Search

Lying, as a deplorable behavior, induces changes in the vegetative system because of the sense of guilt and the anxiety of being uncovered, and the current lie-detectors, as the polygraph, register these changes as cues of a deceptive behavior. Such modulations, however, aren't direct measures of deception per se, but products of emotions in general, that could also affect an innocent suspect, wrongly accused. But what happens in the brain? Is it possible to define the relationship between lies and emotions? The purpose of this study was thus to investigate the neural correlates of deceptive behavior in response to neutral and affective questions, created ad-hoc, through the analysis of the electrocortical indexes registered in healthy volunteers. ERPs were recorded from 128 sites. From ERP responses it was possible to notice, at anterior brain areas, a late modulation of the electrocortical activity during the lying versus the telling the truth condition, according to the affective valence of the stimuli. This finding is particularly relevant in that it confirms the ambiguity of data coming from studies related to peripheral indexes measures. An earlier peak was found over the prefrontal regions that distinguished between truthful and mendacious responses, irrespective of the affective context. This component would thus represent the neural marker of deception. A swLORETA linear inverse solution was computed on its amplitude. The results showed that a deceptive behavior is related to the activation of anterior brain areas reflecting an increasing need in higher-level cognitive functions, namely working memory, conflict monitoring, controlled- and task switching-processes, also suggested by behavioral responses.

The capacity to deceive others is a complex, multicomponential and typically human cognitive ability, which requires higher-order cognitive functions and the ability to suppress truthful information. Nothwithstanding the polygraph is widely used in countries such as USA to detect deception, not much is known about the role of emotional processes (such as the fear of being considered guilty while being innocent) in affecting physiological responses used as lie indicators. The aim of this study was to investigate the time course and neural correlates of untruthful behaviour in response to visually presented neutral and affective questions through the analysis of electro-cortical potentials; the questions could also be inherently true or false and ERP were recorded from 128 scalp sites in 23 volunteers. Behavioural and ERP responses indicated that when one is lying there is an increased need for executive functions, namely working memory, inhibition and task switching processes. Deceptive responses elicited a more negative N400 over the prefrontal regions and a smaller late positivity (LP 550-750 ms) over the prefrontal and frontal areas. However, such a reduction in LP amplitude was elicited also by truthful affective responses, thus resulting in a lack of difference between mendacious and truthful responses to emotional questions. A swLORETA inverse solution was applied to the N400 component (300-400 ms) that indeed would represent the neural marker of deception (difference-wave: untruthful-truthful). The results showed the activation of the precentral gyrus (BA6), of the superior, medial, middle and inferior frontal gyrus (BA9, 11, 47), and of the anterior cingulate cortex during deceptive responding.

Previous studies have investigated a linguistic aspect of humour that requires high level cognitive functions, such as theory of mind. However, scarce knowledge is available about another source of humor that comes from a particular kind of comedy, called slapstick, characterized by a type of broad, physical comedy involving misfortune situations. The goal of the present study was to shed some light on this matter by measuring brain bioelectrical activity during the perception of funny vs. non funny misfortune circumstances. According to our hypothesis the element mostly providing a comic element during a misfortune situation is the facial expression of the victims: if they show a funny bewilderment face, the observer's reaction will usually be laughing, while if they express pain or anger, we won't laugh, but we could empathized with them instead. In this study 210 coloured photos depicting men and women involved in misfortune situations were presented to 29 Italian healthy volunteers, while their EEG was recorded. Three different misfortune situations were considered: people showing a painful or an angry expression (affective); people showing a bewilderment expression and, so, a comic look, provoking amusement in the observer (comic); people engaged in similar misfortune situations but with no face visible (control condition). The ERP results showed that the mean amplitude of both the posterior N1 and anterior N220 components were much larger in amplitude to comic pictures, than other stimulus types. This early response could be considered the first identification of a comic element and the evidence of the compelling response that usually characterizes people amused reaction during the observation of comic misfortune situation. In addition, we observed a larger P300 amplitude in response to comic than affective pictures. This might be interpreted as sign of an increased arousal associated with the processing of positively-valenced affective information involved in humour appreciation, and possibly linked to a pleasure response. Finally, no face pictures elicited an anteriorly distributed N400 which might reflect the extra-effort needed to comprehend the nature of the situation displayed without affective facial information. This piece of data support the hypothesis that the facial expression of the victim of a misfortune act as a specific trigger for the amusement feeling that observers usually experience when someone falls down. Overall, the data indicate the existence of a power and primitive neural response that is associated with the recognition and appreciation of the comic element in a misfortune situation.

It has been consistently shown that words with high lexical frequencies are recognized more quickly and accurately than words with lower frequencies in the same language. Word frequency has therefore played a central role in the development of lexical processing models. There is increasing behavioral evidence that the age at which words are learned is a variable with as much significance as lexical frequency. Nevertheless, while neuroimaging and electrophysiological studies have provided remarkable evidence of the influence of word frequency on brain activity, little is known about how words acquired earlier or later in life are represented in the brain. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the processing of early- vs. late-acquired words affects the timing and topographical distribution of ERP components differently than the processing of high- vs. low-frequency words. Participants were asked to perform an orthographic decision task (detection of a target letter) while EEG measurements were taken from 128 scalp sites. The LORETA source localization technique was applied to identify the intracranial generators of the surface potentials. Reaction times showed an effect of both word age of acquisition (AoA) and lexical frequency as well as an interaction between the two psycholinguistic variables. The electrophysiological data revealed a neuro-functional dissociation between AoA and frequency effects in early visual word processing. AoA modulated the amplitude of left occipito-temporal selection negativity, suggesting an effect of word AoA on early orthographic and lexical access and revealing the crucial role of AoA in determining how words are neurally represented in the ventral pathway. Lexical frequency modulated the amplitude of left anterior negativity, providing evidence for the involvement of the left inferior frontal cortex in the processing of low-frequency words.

