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Pigoni A, Delvecchio G, Turtulici N, Madonna D, Pietrini P, Cecchetti L, Brambilla P. Machine learning and the prediction of suicide in psychiatric populations: a systematic review. Transl Psychiatry 2024; 14:140. [PMID: 38461283 PMCID: PMC10925059 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-024-02852-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Revised: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Machine learning (ML) has emerged as a promising tool to enhance suicidal prediction. However, as many large-sample studies mixed psychiatric and non-psychiatric populations, a formal psychiatric diagnosis emerged as a strong predictor of suicidal risk, overshadowing more subtle risk factors specific to distinct populations. To overcome this limitation, we conducted a systematic review of ML studies evaluating suicidal behaviors exclusively in psychiatric clinical populations. A systematic literature search was performed from inception through November 17, 2022 on PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus following the PRISMA guidelines. Original research using ML techniques to assess the risk of suicide or predict suicide attempts in the psychiatric population were included. An assessment for bias risk was performed using the transparent reporting of a multivariable prediction model for individual prognosis or diagnosis (TRIPOD) guidelines. About 1032 studies were retrieved, and 81 satisfied the inclusion criteria and were included for qualitative synthesis. Clinical and demographic features were the most frequently employed and random forest, support vector machine, and convolutional neural network performed better in terms of accuracy than other algorithms when directly compared. Despite heterogeneity in procedures, most studies reported an accuracy of 70% or greater based on features such as previous attempts, severity of the disorder, and pharmacological treatments. Although the evidence reported is promising, ML algorithms for suicidal prediction still present limitations, including the lack of neurobiological and imaging data and the lack of external validation samples. Overcoming these issues may lead to the development of models to adopt in clinical practice. Further research is warranted to boost a field that holds the potential to critically impact suicide mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Pigoni
- Social and Affective Neuroscience Group, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
- Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Delvecchio
- Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Nunzio Turtulici
- Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Domenico Madonna
- Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Pietro Pietrini
- MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Luca Cecchetti
- Social and Affective Neuroscience Group, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Paolo Brambilla
- Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy.
- Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
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Lettieri G, Handjaras G, Cappello EM, Setti F, Bottari D, Bruno V, Diano M, Leo A, Tinti C, Garbarini F, Pietrini P, Ricciardi E, Cecchetti L. Dissecting abstract, modality-specific and experience-dependent coding of affect in the human brain. Sci Adv 2024; 10:eadk6840. [PMID: 38457501 PMCID: PMC10923499 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adk6840] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/10/2024]
Abstract
Emotion and perception are tightly intertwined, as affective experiences often arise from the appraisal of sensory information. Nonetheless, whether the brain encodes emotional instances using a sensory-specific code or in a more abstract manner is unclear. Here, we answer this question by measuring the association between emotion ratings collected during a unisensory or multisensory presentation of a full-length movie and brain activity recorded in typically developed, congenitally blind and congenitally deaf participants. Emotional instances are encoded in a vast network encompassing sensory, prefrontal, and temporal cortices. Within this network, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex stores a categorical representation of emotion independent of modality and previous sensory experience, and the posterior superior temporal cortex maps the valence dimension using an abstract code. Sensory experience more than modality affects how the brain organizes emotional information outside supramodal regions, suggesting the existence of a scaffold for the representation of emotional states where sensory inputs during development shape its functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giada Lettieri
- Crossmodal Perception and Plasticity Laboratory, Institute of Research in Psychology & Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- Social and Affective Neuroscience Group, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Giacomo Handjaras
