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Literature has shown that hospitalized women with high-risk pregnancy tend to develop anxious and depressive symptoms. Research has used quantitative or qualitative methods. By integrating both quantitative and qualitative methods, this study aims to analyze: a) the level of depression, anxiety, and pregnancy-related anxiety in a group of women hospitalized with high-risk pregnancy (hospitalized high-risk) compared with a group of non-hospitalized women with low-risk pregnancy; b) the content of hospitalization-related emotions in a high-risk group. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 30 hospitalized high-risk pregnant women and 32 women with low-risk pregnancy. Participants completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (Anxiety), and Pregnancy Related Anxiety Questionnaire. The hospitalized high-risk group also completed open-ended questions about emotions experienced during hospitalization. Univariate Analysis of Covariance showed that the hospitalized high-risk group reported higher general anxiety and depression than the low-risk pregnancy group. Low-risk group reported higher level of concerns about own appearance than high-risk group. Narratives showed that the anxious and depressive symptoms of hospitalized women are related to the loneliness of being away from family. Despite attempts to understand hospitalization, they express concerns about pregnancy. Psychological support for hospitalized pregnant women should be provided to facilitate the communication of emotions that leads women to elaborate the experience of hospitalization to better adapt and cope with the critical condition., Author(s): Martina Smorti [sup.1] , Francesca Ginobbi [sup.1] , Tommaso Simoncini [sup.2] , Federica Pancetti [sup.3] , Alessia Carducci [sup.1] , Giulia Mauri [sup.1] , Angelo Gemignani [sup.1] Author Affiliations: [...]

Introduction: Suicide is a widespread problem, with risk factors still a challenge. The aim was to assess correlations among insomnia, circadian rhythm, and inflammatory markers in individuals who attempted suicide. Materials and Methods: Consecutive patients hospitalised following an attempted suicide, were assessed. Psychiatric diagnosis (DSM-5-TR Criteria), lethality of the suicide attempt (Suicide Intent Scale-SIS), and inflammatory parameters NLR (neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio) PLR (platelet-lymphocyte ratio), and SII (systemic inflammation index/neutrophil-to-platelet ratio on lymphocytes), were computed. Depressive and manic symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory-BDI-II, Young Mania Rating Scale- YMRS), circadian rhythms disturbances (Biological Rhythms Interview of Assessment in Neuropsychiatry-BRIAN), insomnia symptoms (Insomnia Severity Index-ISI) were assessed together with socio-demographic, clinical and pharmacological data. Results: The final sample included 52 individuals. Patients who experienced insomnia during the preceding two weeks utilised high lethality methods, reported heightened dysregulation of chronobiological rhythms, heightened severity of depression, and elevated levels of inflammatory markers. High lethality was best predicted by insomnia symptoms (OR = 20.1, CI-95% 4.66-87.25, p = 0.001), by disturbances of circadian rhythms (OR = 6.97, CI-95% 1.82-26.66, p = 0.005), and by NLR indices (OR 4.00, CI-95% 1.14-13.99, p = 0.030). Conclusions: Sleep disturbances may be a risk factor for suicidal lethality, along with markers of inflammation. It is plausible that insomnia and circadian sleep dysregulation may contribute to inflammation, thereby promoting suicidal risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various reviews and meta‐analyses have shown the positive effects of mindfulness‐based interventions (MBIs) on the mental health of cancer patients and survivors. Some studies have also investigated the impact of MBIs on physiological markers of health in oncology, but a systematic review has not been conducted in this field. The current paper aims to fill this gap in the literature. Following preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta‐analyses 2020 guidelines, data were obtained from the databases of Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science in May 2022. Twenty‐five studies were included. Globally, 35 biomarkers were employed in these studies and were categorized 8 groups (cortisol; blood pressure (BP), heart rate, and respiratory rate; C‐reactive protein; telomere length and telomerase activity (TA); genetic signature; cytokines and hormones; leucocyte activation; leucocyte count and cell subpopulation analysis). In seven of these categories of biomarkers, positive effects of MBIs were observed. The most promising results were obtained for cortisol, BP, TA and pro‐inflammatory gene expression. However, the generally low number of studies per single biomarker limits the possibility to draw reliable conclusions. The present review presents a comprehensive state‐of‐the‐art for MBIs in oncology on biomarkers, confirming MBIs' potential for improving physiological health in cancer patients and survivors besides those already shown in literature on psychological well‐being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The prevailing theories of consciousness consider the integration of different sensory stimuli as a key component for this phenomenon to rise on the brain level. Despite many theories and models have been proposed for multisensory integration between supraliminal stimuli (e.g., the optimal integration model), we