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Scandola M, Beccherle M, Togni R, Caffini G, Ferrari F, Aglioti SM, Moro V. Topographic mapping of the sensorimotor qualities of empathic reactivity: A psychophysiological study in people with spinal cord injuries. Psychophysiology 2024; 61:e14547. [PMID: 38372443 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Revised: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 02/04/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
The experience of empathy for pain is underpinned by sensorimotor and affective dimensions which, although interconnected, are at least in part behaviorally and neurally distinct. Spinal cord injuries (SCI) induce a massive, below-lesion level, sensorimotor body-brain disconnection. This condition may make it possible to test whether sensorimotor deprivation alters specific dimensions of empathic reactivity to observed pain. To explore this issue, we asked SCI people with paraplegia and healthy controls to observe videos of painful or neutral stimuli administered to a hand (intact) or a foot (deafferented). The stimuli were displayed by means of a virtual reality set-up and seen from a first person (1PP) or third person (3PP) visual perspective. A number of measures were recorded ranging from explicit behaviors like explicit verbal reports on the videos, to implicit measures of muscular activity (like EMG from the corrugator and zygomatic muscles that may represent a proxy of sensorimotor empathy) and of autonomic reactivity (like the electrodermal response and Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia that may represent a general proxy of affective empathy). While no across group differences in explicit verbal reports about the pain stimuli were found, SCI people exhibited reduced facial muscle reactivity to the stimuli applied to the foot (but not the hand) seen from the 1PP. Tellingly, the corrugator activity correlated with SCI participants' neuropathic pain. There were no across group differences in autonomic reactivity suggesting that SCI lesions may affect sensorimotor dimensions connected to empathy for pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Scandola
- NPSY.Lab-VR, Department of Human Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Maddalena Beccherle
- NPSY.Lab-VR, Department of Human Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
- CLN2S@Sapienza, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Giulia Caffini
- NPSY.Lab-VR, Department of Human Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | | | - Salvatore Maria Aglioti
- CLN2S@Sapienza, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Valentina Moro
- NPSY.Lab-VR, Department of Human Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
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Chiarella SG, De Pastina R, Raffone A, Simione L. Mindfulness Affects the Boundaries of Bodily Self-Representation: The Effect of Focused-Attention Meditation in Fading the Boundary of Peripersonal Space. Behav Sci (Basel) 2024; 14:306. [PMID: 38667102 PMCID: PMC11047477 DOI: 10.3390/bs14040306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2024] [Revised: 03/23/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Peripersonal space (PPS) is a dynamic multisensory representation of the space around the body, influenced by internal and external sensory information. The malleability of PPS boundaries, as evidenced by their expansion after tool use or modulation through social interactions, positions PPS as a crucial element in understanding the subjective experiences of self and otherness. Building on the existing literature highlighting both the cognitive and bodily effects of mindfulness meditation, this study proposes a novel approach by employing focused-attention meditation (FAM) and a multisensory audio-tactile task to assess PPS in both the extension and sharpness of its boundaries. The research hypothesis posits that FAM, which emphasizes heightened attention to bodily sensations and interoception, may reduce the extension of PPS and make its boundaries less sharp. We enrolled 26 non-meditators who underwent a repeated measure design in which they completed the PPS task before and after a 15-min FAM induction. We found a significant reduction in the sharpness of PPS boundaries but no significant reduction in PPS extension. These results provide novel insights into the immediate effects of FAM on PPS, potentially shedding light on the modulation of self-other representations in both cognitive and bodily domains. Indeed, our findings could have implications for understanding the intricate relationship between mindfulness practices and the subjective experience of self within spatial contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salvatore Gaetano Chiarella
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies (ISTC), National Research Council (CNR), 00185 Rome, Italy
- International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), 34136 Trieste, Italy
| | - Riccardo De Pastina
- Department of Psychology, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; (R.D.P.); (A.R.)
| | - Antonino Raffone
- Department of Psychology, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; (R.D.P.); (A.R.)
