Yvonne Flores-Medina, Adriana Sosa-Millán, A. Mondragón-Maya
{"title":"Processing speed and clinical features of schizophrenia: comparison between men and women","authors":"Yvonne Flores-Medina, Adriana Sosa-Millán, A. Mondragón-Maya","doi":"10.7358/neur-2021-030-flor","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7358/neur-2021-030-flor","url":null,"abstract":"Evidence about differences in processing speed (PS) performance between men and women with schizophrenia is inconclusive. Moreover, PS deconstruction into its subcomponents has not been compared among sexes. The aim of this study was to compare PS and its subcomponents (i.e., response processing – RP; accuracy – AC; and psychomotor speed - PmS) performance between men and women with schizophrenia and to explore its associations with clinical variables. Fiftysix patients (36 men, 20 women) were recruited. The PS domain tasks from the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery were used. Women outperformed men in RP and AC but were slower in PmS. For men, correlations were found between functionality, RP and AC; age of onset was associated with AC; in women, illness duration and symptomatology correlated with AC. Sex-related differences regarding PS performance in schizophrenia resemble those observed in healthy individuals. Remediation strategies should consider sex differences in PS for more accurate interventions.","PeriodicalId":42015,"journal":{"name":"Neuropsychological Trends","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2021-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80524876","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mirroring and brain connectivity of gesture observation","authors":"Giulia Fronda","doi":"10.7358/neur-2021-030-fron","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7358/neur-2021-030-fron","url":null,"abstract":"Non-verbal communication involves di rent channels, as gestures, to communicate different information. The present study aims investigating the electrophysiological (EEG) correlates underlying the use of affective, social, and informative gestures during gesture observation by an encoder (who observed to reproduce the gestures successively) and decoder (who simply observed the gestures). Mirroring mechanisms were considered for a gesture observation task. Results showed an increase of frontal alpha, delta, and theta brain responsiveness and intra-brain connectivity for affective and social gestures. and of posterior (temporo-parietal) alpha activity and alpha and delta intra-brain connectivity for informative ones. Concerning inter-agents' role, similar responses were found for all gestures. Regarding gesture valence, an increase of delta and theta activity was observed for positive gestures on the left cerebral side. This study, therefore, revealed the function of gestures' type and valence in influencing individuals' brain activity, showing the presence of mirroring mechanisms underlying gesture observation.","PeriodicalId":42015,"journal":{"name":"Neuropsychological Trends","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2021-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89867785","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lubaina Jetaji, Bhoopendra Patel, Manoj Choudhary, A. Tak, Kapil O. Gupta, J. Gupta, K. Yadav, A. Dube
{"title":"Power spectral densities of electroencephalographic theta and alpha frequency waves during information processing of language comprehension","authors":"Lubaina Jetaji, Bhoopendra Patel, Manoj Choudhary, A. Tak, Kapil O. Gupta, J. Gupta, K. Yadav, A. Dube","doi":"10.7358/neur-2021-030-jeta","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7358/neur-2021-030-jeta","url":null,"abstract":"A cross sectional study was conducted to assess electroencephalograph (EEG) Power Spectral Densities (PSD) of alpha and theta frequency bands for an integrative functional role of working memory (WM) in the architectonics of a synthesized and coordinated communication system as exemplified by the observable phenomenon of the evolved structured Language of Human Mind by using Visuo-Spatial Delayed Match to Sample (DMTS) task. The analysis exhibited significant Event Related Synchronization (ERS) along theta wave-form at temporal region along with Lateral Asymmetry Index (LAI) of Alpha Event Related Desynchronization (ERD) at parietal region suggestive of the phenomenal singularity of ERS of theta along temporal regions that seems to be intricately interwoven onto the spectacle of LAI of alpha ERD, presumably evolving a synthesized enveloped working memory, along the virtual phase-space of Human Mind and eventually translating into the comprehensible means of communication of Humans, i.e., Language.","PeriodicalId":42015,"journal":{"name":"Neuropsychological Trends","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2021-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76642285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Impact Based on Quarantine Psychology: Analysis of Left and Right Brain Hemispheres","authors":"A. Şar, J. Kaur, Jindal Mk, K. Prasad","doi":"10.20944/PREPRINTS202106.0205.V1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20944/PREPRINTS202106.0205.V1","url":null,"abstract":"Brain, the most complex object known in the universe, uses few watts of power. To mimic it a nuclear power plant will be required and this power house controls the human body, single handedly. Surprisingly, “On the left side, nothing is right and on the right side there is nothing left”. Typically, there are two lateral halves of the brain: Left hemisphere and right hemisphere working distinctly. Left hemisphere is inclined towards logic; Right hemisphere is the root cause of imagination added with critical thinking. In situations like the current pandemic, COVID-19, it is the right half which tends to dominate the processing. This gives birth to mental stress, anxiety thus, aggravating the existing medical condition. Considering this pattern, a survey was conducted in Durg district of Chhattisgarh, which is one of the most hard hit epicentre of the COVID-19 second wave in India. According to this survey, it was revealed that largely women of all age groups (10-25, 26-40, 40 above) were right brained i.e. dominance of right over left hemisphere. Being more imaginative and creative thinkers they are more likely to suffer from mental issues than males. The aim of this research is to improve the mental wellbeing of the citizens in such threatening conditions. To prevent this situation awareness is a must and some stress relieving games have also been created.","PeriodicalId":42015,"journal":{"name":"Neuropsychological Trends","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2021-06-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88140999","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Gesture in hyperscanning during observation. Inter-brain connectivity","authors":"M. Balconi, Giulia Fronda","doi":"10.7358/neur-2020-028-bal2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7358/neur-2020-028-bal2","url":null,"abstract":"Non-verbal communication is a joint action defined by the use of different gestures’ types. The present research aimed to investigate the electrophysiological (EEG) correlates during the observation of affective, social and informative gestures in non-verbal communication between encoder and decoder. Moreover, the hyperscanning paradigm allows investigating the individuals’ inter-brain connectivity. Regarding gestures’ type, the study’s results showed a decrease of alpha (increased brain activity), and an increase