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Introduction: Academic environments are known for their high demands, often resulting in significant distress among employees. Thus, identifying effective intervention strategies to mitigate workplace stress is essential. The present study aims to evaluate the potential benefits of mind–body interventions (i.e., Yoga and Tai Chi) on the psychological wellbeing and perceived mental and physical health of female university employees. Methods: A total of 166 female university employees and faculty members participated in 10 sessions of Tai Chi or Yoga. They completed self-report questionnaires assessing ruminative thoughts, somatic anxiety, general distress, perceived physical and mental health, and assertive and cooperative behaviors before and after the 10 Tai Chi/Yoga sessions. Additionally, participants completed a state anxiety questionnaire before and after Tai Chi/Yoga second and second-to-last lessons. Results: Results showed significant differences between scores pre and post Tai Chi and Yoga programs, with lower ruminative thoughts (p = 0.007), lower somatic anxiety (p < 0.001), and higher perceived mental health (p = 0.038) at the end of the programs (i.e., after 10 sessions) compared to the beginning. Moreover, significant differences were found in state anxiety scores, with a reduction in state anxiety at the end of the second (p < 0.001) and second-to-last (p < 0.001) lessons compared to the start. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the potential positive impact of Tai Chi and Yoga programs on the psychological wellbeing and perceived mental health of female university employees. Immediate reductions in state anxiety following single sessions further underscore the potential of these practices for short-term stress relief. Overall, the results support the implementation of mind–body practices in workplace settings to promote a healthier work environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In recent decades, numerous studies have investigated the cognitive abilities of fish, primarily focusing on species commonly used in neuroscience laboratories. In this study, we examined the learning abilities of a neglected species in the field of cognitive ethology, the red-bellied piranha. We assessed whether these fish could learn a colour discrimination task in an automated operant conditioning chamber. In the first experiment, fish were presented with a red vs. green discrimination task, followed by a yellow vs. white discrimination task in the second experiment. In both cases, the fish did not learn the task. We then simplified the task by presenting achromatic stimuli differing in brightness, always on the same side of the tank. This time, the fish successfully learned how to discriminate between the colours. Our findings suggest that red-bellied piranhas may have limitations in their learning abilities. This study also highlights some limitations of the current procedure. We propose that the automated operant conditioning setup needs adjustments to more effectively investigate the learning capabilities of this species. Most studies on the cognitive abilities of fish have focused on model organisms adopted in behavioural neuroscience. To date, little attention has been devoted to characiformes fish and we record a lack of cognitive investigation on the piranha. In this study, we conducted a preliminary set of experiments to assess whether red-bellied piranhas (Pygocentrus nattereri) can solve an automated operant conditioning task, specifically, a reversal learning task. In Experiment 1, the fish were required to discriminate between red and green, while in Experiment 2, they had to discriminate between white and yellow. In either case, we found no evidence of learning capacities with our protocol after extensive training exceeding one thousand trials overall. In Experiment 3, we simplified the learning task by using achromatic stimuli (black and white discrimination) and always presenting the reinforced stimulus on the same side of the tank (a combination of response learning and place learning). Subjects did learn how to discriminate between the colours, although no subject was able to reach the criterion in the subsequent reversal learning task, suggesting that piranhas may be limited in their cognitive flexibility. However, our training procedure may have been inefficient in addressing this issue. We outline some potential limitations of the current methodology to help to establish a more effective approach for investigating operant conditioning in this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scototaxis test is an anxiety-like test used by behavioural neuroscientists consisting in the assessment of dark/light preference of laboratory animals. This test has been widely used in fish. Most of the species have been shown to express a preference for the dark environment. However, the majority of the investigated species has a dark body colour, thus making a clear contrast with a white/bright background. Also, while in nature fish tend to be highly social, studies in the scototaxis literature tested single fish. Yet, individual vs. group behaviour might interact with scototaxis response. In experiment 1, we assessed the individual response to test the hypothesis that the different colours of the body might modulate the dark/light preference. We found that species with a dark body colour (Hyphessobrycon megalopterus) and a largely transparent body colour (Kryptopterus bicirrhis) strongly preferred the darker environment. Instead, the preference for darkness of a species with a luminescent part of the body (Paracheirodon axelrodi) was less pronounced. Lastly, a species with a white body colour (Corydoras albini) did not prefer either a bright or a dark sector. In experiment 2, we explored the behaviour of these species when inserted in shoals of 20 individuals in the experimental apparatus. While H. megalopterus and K. bichirrhis confirmed their robust preference for darker environments, the other two species changed their preference. Taken together, these results suggest that scototaxis response is context-dependent, as it appears to be modulated by the body colour and the presence/absence of other conspecifics in the surrounding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to