62 results on '"Angioletti L"'
Search Results
2. New digital tools for assessing neuropsychological executive functioning in old and new addictions. an exploratory study
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Balconi, M., primary, Sansone, M., additional, and Angioletti, L., additional
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- 2021
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3. Sebaceoma del dorso
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Angioletti, L., Moneghini, L., Cerri, A., and Crosti, C.
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Settore MED/35 - Malattie Cutanee e Veneree ,Sebaceoma ,lesione nodulare ,aspetti istologici ,malattia rara - Published
- 2008
4. Mirroring the emotions of others by autonomic system: intra-species effect in children
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Maria Elide Vanutelli, Irene Venturella, Michela Balconi, Laura Angioletti, Vanutelli, M, Venturella, I, Angioletti, L, and Balconi, M
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Autonomic measures ,EDA ,Emotion perception ,HR ,Intra/interspecies interactions ,Similarity factor ,Autonomic measure ,Settore M-PSI/02 - PSICOBIOLOGIA E PSICOLOGIA FISIOLOGICA ,M-PSI/02 - PSICOBIOLOGIA E PSICOLOGIA FISIOLOGICA ,Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience ,Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology ,Intra/interspecies interaction ,M-PSI/01 - PSICOLOGIA GENERALE ,Psychology ,Mirroring ,Cognitive psychology - Abstract
Previous research investigated the presence of differential autonomic responses towards the emotions expressed by individuals from ingroup or outgroup contexts. Results found increased affective reactions and typical identification bias that can be explained, according to "the similarity factor", as the tendency to tune stronger with those perceived as more similar. Then, few previous studies explored the presence of such mechanisms in intra and interspecies contexts. However, further investigation is needed to better explore these issues in developmental samples and to different emotionally valenced stimuli. Thus, we asked 30 children to watch emotional pictures involving child-child (CC) and child-animal (CA) interactions with negative, positive, or neutral valence. Autonomic responses were recorded and compared across species and gender. Results showed a higher sensitivity to intraspecies emotional valence (increased heart rate for negative compared to neutral stimuli) which was visible only in the female group, thus confirming the presence of a gender effect.
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- 2017
5. Exploring the Connected Brain by fNIRS: Human-to-Human Interactions Engineering
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Laura Angioletti, Giulia Fronda, Maria Elide Vanutelli, Michela Balconi, Wan Hu, J, Angioletti, L, Vanutelli, M, Fronda, G, and Balconi, M
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Social Neuroscience ,Settore M-PSI/02 - PSICOBIOLOGIA E PSICOLOGIA FISIOLOGICA ,05 social sciences ,fNIRS ,General Medicine ,Human-to-Human Interaction ,M-PSI/02 - PSICOBIOLOGIA E PSICOLOGIA FISIOLOGICA ,050105 experimental psychology ,03 medical and health sciences ,Hyperscanning Technique ,0302 clinical medicine ,Engineering ,Settore M-PSI/01 - PSICOLOGIA GENERALE ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Psychology ,M-PSI/01 - PSICOLOGIA GENERALE ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a relatively new neuroimagingtechnique adequate and useful for exploring neural activity in social contexts involving humaninteractions. Compared to functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), fNIRS is easy-to-usesafe, noninvasive, silent, relatively low cost and portable, and applicable to subjects of all ages, thusresulting in a good option for ecological studies involving humans in their real-life context.Moreover, by using hyperscanning technique, fNIRS allows recording the hemodynamic cerebralactivity of two interacting subjects in an ecological context or during a shared performance. Thus,moving from a simple analysis about each subject’s neural response during joint actions towardsmore complex computations makes possible to investigate brain synchrony, that is the if and howone’s brain activity is related to that of another interacting partner simultaneously recorded. Here,we discuss how connectivity analyses, with respect to both time and frequency domain procedures,permitted to deepen some aspects of inter-brain synchrony in relation to emotional closeness, and tohighlight how concurrent, cooperative actions can lead to interpersonal synchrony and bondconstruction.
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- 2019
6. May the Best Joint-Actions Win : Physiological Linkage During Competition
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Laura Gatti, Maria Elide Vanutelli, Laura Angioletti, Michela Balconi, Vanutelli, M, Gatti, L, Angioletti, L, and Balconi, M
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Adult ,Male ,Competition ,HR ,Physiological linkage ,SCL ,SCR ,Settore M-PSI/02 - PSICOBIOLOGIA E PSICOLOGIA FISIOLOGICA ,M-PSI/02 - PSICOBIOLOGIA E PSICOLOGIA FISIOLOGICA ,050105 experimental psychology ,Task (project management) ,Young Adult ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Heart Rate ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,Reaction Time ,Humans ,Settore M-PSI/01 - PSICOLOGIA GENERALE ,Attention ,Interpersonal Relations ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Behavioral inhibition ,Applied Psychology ,Linkage (software) ,Motivation ,05 social sciences ,Galvanic Skin Response ,Behavioral activation ,Social relation ,Health psychology ,Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology ,Italy ,Electrodermal response ,Female ,Skin conductance ,Psychology ,M-PSI/01 - PSICOLOGIA GENERALE ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,Psychophysiology ,Cognitive psychology - Abstract
Previous work showed that, when we interact with other people, an alignment of psychophysiological measures occur as a clue about the intensity of the social interaction. Available evidence highlighted increase autonomic synchrony, known as physiological linkage, during intense dyadic situations, like conflictual conversations within romantic couples, friends, or therapeutic settings. Starting from the idea that higher physiological linkage could support better performance and be correlated with approach attitudes (Behavioral Activation System, BAS), in the present study a conflictual situation was proposed by making subjects compete during an attentional task and stressing the importance to win as a measure of future professional success. Autonomic activity (electrodermal: skin conductance level and response: SCL, SCR; and cardiovascular indices: heart rate: HR) was recorded during the task, where subjects received trial-related feedbacks on their performance, and an average score halfway which (fictitiously) assessed their position in terms of accuracy and reaction times with respect to the opponent. In parallel, behavioral inhibition and activation have been assessed by means of the Behavioral Inhibition/Activation System Questionnaire (BIS/BAS). 32 subjects coupled in 16 dyads were recruited. Intra-subject analyses revealed that, after the general evaluation assessing a winning condition, the behavioral performance improved and the electrodermal response increased. Also, correlational analyses showed a relation between BAS, and specifically BAS reward, with SCR. Inter-subject analyses showed higher synchrony in SCR and HR after the feedback. Such results confirm the increased synchronic effect after a highly conflictual condition, and the presence of a relation between subjective performance, approach-related motivations, and physiological linkage.
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- 2018
7. Affective Synchrony and Autonomic Coupling during Cooperation: A Hyperscanning Study
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Michela Balconi, Laura Gatti, Laura Angioletti, Maria Elide Vanutelli, Vanutelli, M, Gatti, L, Angioletti, L, and Balconi, M
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Article Subject ,Settore M-PSI/02 - PSICOBIOLOGIA E PSICOLOGIA FISIOLOGICA ,Emotions ,lcsh:Medicine ,emotion ,galvanic skin response ,050105 experimental psychology ,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ,Task (project management) ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,male ,motivation ,heart rate ,Humans ,biochemistry ,Interpersonal Relations ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,human ,Hyperscanning ,Autonomic activity ,Inter-personal coupling, Affective response ,General Immunology and Microbiology ,interpersonal relation ,genetics and molecular biology (all) ,05 social sciences ,lcsh:R ,autonomic nervous system ,Cognition ,General Medicine ,Social bond ,immunology and microbiology (all) ,Social dynamics ,female ,Psychology ,Skin conductance ,cooperative behavior ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,Research Article ,Cognitive psychology - Abstract
Previous research highlighted that during social interactions people shape each other’s emotional states by resonance mechanisms and synchronized autonomic patterns. Starting from the idea that joint actions create shared emotional experiences, in the present study a social bond was experimentally induced by making subjects cooperate with each other. Participants’ autonomic system activity (electrodermal: skin conductance level and response: SCL, SCR; cardiovascular indices: heart rate: HR) was continuously monitored during an attentional couple game. The cooperative motivation was induced by presenting feedback which reinforced the positive outcomes of the intersubjective exchange. 24 participants coupled in 12 dyads were recruited. Intrasubject analyses revealed higher HR in the first part of the task, connoted by increased cognitive demand and arousing social dynamic, while intersubject analysis showed increased synchrony in electrodermal activity after the feedback. Such results encourage the use of hyperscanning techniques to assess emotional coupling in ecological and real-time paradigms.