There is a lively debate in the literature about the specific roles of the two cerebral hemispheres in processing figurative language. The aim of the present study was to investigate this matter further and to compare the time courses of literal and idiomatic language processing. Fifteen right-handed Italian volunteers were asked to read 360 idiomatic and literal Italian sentences silently and decide whether they were semantically related or unrelated to a following target word, while their EEGs were recorded from 128 scalp sites. Our data indicate bilateral involvement of both hemispheres in idiom comprehension, with a special role for the right hemisphere and particularly the right MTG after 350 ms and the right medial frontal gyrus in the time windows 270-300 and 500-780 ms. In addition, the activation of left and right limbic regions (400-450 ms) suggests that they have a role in the emotional connotation of colourful idiomatic language. The data support the view that there is direct access to the idiomatic meaning of figurative language, not dependent on the suppression of its literal meaning.

There is considerable evidence that fluent bilinguals suffer a certain degree of cross-language interference, which varies according to age of language acquisition, linguistic proficiency, and as words become more orthographically, phonologically and semantically similar. We studied and compared early bilinguals, simultaneous interpreters and monolingual controls to disentangle the effect of age of language acquisition from that of fluency, in the functional organization of the multilingual brain. The data suggest that a certain degree of interference takes place in the context of multiple languages because of the parallel access to different linguistic systems. There is less interference if one of the languages has a special status. Age of acquisition seems to be more relevant than proficiency in determining a different linguistic cerebral organization between monolinguals and polyglots. It appears that the linguistic systems (L1, L2, L3, etc.), are not independent but rather are based on a common conceptual system.

Aim Several studies showed that an early music training modifies functional brain structure and enhances connectivity, but little is known about the effects to read a musical sheet on brain plasticity. The aim of this study was to compare visual processing of notes and words in 15 professional musicians and 15 controls while EEGs recorded their visual processing Materials Stimuli comprised 300 words and 300 short (1 measure) music scores that were randomly presented at the center of a PC screen located approximately 114 cm from the viewer's eyes Thirty healthy right-handed participants (18 males and 12 females) were recruited for this experiment. They were matched for cultural status and education level (except for musical expertise) across groups. All had normal or corrected-to-normal vision and reported no history of neurological illness or drug abuse. Half of them were professional musicians with a Conservatory degree in violin, trumpet, clarinet, piano, composition, orchestra conduction. Musicians usually read their music scores in Violin and/or Bass clefs. The mean age of acquisition (AoA) of musical abilities (playing an instrument) for musicians was 8.57 years. The mean age of musicians was 31.7 years (SD= 12), while of control was 26 ys. (SD=69). Non musicians (control group) were totally unable to read musical notation as determined by a note reading test (solfeggio) administered prior to recruitment. People who recognized a single note were not enrolled in the study. Handedness was assessed with the Italian version of the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (Salmaso and Longoni, 1985), a laterality preference questionnaire. All participants reported strong right-handedness and right ocular dominance. Methods In this study 300 Italian words and 300 musical beats were presented for 1600 ms in the central visual field. ERPs were recorded from 128 scalp sites in a group of Italian University students and in a group of professional musicians. Participants had to press a button when they recognized a certain note or letter included (or not) in the musical beats or in the word. Results Letter processing was strongly left lateralized in controls, while the fusiform (BA37) and inferior occipital gyri (BA18) were activated in both hemispheres in musicians during both word and music reading. Discussion The right hemispheric involvement during orthographic reading could be considered a result of music reading ability. Conclusions Our study provided, for the first time, evidence that early acquisition of the ability to read a musical sheet could modifies the cerebral mechanisms involved in the visual word recognition.

To date, at least 2.41 billion people with Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are in need of rehabilitation. Rehabilitation care through innovative technologies is the ideal candidate to reach all people with NCDs in need. To obtain these innovative solutions available in the public health system calls for a rigorous multidimensional evaluation that, with an articulated approach, is carried out through the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) methodology. In this context, the aim of the present paper is to illustrate how the Smart&TouchID (STID) model addresses the need to incorporate patients’ evaluations into a multidimensional technology assessment framework by presenting a feasibility study of model application with regard to the rehabilitation experiences of people living with NCDs. After sketching out the STID model’s vision and operational process, preliminary evidence on the experiences and attitudes of patients and citizens on rehabilitation care will be described and discussed, showing how they operate, enabling the co-design of technological solutions with a multi-stakeholder approach. Implications for public health are discussed including the view on the STID model as a tool to be integrated into public health governance strategies aimed at tuning the agenda-setting of innovation in rehabilitation care through a participatory methodology.

This study aimed to examine the role of resilience resources in patients' lifestyle changes after the first Acute Coronary event. 275 Italian patients (84.0% men; mean age = 57.5, SD = 7.9) participated in a longitudinal study. Resilience resources (Self-esteem, Dispositional Optimism, Sense of Coherence – SOC, General and Disease-specific Self-efficacy), and lifestyles (diet, physical activity, and smoking) were assessed twice (at baseline and after 6 months). Path analysis using latent change models was performed to model the combined effect of levels and changes of the resilience resources over lifestyle changes. Patients with strong SOC at baseline were less prone to smoke and more prone to decrease smoking; enhancement in SOC was associated with a smoking decrease. High Disease-specific Self-efficacy at baseline was associated with an improvement in all lifestyles; enhancement in Disease-specific Self-efficacy predicted an increase in physical activity. Findings underline the need to design psychological interventions that promote patients' Disease-specific Self-efficacy and SOC.