| | - Luca Simione
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies (ISTC), National Research Council (CNR), 00185 Rome, Italy
- Dipartimento di Scienze Umanistiche e Sociali Internazionali, UNINT, Università degli Studi Internazionali di Roma, 00147 Rome, Italy
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What the study of spinal cord injured patients can tell us about the significance of the body in cognition. Psychon Bull Rev 2022; 29:2052-2069. [PMID: 35697914 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-022-02129-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Although in the last three decades philosophers, psychologists and neuroscientists have produced numerous studies on human cognition, the debate concerning its nature is still heated and current views on the subject are somewhat antithetical. On the one hand, there are those who adhere to a view implying 'disembodiment' which suggests that cognition is based entirely on symbolic processes. On the other hand, a family of theories referred to as the Embodied Cognition Theories (ECT) postulate that creating and maintaining cognition is linked with varying degrees of inherence to somatosensory and motor representations. Spinal cord injury induces a massive body-brain disconnection with the loss of sensory and motor bodily functions below the lesion level but without directly affecting the brain. Thus, SCI may represent an optimal model for testing the role of the body in cognition. In this review, we describe post-lesional cognitive modifications in relation to body, space and action representations and various instances of ECT. We discuss the interaction between body-grounded and symbolic processes in adulthood with relevant modifications after body-brain disconnection.
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Scarpina F, Paschino C, Scacchi M, Mauro A, Sedda A. EXPRESS: Does physical weight alter the mental representation of the body? Evidence from motor imagery in obesity. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2022; 75:2349-2365. [PMID: 35001709 DOI: 10.1177/17470218221075038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Obesity is a clinical condition that impacts severely the physical body. However, evidence related to the mental representation of the body in action is scarce. The few available studies only focus on avoiding obstacles, rather than participants imagining their own body. METHOD To advance knowledge in this field, we assessed the performance of twenty-two individuals with obesity compared to thirty individuals with a healthy weight in two tasks that implied different motor (more implicit vs. more explicit) imagery strategies. Two tasks were also administered to control for visual imagery skills, to rule out confounding factors. Moreover, we measured body uneasiness, through a standard questionnaire, as body image negativity could impact on other body representation components. RESULTS Our findings do not show differences in the motor imagery tasks between individuals with obesity and individuals with healthy weight. On the other hand, some differences emerge in visual imagery skills. Crucially, individuals with obesity did report a higher level of body uneasiness. CONCLUSIONS Despite a negative body image and visual imagery differences, obesity per se does not impact on the representation of the body in action. Importantly, this result is independent from the level of awareness required to access the mental representation of the body.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Scarpina
- "Rita Levi Montalcini" Department of Neurosciences, University of Turin, Italy 9314.,I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, U.O. di Neurologia e Neuroriabilitazione, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy
| | - Clara Paschino
- I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, U.O. di Neurologia e Neuroriabilitazione, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy 9354
| | - Massimo Scacchi
- I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Divisione di Endocrinologia e Malattie Metaboliche, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy 155032.,Department of Clinical Science and Community Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Alessandro Mauro
- "Rita Levi Montalcini" Department of Neurosciences, University of Turin, Italy 155032.,I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, U.O. di Neurologia e Neuroriabilitazione, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy
| | - Anna Sedda
- Psychology Department, School of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK 3120.,Centre for Applied Behavioural Sciences, School of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University
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Moro V, Corbella M, Ionta S, Ferrari F, Scandola M. Cognitive Training Improves Disconnected Limbs' Mental Representation and Peripersonal Space after Spinal Cord Injury. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:ijerph18189589. [PMID: 34574514 PMCID: PMC8470420 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18189589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Revised: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Paraplegia following spinal cord injury (SCI) affects the mental representation and peripersonal space of the paralysed body parts (i.e., lower limbs). Physical rehabilitation programs can improve these aspects, but the benefits are mostly partial and short-lasting. These limits could be due to the absence of trainings focused on SCI-induced cognitive deficits combined with traditional physical rehabilitation. To test this hypothesis, we assessed in 15 SCI-individuals the effects of adding cognitive recovery protocols (motor imagery–MI) to standard physical rehabilitation programs (Motor + MI training) on mental body representations and space representations, with respect to physical rehabilitation alone (control training). Each training comprised at least eight sessions administered over two weeks. The status of participants’ mental body representation and peripersonal space was assessed at three time points: before the training (T0), after the training (T1), and in a follow-up assessment one month later (T2). The Motor + MI training induced short-term recovery of peripersonal space that however did not persist at T2. Body representation showed a slower neuroplastic recovery at T2, without differences between Motor and the Motor + MI. These results show that body and space representations are plastic after lesions, and open new rehabilitation perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Moro
- NPSY-Lab.VR, Human Sciences Department, University of Verona, 37129 Verona, Italy;
- Correspondence: (V.M.); (M.S.)
| | - Michela Corbella
- NPSY-Lab.VR, Human Sciences Department, University of Verona, 37129 Verona, Italy;
- Department of Rehabilitation, IRCCS Sacro Cuore “Don Calabria” Hospital, Negrar, 37024 Verona, Italy;
| | - Silvio Ionta
- Sensory-Motor Lab (SeMoLa), Department of Ophthalmology, University of Lausanne, Jules Gonin Eye Hospital-Fondation Asile des Aveugles, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland;
| | - Federico Ferrari
- Department of Rehabilitation, IRCCS Sacro Cuore “Don Calabria” Hospital, Negrar, 37024 Verona, Italy;
| | - Michele Scandola
- NPSY-Lab.VR, Human Sciences Department, University of Verona, 37129 Verona, Italy;
- Correspondence: (V.M.); (M.S.)