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- 2017
8. Neurophysiological response to social feedback in stressful situations.
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Balconi M, Angioletti L, and Rovelli K
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The relationship between external feedback and cognitive and neurophysiological performance has been extensively investigated in social neuroscience. However, few studies have considered the role of positive and negative external social feedback on electroencephalographic (EEG) and moderate stress response. Twenty-six healthy adults underwent a moderately stressful job interview consisting of a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test. After each preparation, feedback was provided by an external committee, ranging from positive to negative with increasing impact on subjects. Stress response was measured by analysing response times (RTs) during the speech phase, while cognitive performance was assessed using a Stroop-like task before and after the test. Results indicate that RTs used to deliver the final speeches with negative feedback were significantly lower compared with those used for the initial speech with positive feedback. Moreover, a generalized improvement in Stroop-like task performance was observed in the post-SST compared with the pre-SST. Consistent with behavioural results, EEG data indicated greater delta, theta, and alpha band responses in right prefrontal and left central areas, and for delta and theta bands, also in parietal areas in response to positive feedback compared with aversive-neutral feedback, highlighting greater cognitive effort required by the former. Conversely, an increase in these bands in right and left temporal and left occipital areas was observed following negative and aversive feedback, indicative of an adaptive response to stress and emotion-regulatory processes. These findings suggest that negative social feedback in moderately stressful and noncritical conditions could contribute to improving individual cognitive performance., (© 2024 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)
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- 2024
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9. Working Memory Workload When Making Complex Decisions: A Behavioral and EEG Study.
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Balconi M, Rovelli K, Angioletti L, and Allegretta RA
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- Humans, Male, Female, Adult, Young Adult, Workload psychology, Electroencephalography methods, Decision Making physiology, Memory, Short-Term physiology
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Working memory (WM) is crucial for adequate performance execution in effective decision-making, enabling individuals to identify patterns and link information by focusing on current and past situations. This work explored behavioral and electrophysiological (EEG) WM correlates through a novel decision-making task, based on real-life situations, assessing WM workload related to contextual variables. A total of 24 participants performed three task phases (encoding, retrieval, and metacognition) while their EEG activity (delta, theta, alpha, and beta frequency bands) was continuously recorded. From the three phases, three main behavioral indices were computed: Efficiency in complex Decision-making, Tolerance of Decisional Complexity, and Metacognition of Difficulties. Results showed the central role of alpha and beta bands during encoding and retrieval: decreased alpha/beta activity in temporoparietal areas during encoding might indicate activation of regions related to verbal WM performance and a load-related effect, while decreased alpha activity in the same areas and increased beta activity over posterior areas during retrieval might indicate, respectively, active information processing and focused attention. Evidence from correlational analysis between the three indices and EEG bands are also discussed. Integration of behavioral and metacognitive data gathered through this novel task and their interrelation with EEG correlates during task performance proves useful to assess WM workload during complex managerial decision-making.
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- 2024
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10. EEG Correlates of Moral Decision-Making: Effect of Choices and Offers Types.
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Fronda G, Angioletti L, and Balconi M
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- Humans, Male, Female, Young Adult, Adult, Reaction Time, Brain physiology, Emotions physiology, Decision Making, Morals, Electroencephalography, Choice Behavior
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Background: Moral decision-making consists of a complex process requiring individuals to evaluate potential consequences of personal and social decisions, including applied organizational contexts., Methods: This research aims to investigate the behavioral (offer responses and reaction times, RTs) and electrophysiological (EEG) correlates underlying moral decision-making during three different choice conditions (professional fit, company fit, and social fit) and offers (fair, unfair, and neutral)., Results: An increase of delta and theta frontal activity (related to emotional behavior and processes) and beta frontal and central activity (linked to cognitive and attentional processes) was found. A left beta, delta, and theta frontal activity was observed for fair offers in professional fit conditions, while increased right frontal delta and theta activity was found in response to unfair offers in company fit conditions. Also, an increase of left delta and theta parietal activity for unfair offers in social fit condition was detected. Finally, higher accepted responses were found for fair and neutral offers in professional and social fit conditions, with increased RTs for unfair offers suggesting decisions' cognitive load and complexity., Conclusions: By revealing a greater involvement of left and right frontal areas in decision-making processes based on choices and offers, personal interest evaluations and emotional values, and of parietal areas in more prosocial and altruistic moral behavior, current findings provide information about the neural and behavioral correlates underlying company moral behavior.
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- 2024
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11. Can Professionals Resist Cognitive Bias Elicited by the Visual System? Reversed Semantic Prime Effect and Decision Making in the Workplace: Reaction Times and Accuracy.
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Acconito C, Angioletti L, and Balconi M
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- Humans, Male, Adult, Female, Semantics, Bias, Middle Aged, Decision Making physiology, Reaction Time physiology, Cognition physiology, Workplace psychology
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Information that comes from the environment reaches the brain-and-body system via sensory inputs that can operate outside of conscious awareness and influence decision processes in different ways. Specifically, decision-making processes can be influenced by various forms of implicit bias derived from individual-related factors (e.g., individual differences in decision-making style) and/or stimulus-related information, such as visual input. However, the relationship between these subjective and objective factors of decision making has not been investigated previously in professionals with varying seniority. This study explored the relationship between decision-making style and cognitive bias resistance in professionals compared with a group of newcomers in organisations. A visual "picture-picture" semantic priming task was proposed to the participants. The task was based on primes and probes' category membership (animals vs. objects), and after an animal prime stimulus presentation, the probe can be either five objects (incongruent condition) or five objects and an animal (congruent condition). Behavioural (i.e., accuracy-ACC, and reaction times-RTs) and self-report data (through the General Decision-Making Scale administration) were collected. RTs represent an indirect measure of the workload and cognitive effort required by the task, as they represent the time it takes the nervous system to receive and integrate incoming sensory information, inducing the body to react. For both groups, the same level of ACC in both conditions and higher RTs in the incongruent condition were found. Interestingly, for the group of professionals, the GDMS-dependent decision-making style negatively correlates with ACC and positively correlates with RTs in the congruent condition. These findings suggest that, under the incongruent decision condition, the resistance to cognitive bias requires the same level of cognitive effort, regardless of seniority. However, with advancing seniority, in the group of professionals, it has been demonstrated that a dependent decision-making style is associated with lower resistance to cognitive bias, especially in conditions that require simpler decisions. Whether this result depends on age or work experience needs to be disentangled from future studies.
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- 2024
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12. Sensorimotor Simulation's Influence on Stress: EEG and Autonomic Responses in Digital Interviews.
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Balconi M, Angioletti L, and Rovelli K
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This study explored the role of sensorimotor simulation in modulating the stress response in individuals exposed to stressful digital simulated interviews. Participants were assigned to two different versions of a Digital Social Stress Test: a simulated version with a dynamic-realistic examining committee (Dyn-DSST) and a version with a static examining committee (Stat-DSST). During interview preparation, behavioral indices reflecting stress regulation and resistance, response times, and electroencephalographic (EEG) and autonomic indices were collected. Higher regulation scores were found for the Stat-DSST group compared to the Dyn-DSST group, probably induced by the presence of limited external sensory input in time and space, perceived as less stressful. The EEG results revealed a distinct contribution of the low- and high-frequency bands for both groups. Dyn-DSST required greater cognitive regulation effort due to the presence of a continuous flow of information, which can enhance sensory and motor activation in the brain. The SCR increased in the Dyn-DSST group compared to the Stat-DSST group, reflecting greater emotional involvement in the Dyn-DSST group and reduced sensory stimulation in the static version. In conclusion, the results suggest that sensorimotor simulation impacts the stress response differently in dynamic interviews compared to static ones, with distinct profiles based on behavioral, EEG, and autonomic measures.
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- 2024
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13. Inter-brain entrainment (IBE) during interoception. A multimodal EEG-fNIRS coherence-based hyperscanning approach.