Background In the field of neurorehabilitation, robot-assisted therapy (RAT) and virtual reality (VR) have so far shown promising evidence on multiple motor and functional outcomes. The related effectiveness on patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has been investigated across neurological populations but still remains unclear. The present study aimed to systematically review the studies investigating the effects of RAT alone and with VR on HRQoL in patients with different neurological diseases. Methods A systematic review of the studies evaluating the impact of RAT alone and combined with VR on HRQoL in patients affected by neurological diseases (i.e., stroke, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, Parkinson’s Disease) was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines. Electronic searches of PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Embase, and PsychINFO (2000–2022) were performed. Risk of bias was evaluated through the National Institute of Health Quality Assessment Tool. Descriptive data regarding the study design, participants, intervention, rehabilitation outcomes, robotic device typology, HRQoL measures, non-motor factors concurrently investigated, and main results were extracted and meta-synthetized. Results The searches identified 3025 studies, of which 70 met the inclusion criteria. An overall heterogeneous configuration was found regarding the study design adopted, intervention procedures and technological devices implemented, rehabilitation outcomes (i.e., related to both upper and lower limb impairment), HRQoL measures administered, and main evidence. Most of the studies reported significant effects of both RAT and RAT plus VR on patients HRQoL, whether they adopted generic or disease-specific HRQoL measures. Significant post-intervention within-group changes were mainly found across neurological populations, while fewer studies reported significant between-group comparisons, and then, mostly in patients with stroke. Longitudinal investigations were also observed (up to 36 months), but significant longitudinal effects were exclusively found in patients with stroke or multiple sclerosis. Finally, concurrent evaluations on non-motor outcomes beside HRQoL included cognitive (i.e., memory, attention, executive functions) and psychological (i.e., mood, satisfaction with the treatment, device usability, fear of falling, motivation, self-efficacy, coping, and well-being) variables. Conclusions Despite the heterogeneity observed among the studies included, promising evidence was found on the effectiveness of RAT and RAT plus VR on HRQoL. However, further targeted short- and long-term investigations, are strongly recommended for specific HRQoL subcomponents and neurological populations, through the adoption of defined intervention procedures and disease-specific assessment methodology.

It is known that early music learning (playing of an instrument) modifies functional brain structure (both white and gray matter) and connectivity, especially callosal transfer, motor control/coordination and auditory processing. We compared visual processing of notes and words in 15 professional musicians and 15 controls by recording their synchronized bioelectrical activity (ERPs) in response to words and notes. We found that musical training in childhood (from age ~8 years) modifies neural mechanisms of word reading, whatever the genetic predisposition, which was unknown. While letter processing was strongly left-lateralized in controls, the fusiform (BA37) and inferior occipital gyri (BA18) were activated in both hemispheres in musicians for both word and music processing. The evidence that the neural mechanism of letter processing differed in musicians and controls (being absolutely bilateral in musicians) suggests that musical expertise modifies the neural mechanisms of letter reading. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

COVID-19 has brought considerable changes and caused critical psychological responses, especially among frail populations. So far, researchers have explored the predictive effect of diverse factors on pandemic-related psychological distress, but none have focused on the impact of prior depression and anxiety symptomatology adopting an extended (10-year) longitudinal design. 105 patients aged over 60, affected by hypertension who participated in a previous longitudinal study were assessed through a follow-up telephone structured interview. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) were used for assessing depression and anxiety symptoms and the psychological impact of COVID-19, respectively. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted. At the assessment, participants did not report clinically relevant depression, anxiety, and psychological pandemic-related distress symptoms. However, significant mean differences between baseline and current follow-up evaluations for both depression and anxiety were found, reflecting a decrease in symptomatology over time (p β = 1.483, p = .005) significantly predicted the psychological impact of COVID-19 after 10 years. Conversely, their decrease (β = −1.640, p β = −7.274, p = .041) significantly contributed to lower psychological distress scores. Our findings provide insight into the predisposing influence of depressive symptoms on pandemic-related psychological distress ten years later. Preventive interventions and strategies considering these factors are needed to better pre-empt the severe mental consequences of the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent precautions and dispositions adopted have triggered substantial changes in daily health-related behaviors, including food consumption habits. The psychological impact of the pandemic has been considered one of the factors affecting this transition and requiring consideration when targeting healthy-sustainable behavior preservation. The present study describes the results of a survey conducted on a convenience sample of Italian residents (n = 2272) during the first phases of pandemic. The aim was to explore the daily nutritional choices and behaviors and their transformations that occurred along with the associations with psychological factors (i.e., subjective well-being, and depression, anxiety and stress symptoms). An indicator for healthy-sustainable transition (HST index) was constructed and revealed diffused transformation in dietary habits, with a large segment of the sample adopting healthier and more sustainable dietary behaviors and others showing reduced healthy-sustainable food choices. Informative relationships with the psychological variables were then found from the correlational and regression analyses. Lower levels of anxiety, depression and stress symptomatology and higher perceived subjective well-being were significantly associated with healthier-sustainable food consumption behaviors. These findings shed light on the crucial areas to be considered in future institutional interventions, ultimately ensuring favorable conditions for both healthy diet behaviors and sustainable food consumption choices.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. A physically active lifestyle is an important modifiable protective factor and can improve the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of people with CVD. Nevertheless, adherence to a physically active lifestyle is poor. This study examined the longitudinal (pre-event, 6-, 12-, 24-, and 36-month follow-ups) physical activity profiles in 275 patients (mean age = 57.1 years; SD = 7.87; 84% men) after the first acute coronary event. Moreover, it investigated the associations among physical activity, sense of coherence (SOC), and HRQoL. Physical activity profiles were identified through latent class growth analysis, and linear regressions were then performed to explore the association between the probability of belonging to the most virtuous profile, SOC, and HRQoL. After the cardiovascular event, 62% of patients reached adequate physical activity levels and maintained them over time (virtuous profile). The 38% could not implement (23%) or maintain (15%) a healthy behavior. A strong SOC at baseline (standardized β=0.19, p=.002) predicted the probability of belonging to the virtuous physical activity profile. Moreover, a strong SOC at baseline (standardized β=0.27, p