- Social and Affective Neuroscience Group, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Elisa M. Cappello
- Social and Affective Neuroscience Group, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Francesca Setti
- Sensorimotor Experiences and Mental Representations Group, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Davide Bottari
- Sensorimotor Experiences and Mental Representations Group, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
- Sensory Experience Dependent Group, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | | | - Matteo Diano
- Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Andrea Leo
- Department of of Translational Research and Advanced Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Carla Tinti
- Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | | | - Pietro Pietrini
- Forensic Neuroscience and Psychiatry Group, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Emiliano Ricciardi
- Sensorimotor Experiences and Mental Representations Group, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
- Sensory Experience Dependent Group, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Luca Cecchetti
- Social and Affective Neuroscience Group, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
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Schiller D, Yu ANC, Alia-Klein N, Becker S, Cromwell HC, Dolcos F, Eslinger PJ, Frewen P, Kemp AH, Pace-Schott EF, Raber J, Silton RL, Stefanova E, Williams JHG, Abe N, Aghajani M, Albrecht F, Alexander R, Anders S, Aragón OR, Arias JA, Arzy S, Aue T, Baez S, Balconi M, Ballarini T, Bannister S, Banta MC, Barrett KC, Belzung C, Bensafi M, Booij L, Bookwala J, Boulanger-Bertolus J, Boutros SW, Bräscher AK, Bruno A, Busatto G, Bylsma LM, Caldwell-Harris C, Chan RCK, Cherbuin N, Chiarella J, Cipresso P, Critchley H, Croote DE, Demaree HA, Denson TF, Depue B, Derntl B, Dickson JM, Dolcos S, Drach-Zahavy A, Dubljević O, Eerola T, Ellingsen DM, Fairfield B, Ferdenzi C, Friedman BH, Fu CHY, Gatt JM, de Gelder B, Gendolla GHE, Gilam G, Goldblatt H, Gooding AEK, Gosseries O, Hamm AO, Hanson JL, Hendler T, Herbert C, Hofmann SG, Ibanez A, Joffily M, Jovanovic T, Kahrilas IJ, Kangas M, Katsumi Y, Kensinger E, Kirby LAJ, Koncz R, Koster EHW, Kozlowska K, Krach S, Kret ME, Krippl M, Kusi-Mensah K, Ladouceur CD, Laureys S, Lawrence A, Li CSR, Liddell BJ, Lidhar NK, Lowry CA, Magee K, Marin MF, Mariotti V, Martin LJ, Marusak HA, Mayer AV, Merner AR, Minnier J, Moll J, Morrison RG, Moore M, Mouly AM, Mueller SC, Mühlberger A, Murphy NA, Muscatello MRA, Musser ED, Newton TL, Noll-Hussong M, Norrholm SD, Northoff G, Nusslock R, Okon-Singer H, Olino TM, Ortner C, Owolabi M, Padulo C, Palermo R, Palumbo R, Palumbo S, Papadelis C, Pegna AJ, Pellegrini S, Peltonen K, Penninx BWJH, Pietrini P, Pinna G, Lobo RP, Polnaszek KL, Polyakova M, Rabinak C, Helene Richter S, Richter T, Riva G, Rizzo A, Robinson JL, Rosa P, Sachdev PS, Sato W, Schroeter ML, Schweizer S, Shiban Y, Siddharthan A, Siedlecka E, Smith RC, Soreq H, Spangler DP, Stern ER, Styliadis C, Sullivan GB, Swain JE, Urben S, Van den Stock J, Vander Kooij MA, van Overveld M, Van Rheenen TE, VanElzakker MB, Ventura-Bort C, Verona E, Volk T, Wang Y, Weingast LT, Weymar M, Williams C, Willis ML, Yamashita P, Zahn R, Zupan B, Lowe L. The Human Affectome. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 158:105450. [PMID: 37925091 PMCID: PMC11003721 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2022] [Revised: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/06/2023]
Abstract
Over the last decades, theoretical perspectives in the interdisciplinary field of the affective sciences have proliferated rather than converged due to differing assumptions about what human affective phenomena are and how they work. These metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions, shaped by academic context and values, have dictated affective constructs and operationalizations. However, an assumption about the purpose of affective phenomena can guide us to a common set of metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions. In this capstone paper, we home in on a nested teleological principle for human affective phenomena in order to synthesize metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions. Under this framework, human affective phenomena can collectively be considered algorithms that either adjust based on the human comfort zone (affective concerns) or monitor those adaptive processes (affective features). This teleologically-grounded framework offers a principled agenda and launchpad for both organizing existing perspectives and generating new ones. Ultimately, we hope the Human Affectome brings us a step closer to not only an integrated understanding of human affective phenomena, but an integrated field for affective research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Schiller
- Department of Psychiatry, the Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, and the Friedman Brain Institute, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States.