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Balconi M and Angioletti L
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- Humans, Male, Female, Adult, Young Adult, Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared methods, Interoception physiology, Electroencephalography methods, Brain physiology
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This work examined the impact of interoceptive manipulation and the presence of a shared goal on inter-brain entrainment (IBE) during a motor synchronization task. A multimodal functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy - Electroencephalogram (fNIRS-EEG) system-based hyperscanning approach was applied to 13 dyads performing the motor synchrony task during an interoceptive (focus on the breath) and control condition. Additionally, two version of the motor task-one with and one without a clearly defined common goal-were presented to participants to emphasize the task's collaborative purpose. The multimodal approach was exploited to record the electrophysiological (EEG) cortical oscillation and hemodynamic (oxy-Hb and deoxy-Hb) levels. Results revealed significant correlations between EEG delta, theta, and alpha band and hemodynamic oxy-Hb in the left compared to right hemisphere for the interoceptive confronted with the control condition. This significant EEG/fNIRS IBE correlation was also found for delta and theta band whereas the task was presented with an explicit shared goal confronted with the no-social version. In addition to separate functional connectivity EEG and fNIRS analysis, this study proposed a novel analysis pipeline including statistical tests for examining the coherence between functional connectivity EEG-fNIRS signals within couples. Besides proposing methodological advancements on EEG-fNIRS signals hyperscanning analysis, this research demonstrated that, in dyads undertaking a motor synchronization task, both the interoceptive attention to respiration and an explicit joint intention activate left anterior regions., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
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- 2024
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14. Impact of public health communication for prevention and personal resilience at the time of crisis. A pilot study with psychophysiological and self-report measures.
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Acconito C, Angioletti L, and Balconi M
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Health communication promotes public and individual health. Psychophysiological indices can unveil the unconscious emotional variables that influence audience's representations of these communications. This study explored emotional and cognitive responses to health communications using implicit (psychophysiological) and explicit (self-report) measurements. Twelve communications (health prevention, personal health, public health, Covid-19) were shown to N = 19 participants, while psychophysiological (i.e. Heart Rate and Heart Rate Variability (HRV), skin conductance level and response (SCL and SCR)) and self-report (Semantic Differential and Self-Assessment Mannikin (SAM)) data were collected. Higher arousal and physiological engagement (SCL) were observed for health prevention, public and personal health communications. Lower HRV values were found for health prevention compared to crisis communication (Covid-19 stimuli), suggesting higher emotional reactions and concern for the first topic. Self-report results confirmed psychophysiological findings. Overall, using public health communication activates objective indicators about emotional reactions that have important implications for the effectiveness of the communication itself., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
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- 2024
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15. Decisional brain of lawyers at the workplace. A neurolaw pilot study.
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Balconi M, Greco S, Rovelli K, and Angioletti L
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This pilot study investigated legal and non-legal professionals' decision process during a typical working day. During self-evaluated highly relevant decisions (rated through a daily diary), the two groups were asked to wear the Muse™ Headband to record their electrophysiological (EEG) activity in terms of frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha and beta). EEG cognitive findings displayed a generally increased beta power in the anterior frontal region (mainly in the right than left) for both groups during highly relevant decisions. Significantly results were also found for the legal professionals' group, for which a decrease of alpha power was found in the left compared to right frontal cortex. Furthermore, a decreased alpha power and increased delta and theta power in the right compared to left Temporo-Parietal Junction was observed in the legal professionals when taking highly relevant decisions. This pilot study suggested a specific EEG pattern for legal professionals while taking highly relevant decisions., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2023. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)
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- 2024
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16. Neurophysiological and Autonomic Correlates of Metacognitive Control of and Resistance to Distractors in Ecological Setting: A Pilot Study.
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Balconi M, Acconito C, Allegretta RA, and Angioletti L
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- Humans, Pilot Projects, Personality, Autonomic Nervous System, Heart Rate, Metacognition
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In organisational contexts, professionals are required to decide dynamically and prioritise unexpected external inputs deriving from multiple sources. In the present study, we applied a multimethodological neuroscientific approach to investigate the ability to resist and control ecological distractors during decision-making and to explore whether a specific behavioural, neurophysiological (i.e., delta, theta, alpha and beta EEG band), or autonomic (i.e., heart rate-HR, and skin conductance response-SCR) pattern is correlated with specific personality profiles, collected with the 10-item Big Five Inventory. Twenty-four participants performed a novel Resistance to Ecological Distractors (RED) task aimed at exploring the ability to resist and control distractors and the level of coherence and awareness of behaviour (metacognition ability), while neurophysiological and autonomic measures were collected. The behavioural results highlighted that effectiveness in performance did not require self-control and metacognition behaviour and that being proficient in metacognition can have an impact on performance. Moreover, it was shown that the ability to resist ecological distractors is related to a specific autonomic profile (HR and SCR decrease) and that the neurophysiological and autonomic activations during task execution correlate with specific personality profiles. The agreeableness profile was negatively correlated with the EEG theta band and positively with the EEG beta band, the conscientiousness profile was negatively correlated with the EEG alpha band, and the extroversion profile was positively correlated with the EEG beta band. Taken together, these findings describe and disentangle the hidden relationship that lies beneath individuals' decision to inhibit or activate intentionally a specific behaviour, such as responding, or not, to an external stimulus, in ecological conditions.
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- 2024
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17. Can professionals "keep the tiller straight" in organizations? Resistance to reframing and decoy alternatives in workplace decision-making.
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Angioletti L, Acconito C, Crivelli D, and Balconi M
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So far, little is known about the ability to contrast contextual bias as a protective factor in an ever-changing organizational environment. This study assessed whether professionals with different seniority can resist the reframing and the decoy effect under decision-making conditions and whether decision-making styles can predict the resistance to such covert influence tactics. To reach this aim, two groups of professionals divided into senior and junior professionals performed two novel tasks, a Resistance to Reframe Task (RRT) and a Resistance to Alternatives Task (RAT), which, by including ecological scenarios that represent typical decision situations that could arise in the company, can measure the resistance to such covert influence tactics. Decision-making styles were measured through the General Decision-Making Style (GDMS) and the Maximization Scale (MS). Results showed that all professionals were able to resist more to the reframing (at the RRT) than the decoy alternatives (RAT), without any difference between groups. In addition, higher GDMS-dependent subscale scores predict lower RRT scores, especially in the group of senior professionals. However, in the group of junior professionals, the GDMS-dependent subscale and MS high standards subscale predicted lower RAT scores. To conclude, this study showed that professionals know how to "keep the tiller straight" in organizations, especially when facing reframing conditions, rather than decoy alternatives; however, the predominance of dependent decision-making styles (for both senior and junior professionals) and the tendency to hold high standards in decisions (mainly for juniors) could undermine their resistance capacity and make them vulnerable to these covert influence tactics., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Angioletti, Acconito, Crivelli and Balconi.)
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- 2024
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18. Social Interoception and Autonomic System Reactivity during Synchronization Behavior.
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Balconi M and Angioletti L
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Background: Within the social interoception field, little is known about the impact of interoception on autonomic system reactivity during synchronization tasks. The impact of social framing manipulation and Interoceptive Attentiveness (IA; defined as concentrated attention on the breath for a specific time interval) on autonomic responses during interpersonal synchronization was investigated in this research., Methods: Under two experimental interoceptive conditions-the concentration and no focus on the breath condition-participants completed two synchronization tasks. A social framing was given to participants by informing them that they needed to complete the tasks in unison to improve their collaboration abilities. Autonomic responses (electrodermal activity and cardiovascular indices) were collected throughout task performance., Results: Two orders of results were observed: high cognitive engagement was detected during the focus on the breath condition and for the social frame. This effect was specifically observed for the motor compared to the linguistic synchronization task. Meanwhile, a potential lack of emotional control was observed in the no focus on the breath condition when the synchronization tasks were not socially framed., Conclusions: Such results encourage the use of the hyperscanning paradigm to deepen the impact of IA in real-time and ecological interpersonal synchronization dynamics.
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- 2024
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19. Self-Awareness of Goals Task (SAGT) and Planning Skills: The Neuroscience of Decision Making.
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Balconi M, Angioletti L, and Acconito C
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A goal's self-awareness and the planning to achieve it drive decision makers. Through a neuroscientific approach, this study explores the self-awareness of goals by analyzing the explicit and implicit processes linked to the ability to self-represent goals and sort them via an implicit dominant key. Thirty-five professionals performed a novel and ecological decision-making task, the Self-Awareness of Goals Task (SAGT), aimed at exploring the (i) self-representation of the decision-making goals of a typical working day; (ii) self-representation of how these goals were performed in order of priority; (iii) temporal sequence; and (iv) in terms of their efficacy. Electrophysiological (i.e., alpha, beta, and gamma band), autonomic, behavioral, and self-report data (General Decision Making Style and Big Five Inventory) are collected. Higher self-awareness of goals by time as well as efficacy and the greater activation of alpha, beta, and gamma bands in the temporoparietal brain area were found. Correlations reported positive associations between the self-awareness of goals via a time and dependent decision-making style and a conscientious personality, but also between the self-awareness of goals via an efficacy and rational decision-making style. The results obtained in this study suggest that the SAGT could activate recursive thinking in the examinee and grasp individual differences in self-representation and aware identification of decision-making goals.