COVID-19 has changed people’s routines and imposed new ways of living. This study investigated variations in lifestyles (namely, physical activity, diet, alcohol consumption, and cigarette smoking) between the prepandemic and the pandemic period in a sample of older adults with hypertension. Moreover, it investigated predictors of adherence to government restrictions during the first lockdown period, evidencing the role of relevant sociodemographic indicators and lifestyle changes. A sample of 105 older Italian adults (M_age = 70 years; SD = 5.83) with hypertension was enrolled from a previous longitudinal study and interviewed on the phone between May and August 2020. Updated information about sociodemographic indicators and lifestyle changes was collected. Adherence to restrictions was explored through several questions regarding compliance with home confinement, facemask use, and the observance of social distancing. Results evidenced that only 33% of the respondents abided by all the national restrictions. During the first pandemic peak, considerable changes in lifestyles occurred, particularly regarding physical activity, which diminished in 70% of the sample. Women, unemployed/retired people, and individuals who decreased their amount of physical activity reported higher adherence to rules. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle over time is essential for disease prevention. Therefore, it is essential to continue to inform the population about the importance of a healthy lifestyle, and it is necessary to provide guidelines to maintain and promote it even during housebound periods.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has had clear and dramatic repercussions on health, the economy, and psychosocial well-being. Behavioral measures, such as wearing facemasks and maintaining distance from others, have proven crucial in fighting the contagion’s spread. This study aimed to investigate Type A personality traits and sociodemographic predictors of adherence to governmental measures in a sample of frail individuals. Methods A sample of 105 Italians over age 60 (Mean age = 70 years; 60.6% male) affected by hypertension who participated in a previous longitudinal study were assessed through a telephone structured interview. Sociodemographic information and Type A personality traits were retrieved from the original longitudinal study. Adherence behaviors were investigated through several questions regarding the compliance with home confinement, the use of facemasks and the observance of social distancing. Repeated measures Analyses of Variance (RMANOVA), Reliable Change Index, and binomial logistic regression analysis were performed. Results Only 33.3% of the participants reported adherence to all the governmental COVID-19 measures. Being a woman (OR = 4.84; 95% CI = 1.58, 14.90; p p p p = 0.30). Having high levels of impulsivity (OR = 2.28; 95% CI = 1.13, 4.59; p Conclusions Our results demonstrate that impulsivity is a stable personality facet that can have a robust negative impact on adherence behaviors to health claims. Overall, results show the importance to tailor communication strategies that consider the role of sociodemographic indicators and impulsivity to achieve a high level of adherence.

Background and objectives: Promoting healthy behaviors throughout life is an essential prevention tool against chronic disease onset and progression in adulthood. This study aims to explore the lifestyles of an Italian academic community to plan targeted initiatives to promote and improve healthy lifestyles in students and employees with consequent impact on their entourage. Methods: A sample of 8715 adults (mean age = 26 years; range = 18-76; 30% male) participated in an online survey designed to evaluate the associations among lifestyle profiles (including diet, physical activity, cigarette smoking, and alcohol consumption), sociodemographic factors (age, gender, and academic role), and Body Mass Index (BMI). Lifestyle profiles were identified through cluster analysis, and a multinomial logistic regression was then performed to relate clusters obtained to sociodemographic variables and BMI. Results: Data show that older age was associated with the probability of belonging to the clusters with the worst behavior in smoking and alcohol consumption, but with the healthiest diet. The younger the age, the greater the probability of belonging to the more physically active cluster. Men were more likely than women to belong to the lifestyle profile with the highest alcohol consumption and the highest physical activity. Lower BMI was associated with the highest amount of physical activity profile. Conclusion: This study shed light on factors associated with different co-occurring health-related behaviors that should be considered in planning effective communication strategies promoting adherence to health claims.

International audience; Despite widespread hearing problems among older adults, only a minority uses hearing aids. The stigma associated with such aids represents a key factor modulated by language. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of different forms of media communication on both implicit and explicit attitudes toward hearing aids. A preliminary analysis highlighted an over-representation of “technical” and “medical” terms in the corpus linguistic commonly used by the press. These results were used to design an online experimental study. The results suggested that the exposure to a language that includes informal words—as opposed to the technical terms commonly used by the press—favors positive implicit and explicit attitudes toward hearing aids, particularly among people who have direct contact with older adults. Overall, the use of an informal language in the press could generate a style of communication that positively influences people’s attitudes toward hearing aids.

Cardiovascular disease is one of the most common causes of hospitalization and is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. Among the most important modifiable and well-known risk factors are an unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle. Nevertheless, adherence to healthy lifestyle regimes is poor. The present study examined longitudinal trajectories (pre-event, 6-, 12-, 24-, 36-, and 60-month follow-ups) of protein intake (fish, legumes, red/processed meat) and physical activity in 275 newly-diagnosed patients with acute coronary syndrome. Hierarchical Generalized Linear Models were performed, controlling for demographic and clinical variables, the season in which each assessment was made, and the presence of anxiety and depressive symptoms. Significant changes in protein intake and physical activity were found from pre-event to the six-month follow-up, suggesting the adoption of healthier behaviors. However, soon after the six-month follow-up, patients experienced significant declines in their healthy behaviors. Both physical activity and red/processed meat intake were modulated by the season in which the assessments took place and by anxiety symptoms over time. The negative long-term trajectory of healthy behaviors suggests that tailored interventions are needed that sustain patients’ capabilities to self-regulate their behaviors over time and consider patient preference in function of season.

Despite widespread hearing problems among older adults, only a minority of them use hearing aids. The decision to rely on hearing aids is influenced by several psychosocial factors, which may include attitudes influenced by significant others, particularly caregivers and health professionals. The language used by professionals when approaching this topic is particularly important. The purpose of this study was to deepen the role played by different communication styles in the area of hearing impairment by analysing the impact of language-medical versus everyday-used in the doctor-patient interaction on attitudes and behavioural intentions in a sample of potential caregivers of older adults. 209 Italian volunteers aged between 19 and 60 completed an online experimental study. The results suggested that, when interacting with doctors, exposure to a language that includes medical words promotes negative attitudes towards hearing loss. Nevertheless, medical language induces positive attitudes towards hearing aids and encourages people to adopt them when needed as well as recommending them to relatives and friends. Overall, the use of formal, medical language in doctor-patient communication, despite sounding less reassuring, is more effective in persuading people with hearing loss to rely on hearing aids.

Laboratory stress tasks induce strong changes in linear and non-linear indices of heart rate variability (HRV) among healthy adults, due to a task-induced parasympathetic withdrawal. Previous findings suggested that negative affectivity and its correlates (i.e., depressive symptoms, anxiety, hostility, type D personality, and situational stress) could profoundly affect autonomic activity. However, to date no studies considered these psychological dimensions simultaneously while trying to disentangle their acute effects on HRV during a laboratory stress task. A total of 65 healthy participants completed a battery of questionnaires and later underwent a psychosocial stress protocol, which involves a stressful and a non-stressful mental arithmetic task, with the latter serving as a control condition for the former. During the entire procedure, autonomic activity was recorded through a portable ECG device. We analysed longitudinal changes in HRV indices using Mixed Models, taking into account respiration rates and the associations between psychophysiological variables through bivariate Pearson’s r (partial) correlation indices. We found significant changes in linear (e.g., HF power, RMSSD) and non-linear (e.g., Poincare Plot and Correlation Dimension D2) HRV indices during the procedure, with the lowest point reached during the stressful mental arithmetic task. Interestingly, only depressive symptomatology was significantly and positively related to a higher resting-state HRV and to a blunted reactivity to the stress task, even after controlling for baseline values. Results suggest that healthy individuals with higher levels of depressive symptoms could experience atypical cardiovascular responses to stressful events: several speculative interpretations, considering autonomic, behavioral, and motivational dysregulations, are discussed.

