare tali effetti i metodi self-report standard utilizzati in precedenza risultano essere limitati, limitandosi ad aspetti estrinseci e di livello esplicito del comportamento. A questo riguardo, le neuroscienze forniscono un supporto, nello specifico l’utilizzo dell’approccio multimetodo garantisce dati relativi anche alle componenti implicite del comportamento. La presente ricerca ha voluto verificare l’impatto della animazione (dinamicità/staticità), dell’interattività (interattivo/non interattivo) e del contenuto tematico della piattaforma (attualità, salute ed ambiente). Ai soggetti è stato chiesto di utilizzare una app di notizie su di uno smartphone precedentemente predisposto, contenente stimoli pubblicitari randomizzati. In particolare sono state predisposte 4 tipologie pubblicitarie costruite a partire dalla matrice 2x2, ottenuta dall’intersezione delle proprietà di animazione e interattività. L’attività cerebrale (le bande alpha, beta, delta e theta dello spettro elettroencefalografico, EEG), gli indici autonomici [Heart Rate (HR) Skin Conductance Level (SCL) e Skin Conductance Response (SCR)] e i movimenti degli occhi (fissazioni oculari) sono state misurate utilizzando l’EEG, il biofeedback e l’eye-tracking su di un campione di millennial italiani (n=18). I risultati hanno evidenziato, per entrambi i banner dinamici e per il contenuto di attualità, un aumento del power di theta nella corteccia prefrontale dell’emisfero sinistro ed una maggiore frequenza media di fissazione. Inoltre, in relazione al contenuto di attualità, è emersa una maggiore attivazione della SCR. Le diff

Recentemente l’interesse delle neuroscienze si è focalizzato sull’indagine dei processi socio-cognitivi caratterizzanti l’ambito manageriale. Nello specifico, l’attenzione delle neuroscienze è stata volta ad indagare i correlati neurali sottostanti differenti processi aziendali, come quello valutativo e decisionale. Quest’ultimo, infatti, si configura come un costrutto complesso influenzato da diverse variabili, come la valutazione cognitiva delle possibili perdite o ricompense e delle implicazioni morali sottostanti la presa di decisione. Al fine di comprendere più a fondo i correlati neurofisiologici alla base del processo di decision-making in contesti ad elevato impatto morale, il presente studio ha esaminato in un campione di 15 manager i meccanismi cerebrali e periferici correlati alla presa di decisione in tre differenti contesti. A tale scopo, per la valutazione delle scelte dei partecipanti, è stato somministrato un compito consistente in una versione modificata dell’Ultimatum Game (3 condizioni: la suddivisione di una somma di denaro fornita come compenso per un lavoro svolto insieme ad un collega; la suddivisione di una somma di denaro fornita per la realizzazione di alcuni benefit aziendali; la suddivisione di una somma di denaro fornita per sostenere le spese economiche di un parente del collega con problemi di salute). All’interno delle tre condizioni sono state presentate tre tipologie di offerte: neutre, vantaggiose o svantaggiose. Nello specifico, nella condizione “neutra” è stata proposta ai partecipanti un’offerta proponente una suddivisione di denaro equa tra le due parti, nella condizione vantaggiosa è stata proposta un’offerta favorevole per il proponente, e infine, nella condizione svantaggiosa è stata proposta un’offerta sfavorevole per il proponente. La registrazione delle risposte neurofisiologiche dei soggetti ha previsto l’utilizzo dell’elettroencefalografia (EEG) per la rilevazione dell’attività cerebrale, della Spettroscopia nel