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- 2023
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20. Autonomic synchrony induced by hyperscanning interoception during interpersonal synchronization tasks.
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Balconi M, Allegretta RA, and Angioletti L
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According to previous research, people influence each other's emotional states during social interactions via resonance mechanisms and coordinated autonomic rhythms. However, no previous studies tested if the manipulation of the interoceptive focus (focused attention on the breath for a given time interval) in hyperscanning during synchronized tasks may have an impact on autonomic synchrony. Thus, this study aims to assess the psychophysiological synchrony through autonomic measures recording during dyadic linguistic and motor synchronization tasks performed in two distinct interoceptive conditions: the focus and no focus on the breath condition. 26 participants coupled in 13 dyads were recruited. Individuals' autonomic measures [electrodermal: skin conductance level and response (SCL, SCR); cardiovascular indices: heart rate (HR) and HR variability (HRV)] was continuously monitored during the experiment and correlational coefficients were computed to analyze dyads physiological synchrony. Inter-subject analysis revealed higher synchrony for HR, HRV, SCL, and SCR values in the focus compared to no focus condition during the motor synchronization task and in general more for motor than linguistic task. Higher synchrony was also found for HR, SCL, and SCR values during focus than no focus condition in linguistic task. Overall, evidence suggests that the manipulation of the interoceptive focus has an impact on the autonomic synchrony during distinct synchronization tasks and for different autonomic measures. Such findings encourage the use of hyperscanning paradigms to assess the effect of breath awareness practices on autonomic synchrony in ecological and real-time conditions involving synchronization., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Balconi, Allegretta and Angioletti.)
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- 2023
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21. Neurofeedback as neuroempowerment technique for affective regulation and interoceptive awareness in adolescence: preliminary considerations applied to a psychogenic pseudosyncope case.
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Balconi M, Angioletti L, and Crivelli D
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Revisions of classical models of acute stress response spectrum and defence cascade process might represent a valuable background for the interpretation of the link between affective reactions, traumatic experiences, and Psychogenic pseudosyncope (PPS) events in childhood and across the lifespan. Indeed, associations between subjective emotional life, early exposure to distressing and/or traumatic events, and PPS have fuelled a debate on potential causes of occurrence and recurrence of such a peculiar clinical manifestation. At the same time, such background suggests that empowering stress management and affective regulation skills could be the target for neurorehabilitation interventions aiming at reducing the severity of symptomatology and/or improving awareness and management of pseudosyncopal spells. Specifically, neuro/biofeedback-based empowerment of self-regulation skills, associated to an increased interoceptive increased awareness, could be a promising complement to classical psychological therapies. Starting from the presentation of a paediatric PPS clinical case, the present work discusses the relevance of assessing affective appraisal and autonomic reactivity in individuals suffering from PPS episodes and introduces a novel potential neuroempowerment protocol aimed at improving self-regulation and stress management skills in adolescence based on a combined neurofeedback and embodied-awareness intervention. By capitalizing available evidence of the effects of neuromodulation and embodied practices on self-awareness/regulation across the life-span, the proposed protocol is based on neurofeedback-supported affective management training, as well as both contemplative and informal awareness exercises devised to be appealing and challenging even for younger patients., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2023 Balconi, Angioletti and Crivelli.)
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- 2023
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22. Interdialytic weight gain is not associated with symptoms of depression or apathy in patients on chronic hemodialysis.
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Bossola M, Angioletti L, Di Stasio E, Monteburini T, Santarelli S, Parodi EL, and Balconi M
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- Humans, Cross-Sectional Studies, Depression etiology, Renal Dialysis adverse effects, Renal Dialysis methods, Weight Gain, Kidney Failure, Chronic complications, Kidney Failure, Chronic therapy, Apathy
- Abstract
Purpose: Little is known about the relationships between apathy, depressive symptoms and interdialytic weight gain (IDWG) in patients on chronic hemodialysis. Aim of the present study is to investigate the association between IDWG and symptoms of depression and apathy in hemodialysis patients., Methods: A total of 139 chronic patients of the HD units between January 2020 and December 2021 were included in the present cross-sectional study. IDWG was calculated as the difference between the pre-HD weight and the weight registered after the previous session; the average of the sessions in a month was registered. Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES) was adopted to evaluate apathy. Depression was assessed by Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)., Results: Ninety-three patients had IDWG% ≤ 4 and 46 had an IDWG% > 4. Correlation between IDWG% and BDI as well that between IDWG% and AES were not statistically significant. Median BDI and mean AES did not differ significantly between the groups. In addition, 104 patients had a BDI < 16 and 35 had a BDI ≥ 6. Seventy-five patients had an AES score ≤ 35 and 63 had a AES score > 35. The IDWG (kg) and the IDWG% did not differ significantly between the two groups., Conclusion: IDWG is not associated with symptoms of depression or apathy in hemodialysis patients. Thus, these results may question if the use of behavioral intervention aimed at improving motivation is warranted in the hemodialysis population to reduce the IDWG., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)
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- 2023
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23. Primacy Effect of Dynamic Multi-Sensory Covid ADV Influences Cognitive and Emotional EEG Responses.
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Acconito C, Angioletti L, and Balconi M
- Abstract
Advertising uses sounds and dynamic images to provide visual, auditory, and tactile experiences, and to make the audience feel like the protagonist. During COVID-19, companies modified their communication by including pandemic references, but without penalizing multisensorial advertising. This study investigated how dynamic and emotional COVID-19-related advertising affects consumer cognitive and emotional responses. Nineteen participants, divided into two groups, watched three COVID-19-related and three non-COVID-19-related advertisements in two different orders (Order 1: COVID-19 and non-COVID-19; Order 2: non-COVID-19 and COVID-19), while electrophysiological data were collected. EEG showed theta activation in frontal and temporo-central areas when comparing Order 2 to Order 1, interpreted as cognitive control over salient emotional stimuli. An increase in alpha activity in parieto-occipital area was found in Order 2 compared to Order 1, suggesting an index of cognitive engagement. Higher beta activity in frontal area was observed for COVID-19 stimuli in Order 1 compared to Order 2, which can be defined as an indicator of high cognitive impact. Order 1 showed a greater beta activation in parieto-occipital area for non-COVID-19 stimuli compared to Order 2, as an index of reaction for painful images. This work suggests that order of exposure, more than advertising content, affects electrophysiological consumer responses, leading to a primacy effect.
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- 2023
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24. Dyadic inter-brain EEG coherence induced by interoceptive hyperscanning.
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Balconi M and Angioletti L
- Subjects
- Humans, Thalamus, Electroencephalography, Brain physiology, Frontal Lobe
- Abstract
Previous single-brain studies suggested interoception plays a role in interpersonal synchronization. The aim of the present study was to assess the electrophysiological intersubject coherence through electrophysiological (EEG) hyperscanning recording during simple dyadic synchronization tasks when the participants focused on their breath. To this aim, the neural activity of 15 dyads of participants was collected during the execution of a cognitive and motor synchronization task in two distinct IA conditions: focus and no focus on the breath condition. Individuals' EEG frequency bands were recorded through EEG hyperscanning and coherence analysis was performed. Results showed greater EEG coherence was observed for the alpha band in frontopolar brain regions (Fp1, Fp2) and also in central brain regions (C3, C4) within the dyads, during the focus on the breath condition for the motor compared to the cognitive synchronization task; during the same experimental condition, delta and theta band showed augmented inter-individual coherence in the frontal region (Fz) and central areas (C3, C4). To conclude, the current hyperscanning study highlights how the manipulation of the interoceptive focus (obtained through the focus on the breath) strengthens the manifestation of the EEG markers of interpersonal tuning during a motor synchronization task in specific brain areas., (© 2023. The Author(s).)
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- 2023
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25. Hyperscanning EEG Paradigm Applied to Remote vs. Face-To-Face Learning in Managerial Contexts: Which Is Better?