The aim of the study was to explore the effects of situational stress and anxiety in a group of healthy elderly, both in terms of psychophysiological correlates and cognitive performance. Eighteen participants (Mage = 70 ± 6.3; range 60–85) were assessed for anxiety and were instructed to perform a computerized math task, under both a stressful and a control condition, while near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) signal and electrocardiography (ECG) were recorded. NIRS results evidenced an increased activation of right PFC during the entire procedure, even if effect sizes between left and right channels were larger during the experimental condition. The amount of right activation during the stressful condition was positively correlated with anxiety. Response times (RTs) were slower in more anxious than in less anxious individuals, both during the control and stressful conditions. Accuracy was lower in more anxious than in less anxious individuals, only during the stressful condition. Moreover, heart rate (HR) was not modulated by situational stress, nor by anxiety. Overall, the present study suggests that in healthy elderly, anxiety level has a significant impact on cerebral responses, and both on the amount of cognitive resources and the quality of performance in stressful situations.

Abstract. Emotions characterized by opposite valences (positive vs. negative) seem to lead to specific patterns of autonomic and cortical activity. For example, according to valence or approach-withdrawal hypotheses, specific emotions lead to an asymmetrical activation of left or right prefrontal cortex (PFC). The aim of the present study was to explore the psychophysiological underpinnings of emotion experiencing using a paradigm with higher ecological validity than is typically accomplished in neuroimaging research. A total of 28 healthy participants were instructed to recall personally-relevant situations from the past that caused positive (happiness) or negative (anger) emotions, during a 2 min silent preparatory phase and a subsequent 3 min verbal phase. A wearable electrocardiographic (ECG) recording system and a portable 2-channel near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) device were used to collect heart rate (HR), high frequencies of heart rate variability (HF-HRV), and the hemodynamic responses of prefrontal cortex during the entire procedure. Results showed that during both anger and happiness recall tasks, HR increased and high frequencies of HRV decreased with respect to the baseline. HR and HF-HRV reached, respectively, their highest and lowest points during the verbal phase of anger recall task. NIRS data evidenced a bilateral increase of oxyhemoglobin concentration changes during both anger and happiness recall tasks, which was highest during the verbal phases. However, no lateralization patterns were found. Overall, present results suggest that the experience of negative emotions, if compared with positive ones, is characterized by a combination of reduced parasympathetic activation and/or increased sympathetic activation. Thus, cardiological data provided partial support to autonomic specificity of emotions. However, the recall paradigm did not evidence an asymmetry of PFC activity during the experience of emotions with opposite valences, probably due to the high number of factors impacting prefrontal activity during a recall paradigm.

Acute psychosocial stress is typically investigated in laboratory settings using protocols with distinctive characteristics. For example, some tasks involve the action of speaking, which seems to alter Heart Rate Variability (HRV) through acute changes in respiration patterns. However, it is still unknown which task induces the strongest subjective and autonomic stress response. The present cross-over randomized trial sought to investigate the differences in perceived stress and in linear and non-linear analyses of HRV between three different verbal (Speech and Stroop) and non-verbal (Montreal Imaging Stress Task; MIST) stress tasks, in a sample of 60 healthy adults (51.7% females; mean age = 25.6 ± 3.83 years). Analyses were run controlling for respiration rates. Participants reported similar levels of perceived stress across the three tasks. However, MIST induced a stronger cardiovascular response than Speech and Stroop tasks, even after controlling for respiration rates. Finally, women reported higher levels of perceived stress and lower HRV both at rest and in response to acute psychosocial stressors, compared to men. Taken together, our results suggest the presence of gender-related differences during psychophysiological experiments on stress. They also suggest that verbal activity masked the vagal withdrawal through altered respiration patterns imposed by speaking. Therefore, our findings support the use of highly-standardized math task, such as MIST, as a valid and reliable alternative to verbal protocols during laboratory studies on stress.

Aging is associated with changes in biological functions, such as reduced cardiovascular responses to stressful tasks. However, less is known about the influence of age on the reactivity of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) to acute stressors. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of a computerized-controlled stress task on the PFC and autonomic system activity in a sample of older and younger adults. We recruited a total of 55 healthy, right-handed persons (26 older adults with mean age 69.5, SD 5.8 years; and 29 younger adults with mean age 23.8, SD 3.3 years); groups were balanced for sex. Tasks included a control and an experimental condition: during both tasks individuals had to solve simple mental arithmetic problems. For the experimental condition, all participants were faced with a time limit that induced significant stress. Physiological indexes were collected continuously during the entire procedure using a 2-channel near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and an ECG monitoring system. Repeated measures ANOVA were used to assess changes in hemoglobin concentrations, and changes in both heart rate and performance outcomes. NIRS, ECG and performance data showed a significant interaction between the group and condition. Post-hoc analyses evidenced a significant increase in heart rate and Oxy-Hb concentration in the bilateral PFC between the control and experimental condition only in the younger group. Post-hoc analyses of behavioral data showed lower percentages of correct responses and higher response times in the older group. In summary, these results suggested that cardiovascular and cortical reactivity to stress tasks are a function of age. Older individuals seem to be characterized by blunted physiological reactivity, suggestive of impaired adaptive responses to acute stressors. Therefore, future studies should investigate the underlying physiological mechanisms of prefrontal and cardiovascular changes related to aging.