Negli ultimi anni l’interesse delle neuroscienze si è focalizzato in particolar modo sulla comunicazione gestuale, che rappresenta una forma di scambio non verbale caratterizzante le interazioni quotidiane degli individui. Nello specifico, l’obiettivo delle neuroscienze sociali è stato volto ad indagare le basi neurali sottostanti la capacità degli individui di produrre e riconoscere diverse tipologie di gesti, utili a comunicare informazioni differenti connotate da una specifica connotazione semantica. La presente ricerca ha voluto indagare, attraverso la tecnica dell’hyperscanning, i correlati neurali alla base della riproduzione e della ricezione di gesti affettivi, sociali e informativi, di differente valenza edonica (positiva e negativa), in 18 coppie di soggetti coinvolti in nella riproduzione di gesti. Le coppie erano formate da un individuo che riproduceva il gesto osservato (encoder) e un individuo destinatario del gesto (decoder). Per la registrazione delle risposte cerebrali è stata utilizzata la Spettroscopia nel Vicino Infrarosso funzionale (fNIRS) che ha permesso la rilevazione dell’attività emodinamica corticale (emoglobina ossigenata, O2Hb e deossigenata, HHb). Inoltre, l’utilizzo della tecnica dell’hyperscanning ha permesso di osservare la sintonizzazione inter-cerebrale, mediante lo studio della connettività neurale dei soggetti inter-agenti. Dai risultati delle analisi intra ed inter-cerebrali, è emersa l’attivazione di specifici network in relazione alla categoria e alla valenza dei gesti riprodotti. Nello specifico, è stata osservata una differenziazione gesto-specifica, con un aumento della concentrazione di O2Hb e della connettività inter-cerebrale nella corteccia prefrontale dorsolaterale (DLPFC) per i gesti affettivi, nella circonvoluzione frontale superiore (SFG) per i gesti sociali e nei campi oculari frontali (FEF) per i gesti informativi. Inoltre, è stato osservato un aumento di O2Hb e di connettività neurale nella DPLFC e del

Introduzione: Negli ultimi anni, si è osservato un crescente trend di diffusione di dispositivi indossabili, come le smart-bands e gli activity-tracker, progettati per la promozione della salute. I più recenti sviluppi di questo trend hanno visto l’applicazione di wearable devices in grado di rilevare in modo non-invasivo biosegnali periferici (come la frequenza cardiaca) e centrali (come l’attività elettroencefalica) per il potenziamento neurocognitivo, delineando possibili implicazioni pratiche anche in ottica di prevenzione primaria dei processi di declino cognitivo. In particolare, è stato mostrato come protocolli intensivi di potenziamento che integrino pratiche di consapevolezza basate sull’approccio mindfulness e allenamento tramite dispositivi neurofeedback indossabili possano comportare una riduzione dei marker fisiologici e soggettivi di stress e migliorare l'efficienza neurocognitiva in campioni di adulti sani (Balconi, Fronda, & Crivelli, 2019; Bhayee et al., 2016; Crivelli, Fronda, Venturella, & Balconi, 2019). A partire da tali evidenze, il presente lavoro mira ad esplorare il potenziale di tale protocollo integrato di potenziamento neurocognitivo in diverse fasce d’età. Materiali e Metodi: Un totale di 55 volontari (30 giovani-adulti, 15 adulti over-50, 10 anziani over-65) hanno preso parte allo studio. I partecipanti giovani-adulti sono stati randomicamente divisi in un gruppo di controllo attivo (N = 15) e un gruppo sperimentale (N = 15). Tutti i partecipanti sono stati sottoposti a protocolli di training intensivo della durata di tre settimane, costituiti da sessioni quotidiane di pratica. I gruppi sperimentali (giovani-adulti, over-50 e over-65) hanno praticato esercizi tratti dall’approccio mindfulness con il supporto di un dispositivo neurofeedback dedicato, mentre il gruppo di controllo ha praticato esercizi di respirazione senza il supporto del dispositivo. Al fine di testare i risultati del training, tutti i partecipanti sono sta