evaluate the utility and applicability of electrooculography (EOG) when studying ocular activity during complex motor behavior. Due to its lower spatial resolution relative to eye tracking (ET), it is unclear whether EOG can provide valid and accurate temporal measurements such as the duration of the Quiet Eye (QE), that is the uninterrupted dwell time on the visual target prior to and during action. However, because of its greater temporal resolution, EOG is better suited for temporal‐spectral decomposition, a technique that allows us to distinguish between lower and higher frequency activity as a function of time. Sixteen golfers of varying expertise (novices to experts) putted 60 balls to a 4‐m distant target on a flat surface while we recorded EOG, ET, performance accuracy, and putter kinematics. Correlational and discrepancy analyses confirmed that EOG yielded valid and accurate QE measurements, but only when using certain processing parameters. Nested cross‐validation indicated that, among a set of ET and EOG temporal and spectral oculomotor features, EOG power was the most useful when predicting performance accuracy through robust regression. Follow‐up cross‐validation and correlational analyses revealed that more accurate performance was preceded by diminished lower‐frequency activity immediately before movement initiation and elevated higher‐frequency activity during movement recorded from the horizontal channel. This higher‐frequency activity was also found to accompany a smoother movement execution. This study validates EOG algorithms (code provided) for measuring temporal parameters and presents a novel approach to extracting temporal and spectral oculomotor features during complex motor behavior. This study validates electrooculography for computing temporal indices of oculomotor activity typically obtained through mobile eye tracking. It also indicates that using EOG indices that embed both temporal and spectral features can improve predictions of movement accuracy compared to those that rely on temporal features only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies have examined the relationship between changes in Physical Activity (PA) and mental health during the lockdown. With respect to Italy, there is a lack of studies investigating changes in the type of and in the levels of PA performed pre- and during the lockdown and the relationship among PA changes and psychological variables such as distress, intolerance of uncertainty (IU), physical and mental health, body dissatisfaction (BD), and motivation towards PA. Furthermore, no studies have considered pre-lockdown activity levels and gender differences when investigating changes in PA and psychological variables. For this purpose, we administered questionnaires assessing PA levels before and during the lockdown and psychological variables. We collected data from 1364 adults (377 males). Results indicated that 48.40% of participants did not change their PA levels, and a small percentage increased it (8.96%). In terms of PA reduction, 42.64% of participants showed a decrease in PA. These participants were highly active before the pandemic. We observed that a PA reduction during the lockdown was associated with higher distress and lower mental health, while changes in PA did not seem to have affected BD and IU. Only small differences in physical health were found between individuals who increased, maintained, or decreased PA. Mixed results emerged pertaining to motivation towards PA. Gender differences were not related to participants' PA level pre-lockdown nor to PA changes from pre- to the lockdown. Our study further supports the hypothesis that practicing PA during stressful situations like the pandemic may preserve psychological wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large body of experimental evidence suggests that long-term musical training has profound consequences on the functional organization of the brain, leading to an improvement of cognitive abilities that are non-primarily involved in music. Here, we tested the hypothesis stating that long-term musical training has effects in the perceptual laws underlying vision. To achieve our goal, we compared the susceptibility of musicians and non-musicians to the Solitaire illusion, an illusion of numerosity based on the Gestalt law of proximity and good continuation. Both groups were observed in a relative (Experiment 1) and an absolute (Experiment 2) numerosity task: the former required an estimation of which array contained more blue dots; the latter required an estimation of the number of blue dots presented. In both experiments, the illusory pattern was presented as well. In control trials, no difference was found between musicians and non-musicians in the overall performance. The two groups were susceptible to the illusion in both experiments, although the musicians in Experiment 2 varied in their susceptibility to the numerosity misperception, perceiving a smaller illusory ratio compared with non-musicians. Based on these results, we suggest that prolonged music training may alter the perceptual laws in visual modality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The horizontal-vertical (HV) illusion is a classical example of an asymmetrical perception of size in the vertical and horizontal axes, also known as 'anisotropy of the perceived space'. Several authors argued that the horizontally-oriented ellipse of the binocular visual field might play an important role in the emergence of this illusion. Alternatively, a length bisection bias and size-constancy mechanisms have been advocated to account for the asymmetrical perception in the two dimensions. To investigate this phenomenon, participants are commonly required to estimate the length of two separate lines, one vertical and one horizontal, often arranged in an inverted-T pattern. Here we suggest that this type of stimulus may introduce physical and subjective biases that prevent a fine investigation. In particular, we believe that Petter's rule, that applies to two-dimensional patterns formed by two overlapping surfaces, may play a critical role that will not support an interpretation based on the shape of the binocular visual field nor a length bisection bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]