It is known that early sensory deprivation modifies brain functional structure and connectivity. The aim of the present study was to investigate the neuro-functional organization of reading in a patient with profound congenital unilateral deafness. Using event-related potentials (ERPs), we compared cortical networks supporting the processing of written words in patient RA (completely deaf in the right ear since birth) and in a group of control volunteers. We found that congenital unilateral hearing deprivation modifies neural mechanisms of word reading. Indeed, while written word processing was left-lateralized in controls, we found a strong right lateralization of the fusiform and inferior occipital gyri activation in RA. This finding goes in the same direction of recent proposals that the ventral occipito-temporal activity in word reading seem to lateralize to the same hemisphere as the one involved in spoken language processing.

As the makers of silent movies knew well, it is not necessary to provide an actual auditory stimulus to activate the sensation of sounds typically associated with what we are viewing. Thus, you could almost hear the neigh of Rodolfo Valentino's horse, even though the film was mute. Evidence is provided that the mere sight of a photograph associated with a sound can activate the associative auditory cortex. High-density ERPs were recorded in 15 participants while they viewed hundreds of perceptually matched images that were associated (or not) with a given sound. Sound stimuli were discriminated from non-sound stimuli as early as 110 ms. SwLORETA reconstructions showed common activation of ventral stream areas for both types of stimuli and of the associative temporal cortex, at the earliest stage, only for sound stimuli. The primary auditory cortex (BA41) was also activated by sound images after approximately 200 ms.

Background Electrophysiological, hemodynamic and neuropsychological studies have provided evidence of dissociation in the way words belonging to different semantic categories (e.g., animals, tools, actions) are represented in the brain. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether a word's semantic domain may affect the amplitude and latency of ERP components, independently of any other factor. Methods EEGs were recorded from 16 volunteers engaged in a lexical decision task (word/non-word discrimination) involving 100 words (flora and fauna names). This task allowed us to evaluate differences in processing between words belonging to different categories (fauna vs. flora) independently of task demands. All stimuli were balanced in terms of length, frequency of occurrence, familiarity and imageability. Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA) was performed on ERP difference waves of interest. Results Our findings showed that the two categories were discriminated as early as 200 ms post-stimulus, with larger responses to flora names over the left occipito-temporal areas, namely BA37 and BA20. Category-related ERP differences were also observed in the amplitudes of the later centro-parietal N400, posterior P300 and anterior LP components. Behavioral responses to words denoting fauna were more accurate than to words denoting flora. Conclusion Overall, it seems that it was easier to access the lexical properties of fauna, probably because of their biologically relevant status. The results are discussed in the light of the possible role played by different factors.

Background. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether word lexical and semantic properties may differently affect the timing and topographical distribution of ERP components. In particular, we focused on the neural processing of abstract and concrete words. Previous studies have provided controversial evidence about the way words having a different concreteness degree are represented in the brain. The reason of that may be traced, at least in part, in methodological heterogeneity and poor control of stimuli. Our efforts were directed to overcome such limitations. Methods. A group of 15 volunteers was engaged in a lexical decision task (word/non-word discrimination). 600 linguistic stimuli were created. They consisted of 300 words (150 abstract, 150 concrete) and 300 legal pseudo-words. All stimuli were balanced in terms of length. Abstract and concrete words were also balanced in terms of frequency of occurrence (Bertinetto, 2006) and familiarity, while they significantly differed in terms of concreteness and imageability (ratings were obtained from three independent groups of 30 subjects with 5-point scales). EEG was recorded from 128 scalp sites at a sampling rate of 512 Hz. ERPs were time-locked to stimulus onset. Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA) was performed on ERP difference waves. Results. RTs to words were faster than RTs to pseudo-words (the so-called “word superiority effect”). Words were discriminated from pseudo-words since 300 ms post-stimulus with larger N2 responses to words than to pseudo-words over the left occipito-temporal areas, namely the BA37, possibly indexing the activity of the so-called VWFA. Similarly, at later processing stages (between 500-600 ms), corresponding to deeper linguistic processing and over the left temporal parietal electrode sites, ERP responses to words were larger than to pseudo-words. RTs to concrete words were slightly faster than to abstract words. The two categories were discriminated as early as 350 ms post-stimulus, with larger responses to concrete words than to abstract words over the medial occipital regions. Concreteness-related ERP differences were also observed in the amplitudes of the later anterior LP component (between 370-570 ms), with larger responses to abstract words than to concrete words. Conclusions. Overall, these data show how ERPs can dissociate between lexical and higher level processes. Our results indicate that semantic processing may take place near-simultaneously and in different brain regions with the processing of information about the form of a word and its lexical properties. The concreteness effect seems not to be strictly bound neither to some confounding linguistic properties of the stimuli, as the word frequency of occurrence or familiarity, nor to task demands. These data provide support for the hypothesis that concrete, imaginable concepts activate perceptually based representations not available to abstract concepts.

Background One of the most debated issues in the cognitive neuroscience of language is whether distinct semantic domains are differentially represented in the brain. Clinical studies described several anomic dissociations with no clear neuroanatomical correlate. Neuroimaging studies have shown that memory retrieval is more demanding for proper than common nouns in that the former are purely arbitrary referential expressions. In this study a semantic relatedness paradigm was devised to investigate neural processing of proper and common nouns. Methodology/Principal Findings 780 words (arranged in pairs of Italian nouns/adjectives and the first/last names of well known persons) were presented. Half pairs were semantically related (“Woody Allen” or “social security”), while the others were not (“Sigmund Parodi” or “judicial cream”). All items were balanced for length, frequency, familiarity and semantic relatedness. Participants were to decide about the semantic relatedness of the two items in a pair. RTs and N400 data suggest that the task was more demanding for common nouns. The LORETA neural generators for the related-unrelated contrast (for proper names) included the left fusiform gyrus, right medial temporal gyrus, limbic and parahippocampal regions, inferior parietal and inferior frontal areas, which are thought to be involved in the conjoined processing a familiar face with the relevant episodic information. Person name was more emotional and sensory vivid than common noun semantic access. Conclusions/Significance When memory retrieval is not required, proper name access (conspecifics knowledge) is not more demanding. The neural generators of N400 to unrelated items (unknown persons and things) did not differ as a function of lexical class, thus suggesting that proper and common nouns are not treated differently as belonging to different grammatical classes.