N/A

Introduzione: Recentemente, l’interesse delle neuroscienze si è focalizzato sull’indagine dei processi cognitivi ed emotivi sottostanti la presa di decisione morale in determinati contesti, come quello manageriale, in cui le decisioni degli individui possono avere delle conseguenze rilevanti a livello personale e sociale (Balconi & Fronda, 2019). La presa di decisione morale, infatti, si caratterizza come un costrutto complesso e multicomponenziale influenzato da diversi fattori relativi alla valutazione dei rischi e dei benefici associati alla scelta e alla considerazione delle possibili conseguenze future. Nonostante l’esistenza di un’ampia letteratura sul tema del comportamento decisionale (Naqvi, Shiv, & Bechara, 2006; Schiebener & Brand, 2015), soltanto pochi studi hanno osservato le possibili implicazioni della presa di decisione morale in ambito manageriale che, se non considerate, possono condizionare il benessere personale e organizzativo. Materiali e Metodi: Alla luce di queste evidenze, il seguente studio si è proposto di indagare i correlati neurali e autonomici di 18 manager, attraverso l’utilizzo dell’elettroencefalografia (EEG), della Spettroscopia Funzionale nel Vicino Infrarosso (fNIRS) e del biofeedback, durante lo svolgimento di un compito richiedente di prendere alcune decisioni morali in differenti contesti di scelta. Nello specifico, il primo contesto di scelta ha richiesto ai partecipanti di decidere relativamente alla suddivisione di una somma di denaro per un lavoro svolto insieme ad un collega (benessere personale); il secondo contesto ha proposto la suddivisione di una somma di denaro per l’introduzione di alcuni benefit aziendali nel proprio ambiente lavorativo (benessere aziendale) e il terzo contesto ha richiesto di prendere una decisione in merito alla suddivisione di una somma di denaro per aiutare finanziariamente il parente di un collega malato (benessere prosociale). Per ogni contesto di scelta sono state proposte tre

Neurocognitive enhancement can be defined as a voluntary attempt to improve cognitive performance in order to enhance the current subjective profile of skills with the support of neuroscientific tools that can modulate brain activity and optimize the functionality of brain structures mediating such cognitive skills (Balconi & Crivelli, 2019). While the desire to better subjective skills, to improve individual physical and mental skills, and to access better opportunities than other peers has a long story, recent research focused on practical implications and new opportunities offered by neurocognitive enhancement techniques, such as those provided by wearable neurotechnologies (Balconi & Crivelli, 2019; Balconi, Fronda, Venturella, & Crivelli, 2017). Here we outline the main outcomes of a research line on the effects of a novel neurocognitive enhancement protocol supported by a wearable neurofeedback device in two applied fields: workplace and sports. Specifically, the potential of such technology-supported protocol was tested by collecting behavioural, psychometric, neuropsychological and physiological measures and comparing experimental and active control groups. Findings, based on all dependent measures, consistently showed that the experimental protocol is effective in empowering attention regulation skills, as well as in reducing anxiety and stress levels and improving mental vigour. Indeed, a consistent positive modulation of behavioural and electrophysiological markers of cognitive efficiency (reaction times and amplitude of the N2 event-related potential) and autonomic markers of improved emotional regulation (perceived stress and heart-rate variability) was found. Notably, such results are consistent with previous proof-of-concept and experimental studies and then extend available evidence on the potential of the protocol even in real-life settings. Present findings suggest that the novel enhancement protocol might act as a valuable opportunity

N/A

Moral decision-making is central to guide our social behavior, and it is based on emotional and cognitive reasoning processes. In the present research, we investigated the moral decision-making in a company context by the recording of autonomic responses (skin conductance response, heart rate frequency, and variability), in three different moral conditions (professional fit, company fit, social fit) and three different offers (fair, unfair, neutral). In particular, the first professional fit condition required participants to accept or reject some offers proposing the money subdivision for a work done together with a colleague. The second company fit condition required participants to evaluate offers regarding the investment of a part of the money in the introduction of some company’s benefits. Finally, the third social fit condition required participants to accept or refuse a money subdivision to support a colleague’s relative with health problems financially. Results underlined the significant effect of both the condition, with increased autonomic effects more for personal and social than company fit, and the offer type, with differences for fair and neutral offers compared to unfair ones. This research shows how individual, situational, and contextual factors influence moral decision-making in a company context