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Balconi M, Angioletti L, and Cassioli F
- Abstract
We propose a hyperscanning research design, where electroencephalographic (EEG) data were collected on an instructor and teams of learners. We compared neurophysiological measures within the frequency domain (delta, theta, alpha, and beta EEG bands) in the two conditions: face-to-face and remote settings. Data collection was carried out using wearable EEG systems. Conversational analysis was previously applied to detect comparable EEG time blocks and semantic topics. The digitalization of training can be considered a challenge but also a chance for organizations. However, if not carefully addressed, it might constitute a criticality. Limited research explored how remote, as opposed to face-to-face, training affects cognitive, (such as memory and attention), affective, and social processes in workgroups. Data showed an alpha desynchronization and, conversely, a theta and beta synchronization for the face-to-face condition. Moreover, trainees showed different patterns for beta power depending on the setting condition, with significantly increased power spectral density (PSD) in the face-to-face condition. These results highlight the relevance of neurophysiological measures in testing the e-learning process, in relation to the emotional engagement, memory encoding, and attentional processing.
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- 2023
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26. Electrophysiology of interoception: Parietal posterior area supports social synchronization.
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Balconi M and Angioletti L
- Subjects
- Humans, Male, Female, Electroencephalography, Neuropsychological Tests, Electrodes, Brain physiology, Interoception
- Abstract
The effect of explicit interoception manipulation on electrophysiological (EEG) patterns concurrent with an interpersonal motor synchronization task with a social purpose was investigated in this study. Thirty healthy individuals executed a task involving behavioral motor synchronization with a social framing in both focus (conceived as the focus on the breath for a specific time interval) and no focus conditions. During the task, a 15 active electrodes electroencephalogram was used to record the following frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha, and beta band) from the frontal, temporo-central, and parieto-occipital regions of interest (ROIs). According to the results, for all the frequency bands significant higher mean values were found in the focus compared to no focus condition in the parieto-occipital ROI. On the whole, the current work conveys that when a motor synchronization task is executed and the person concurrently pays attention to his/her body correlates, EEG brain activity is empowered and boosted in posterior areas at the basis of attention to visceral signals, but also interpersonal action coordination. This evidence could have potentially interesting implications because it suggests the importance of modern breath-work during all conditions that require a social motor joint task, such as physiotherapy exercises or synchronized sports.
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- 2023
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27. The Effect of Cognitive Strategies and Facial Attractiveness on Empathic Neural Responses.
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Balconi M, Kopiś-Posiej N, Venturella I, Zabielska-Mendyk E, Augustynowicz P, and Angioletti L
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- Male, Humans, Female, Evoked Potentials physiology, Emotions physiology, Pain psychology, Cognition, Empathy, Electroencephalography
- Abstract
Empathy is a phenomenon that brings together both emotions and an understanding of another person. Recent studies have disentangled the mechanisms of empathy into emotional and cognitive aspects. Event-related potential (ERP) studies suggest that emotional empathy is related to the modulation of the amplitude of early ERPs, and cognitive empathy is linked to later ERPs. In the current study, we examined the influences of facial attractiveness on empathic response and the effect of cognitive strategies with setting the participants' attention to attractiveness or pain. Participants (N= 19) viewed photos of physically attractive and unattractive men and women receiving painful stimulation. The amplitude of the N2 component measured at the frontal regions was more negative in painful stimulation compared to the non-painful, but only for attractive faces. There were no differences between painful and non-painful stimulation for unattractive faces. The amplitude of the P3 measured at the central-parietal region component was more positive in the painful condition compared to the non-painful one, but only when participants performed a pain judgment task. There were no differences in the attractiveness judgment task. This study showed that the attractiveness of a model and drawing the participants' attention to pain constitute an essential modulator of pain empathy., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as potential conflict of interest.
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- 2022
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28. Emotional Effects in Object Recognition by the Visually Impaired People in Grocery Shopping.
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Balconi M, Acconito C, and Angioletti L
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- Humans, Food Supply, Food, Visual Perception, Consumer Behavior, Visually Impaired Persons
- Abstract
To date, neuroscientific literature on consumption patterns of specific categories of consumers, such as people with disability, is still scarce. This study explored the implicit emotional consumer experience of visually impaired (VI) consumers in-store. A group of VI and a control group explored three different product shelves and manipulated target products during a real supermarket shopping experience. Autonomic (SCL, skin conductance level; SCR, skin conductance response; HR, heart rate; PVA, pulse volume amplitude; BVP, blood volume pulse), behavioural and self-report data were collected in relation to three phases of the in-store shopping experience: (i) identification of a product (recognition accuracy, ACC, and reaction times, RTs); (ii) style of product purchase (predominant sense used for shelf exploration, store spatial representation, and ability to orientate themselves); (iii) consumers experience itself, underlying their emotional experience. In the VI group, higher levels of disorientation, difficulty in finding products, and repeating the route independently were discovered. ACC and RTs also varied by product type. VI also showed significantly higher PVA values compared to the control. For some specific categories (pasta category), PVA correlates negatively with time to recognition and positively with simplicity in finding products in the entire sample. In conclusion, VI emotional and cognitive experience of grocery shopping as stressful and frustrating and has a greater cognitive investment, which is mirrored by the activation of a larger autonomic response compared to the control group. Nevertheless, VI ability to search and recognise a specific product is not so different from people without visual impairment.
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- 2022
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29. Delta-Alpha EEG pattern reflects the interoceptive focus effect on interpersonal motor synchronization.
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Angioletti L and Balconi M
- Abstract
Little is known about how the modulation of the interoceptive focus impacts the neural correlates of high-level social processes, such as synchronization mechanisms. Therefore, the current study aims to explore the intraindividual electrophysiological (EEG) patterns induced by the interoceptive focus on breath when performing cognitive and motor tasks requiring interpersonal synchronization. A sample of 28 healthy caucasian adults was recruited and asked to perform two tasks requiring interpersonal synchronization during two distinct conditions: while focusing on the breath or without the focus on the breath. EEG frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha, and beta band) were recorded from the frontal, temporo-central, and parieto-occipital regions of interest. Significant results were observed for the delta and alpha bands. Notably, higher mean delta values and alpha desynchronization were observed in the temporo-central area during the focus on the breath condition when performing the motor compared to the cognitive synchronization task. Taken together these results could be interpreted considering the functional meaning of delta and alpha band in relation to motor synchronization. Indeed, motor delta oscillations shape the dynamics of motor behaviors and motor neural processes, while alpha band attenuation was previously observed during generation, observation, and imagery of movement and is considered to reflect cortical motor activity and action-perception coupling. Overall, the research shows that an EEG delta-alpha pattern emerges in the temporo-central areas at the intra-individual level, indicating the attention to visceral signals, particularly during interpersonal motor synchrony., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Angioletti and Balconi.)
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- 2022
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30. Fatigue and apathy in patients on chronic hemodialysis.
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Bossola M, Di Stasio E, Monteburini T, Santarelli S, Cenerelli S, Manes M, Parodi EL, Angioletti L, and Balconi M
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- Activities of Daily Living, Fatigue epidemiology, Fatigue etiology, Humans, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Renal Dialysis adverse effects, Apathy
- Abstract
Introduction: This study explores the link between fatigue and apathy in patients on chronic hemodialysis (HD)., Methods: One hundred thirty-nine chronic HD patients underwent the assessment of fatigue, apathy, depression, and their functional status, with the fatigue severity scale (FSS), the Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES), the beck depression inventory (BDI), the activity of daily living (ADL), and instrumental activity of daily living (IADL)., Results: Patients with high FSS had a significantly lower ADL and IADL score, higher BDI, Charlson Comorbidity Index, and AES score, and lower serum levels of creatinine, compared to low FSS patients. FSS was highly correlated with the AES, as well as with the BDI and the AES correlates with the BDI. At multiple regression analyses, only apathy and IADL were independent predictor variables of fatigue in HD population., Conclusion: Future longitudinal studies could determine if apathy is a causative factor for fatigue manifestation and development in HD patients., (© 2021 International Society for Apheresis, Japanese Society for Apheresis, and Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy.)
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- 2022
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31. EEG brain oscillations are modulated by interoception in response to a synchronized motor vs. cognitive task.
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Angioletti L and Balconi M
- Abstract
So far, little is known about how conscious attention to internal body signals, that is, interoception, affects the synchronization with another person, a necessary or required social process that promotes affiliations and cooperation during daily joint social interactions. The effect of explicit interoceptive attentiveness (IA) modulation, conceived as the focus on the breath for a given time interval, on electrophysiological (EEG) correlates during an interpersonal motor task compared with a cognitive synchronization task was investigated in this study. A total of 28 healthy participants performed a motor and a cognitive synchronization task during the focus and no-focus breath conditions. During the tasks, frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha, and beta bands) from the frontal, temporo-central, and parieto-occipital regions of interest (ROIs) were acquired. According to the results, significantly higher delta and theta power were found in the focus condition in the frontal ROI during the execution of the motor than the cognitive synchronization task. Moreover, in the same experimental condition, delta and beta band power increased in the temporo-central ROI. The current study suggested two main patterns of frequency band modulation during the execution of a motor compared with the cognitive synchronization task while a person is focusing the attention on one's breath. This study can be considered as the first attempt to classify the different effects of interoceptive manipulation on motor and cognitive synchronization tasks using neurophysiological measures., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Angioletti and Balconi.)