of delta and theta brain responsiveness and inter-brain connectivity for affective and social gestures in frontal and posterior areas for informative ones. Concerning gestures’ valence, an increase of left frontal theta activity and inter-brain connectivity was observed. Finally, about the inter-agents’ role, the same brain responses and inter-brain connectivity patterns emerged both in encoder and decoder. This study allows discovering neural responses underlying gestures’ type and valence during action observation, highlighting the validity of hyperscanning to investigate inter-brain connectivity mechanisms.","PeriodicalId":42015,"journal":{"name":"Neuropsychological Trends","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2020-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76461364","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Interoceptive empathy and emotion regulation: the contribution of neuroscience","authors":"L. Angioletti, M. Balconi","doi":"10.7358/neur-2020-027-ang2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7358/neur-2020-027-ang2","url":null,"abstract":"Sensory and cognitive processes connected to emotions are perceived as changes in body conditions and are encoded as affective feelings, also thanks to the contribution of interoception pathways. Interoception refers to the perception of internal body signals and has been previously related to emotion regulation processes and empathic response, even in the clinical neuroscience domain concerning emotional and social disorders. It is worth to note that interoception shares brain circuits, such as the anterior insula and portions of the prefrontal cortex, and physiological correlates involved in the empathic behavior, especially in response to pain perception. Thus, given the highly connoted emotional and sensory characteristics of the pain experience, empathy for pain studies represent an interesting ground for deepening the effects of an intentional interoceptive focus on the brain-and-body physiological response. In this context, a multi-method neuroscientific research protocol was recently developed, and its potential will be here discussed in the light of future application fields.","PeriodicalId":42015,"journal":{"name":"Neuropsychological Trends","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2020-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83148480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Drawing and gesturing in aphasia","authors":"G. Gainotti","doi":"10.7358/neur-2020-027-gain","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7358/neur-2020-027-gain","url":null,"abstract":"The aim of the present review will consist of surveying the role that non-verbal tasks based on gestures and free drawing can have on the assessment of defective representational activities and on the rehabilitation of aphasic patients. The relationships between verbal and non-verbal cognitive disorders of aphasic patients and the underlying mechanisms will be considered in the first part of this review. Then the contribution of gesture or drawing based tasks to the rehabilitation of aphasic patients will be discussed, taking separately into account: (a) the use of these tasks to compensate for a severe reduction of language abilities and (b) their use to improve naming ability in individuals with aphasia. The theoretical and clinical differences between the use of gesture or drawing-based tasks for rehabilitation purposes will subsequently be taken into account and, finally, the relationships between right hemisphere and non-verbal representational activities will be shortly discussed.","PeriodicalId":42015,"journal":{"name":"Neuropsychological Trends","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2020-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85896900","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Neuroscience for smart domotic environments and intelligent spaces","authors":"L. Angioletti, M. Balconi","doi":"10.7358/neur-2019-026-angi","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7358/neur-2019-026-angi","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42015,"journal":{"name":"Neuropsychological Trends","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2019-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74957067","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Contents, animation or interactivity: neurophysiological correlates in App advertising","authors":"Federico Cassioli","doi":"10.7358/neur-2019-026-cass","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7358/neur-2019-026-cass","url":null,"abstract":"Little is known on the effects of contents, animation and/or interactivity in app banners. To understand the impact of these proprieties, a multimethod neuroscientific experiment was conducted. Subjects were asked to use a news app (with articles on actuality, health and environment), programmed by the research team with randomized stimuli on a smartphone. 4 types of ads, obtained from the 2x2 matrix made by crossing the proprieties of animation (static/dynamic) and interactivity (interactive/not interactive) were proposed. Cortical oscillations and autonomic indices were monitored using electroencephalography and biofeedback on millennials (n=18). Findings showed that dynamic banners and the actuality theme evoked an increased theta band activity in the left hemisphere, interpreted as higher emotional engagement. Also the increase in beta and alpha activity for actuality contents may reflect a bigger attraction of users’ selective attention. Thus, firstly animation should be present as a leading element in the ad. Secondly the platform selection should not be delegated to the Demand Side Platform.","PeriodicalId":42015,"journal":{"name":"Neuropsychological Trends","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2019-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80982991","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effects of rain sound on mental arithmetic, mood, autonomic nervous activity, and salivary cortisol","authors":"Sokichi Sakuragi","doi":"10.7358/neur-2019-026-saku","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7358/neur-2019-026-saku","url":null,"abstract":"Effects of rain sound on mental arithmetic, mood, autonomic nervous activity and salivary cortisol was evaluated, by examining characteristics of autonomic and endocrine system responses to a psychological stressor (Mental arithmetic), along with associated mood change and mental arithmetic performance under rain sound condition and control one, in 24 female college students (18 to 23 years old). We employed profile of mood states and visual analogue scale to assess mood, and employed heart rate variability, systolic and diastolic blood pressure to assess autonomic nervous activity, and salivary cortisol response to mental arithmetic to assess hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal axis reactivity. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed decrease of basal anger-hostility, and decrease of salivary cortisol secretion response to mental arithmetic, along with increased accuracy of mental arithmetic, and with some tendency of sympathetic predominance, under rain sound condition. These results suggest that rain sound would raise arousal level with coolness, and may increase accuracy of mental arithmetic.","PeriodicalId":42015,"journal":{"name":"Neuropsychological Trends","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2019-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89266109","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}