| | - Alessandra N C Yu
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States.
| | - Nelly Alia-Klein
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | - Susanne Becker
- Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany; Integrative Spinal Research Group, Department of Chiropractic Medicine, University Hospital Balgrist, University of Zurich, Balgrist Campus, Lengghalde 5, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Howard C Cromwell
- J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403, United States
| | - Florin Dolcos
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science & Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States; Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
| | - Paul J Eslinger
- Departments of Neurology, Neural & Behavioral Science, Radiology, and Public Health Sciences, Penn State Hershey Medical Center and College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, United States
| | - Paul Frewen
- Departments of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Andrew H Kemp
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Health & Life Science, Swansea University, Swansea, United Kingdom
| | - Edward F Pace-Schott
- Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Boston, MA, United States; Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Jacob Raber
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, United States; Departments of Neurology, Radiation Medicine, Psychiatry, and Division of Neuroscience, ONPRC, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Rebecca L Silton
- Department of Psychology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Elka Stefanova
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Serbia; Neurology Clinic, Clinical Center of Serbia, Serbia
| | - Justin H G Williams
- Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, 1 Parklands Dr, Southport, QLD 4215, Australia
| | - Nobuhito Abe
- Institute for the Future of Human Society, Kyoto University, 46 Shimoadachi-cho, Yoshida Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Moji Aghajani
- Institute of Education & Child Studies, Section Forensic Family & Youth Care, Leiden University, the Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Location VUMC, GGZ InGeest Research & Innovation, Amsterdam Neuroscience, the Netherlands
| | - Franziska Albrecht
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; Division of Physiotherapy, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Karolinska University Hospital, Women's Health and Allied Health Professionals Theme, Medical unit Occupational Therapy & Physiotherapy, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Rebecca Alexander
- Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Silke Anders
- Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany; Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Oriana R Aragón
- Yale University, 2 Hillhouse Ave, New Haven, CT, United States; Cincinnati University, Marketing Department, 2906 Woodside Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0145, United States
| | - Juan A Arias
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Health & Life Science, Swansea University, Swansea, United Kingdom; Department of Statistics, Mathematical Analysis, and Operational Research, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Spain; The Galician Center for Mathematical Research and Technology (CITMAga), 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Shahar Arzy
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Tatjana Aue
- Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, Fabrikstr. 8, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | | | - Michela Balconi
- International Research Center for Cognitive Applied Neuroscience, Catholic University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Tommaso Ballarini
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Scott Bannister
- Durham University, Palace Green, DH1 RL3 Durham, United Kingdom
| | | | - Karen Caplovitz Barrett
- Department of Human Development & Family Studies, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States; Department of Community & Behavioral Health, Colorado School of Public Health, Denver, CO, United States
| | | | - Moustafa Bensafi
- Research Center in Neurosciences of Lyon, CNRS UMR5292, INSERM U1028, Claude Bernard University Lyon 1, Lyon, Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, 95 bd Pinel, 69675 Bron Cedex, France
| | - Linda Booij
- Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada; CHU Sainte-Justine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
| | - Jamila Bookwala
- Department of Psychology, Lafayette College, Easton, PA, United States
| | - Julie Boulanger-Bertolus
- Department of Anesthesiology and Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Sydney Weber Boutros
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, United States
| | - Anne-Kathrin Bräscher
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Mainz, Wallstr. 3, 55122 Mainz, Germany; Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
| | - Antonio Bruno
- Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morpho-Functional Imaging - University of Messina, Italy
| | - Geraldo Busatto
- Laboratory of Psychiatric Neuroimaging (LIM-21), Departamento e Instituto de Psiquiatria, Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Lauren M Bylsma
- Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology; and the Center for Neural Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | | | - Raymond C K Chan
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Nicolas Cherbuin
- Centre for Research on Ageing, Health, and Wellbeing, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Julian Chiarella
- Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada; CHU Sainte-Justine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
| | - Pietro Cipresso
- Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab., Istituto Auxologico Italiano (IRCCS), Milan, Italy; Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Hugo Critchley
- Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), University of Sussex, Sussex, United Kingdom
| | - Denise E Croote