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Talking with hands: body representation in British Sign Language users. Exp Brain Res 2021; 239:731-744. [PMID: 33392694 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-020-06013-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2020] [Accepted: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Body representation (BR) refers to the mental representation of motor, sensory, emotional and semantic information about the physical body. This cognitive representation is used in our everyday life, continuously, even though most of the time we do not appreciate it consciously. In some cases, BR is vital to be able to communicate. A crucial feature of signed languages (SLs), for instance, is that body parts such as hands are used to communicate. Nevertheless, little is known about BR in SL: is the communicative function of the body overwriting the physical constraints? Here, we explored this question by comparing twelve British Sign Language (BSL) learners to seventeen tango dancers (body expertise but not for communication) and fourteen control subjects (no special body expertise). We administered the Body Esteem Scale (BES), the Hand Laterality Task (HLT) and the Mental Motor Chronometry (MMC). To control for visual imagery, we administered ad hoc control tasks. We did not identify parameters able to differentiate between SL users and the other groups, whereas the more implicit parameters distinguished clearly tango dancers from controls. Importantly, neither tasks on visual imagery nor the BES revealed differences. Our findings offer initial evidence that linguistic use of the body not necessarily influences the cognitive components we explored of body representation.
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Scandola M, Aglioti SM, Lazzeri G, Avesani R, Ionta S, Moro V. Visuo-motor and interoceptive influences on peripersonal space representation following spinal cord injury. Sci Rep 2020; 10:5162. [PMID: 32198431 PMCID: PMC7083926 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-62080-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2019] [Accepted: 03/02/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Peripersonal space (PPS) representation is modulated by information coming from the body. In paraplegic individuals, whose lower limb sensory-motor functions are impaired or completely lost, the representation of PPS around the feet is reduced. However, passive motion can have short-term restorative effects. What remains unclear is the mechanisms underlying this recovery, in particular with regard to the contribution of visual and motor feedback and of interoception. Using virtual reality technology, we dissociated the motor and visual feedback during passive motion in paraplegics with complete and incomplete lesions and in healthy controls. The results show that in the case of paraplegics, the presence of motor feedback was necessary for the recovery of PPS representation, both when the motor feedback was congruent and when it was incongruent with the visual feedback. In contrast, visuo-motor incongruence led to an inhibition of PPS representation in the control group. There were no differences in sympathetic responses between the three groups. Nevertheless, in individuals with incomplete lesions, greater interoceptive sensitivity was associated with a better representation of PPS around the feet in the visuo-motor incongruent conditions. These results shed new light on the modulation of PPS representation, and demonstrate the importance of residual motor feedback and its integration with other bodily information in maintaining space representation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Scandola
- NPSY-Lab.VR, Department of Human Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy. .,IRCCS, Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.