The comprehension of idiomatic language is a matter of debate for what concern its neural basis and the psycholinguistic theories that better describe the process. Neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies report highly different outcome, especially about the specific role of the two cerebral hemispheres: while some studies show the involvement of th e left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG), other data support the crucial role of right-hemispheric regions, and particularly of the middle/superior temporal area. Different psycholinguistic models have been proposed to explain how we can understand these semantically eccentric expressions; these models can be broadly divided in those that predict direct access to the idiomatic meaning and those in which it is dependent on the suppression of its literal meaning. Fifteen volunteers took part to the present experiment. They silently read 360 idiomatic and literal Italian sentences and decided whether they were semantically related or unrelated to a following target word, while their EEGs were recorded from 128 electrodes. Only purely idiomatic expression were selected, excluding metaphors or fixed expressions in general. Word length, word frequency, sentence comprehensibility and familiarity, sentence cloze probability, overall salience and abstractedness were balanced. Subjects were faster in responding to literal than idiomatic sentences, probably suggesting a difference in task difficulty. ERP components elicited by sentence final words showed the existence of at least three processing stages in which differences were observed between ERP data elicited by idiomatic vs. literal sentences. N2 component evidenced a greater amplitude in response to idioms between 250 and 300 ms of latency. swLORETA for this effect revealed a generator in the left fusiform gyrus. It was also found a bilateral N400 component between 360 and 550 ms, which was much larger to idioms than literal sentences. The intra-cortical generators for this effect included the left and right FGs, the left cingulate gyrus, the right limbic area, the left superior temporal gyrus and left frontal inferior gyrus. The activation of left and right limbic regions suggests that they have a role in the emotional connotation of colorful idiomatic language. Finally an anterior P300 was identifie d between 600 and 800 ms, that was more positive to idiomatic than literal sentences. Overall, the data indicate a bilateral involvement of both hemispheres during idioms comprehension, with a special role for right hemisphere, especially after 350 ms post-stimulus. They also support the view of a direct access to the idiomatic meaning of figurative language, not dependent on the suppression of its literal meaning. ERPs synchronized with the target word showed a larger right centroparietal N400 to associated than non-associated targets (not differing as a function of sentence type), and a greater right frontal P600 to idiomatic than literal associated targets.

Attention to word orthographic properties has been shown to enhance the activity of VWFA. The temporal resolution of this effect remains still uncertain. In this study the attentive processing of orthographic vs. semantic features was compared by presenting the same set of words in two different conditions: letter detection vs. lexical decision. ERPs to targets were recorded in thirty-two right-handed students from 128 scalp sites. RTs, ERPs and swLORETA source reconstruction showed the prioritized processing of word orthographic features, able to enhance the activity of left fusiform gyrus (BA19/37) and cerebellar structures as early as 70-90 ms from stimulus-onset, as reflected by the increased amplitude of mesial C1 and lateral-occipital P1 components. On the other hand, attention to word lexical properties strongly enhanced the amplitude of left occipito/temporal N170, whose neural generators seemed to include regions devoted to lexical processing (VWFA), semantic processing (left BA39), and the effortful retrieval of semantic information (left and right BA10).

Background: One of the most debated issues in the cognitive neuroscience of language is whether distinct semantic domains are differentially represented in the brain. Clinical studies described several anomic dissociations with no clear neuroanatomical correlate. Neuroimaging studies have shown that memory retrieval is more demanding for proper than common nouns in that the former are purely arbitrary referential expressions. In this study a semantic relatedness paradigm was devised to investigate neural processing of proper and common nouns. Methodology/Principal Findings: 780 words (arranged in pairs of Italian nouns/adjectives and the first/last names of well known persons) were presented. Half pairs were semantically related (“Woody Allen” or “social security”), while the others were not (“Sigmund Parodi” or “judicial cream”). All items were balanced for length, frequency, familiarity and semantic relatedness. Participants were to decide about the semantic relatedness of the two items in a pair. RTs and N400 data suggest that the task was more demanding for common nouns. The LORETA neural generators for the related-unrelated contrast (for proper names) included the left fusiform gyrus, right medial temporal gyrus, limbic and parahippocampal regions, inferior parietal and inferior frontal areas, which are thought to be involved in the conjoined processing a familiar face with the relevant episodic information. Person name was more emotional and sensory vivid than common noun semantic access. Conclusions/Significance: When memory retrieval is not required proper name access (conspecific knowledge) is not more demanding. The neural generators of N400 to unrelated items (unknown persons and things) did not differ as a function of lexical class, thus suggesting that proper and common nouns are not treated differently as belonging to different grammatical classes.

Background There is fMRI evidence that women are neurally predisposed to process infant laughter and crying. Other findings show that women might be more empathic and sensitive than men to emotional facial expressions. However, no gender difference in the brain responses to persons and unanimated scenes has hitherto been demonstrated. Results Twenty-four men and women viewed 220 images portraying persons or landscapes and ERPs were recorded from 128 sites. In women, but not in men, the N2 component (210–270) was much larger to persons than to scenes. swLORETA showed significant bilateral activation of FG (BA19/37) in both genders when viewing persons as opposed to scenes. Only women showed a source of activity in the STG and in the right MOG (extra-striate body area, EBA), and only men in the left parahippocampal area (PPA). Conclusion A significant gender difference was found in activation of the left and right STG (BA22) and the cingulate cortex for the subtractive condition women minus men, thus indicating that women might have a greater preference or interest for social stimuli (faces and persons).

Early semantic effects (

The recent neuroimaging literature gives conflicting evidence about whether the left fusiform gyrus (FG) might recognize words as unitary visual objects. The sensitivity of the left FG to word frequency might provide a neural basis for the orthographic input lexicon theorized by reading models [Patterson, K., Marshall, J. C., & Coltheart, M. (1985). Surface dyslexia: Cognitive and neuropsychological studies of phonological reading. London: Lawrence Erlbaum]. The goal of this study was to investigate the time course and neural correlates of word processing in right-handed readers engaged in an orthographic decision task. Three hundred and twenty Italian words of high and low written frequency and 320 non-derived legal pseudo-words were presented for 250ms in the central visual field. ERPs were recorded from 128 scalp sites in 10 Italian University students. Behavioural data showed a word superiority effect, with faster RTs to words than pseudo-words. Left occipito/temporal N2 (240ms) was greater to high-frequency than low-frequency words and pseudo-words. According to the swLORETA inverse solution, the underlying neural source of this effect was located in the left fusiform gyrus of the occipital lobe (X=-29, Y=-66, Z=-10, BA19) and the right superior temporal gyrus (X=51, Y=6, Z=-5, BA22), which are probably involved in word recognition and semantic representation, respectively. Later frontal ERP components, LPN (300-350) and P3 (400-500), also showed strong lexical sensitivity, thus suggesting implicit semantic processes. The results shed some light on the possible neural substrate of visual reading disabilities such as developmental surface dyslexia or pure alexia.