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Friedman Brain Institute, New York, NY 10029, United States; Hospital Universitário Gaffrée e Guinle, Universidade do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Heath A Demaree
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Thomas F Denson
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Brendan Depue
- Departments of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | - Birgit Derntl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Joanne M Dickson
- Edith Cowan University, Psychology Discipline, School of Arts and Humanities, 270 Joondalup Dr, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia
| | - Sanda Dolcos
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science & Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States; Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
| | - Anat Drach-Zahavy
- The Faculty of Health and Welfare Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Olga Dubljević
- Neurology Clinic, Clinical Center of Serbia, Serbia; Institute for Biological Research "Siniša Stanković", National Institute of Republic of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Tuomas Eerola
- Durham University, Palace Green, DH1 RL3 Durham, United Kingdom
| | - Dan-Mikael Ellingsen
- Department of Diagnostic Physics, Division of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Beth Fairfield
- Department of Humanistic Studies, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy; UniCamillus, International Medical University, Rome, Italy
| | - Camille Ferdenzi
- Research Center in Neurosciences of Lyon, CNRS UMR5292, INSERM U1028, Claude Bernard University Lyon 1, Lyon, Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, 95 bd Pinel, 69675 Bron Cedex, France
| | - Bruce H Friedman
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United States
| | - Cynthia H Y Fu
- School of Psychology, University of East London, United Kingdom; Centre for Affective Disorders, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, United Kingdom
| | - Justine M Gatt
- Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, Sydney, NSW, Australia; School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Randwick, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Beatrice de Gelder
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Guido H E Gendolla
- Geneva Motivation Lab, University of Geneva, FPSE, Section of Psychology, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland
| | - Gadi Gilam
- The Institute of Biomedical and Oral Research, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel; Systems Neuroscience and Pain Laboratory, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA, United States
| | - Hadass Goldblatt
- Department of Nursing, Faculty of Social Welfare & Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | | | - Olivia Gosseries
- Coma Science Group, GIGA Consciousness & Centre du Cerveau2, University and University Hospital of Liege, Liege, Belgium
| | - Alfons O Hamm
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology/Psychotherapy, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Jamie L Hanson
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15206, United States
| | - Talma Hendler
- Tel Aviv Center for Brain Function, Wohl Institute for Advanced Imaging, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel; School of Psychological Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Cornelia Herbert
- Department of Applied Emotion and Motivation Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Stefan G Hofmann
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Philipps University Marburg, Germany
| | - Agustin Ibanez
- Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina; National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina; Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile; Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), University of California San Francisco (UCSF), United States and Trinity Collegue Dublin (TCD), Ireland
| | - Mateus Joffily
- Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique (GATE), 93 Chemin des Mouilles, 69130 Écully, France
| | - Tanja Jovanovic
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavaioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States
| | - Ian J Kahrilas
- Department of Psychology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Maria Kangas
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Yuta Katsumi
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States; Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Elizabeth Kensinger
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Lauren A J Kirby
- Department of Psychology and Counseling, University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, TX, United States
| | - Rebecca Koncz
- Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Specialty of Psychiatry, The University of Sydney, Concord, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Ernst H W Koster
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | | | - Sören Krach
- Social Neuroscience Lab, Translational Psychiatry Unit, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Mariska E Kret
- Leiden University, Cognitive Psychology, Pieter de la Court, Waassenaarseweg 52, Leiden 2333 AK, the Netherlands
| | - Martin Krippl
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Psychology, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Universitätsplatz 2, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Kwabena Kusi-Mensah
- Department of Psychiatry, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, P. O. Box 1934, Kumasi, Ghana; Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Darwin College, Silver Street, CB3 9EU Cambridge, United Kingdom; Behavioural Sciences Department, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
| | - Cecile D Ladouceur
- Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology and the Center for Neural Basis of Cognition (CNBC), University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Steven Laureys
- Coma Science Group, GIGA Consciousness & Centre du Cerveau2, University and University Hospital of Liege, Liege, Belgium
| | - Alistair Lawrence