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- 2022
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32. The Increasing Effect of Interoception on Brain Frontal Responsiveness During a Socially Framed Motor Synchronization Task.
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Angioletti L and Balconi M
- Abstract
This research explored the effect of explicit Interoceptive Attentiveness (IA) manipulation on hemodynamic brain correlates during a task involving interpersonal motor coordination framed with a social goal. Participants performed a task requiring interpersonal movement synchrony with and without a social framing in both explicit IA and control conditions. Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to record oxygenated (O2Hb) and deoxygenated hemoglobin (HHb) changes during the tasks. According to the results, the prefrontal cortex (PFC), which is involved in high-order social cognition and interpersonal relations processing, was more responsive when inducing the explicit focus (IA) on the breath during the socially framed motor task requiring synchronization, as indicated by increased O2Hb. In the absence of a broader social frame, this effect was not significant for the motor task. Overall, the present study suggests that when a joint task is performed and the individual focuses on his/her physiological body reactions, the brain hemodynamic correlates are "boosted" in neuroanatomical regions that support sustained attention, reorientation of attention, social responsiveness, and synchronization. Furthermore, the PFC responds significantly more as the person consciously focuses on physiological interoceptive correlates and performs a motor task requiring synchronization, particularly when the task is socially framed., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Angioletti and Balconi.)
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- 2022
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33. Binge Drinking and Problem Gambling Association in Adolescents and Young Adults.
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Angioletti L and Balconi M
- Abstract
Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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- 2022
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34. Judgment and Embodied Cognition of Lawyers. Moral Decision-Making and Interoceptive Physiology in the Legal Field.
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Angioletti L, Tormen F, and Balconi M
- Abstract
Past research showed that the ability to focus on one's internal states (e.g., interoceptive ability) positively correlates with the self-regulation of behavior in situations that are accompanied by somatic and/or physiological changes, such as emotions, physical workload, and decision-making. The analysis of moral oriented decision-making can be the first step for better understanding the legal reasoning carried on by the main players in the field, as lawyers are. For this reason, this study investigated the influence of the decision context and interoceptive manipulation on the moral decision-making process in the legal field gathering the responses of two groups of lawyers. A total of 20 lawyers were randomly divided into an experimental group (EXP), which was explicitly required to focus the attention on its interoceptive correlates, and a control group (CON), which only received the general instruction to perform the task. Both groups underwent a modified version of the Ultimatum Game (UG), where are presented three different moral conditions (professional, company, and social) and three different offers (fair, unfair, and equal). Results highlighted a significant increase of Acceptance Rate (AR) in those offers that should be considered more equal than fair or unfair ones, associated with a general increase of Reaction Times (RTs) in the equal offers. Furthermore, the interoceptive manipulation oriented the Lawyers toward a more self-centered decision. This study shows how individual, situational, contextual, and interoceptive factors may influence the moral decision-making of lawyers. Future research in the so-called Neurolaw field is needed to replicate and expand current findings., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Angioletti, Tormen and Balconi.)
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- 2022
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35. The Teaching Brain: Beyond the Science of Teaching and Educational Neuroscience.
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Gola G, Angioletti L, Cassioli F, and Balconi M
- Abstract
Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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- 2022
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36. Consumers in the Face of COVID-19-Related Advertising: Threat or Boost Effect?
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Balconi M, Sansone M, and Angioletti L
- Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the production of a vast amount of COVID-19-themed brand commercials, in an attempt to exploit the salience of the topic to reach more effectively the consumers. However, the literature has produced conflicting findings of the effectiveness of negative emotional contents in advertisings. The present study aims at exploring the effect of COVID-19-related contents on the hemodynamic brain correlates of the consumer approach or avoidance motivation. Twenty Italian participants were randomly assigned to two different groups that watched COVID-19-related or non-COVID-19-related commercials. The hemodynamic response [oxygenated (O
2 Hb) and deoxygenated hemoglobin modulations] within the left and right prefrontal cortices (PFC) was monitored with Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) while brand commercials were presented, as the prefrontal lateralization was shown to be indicative of the attitude toward the brand and of the approach-avoidance motivation. First, the findings showed that the COVID-19-related contents were able to prompt emotional processing within the PFC to a higher extent compared to contents non-related to COVID-19. Moreover, the single-channel analysis revealed increased O2 Hb activity of the left dorsolateral PFC compared to the left pars triangularis Broca's area in the group of participants that watched the COVID-19-related commercials, suggesting that the commercials may have driven participants to dedicate more attention toward the processing of the emotional components compared to the semantic meaning conveyed by the ad. To conclude, despite expressing unpleasant emotions, commercials referring to the highly emotional pandemic experience may benefit the advertising efficacy, increasing the capability to reach customers., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Balconi, Sansone and Angioletti.)- Published
- 2022
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37. Interoceptive attentiveness and autonomic reactivity in pain observation.
- Author
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Angioletti L and Balconi M
- Subjects
- Face, Hand, Heart Rate physiology, Humans, Autonomic Nervous System physiology, Pain
- Abstract
Aim: This study explores interoceptive attentiveness (IA) influence on autonomic reactivity related to pain and self-regulation during situations evoking physiological mirroring for pain. Methods: 20 participants observed face/hand, painful/non-painful stimuli in an individual versus social condition while the autonomic response was measured [Electrodermal activity, Pulse Volume Amplitude (PVA), and Heart Rate (HR)] was measured. The sample was divided into experimental (EXP) subjects, required to focus on their interoceptive correlates while observing the stimuli, and the control (CNT) group. HR inter-beat interval (IBI), and HR Variability (HRV) were calculated. Results: Results showed high accuracy to painful and non-painful stimuli recognition. Regarding autonomic indices, higher PVA values were detected for hand painful versus non-painful stimuli, whereas for the EXP group a significant activation of IBI was found for face painful vs non-painful stimuli. Conclusion: In the context of observation of pain in others, PVA and IBI could be respectively markers of mirroring mechanisms and autonomic self-regulation mediated by IA.
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- 2022
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38. Interoceptive Attentiveness Induces Significantly More PFC Activation during a Synchronized Linguistic Task Compared to a Motor Task as Revealed by Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy.
- Author
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Balconi M and Angioletti L
- Abstract
Currently, there is little understanding of how interoceptive attentiveness (IA) affects brain responses during synchronized cognitive or motor tasks. This pilot study explored the effect of explicit IA manipulation on hemodynamic correlates of simple cognitive tasks implying linguistic or motor synchronization. Eighteen healthy participants completed two linguistic and motor synchronization tasks during explicit IA and control conditions while oxygenated (O2Hb) and deoxygenated (HHb) hemoglobin variations were recorded by functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS). The findings suggested that the brain regions associated with sustained attention, such as the right prefrontal cortex (PFC), were more involved when an explicit focus on the breath was induced during the cognitive linguistic task requiring synchronization with a partner, as indicated by increased O2Hb. Interestingly, this effect was not significant for the motor task. In conclusion, for the first time, this pilot research found increased activity in neuroanatomical regions that promote sustained attention, attention reorientation, and synchronization when a joint task is carried out and the person is focusing on their physiological body reactions. Moreover, the results suggested that the benefits of conscious concentration on physiological interoceptive correlates while executing a task demanding synchronization, particularly verbal alignment, may be related to the right PFC.
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- 2022
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39. Aching face and hand: the interoceptive attentiveness and social context in relation to empathy for pain.