Introduzione. Studi elettrofisiologici, emodinamici e neuropsicologici hanno mostrato l’esistenza di una dissociazione neuroanatomica e funzionale nella rappresentazione corticale di parole appartenenti a diverse categorie semantiche. Lo scopo del presente studio era quello di indagare se il dominio semantico delle parole potesse influenzare l’attività bioelettrica riflessa dall’andamento delle componenti ERP, indipendentemente da qualsiasi altro fattore. Metodo. Hanno preso parte allo studio 16 volontari. Gli stimoli erano 50 nomi di animali e 50 nomi di vegetali bilanciati per lunghezza, frequenza d’uso, familiarità e valore d’immagine (le ultime due misure sono state ottenute mediante la creazione di due questionari, somministrati a due gruppi indipendenti di 30 giudici, tramite una scala a 5 punti). Il compito era di decisione lessicale (parola/non-parola). L’EEG è stato registrato da 128 siti elettrodici alla frequenza di campionamento di 512 Hz. I potenziali evocati erano sincronizzati con l’onset dello stimolo. L’analisi del generatore intra-corticale è stata effettuata mediante LORETA (Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography). Risultati. Le risposte comportamentali alle parole che denotavano nomi di animali erano più accurate rispetto ai nomi di vegetali. Le due categorie erano discriminate a partire da 200 ms post-stimolo, come suggerito dalla maggior ampiezza della N2 in risposta ai nomi di vegetali rispetto ai nomi di animali sulle aree occipito-temporali dell’emisfero sinistro. Sono state osservate differenze ERP analoghe (risposte maggiori ai vegetali) nell’ampiezza della N400 centro-parietale e della P300 anteriore. La P300 posteriore era più ampia in risposta ai nomi di animali. Conclusioni. Nel complesso, e nonostante non ci fosse alcuna differenza inter-classe nella frequenza d’uso o familiarità delle parole, sembra che fosse più facile accedere alle proprietà lessicali dei nomi di animali, probabilmente a causa della loro rilevanza biologica.

While classical literature identify in the N400 component the electromagnetic counterpart of lexical access and semantic integration processes, several studies showed earlier effects of semantics on the amplitude and latency of previous ERP responses, such as Lexical Processing Negativity (LPN), P140 or N170 components. In the present study, automatic lexical access processes were investigated in right-handed readers engaged in an orthographic detection task. EEG was recorded from 32 scalp sites in highly specialized native Italian simultaneous interpreters. They were all right-handed women with a mean age of 40 years. They were recruited according to their professional use of English (L2, active interpretation: ITo4EN) andGerman (L3, consecutive or passive interpretation: IT

Background It is known that the orthographic properties of linguistic stimuli are processed within the left occipitotemporal cortex at about 150–200 ms. We recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) to words in standard or mirror orientation to investigate the role of visual word form in reading. Word inversion was performed to determine whether rotated words lose their linguistic properties. Methods About 1300 Italian words and legal pseudo-words were presented to 18 right-handed Italian students engaged in a letter detection task. EEG was recorded from 128 scalp sites. Results ERPs showed an early effect of word orientation at ~150 ms, with larger N1 amplitudes to rotated than to standard words. Low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) revealed an increase in N1 to rotated words primarily in the right occipital lobe (BA 18), which may indicate an effect of stimulus familiarity. N1 was greater to target than to non-target letters at left lateral occipital sites, thus reflecting the first stage of orthographic processing. LORETA revealed a strong focus of activation for this effect in the left fusiform gyrus (BA 37), which is consistent with the so-called visual word form area (VWFA). Standard words (compared to pseudowords) elicited an enhancement of left occipito/temporal negativity at about 250–350 ms, followed by a larger anterior P3, a reduced frontal N400 and a huge late positivity. Lexical effects for rotated strings were delayed by about 100 ms at occipito/temporal sites, and were totally absent at later processing stages. This suggests the presence of implicit reading processes, which were pre-attentive and of perceptual nature for mirror strings. Conclusion The contrast between inverted and standard words did not lead to the identification of a purely linguistic brain region. This finding suggests some caveats in the interpretation of the inversion effect in subtractive paradigms.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the neurofunctional mechanisms of orthographic analysis and lexical access in multilingual people. Professional simultaneous interpreters took part to the experiment. In order to distinguish the role played by the age of acquisition and proficiency of a certain language, we selected fifteen Italian native speakers with an excellent proficiency in English (L2) and an intermediate knowledge of German (L3). 780 linguistic stimuli were created. They consisted of words (balanced in terms of imageability and frequency of use) and legal pseudo-words in 3 different languages (Italian, English and German). All stimuli were balanced in terms of length and position of target letter (beginning, middle or end of stimulus). The task consisted in responding to the appearance of given target letter. EEG was recorded from 30 scalp sites at a sampling rate of 512 Hz. ERPs were time-locked to stimulus onset. Both reaction times (RTs) and electrophysiological data indicated that the difference between words and legal pseudo-words (the so called "word superiority effect") was modulated by language age of acquisition and proficiency. Words were discriminated from pseudo-words as early as 150 ms with larger N1 responses to words over the left inferior posterior occipital area, possibly indexing the activity of the so-called VWFA, only in the native language (L1). At later processing stages (since 250 ms), corresponding to deeper linguistic processing, we observed a clear difference in the brain response to languages mastered with a different degree of proficiency (namely English vs. German), both at posterior (N2 and N3 component) and anterior (LPN component) electrode sites areas. These data show how ERPs can dissociate age of acquisition from proficiency, and be predictive of a person linguistic competence.