- Scotland's Rural College, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, Scotland; The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Scotland
| | - Chiang-Shan R Li
- Connecticut Mental Health Centre, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Belinda J Liddell
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Randwick, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Navdeep K Lidhar
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada
| | - Christopher A Lowry
- Department of Integrative Physiology and Center for Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States
| | - Kelsey Magee
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Marie-France Marin
- Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Canada; Research Center, Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal, Montreal, Canada
| | - Veronica Mariotti
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Loren J Martin
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada
| | - Hilary A Marusak
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavaioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States; Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute for Child and Family Development, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States
| | - Annalina V Mayer
- Social Neuroscience Lab, Translational Psychiatry Unit, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Amanda R Merner
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Jessica Minnier
- School of Public Health, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Jorge Moll
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, D'Or Institute for Research and Education, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Robert G Morrison
- Department of Psychology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Matthew Moore
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science & Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States; Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States; War Related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC), Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, United States
| | - Anne-Marie Mouly
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CNRS-UMR 5292, INSERM U1028, Universite Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Sven C Mueller
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Andreas Mühlberger
- Department of Psychology (Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy), University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Nora A Murphy
- Department of Psychology, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | | | - Erica D Musser
- Center for Children and Families, Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Tamara L Newton
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | - Michael Noll-Hussong
- Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, TU Muenchen, Langerstrasse 3, D-81675 Muenchen, Germany
| | - Seth Davin Norrholm
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavaioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States
| | - Georg Northoff
- Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics Research Unit, University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, Canada
| | - Robin Nusslock
- Department of Psychology and Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, 2029 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL, United States
| | - Hadas Okon-Singer
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Thomas M Olino
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, 1701N. 13th St, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Catherine Ortner
- Thompson Rivers University, Department of Psychology, 805 TRU Way, Kamloops, BC, Canada
| | - Mayowa Owolabi
- Department of Medicine and Center for Genomic and Precision Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan; University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria; Blossom Specialist Medical Center Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
| | - Caterina Padulo
- Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, University of Chieti, Chieti, Italy
| | - Romina Palermo
- School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Rocco Palumbo
- Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, University of Chieti, Chieti, Italy
| | - Sara Palumbo
- Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and of Critical Care, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Christos Papadelis
- Jane and John Justin Neuroscience Center, Cook Children's Health Care System, Fort Worth, TX, United States; Department of Bioengineering, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, United States
| | - Alan J Pegna
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Silvia Pellegrini
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Kirsi Peltonen
- Research Centre for Child Psychiatry, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; INVEST Research Flagship, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Brenda W J H Penninx
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Location VUMC, GGZ InGeest Research & Innovation, Amsterdam Neuroscience, the Netherlands
| | | | - Graziano Pinna
- The Psychiatric Institute, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Rosario Pintos Lobo
- Center for Children and Families, Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Kelly L Polnaszek
- Department of Psychology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Maryna Polyakova
- Neurology Department, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Christine Rabinak
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States
| | - S Helene Richter
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Badestraße 13, Münster, Germany
| | - Thalia Richter
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Giuseppe Riva
- Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab., Istituto Auxologico Italiano (IRCCS), Milan, Italy; Humane Technology Lab., Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy
| | - Amelia Rizzo
- Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morpho-Functional Imaging - University of Messina, Italy
| | | | - Pedro Rosa