do not know if multisensory integration occurs also for subliminal stimuli and what psychophysical mechanisms it follows. Methods: To investigate this, subjects were exposed to visual (Virtual Reality) and/or haptic stimuli (Electro-Cutaneous Stimulation) above or below their perceptual threshold. They had to discriminate, in a two-Alternative Forced Choice Task, the intensity of unimodal and/or bimodal stimuli. They were then asked to discriminate the sensory modality while recording their EEG responses. Results: We found evidence of multisensory integration for supraliminal condition, following the classical optimal model. Importantly, even for subliminal trials participant's performances in the bimodal condition were significantly more accurate when discriminating the intensity of the stimulation. Moreover, significant differences emerged between unimodal and bimodal activity templates in parietotemporal areas known for their integrative role. Discussion: These converging evidences - even if preliminary and needing confirmation from the collection of further data - suggest that subliminal multimodal stimuli can be integrated, thus filling a meaningful gap in the debate about the relationship between consciousness and multisensory integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The positive effects of meditation on human wellbeing are indisputable, ranging from emotion regulation improvement to stress reduction and present-moment awareness enhancement. Changes in brain activity regulate and support these phenomena. However, the heterogeneity of meditation practices and their cultural background, as well as their poor categorization limit the generalization of results to all types of meditation. Here, we took advantage of a collaboration with the very singular and precious community of the Monks and Geshes of the Tibetan University of Sera-Jey in India to study the neural correlates of the two main types of meditation recognized in Tibetan Buddhism, namely concentrative and analytical meditation. Twenty-three meditators with different levels of expertise underwent to an ecological (i.e., within the monastery) EEG acquisition consisting of an analytical and/or concentrative meditation session at "their best," and with the only constraint of performing a 5-min-long baseline at the beginning of the session. Time-varying power-spectral-density estimates of each session were compared against the baseline (i.e., within session) and between conditions (i.e., analytical vs. concentrative). Our results showed that concentrative meditation elicited more numerous and marked changes in the EEG power compared to analytical meditation, and mainly in the form of an increase in the theta, alpha and beta frequency ranges. Moreover, the full immersion in the Monastery life allowed to share the results and discuss their interpretation with the best scholars of the Monastic University, ensuring the identification of the most expert meditators, as well as to highlight better the differences between the different types of meditation practiced by each of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comfortable health monitoring system named WEALTHY is presented. The system is based on a wearable interface implemented by integrating fabric sensors, advanced signal processing techniques and modern telecommunication systems, on a textile platform. Conducting and piezoresistive materials in form of fibre and yarn are integrated in a garment and used as sensors, connectors and electrode elements. Simultaneous recording of vital signs allows extrapolation of more complex parameters and inter-signal elaboration that contribute to produce alert messages and patient table. The purpose of this publication is to evaluate the performance of the textile platform and the possibility of the simultaneous acquisition of several biomedical signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Suicidal risk in mothers is a public health priority. Risk factors include biological, psychological and psychosocial factors. Among the biological factors, the role of sleep disturbances as potential contributors to increased suicidal risk during the peripartum period is becoming apparent. To explore this further, we conducted a systematic review following the PRISMA criteria. Currently, 10 studies have examined the role of insomnia and poor sleep quality in suicidal risk during the peripartum period and have involved 807,760 women. The data showed that disturbed sleep and poor sleep quality increase the risk of suicidal ideation in both pregnant women with and without perinatal depression. The results of the meta‐analysis indicated that insomnia and poor sleep quality increase the odds of suicidal risk in pregnant women by more than threefold (OR = 3.47; 95% CI: 2.63–4.57). Specifically, the odds ratio (OR) for poor sleep quality was 3.72 (95% CI: 2.58–5.34; p < 0.001), and for insomnia symptoms, after taking into account perinatal depression, was 4.76 (95% CI: 1.83–12.34; p < 0.001). These findings emphasise the importance of assessing and addressing sleep disturbances during the peripartum period to mitigate their adverse effects on peripartum psychopathology and suicidal risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One significant obstacle to gaining a widespread awareness of the ongoing climate change is the nature of its manifestations in relation to our perception: climate change effects are gradual, distributed, and sometimes seemingly contradictory. These features result in a lag in collective climate action and sometimes foster climate skepticism