Imagery-induced negative affect, social touch and frontal EEG power band activity

Linking heartbeats with the cortical network dynamics involved in self-social touch distinction

Research on interoception has revealed the role of heartbeats in shaping our perceptual awareness and embodying a first-person perspective. These heartbeat dynamics exhibit distinct responses to various types of touch. We advanced that those dynamics are directly associated to the brain activity that allows self-other distinction. In our study encompassing self and social touch, we employed a method to quantify the distinct couplings of temporal patterns in cardiac sympathetic and parasympathetic activities with brain connectivity. Our findings revealed that social touch led to an increase in the coupling between frontoparietal networks and parasympathetic/vagal activity, particularly in alpha and gamma bands. Conversely, as social touch progressed, we observed a decrease in the coupling between brain networks and sympathetic dynamics across a broad frequency range. These results show how heartbeat dynamics are intertwined with brain organization and provide fresh evidence on the neurophysiological mechanisms of self-social touch distinction.

Higher emotional synchronization is modulated by relationship quality in romantic relationships and not in close friendships

Emotions are fundamental to social interaction and deeply intertwined with interpersonal dynamics, especially in romantic relationships. Although the neural basis of interaction processes in romance has been widely explored, the underlying emotions and the connection between relationship quality and neural synchronization remain less understood. Our study employed EEG hyperscanning during a non-interactive video-watching paradigm to compare the emotional coordination between romantic couples and close friends. Couples showed significantly greater behavioral and prefrontal alpha synchronization than friends. Notably, couples with low relationship quality required heightened neural synchronization to maintain robust behavioral synchronization. Further support vector machine analysis underscores the crucial role of prefrontal activity in differentiating couples from friends. In summary, our research addresses gaps concerning how intrinsic emotions linked to relationship quality influence neural and behavioral synchronization by investigating a natural non-interactive context, thereby advancing our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying emotional coordination in romantic relationships.

Alpha interbrain synchrony during mediated interpersonal touch

Interpersonal touch plays a crucial role in human communication, development, and wellness. Mediated interpersonal touch (MIT), a technology to distance or virtually simulated interpersonal touch, has received significant attention to counteract the negative consequences of touch deprivation. Studies investigating the effectiveness of MIT have primarily focused on self-reporting or behavioral correlates. It is largely unknown how MIT affects neural processes such as interbrain functional connectivity during human interactions. Given how users exchange haptic information simultaneously during interpersonal touch, interbrain functional connectivity provides a more ecologically valid way of studying the neural correlates associated with MIT. In this study, a palm squeeze task is designed to examine interbrain synchrony associated with MIT using EEG-based hyperscanning methodology. The phase locking value (PLV) index is used to measure interbrain synchrony. Results demonstrate that MIT elicits a significant increase in alpha interbrain synchronization between participants' brains. Especially, there was a significant difference in the alpha PLV indices between no MIT and MIT conditions in the early stage (130-470 ms) of the interaction period (t-test, p < 0.05). Given the role that alpha interbrain synchrony plays during social interaction, a significant increase in PLV index during MIT interaction seems to indicate an effect of social coordination. The findings and limitations of this study are further discussed, and perspectives on future research are provided.

Small Urban Green Spaces: Insights into Perception, Preference, and Psychological Well-being in a Densely Populated Areas of Tehran, Iran

In metropolitan areas worldwide, abandoned properties are prevalent, prompting a need for small urban green spaces (SUGS) to meet the growing demand. Understanding residents' preferences and perceptions of transformed spaces is vital for effective urban design. This study delves into residents' preferences and perceptions regarding the transformation of such spaces into SUGS and their impact on psychological well-being. By examining how these preferences and perceived health benefits shape the value of transformed spaces, the research aims to inform effective urban design strategies. The participants underwent visual stimulation, with psychological reactions recorded through Electroencephalogram (EEG) readings and assessed via Questionnaire. Machine learning techniques analyzed EEG sub-band data, achieving an average accuracy of 92.8% when comparing leftover and designed spaces. Results revealed that different types of transformed spaces provoke distinct physiological and preference responses. Specifically, viewing SUGS was associated with significant changes in gamma wave power, suggesting a correlation between enhanced gamma activity and increased feelings of empathy. Moreover, participants also reported enhanced comfort, relaxation, and overall mood, and a strong preference for SUGS over untransformed spaces, emphasizing the value placed on these areas for their health benefits. This research highlights the positive impact of even SUGS on mental health, using EEG data to assess emotional states triggered by urban spaces. The study concludes with a call for further research to investigate the long-term benefits of SUGS on well-being, alongside an exploration of the gamma band as a neural marker for emotional restoration in urban green spaces. This research highlights the crucial role of urban design in fostering psychological well-being through the strategic development of green spaces, suggesting a paradigm shift toward more inclusive, health-promoting urban environments.

Evaluating the Cognitive Effects of Video-Induced Negative Affect in College Students: A Comparative Study between Acute Exercise and Music Listening

Background: Video-induced negative affect may have an impact on cognition. In this study, acute exercise and music listening are used to explore their impact on individual cognition with video-induced negative affect. Method: All the participants were randomly divided into six groups. Group 1 (n = 19, average age = 20.15) was not given any form of acute exercise or music listening; Group 2 (n = 20, average age = 21.33) was given music listening; Group 3 (n = 20, average age = 20.89) was given acute exercise; Group 4 (n = 20, average age = 21.03) only watched a video without being given any acute exercise or music listening; Group 5 (n = 19, average age = 20.68) was given music listening after watching a video; Group 6 (n = 18, average age = 21.32) was given acute exercise after watching a video. Results: In the pre-test, we found that there was no significant difference in negative affect, positive affect, and cognitive performance among the groups (p > .05). The post-test indicated that the negative affect of college students who watched the video (20.16 ± 8.34) was higher than that of college students who did not watch the video (11.12 ± 3.29). Acute exercise and music listening improved the cognitive performance of college students with video-induced negative affect. Acute exercise improved the cognitive performance of college students with non-video-induced negative affect, while music listening did not. Conclusion: The acute decline in the cognitive performance of college students caused by video-induced negative affect can be ameliorated by means of acute exercise and music listening.