| | - Salvatore Maria Aglioti
- IRCCS, Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Psychology, University of Rome "Sapienza", Rome, Italy.,Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Renato Avesani
- Department of Rehabilitation, IRCSS Sacro Cuore - Don Calabria Hospital, Verona, Italy
| | - Silvio Ionta
- Sensory-Motor Lab (SeMoLa), Department of Ophthalmology-University of Lausanne, Jules Gonin Eye; Hospital-Fondation Asile des Aveugles, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Valentina Moro
- NPSY-Lab.VR, Department of Human Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
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8
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Embodying their own wheelchair modifies extrapersonal space perception in people with spinal cord injury. Exp Brain Res 2019; 237:2621-2632. [DOI: 10.1007/s00221-019-05618-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2019] [Accepted: 07/31/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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9
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Scarpina F, Magnani FG, Tagini S, Priano L, Mauro A, Sedda A. Mental representation of the body in action in Parkinson's disease. Exp Brain Res 2019; 237:2505-2521. [PMID: 31327026 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-019-05608-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2019] [Accepted: 07/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Mixed findings characterize studies in Parkinson's disease (PD): some studies indicate a relationship between physical impairments and the ability to mentally represent the body, while others suggest spared abilities for this cognitive function. To clarify the matter, in the present study we explored the mental representations of the body in action in the same PD patients, taking also into account lateralization of symptoms and visual imagery skills. 10 PD patients with left- (lPD), 10 with right (rPD) lateralized symptoms (lPD), and 20 matched healthy controls have been recruited for the study. All patients were screened for neuropsychological impairments. To explore a more implicit component we used the hand laterality task (HLT), while the mental motor chronometry (MMC) was used to explore a more explicit one. Two control tasks, with objects instead of body parts, were administered to control for visual imagery skills. In the HLT, we detected the effects of biomechanical constraints effects in both controls and PD patients. In the latter group, importantly, this was true independently from lateralization of symptoms. In the MMC, we found the expected positive correlation between executed and imagined movements for both hands in controls only, while all PD patients, again independently form lateralization, only showed this effect for the left hand. In terms of visual imagery, only rPD patients differed from controls when asked to implicitly rotate letters, and in terms of accuracy only. However, this difference is explained by executive functions measured through the neuropsychological assessment rather than by a "pure" visual imagery impairment. In summary, our findings suggest that two different aspects of the mental representations of the body in action, one more implicit and the other more explicit, can be differently affected by PD. These impairments are unlikely explained by a basic visual imagery deficit. When present, impairments concern a higher dimension, related to motor functions and awareness, and not driven by sensory impairments, as shown by the independence of effects from physical laterality of symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Scarpina
- Division of Neurology and Neuro-Rehabilitation, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Via Cadorna 90, 28824, Piancavallo, VCO, Italy.
| | - Francesca Giulia Magnani
- Cognitive Neuropsychology Center, ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda, Milan, Italy.,NeuroMi-Milan Center for Neuroscience, University of Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Sofia Tagini
- Division of Neurology and Neuro-Rehabilitation, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Via Cadorna 90, 28824, Piancavallo, VCO, Italy.,CIMeC, Center for the Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Priano
- Division of Neurology and Neuro-Rehabilitation, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Via Cadorna 90, 28824, Piancavallo, VCO, Italy.,"Rita Levi Montalcini" Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Alessandro Mauro
- Division of Neurology and Neuro-Rehabilitation, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Via Cadorna 90, 28824, Piancavallo, VCO, Italy.,"Rita Levi Montalcini" Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Anna Sedda
- Psychology Department, School of Social Sciences, Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, UK
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Ambrosini E, Finotti G, Azevedo RT, Tsakiris M, Ferri F. Seeing myself through my heart: Cortical processing of a single heartbeat speeds up self-face recognition. Biol Psychol 2019; 144:64-73. [PMID: 30890454 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2019.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2018] [Revised: 12/17/2018] [Accepted: 03/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Recent research has highlighted the contribution of interoceptive signals to different aspects of bodily self-consciousness (BSC) by means of the cardio-visual stimulation - i.e. perceiving a pulsing stimulus in synchrony with one's own heart. Here, for the first time, we investigate the effects of individual heartbeats on a critical feature of BSC, namely the recognition of one's own face. Across two studies, we explored the cardiac-timing effects on a classic self-face recognition task. In Study 1, participants saw morphed faces that contained different percentages of the self-face and that of another unfamiliar individual. Study 2 used a similar design, albeit participants saw morphed faces of the self-face and that of a familiar other to provide a better control of self-familiarity. Results from both studies consistently revealed that the cortical processing of cardiac afferent signals conveyed by the firing of arterial baroreceptors affects the speed, but not the accuracy, of self-face recognition, when a single picture is presented during cardiac systole, as compared to diastole. This effect is stronger and more stable for stimuli with more self-cues than other-cues and for 'ambiguous' stimuli - i.e. at the individual point of subjective equality. Results from Study 2 also revealed that cardiac effects on the speed of self-face recognition cannot be explained simply on the basis of the imbalanced familiarity between the self's and other's faces used. The present findings highlight the interoceptive contributions to self-recognition and may be expand our understanding of pathological disturbances of self-experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ettore Ambrosini
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Padua, Padua, Italy; Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Gianluca Finotti
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ruben T Azevedo
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, United Kingdom; Warburg Institute, School of Advanced Study, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Manos Tsakiris
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, United Kingdom; Warburg Institute, School of Advanced Study, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Francesca Ferri
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom; Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Science, University G. d'Annunzio, Chieti, Italy.
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