- Author
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Balconi M and Angioletti L
- Subjects
- Adult, Brain Mapping, Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex diagnostic imaging, Female, Humans, Male, Pain diagnostic imaging, Somatosensory Cortex diagnostic imaging, Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared, Young Adult, Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex physiology, Empathy physiology, Face, Functional Laterality physiology, Hand, Interoception physiology, Pain physiopathology, Social Perception, Somatosensory Cortex physiology
- Abstract
This research explored how the manipulation of interoceptive attentiveness (IA) can influence the frontal (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and somatosensory cortices) activity associated with the emotional regulation and sensory response of observing pain in others. 20 individuals were asked to observe face versus hand, painful/non-painful stimuli in an individual versus social condition while brain hemodynamic response (oxygenated (O2Hb) and deoxygenated hemoglobin (HHb) components) was measured via functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS). Images represented either a single person (individual condition) or two persons in social interaction (social condition) both for the pain and body part set of stimuli. The participants were split into experimental (EXP) and control (CNT) groups, with the EXP explicitly required to concentrate on its interoceptive correlates while observing the stimuli. Quantitative statistical analyses were applied to both oxy- and deoxy-Hb data. Firstly, significantly higher brain responsiveness was detected for pain in comparison to no-pain stimuli in the individual condition. Secondly, a left/right hemispheric lateralization was found for the individual and social condition, respectively, in both groups. Besides, both groups showed higher DLPFC activation for face stimuli presented in the individual condition compared to hand stimuli in the social condition. However, face stimuli activation prevailed for the EXP group, suggesting the IA phenomenon has certain features, namely it manifests itself in the individual condition and for pain stimuli. We can conclude that IA promoted the recruitment of internal adaptive regulatory strategies by engaging both DLPFC and somatosensory regions towards emotionally relevant stimuli., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2022 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.)
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- 2022
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40. Monitoring Strategies and Intervention Policies for the Enhancement and Protection of Advanced Neuroscientific Research Post COVID-19 in Italy: Preliminary Evidence.
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Balconi M, Bove M, Bossola M, Angioletti L, Fronda G, and Crivelli D
- Subjects
- Humans, Italy, Policy, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, Refractive Surgical Procedures
- Abstract
Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
- Published
- 2021
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41. Exploring the Embodiment of a Virtual Hand in a Spatially Augmented Respiratory Biofeedback Setting.
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Barresi G, Marinelli A, Caserta G, de Zambotti M, Tessadori J, Angioletti L, Boccardo N, Freddolini M, Mazzanti D, Deshpande N, Frigo CA, Balconi M, Gruppioni E, Laffranchi M, and De Michieli L
- Abstract
Enhancing the embodiment of artificial limbs-the individuals' feeling that a virtual or robotic limb is integrated in their own body scheme-is an impactful strategy for improving prosthetic technology acceptance and human-machine interaction. Most studies so far focused on visuo-tactile strategies to empower the embodiment processes. However, novel approaches could emerge from self-regulation techniques able to change the psychophysiological conditions of an individual. Accordingly, this pilot study investigates the effects of a self-regulated breathing exercise on the processes of body ownership underlying the embodiment of a virtual right hand within a Spatially Augmented Respiratory Biofeedback (SARB) setting. This investigation also aims at evaluating the feasibility of the breathing exercise enabled by a low-cost SARB implementation designed for upcoming remote studies (a need emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic). Twenty-two subjects without impairments, and two transradial prosthesis users for a preparatory test, were asked (in each condition of a within-group design) to maintain a normal (about 14 breaths/min) or slow (about 6 breaths/min) respiratory rate to keep a static virtual right hand "visible" on a screen. Meanwhile, a computer-generated sphere moved from left to right toward the virtual hand during each trial (1 min) of 16. If the participant's breathing rate was within the target (slow or normal) range, a visuo-tactile event was triggered by the sphere passing under the virtual hand (the subjects observed it shaking while they perceived a vibratory feedback generated by a smartphone). Our results-mainly based on questionnaire scores and proprioceptive drift-highlight that the slow breathing condition induced higher embodiment than the normal one. This preliminary study reveals the feasibility and potential of a novel psychophysiological training strategy to enhance the embodiment of artificial limbs. Future studies are needed to further investigate mechanisms, efficacy and generalizability of the SARB techniques in training a bionic limb embodiment., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Barresi, Marinelli, Caserta, de Zambotti, Tessadori, Angioletti, Boccardo, Freddolini, Mazzanti, Deshpande, Frigo, Balconi, Gruppioni, Laffranchi and De Michieli.)
- Published
- 2021
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42. Neurophysiology of Gambling Behavior and Internet Use Vulnerability: A Comparison Between Behavioral and EEG Measures.
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Balconi M and Angioletti L
- Abstract
The present research explored electrophysiological activity (EEG) related to problematic internet use (PIU) vulnerability in a nonclinical population. Vulnerability to PIU was assessed through internet addiction test (IAT) in a sample of 23 participants. Moreover, they underwent a behavioral Iowa gambling task (IGT) for testing decision-making functioning and N2 event-related potentials (ERPs) component was monitored during an attentional inhibitory Go/NoGo task performance with addiction-related background pictures (videogames, online gambling, and neutral stimuli). IAT measure positively correlated with both IGT index and N2 variation at the Go/NoGo task. High-IAT young participants showed specific responses to internet addiction-related cues (pictures representing online gambling) in terms of ERPs amplitude of N2pc for Go trials in Pz. Findings suggested an early attentional facilitation effect for specific addiction-related stimuli, online gambling-related stimuli, suggesting a selective attention bias for salient stimuli in this population. While higher levels of IAT do not seem to correspond to a deficit in decision-making abilities, the selective attention mechanisms show to be partially biased in response to the salience of external cues.
- Published
- 2021
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43. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Combined With Cognitive Training Induces Response Inhibition Facilitation Through Distinct Neural Responses According to the Stimulation Site: A Follow-up Event-Related Potentials Study.
- Author
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Dousset C, Ingels A, Schröder E, Angioletti L, Balconi M, Kornreich C, and Campanella S
- Subjects
- Cognition, Electroencephalography, Evoked Potentials, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Prefrontal Cortex, Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
- Abstract
Objective: We investigated whether the mid-term impact (1 week posttraining) of a "combined cognitive rehabilitation (CRP)/transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) program" on the performance of a Go/No-go task was enhanced compared with isolated CRP and whether it varied according to the stimulation site (right inferior frontal gyrus [rIFG] vs right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex [rDLPFC])., Methods: A total of 150 healthy participants were assigned to (1) an Inhibition Training (IT) group, (2) a group receiving active tDCS over the rIFG in combination with IT (IT + IF), (3) a group receiving active tDCS over the rDLPFC in combination with IT (IT + DL), (4) a group receiving IT with sham tDCS (ITsham), and (5) a No-Training (NT) group to control for test-retest effects. Each group undertook 3 sessions of a Go/No-go task concomitant with the recording of event-related potentials (T0, before training; T1, at the end of a 4-day training session [20 minutes each day]; T2, 1 week after T1)., Results: With the exception of the NT participants, all the groups exhibited improved performances at T2. The IT + DL group exhibited the best improvement profile, indexed by faster response times (RTs) (T0 > T1 = T2), with a reduced rate of errors at the posttraining sessions compared with both T0 and T1. This "inhibitory learning effect" was neurophysiologically indexed by shorter No-go N2d latencies and enhanced No-go P3d amplitudes., Conclusion: CRP combined with active tDCS over the rDLPFC appears to be optimal for boosting long-term (one week) inhibitory skills as it induced specific and robust neural changes.
- Published
- 2021
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44. One's Interoception Affects the Representation of Seeing Others' Pain: A Randomized Controlled qEEG Study.
- Author
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Balconi M and Angioletti L
- Subjects
- Adult, Female, Humans, Male, Young Adult, Electroencephalography methods, Interoception physiology
- Abstract
Objective: This research demonstrates that interoceptive attentiveness (IA) can modulate cortical oscillations related to the emotional and cognitive representations of observing pain in others., Methods: Twenty participants were required to observe painful/nonpainful stimuli in an individual versus the interactive condition during the recording of the electroencephalogram. The sample was divided into experimental (EXP) and control (CTR) groups, and the EXP group was explicitly required to direct the attention on its interoceptive correlates while observing the stimuli., Results: Mixed repeated measures, analyses of variance, were applied to each EEG frequency band. Significant findings were obtained mainly for theta and beta bands for the two groups. A hemispheric lateralisation effect was found, with right lateralisation of the theta band for the EXP group when observing painful stimuli and enhanced left activation of theta and beta bands for the CTR group when observing nonpainful stimuli. For both groups, frontal cortical regions were significantly sensitive to social scenarios, while posterior parietal activation was found for stimuli depicting the individual condition., Conclusions: The results suggest that IA might enhance the emotional representation of painful stimuli, highlighting their negative and unpleasant features in the EXP group, while the attention of the CTR group was mainly drawn to nonpainful stimuli in social and individual conditions, with a positive valence. The role of frontal regions in the processing of social stimuli through social cognition, inducing emotional mirroring and requiring deeper analysis of the social context, was underlined. We propose that IA could be trained for promoting emotion regulation and empathic response., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Michela Balconi and Laura Angioletti.)