and climate denial. While the literature on climate change perception and belief has thoroughly explored its sociocultural and sociopolitical aspects, research on the potential contribution of psychophysiological factors remains scarce. In this perspective paper, we outline evidence and arguments for the involvement of psychophysiological systems such as thermoception, hygroreception, and interoception in modulating climate change awareness. We discuss psychophysiological mechanisms of climate change awareness in animals and humans, as well as possible sources of individual variance in climate change perception. We conclude by suggesting novel research questions which would be worthwhile to pursue in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: A significant body of research has suggested that the contraction of SARS-CoV-2 may cause memory impairment, even in the months following recovery. In this regard, studies suggest that COVID-19 predominantly targets structures and cortices within the temporal lobe, and the hippocampus, a critical brain structure for memory and spatial navigation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on subjective memory complaints, which represent an individual’s perception of subtle changes in memory in the absence of an objective memory impairment. Method: to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic may affect subjective memory complaints, we incorporated ad hoc self-reported measures of subjective memory complaints, the "Subjective Memory Complaints Questionnaire" (SMCQ) and the "Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire" (PRMQ), in our crosssectional study. Both measures referred to two periods: the pre-pandemic period (T0) and the moment of survey administration (T1) (December 28th, 2021, to February 6th, 2022). Results: 207 Italian participants accessed the survey, out of which 189 participants were included in the final sample. The majority of the participants were females, and their age ranged from 55 to 65 years. The study revealed a significant increase in the total PRMQ score at T1 compared to T0 (p = 0.02). However, no significant differences were found between PRMQ and SMCQ scores of COVID-19-negative individuals and those who tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 12 months from the date of completing the survey. McNemar's test showed a statistically significant increase in the score of item 1 (“Do you think that you have a memory problem?” (p = 0.016) and item 10 (“Do you lose objects more often than you did previously”) (0.019) of the SMCQ, while for the PRMQ, significant increases were found in several individual items. Conclusions: our study suggests that subjective memory complaints increased during the pandemic, potentially due to the compound effects of stress and social isolation, rather than solely due to COVID-19 infection. Although a marginal association between COVID-19 and reported prospective memory issues was detected, further investigation is warranted to understand its persistent effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Insomnia is a stress‐related sleep disorder conceptualised within a diathesis‐stress framework, which it is thought to result from predisposing factors interacting with precipitating stressful events that trigger the development of insomnia. Among predisposing factors genetics and epigenetics may play a role. A systematic review of the current evidence for the genetic and epigenetic basis of insomnia was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) system. A total of 24 studies were collected for twins and family heritability, 55 for genome‐wide association studies, 26 about candidate genes for insomnia, and eight for epigenetics. Data showed that insomnia is a complex polygenic stress‐related disorder, and it is likely to be caused by a synergy of genetic and environmental factors, with stress‐related sleep reactivity being the important trait. Even if few studies have been conducted to date on insomnia, epigenetics may be the framework to understand long‐lasting consequences of the interaction between genetic and environmental factors and effects of stress on the brain in insomnia. Interestingly, polygenic risk for insomnia has been causally linked to different mental and medical disorders. Probably, by treating insomnia it would be possible to intervene on the effect of stress on the brain and prevent some medical and mental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total sleep deprivation (TSD) has a major impact on sustained attention as reported by previous studies that have investigated effects of TSD, however by using classical neuropsychological tests that lack ecological validity. To study the effects of TSD on daily-life activities, we carried out an ecological evaluation of sustained attention using a virtual reality task requiring driving along an unpredictable path. We enrolled 30 volunteers who underwent two experimental sessions: baseline (after normal sleep night) and after 36 h of total TSD. We assessed changes in sustained attentional performance by analysing the series of visuomotor adjustments while driving. After TSD, we found greater inaccuracy and longer attentional lapses. Furthermore, the visuomotor adjustments series exhibited higher long-range correlations (self-similarity) which has been associated with greater cognitive efforts. Sustained attention assessed by the ecological task requiring visuomotor coordination gets worse after 36 h of total TSD together with greater cognitive effort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]