- Laboratory of Psychiatric Neuroimaging (LIM-21), Departamento e Instituto de Psiquiatria, Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Perminder S Sachdev
- Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Neuropsychiatric Institute, The Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, Australia
| | - Wataru Sato
- Psychological Process Research Team, Guardian Robot Project, RIKEN, 2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Matthias L Schroeter
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Susanne Schweizer
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom; School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Youssef Shiban
- Department of Psychology (Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy), University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany; Department of Psychology (Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy Research), PFH - Private University of Applied Sciences, Gottingen, Germany
| | - Advaith Siddharthan
- Knowledge Media Institute, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, United Kingdom
| | - Ewa Siedlecka
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Robert C Smith
- Departments of Medicine and Psychiatry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Hermona Soreq
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Edmond and Lily Safra Center of Brain Science and The Institute of Life Sciences, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Derek P Spangler
- Department of Biobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, United States
| | - Emily R Stern
- Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States; New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Charis Styliadis
- Neuroscience of Cognition and Affection group, Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | | | - James E Swain
- Departments of Psychiatry & Behavioral Health, Psychology, Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Medicine, and Program in Public Health, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, New York, United States
| | - Sébastien Urben
- Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Jan Van den Stock
- Neuropsychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Michael A Vander Kooij
- Translational Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Universitatsmedizin der Johannes Guttenberg University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany
| | | | - Tamsyn E Van Rheenen
- University of Melbourne, Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, 161 Barry Street, Carlton, VIC, Australia
| | - Michael B VanElzakker
- Division of Neurotherapeutics, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Carlos Ventura-Bort
- Department of Biological Psychology and Affective Science, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Edelyn Verona
- Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, United States
| | - Tyler Volk
- Professor Emeritus of Biology and Environmental Studies, New York University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Yi Wang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Leah T Weingast
- Department of Social Work and Human Services and the Department of Psychological Sciences, Center for Young Adult Addiction and Recovery, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA, United States
| | - Mathias Weymar
- Department of Biological Psychology and Affective Science, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany; Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, University of Potsdam, Germany
| | - Claire Williams
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Health & Life Science, Swansea University, Swansea, United Kingdom; Elysium Neurological Services, Elysium Healthcare, The Avalon Centre, United Kingdom
| | - Megan L Willis
- School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Paula Yamashita
- Department of Integrative Physiology and Center for Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States
| | - Roland Zahn
- Centre for Affective Disorders, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, United Kingdom
| | - Barbra Zupan
- Central Queensland University, School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, Bruce Highway, Rockhampton, QLD, Australia
| | - Leroy Lowe
- Neuroqualia (NGO), Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada.
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Loconte R, Russo R, Capuozzo P, Pietrini P, Sartori G. Verbal lie detection using Large Language Models. Sci Rep 2023; 13:22849. [PMID: 38129677 PMCID: PMC10739834 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50214-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Human accuracy in detecting deception with intuitive judgments has been proven to not go above the chance level. Therefore, several automatized verbal lie detection techniques employing Machine Learning and Transformer models have been developed to reach higher levels of accuracy. This study is the first to explore the performance of a Large Language Model, FLAN-T5 (small and base sizes), in a lie-detection classification task in three English-language datasets encompassing personal opinions, autobiographical memories, and future intentions. After performing stylometric analysis to describe linguistic differences in the three datasets, we tested the small- and base-sized FLAN-T5 in three Scenarios using 10-fold cross-validation: one with train and test set coming from the same single dataset, one with train set coming from two datasets and the test set coming from the third remaining dataset, one with train and test set coming from all the three datasets. We reached state-of-the-art results in Scenarios 1 and 3, outperforming previous benchmarks. The results revealed also that model performance depended on model size, with larger models exhibiting higher performance. Furthermore, stylometric analysis was performed to carry out explainability analysis, finding that linguistic features associated with the Cognitive Load framework may influence the model's predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riccardo Loconte
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Piazza San Francesco 19, 55100, Lucca, LU, Italy.