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
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45. Touching to Feel: Brain Activity During In-Store Consumer Experience.
- Author
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Balconi M, Venturella I, Sebastiani R, and Angioletti L
- Abstract
To gain a deeper understanding of consumers' brain responses during a real-time in-store exploration could help retailers to get much closer to costumers' experience. To our knowledge, this is the first time the specific role of touch has been investigated by means of a neuroscientific approach during consumer in-store experience within the field of sensory marketing. This study explores the presence of distinct cortical brain oscillations in consumers' brain while navigating a store that provides a high level of sensory arousal and being allowed or not to touch products. A 16-channel wireless electroencephalogram (EEG) was applied to 23 healthy participants (mean age = 24.57 years, SD = 3.54), with interest in cosmetics but naive about the store explored. Subjects were assigned to two experimental conditions based on the chance of touching or not touching the products. Cortical oscillations were explored by means of power spectral analysis of the following frequency bands: delta, theta, alpha, and beta. Results highlighted the presence of delta, theta, and beta bands within the frontal brain regions during both sensory conditions. The absence of touch was experienced as a lack of perception that needs cognitive control, as reflected by Delta and Theta band left activation, whereas a right increase of Beta band for touch condition was associated with sustained awareness on the sensory experience. Overall, EEG cortical oscillations' functional meaning could help highlight the neurophysiological implicit responses to tactile conditions and the importance of touch integration in consumers' experience., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Balconi, Venturella, Sebastiani and Angioletti.)
- Published
- 2021
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46. Does aesthetic judgment on face attractiveness affect neural correlates of empathy for pain? A fNIRS study.
- Author
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Balconi M, Kopis N, and Angioletti L
- Subjects
- Beauty, Esthetics, Face, Humans, Pain, Empathy, Judgment
- Abstract
Empathy for pain is at the basis of altruistic behaviors and is known to be modulated by variables such as group membership, pleasantness or unpleasantness of situations and social relationships. Also, face attractiveness and aesthetic judgment might play a role when observing a person in painful conditions, by increasing individuals' empathic responsiveness. Indeed, physical attractiveness can modify both the perception of the face itself and its reception in a social context. In the present study, we aimed to assess cortical activity when attention is focused on the aesthetic features of an individual showing painful feelings. Brain activity (optical imaging: functional near-infrared spectroscopy, fNIRS), considered in its hemodynamic components (oxygenated [oxy-Hb] and deoxygenated hemoglobin [deoxy-Hb]) was monitored when 22 subjects (M
age = 24.9; SD = 3.6) observed faces (attractive; unattractive) that received painful stimulations (pain; no pain) and were asked to judge the attractiveness and pain condition of the face. Specifically, we targeted the left and right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), sensory cortex, and temporo-parietal junction (TPJ). Analyses revealed significant lower oxy-Hb levels in left IFG compared to right hemispheric channels when asking participants to rate faces attractiveness independently from the stimulus features. Besides, lower levels of deoxy-Hb were detected in the right TPJ for unattractive faces compared to attractive faces. Overall, present findings highlighted that the formulation of an aesthetic judgment and face attractiveness plays a relevant role in empathic concerns and this seems to be able to overlay painful appraisal.- Published
- 2020
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47. Neuro-Empowerment of Executive Functions in the Workplace: The Reason Why.
- Author
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Balconi M, Angioletti L, and Crivelli D
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
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48. Reward (BIS/BAS) mechanisms and fatigue in patients on chronic hemodialysis.
- Author
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Bossola M, Angioletti L, Di Stasio E, Vulpio C, De Filippis D, and Balconi M
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Anxiety psychology, Depression psychology, Fatigue physiopathology, Female, Humans, Inflammation, Inhibition, Psychological, Kidney Failure, Chronic physiopathology, Kidney Failure, Chronic therapy, Male, Middle Aged, Personality, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Avoidance Learning, Choice Behavior, Fatigue psychology, Kidney Failure, Chronic psychology, Motivation, Renal Dialysis psychology, Reward
- Abstract
Recently, it has been demonstrated that chronic inflammation could have a role on fatigue onset in chronic hemodialysis (HD). Research on neuro-immune interactions highlighted that an alteration of basal ganglia functioning, secondary to chronic inflammation, may translate in a reduced motivation and altered reward processes in chronic diseases. This study investigated a possible correlation between fatigue severity and reward mechanisms, that regulate motivational dispositions, in HD patients. Evaluation scales were administered to ninety-four patients on HD (54 Male, 40 Female; Md
age = 67±26.5; Dialytic Mdage in years = 4±6.3. Fatigue was assessed by using Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS). Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS) and Behavioural Activation System (BAS) Scale was administered to investigate approach/avoidance behaviours. Anxiety and depression were measured by State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II). Results show that the distribution of HD patients for FSS score did not show a normal pattern. FSS score was significantly higher in patients with high BIS Z-score than in patients with low and medium BIS Z-score. BDI score and STAI-Y scores were similar among BIS Z-score groups of patients. Findings suggest that in patients on chronic hemodialysis there is a correlation between fatigue severity symptoms and motivational disposition mechanisms that predispose to action inhibition.- Published
- 2020
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49. Neurophysiological Correlates of User Experience in Smart Home Systems (SHSs): First Evidence From Electroencephalography and Autonomic Measures.
- Author
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Angioletti L, Cassioli F, and Balconi M
- Abstract
Home automation brings together technology, engineering, and user experience (UX). Within this framework, even neuroscience could be a valuable discipline to explore UX. For the first time, in the present work, some distinguishing effects of domotics on users' cognitive and emotional behavior are highlighted by using the neuroscientific approach. In order to define possible effects of a smart home system (SHS) on UX, a neuroscientific multimethodology was adopted with the purpose of recording and confronting the neural activity (electroencephalography, EEG) and autonomic system responses of 19 individuals during a resting state (RS) baseline and the exploration of five different tech-interaction areas in a domotic environment. EEG findings showed a generalized neural activation reflected by alpha band activity while participants were exploring the tech areas confronted with the RS. The delta band was mainly present in temporo-central compared to frontal and parieto-occipital areas and was interpreted as a higher emotional activation related to the whole UX. This effect was found for the sixth tech-interaction area (i.e., bedroom) compared to the RS, and it is supposed to represent an enhanced emotional response and integration processing toward a higher multisensory interactive area. Regarding autonomic activity, an increase in heart rate (HR) was found for the bedroom area compared to the RS, thus showing a specific effect on physiological indices in this engaging tech area. The present research constitutes the first attempt to understand the user responsiveness to SHS, in terms of cognitive and emotional engagement, by adopting a neuroscientific perspective. Some high-value benefits derived from this approach will be described in light of the neurophysiological results., (Copyright © 2020 Angioletti, Cassioli and Balconi.)
- Published
- 2020
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50. Efficacy of a Neurofeedback Training on Attention and Driving Performance: Physiological and Behavioral Measures.
- Author
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Balconi M, Crivelli D, and Angioletti L
- Abstract
Increased attention and lower stress levels are associated with more functional and safe driving behavior, since they contribute to reduce distractibility and risk-taking at the wheel. Previous neuroscience research highlighted that NeuroFeedback (NF) training mediated by wearable devices could be effective in terms of neurocognitive strengthening and attention regulation with a direct effect on driving attentional performance. Thus, this research aims to test the effectiveness of a NF protocol on a sample of drivers, to observe its impact on attentional skills and psychophysiological levels of stress involved in driving behavior. 50 participants were randomly assigned to the experimental and active control group. The experimental condition consisted of a 21-day mindfulness NF training with incremental duration sessions. A pre- ( t 0) and post-treatment ( t 1) assessment included behavioral, psychometric, neuropsychological, and psychophysiological autonomic measures. Specifically, the Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ) and the Active Box (AB) device were used to evaluate the everyday driving behavior. Results underlined an improvement in driving behavior performance and a decrease of violations at the wheel of the experimental group (EXPg) at t 1 measured, respectively by AB and DBQ. About the autonomic and neuropsychological measure, an increase in heart rate (HR) and an increased accuracy at the Stroop Task were detected: a specific increase of Stroop-related HR was found for the EXPg at t 1. Also, reduced reaction times were found in the Multiple Features Target Cancellation for the EXPg at t 1. Overall, the EXPg displayed a physiological, behavioral and neuropsychological increased efficiency related to attention as well as a driving-related behavioral improvement after NF training., (Copyright © 2019 Balconi, Crivelli and Angioletti.)
- Published
- 2019
- Full Text
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