A wearable soft robot that can alleviate the pain and fear of the wearer

Social soft robotics may provide a new solution for alleviating human pain and fear. Here, we introduce a hand-held soft robot that can be clenched by the wearer. The robot comprises small airbags that can be inflated to provide the wearer with a feeling of being clenched. We then conducted an in-depth study of 66 adults who participated in a pain research protocol using thermal stimulation to investigate the effect of wearing the robot on pain perception and fear of injections. Pain assessment scale scores for perceived pain decreased significantly [Formula: see text] when participants wore the robot compared with the baseline condition in which the robot was not worn. In addition, the saliva test results showed a downward trend in oxytocin level when the robot provided the wearer with haptic feedback via the inflation of the internal airbags in response to the wearer's clench. Furthermore, the negative psychological state of participants, as measured using the positive and negative affect scale, improved significantly when wearing the robot. We also revealed that the salivary cortisol level, an indicator of stress, decreased significantly across all participants at the end of the experiment. In addition, participants' fear of injections was significantly improved after participation in the experiment. These results suggest that the wearable soft robot may alleviate the human perception of pain and fear in during medical treatments, such as vaccinations.

EEG Evaluation of Stress Exposure on Healthcare Workers During COVID-19 Emergency: Not Just an Impression

Psychological distress among healthcare professionals, although already a common condition, was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This effect has been generally self-reported or assessed through questionnaires. We aimed to identify potential abnormalities in the electrical activity of the brain of healthcare workers, operating in different roles during the pandemic. Cortical activity, cognitive performances, sleep, and burnout were evaluated two times in 20 COVID-19 frontline operators (FLCO, median age 29.5 years) and 20 operators who worked in COVID-19-free units (CFO, median 32 years): immediately after the outbreak of the pandemic (first session) and almost 6 months later (second session). FLCO showed higher theta relative power over the entire scalp (FLCO = 19.4%; CFO = 13.9%; p = 0.04) and lower peak alpha frequency of electrodes F7 (FLCO = 10.4 Hz; CFO = 10.87 Hz; p = 0.017) and F8 (FLCO = 10.47 Hz; CFO = 10.87 Hz; p = 0.017) in the first session. FLCO parietal interhemispheric coherence of theta (FLCO I = 0.607; FLCO II = 0.478; p = 0.025) and alpha (FLCO I = 0.578; FLCO II = 0.478; p = 0.007) rhythms decreased over time. FLCO also showed lower scores in the global cognitive assessment test (FLCO = 22.72 points; CFO = 25.56; p = 0.006) during the first session. The quantitative evaluation of the cortical activity might therefore reveal early signs of changes secondary to stress exposure in healthcare professionals, suggesting the implementation of measures to prevent serious social and professional consequences.

Social touch experience in different contexts: A review

Social touch is increasingly utilized in a variety of psychological interventions, ranging from parent-child interventions to psychotherapeutic treatments. Less attention has been paid, however, to findings that exposure to social touch may not necessarily evoke positive or pleasant responses. Social touch can convey different emotions from love and gratitude to harassment and envy, and persons' preferences to touch and be touched do not necessarily match with each other. This review of altogether 99 original studies focuses on how contextual factors modify target person's behavioral and brain responses to social touch. The review shows that experience of social touch is strongly modified by a variety of toucher-related and situational factors: for example, toucher's facial expressions, physical attractiveness, relationship status, group membership, and touched person's psychological distress. At the neural level, contextual factors modify processing of social touch from early perceptual processing to reflective cognitive evaluation. Based on the review, we present implications for using social touch in behavioral and neuroscientific research designs.

EEG Power Spectral Analysis of Abnormal Cortical Activations During REM/NREM Sleep in Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Objective: To characterize electroencephalogram (EEG) power in different frequency bands during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Methods: Retrospective data on 151 patients were collected and divided into three groups: primary snoring group (AHI < 5/h), mild-moderate OSA group (6 ≤ AHI < 30/h), and severe OSA group (AHI ≥ 30/h). EEG recordings in the frontal, central, and occipital regions were extracted from both REM and NREM sleep, to compute the normalized spectral power densities in the delta, theta, alpha, sigma, beta, and gamma frequency bands, using Fast Fourier Transform. Correlations between the computed EEG power and PSG parameters were analyzed. Results: In NREM sleep, elevated normalized power spectral density (PSD) in the delta band was observed in the severe OSA group compared to the other two groups. In contrast, the PSD of the other frequency bands showed a corresponding decrease in the severe OSA group. In REM sleep, similar changes were observed in the frontal region. Delta band PSD was positively correlated with Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI) (r = 0.33), longest time of apnea, oxygen desaturation index (ODI) (r = 0.34), percent sleep time below 90% SaO₂ (T90%) (r = 0.30), Arousal Index (ArI) (r = 0.29), and negatively correlated with N3%, minimum oxygen saturation (minSaO₂). Conclusion: Our findings provide neurophysiological evidence for pathological cortical activation during REM/NREM sleep, which may be associated with the arousals and cognitive impairments in OSA. The technique of power spectral analysis could prove a potentially useful tool in complementing traditional PSG parameters in assessing disease burden to guide therapeutic decisions.