| | - Roberto Russo
- Department of Mathematics "Tullio Levi-Civita", University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Pasquale Capuozzo
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Pietro Pietrini
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Piazza San Francesco 19, 55100, Lucca, LU, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Sartori
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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5
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Lettieri G, Handjaras G, Bucci E, Pietrini P, Cecchetti L. How Male and Female Literary Authors Write About Affect Across Cultures and Over Historical Periods. Affect Sci 2023; 4:770-780. [PMID: 38156253 PMCID: PMC10751284 DOI: 10.1007/s42761-023-00219-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023]
Abstract
A wealth of literature suggests the existence of sex differences in how emotions are experienced, recognized, expressed, and regulated. However, to what extent these differences result from the put in place of stereotypes and social rules is still a matter of debate. Literature is an essential cultural institution, a transposition of the social life of people but also of their intimate affective experiences, which can serve to address questions of psychological relevance. Here, we created a large corpus of literary fiction enriched by authors' metadata to measure the extent to which culture influences how men and women write about emotion. Our results show that even though before the twenty-first century and across 116 countries women more than men have written about affect, starting from 2000, this difference has diminished substantially. Also, in the past, women's narratives were more positively laden and less arousing. While the difference in arousal is ubiquitous and still present nowadays, sex differences in valence vary as a function of culture and have dissolved in recent years. Altogether, these findings suggest that historic evolution is associated with men and women writing similarly about emotions and reveal a sizable impact of culture on the affective characteristics of the lexicon. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-023-00219-9.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giada Lettieri
- Crossmodal Perception and Plasticity Laboratory, Institute of Research in Psychology & Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium
- Social and Affective Neuroscience Group, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Giacomo Handjaras
- Social and Affective Neuroscience Group, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Erika Bucci
- Social and Affective Neuroscience Group, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Pietro Pietrini
- Molecular Mind Laboratory, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Luca Cecchetti
- Social and Affective Neuroscience Group, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
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Berto M, Ricciardi E, Pietrini P, Weisz N, Bottari D. Distinguishing Fine Structure and Summary Representation of Sound Textures from Neural Activity. eNeuro 2023; 10:ENEURO.0026-23.2023. [PMID: 37775312 PMCID: PMC10576259 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0026-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2023] [Revised: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 10/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The auditory system relies on both local and summary representations; acoustic local features exceeding system constraints are compacted into a set of summary statistics. Such compression is pivotal for sound-object recognition. Here, we assessed whether computations subtending local and statistical representations of sounds could be distinguished at the neural level. A computational auditory model was employed to extract auditory statistics from natural sound textures (i.e., fire, rain) and to generate synthetic exemplars where local and statistical properties were controlled. Twenty-four human participants were passively exposed to auditory streams while the electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. Each stream could consist of short, medium, or long sounds to vary the amount of acoustic information. Short and long sounds were expected to engage local or summary statistics representations, respectively. Data revealed a clear dissociation. Compared with summary-based ones, auditory-evoked responses based on local information were selectively greater in magnitude in short sounds. Opposite patterns emerged for longer sounds. Neural oscillations revealed that local features and summary statistics rely on neural activity occurring at different temporal scales, faster (beta) or slower (theta-alpha). These dissociations emerged automatically without explicit engagement in a discrimination task. Overall, this study demonstrates that the auditory system developed distinct coding mechanisms to discriminate changes in the acoustic environment based on fine structure and summary representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Berto
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, 55100, Italy
| | - Emiliano Ricciardi
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, 55100, Italy
| | - Pietro Pietrini
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, 55100, Italy
| | - Nathan Weisz
- Department of Psychology and Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Paris-Lodron University of Salzburg, 5020, Austria
- Neuroscience Institute, Christian Doppler University Hospital, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, 5020, Austria
| | - Davide Bottari
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, 55100, Italy
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Orrù G, Ordali E, Monaro M, Scarpazza C, Conversano C, Pietrini P, Gemignani A, Sartori G. Reconstructing individual responses to direct questions: a new method for reconstructing malingered responses. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1093854. [PMID: 37397336 PMCID: PMC10311065 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1093854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction The false consensus effect consists of an overestimation of how common a subject opinion is among other people. This research demonstrates that individual endorsement of questions may be predicted by estimating peers' responses to the same question. Moreover, we aim to demonstrate how this prediction can be used to reconstruct the individual's response to a single item as well as the overall response to all of the items, making the technique suitable and effective for malingering detection. Method We have validated the procedure of reconstructing individual responses from peers' estimation in two separate studies, one addressing anxiety-related questions and the other to the Dark Triad. The questionnaires, adapted to our scopes, were submitted to the groups of participants for a total of 187 subjects across both studies. Machine learning models were used to estimate the results. Results According to the results, individual responses to a single question requiring a "yes" or "no" response are predicted with 70-80% accuracy. The overall participant-predicted score on all questions (total test score) is predicted with a correlation of 0.7-0.77 with actual results. Discussion The application of the false consensus effect format is a promising procedure for reconstructing truthful responses in forensic settings when the respondent is highly likely to alter his true (genuine) response and true responses to the tests are missing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Graziella Orrù
- Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular & Critical Area Pathology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | | | - Merylin Monaro
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | | | - Ciro Conversano
- Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular & Critical Area Pathology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | | | - Angelo Gemignani
- Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular & Critical Area Pathology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Sartori
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
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Mastrandrea R, Cecchetti L, Lettieri G, Handjaras G, Leo A, Papale P, Gili T, Martini N, Latta DD, Chiappino D, Pietrini P, Ricciardi E. Information load dynamically modulates functional brain connectivity during narrative listening. Sci Rep 2023; 13:8110. [PMID: 37208405 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-34998-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Narratives are paradigmatic examples of natural language, where nouns represent a proxy of information. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies revealed the recruitment of temporal cortices during noun processing and the existence of a noun-specific network at rest. Yet, it is unclear whether, in narratives, changes in noun density influence the brain functional connectivity, so that the coupling between regions correlates with information load. We acquired fMRI activity in healthy individuals listening to a narrative with noun density changing over time and measured whole-network and node-specific degree and betweenness centrality. Network measures were correlated with information magnitude with a time-varying approach. Noun density correlated positively with the across-regions average number of connections and negatively with the average betweenness centrality, suggesting the pruning of peripheral connections as information decreased. Locally, the degree of the bilateral anterior superior temporal sulcus (aSTS) was positively associated with nouns. Importantly, aSTS connectivity cannot be explained by changes in other parts of speech (e.g., verbs) or syllable density. Our results indicate that the brain recalibrates its global connectivity as a function of the information conveyed by nouns in natural language. Also, using naturalistic stimulation and network metrics, we corroborate the role of aSTS in noun processing.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Luca Cecchetti
- Social and Affective Neuroscience (SANe) Group, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies, Lucca, Italy
| | - Giada Lettieri
- Social and Affective Neuroscience (SANe) Group, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies, Lucca, Italy
- Crossmodal Perception and Plasticity Laboratory, Institute of Psychology, University of Louvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium
| | | | - Andrea Leo
- Department of Translational Research and Advanced Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Paolo Papale
- MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies, Lucca, Italy
- Department of Vision & Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (KNAW), 1105 BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Tommaso Gili
- NETWORKS, IMT School for Advanced Studies, Lucca, Italy
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9
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Setti F, Handjaras G, Bottari D, Leo A, Diano M, Bruno V, Tinti C, Cecchetti L, Garbarini F, Pietrini P, Ricciardi E. A modality-independent proto-organization of human multisensory areas. Nat Hum Behav 2023; 7:397-410. [PMID: 36646839 PMCID: PMC10038796 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-022-01507-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
The processing of multisensory information is based upon the capacity of brain regions, such as the superior temporal cortex, to combine information across modalities. However, it is still unclear whether the representation of coherent auditory and visual events requires any prior audiovisual experience to develop and function. Here we measured brain synchronization during the presentation of an audiovisual, audio-only or video-only version of the same narrative in distinct groups of sensory-deprived (congenitally blind and deaf) and typically developed individuals. Intersubject correlation analysis revealed that the superior temporal cortex was synchronized across auditory and visual conditions, even in sensory-deprived individuals who lack any audiovisual experience. This synchronization was primarily mediated by low-level perceptual features, and relied on a similar modality-independent topographical organization of slow temporal dynamics. The human superior temporal cortex is naturally endowed with a functional scaffolding to yield a common representation across multisensory events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Setti
- MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | | | - Davide Bottari
- MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Andrea Leo
- Department of Translational Research and Advanced Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Matteo Diano
- Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Valentina Bruno
- Manibus Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Carla Tinti
- Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Luca Cecchetti
- MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | | | - Pietro Pietrini
- MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
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10
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Scarpazza C, Costa C, Battaglia U, Berryessa C, Bianchetti ML, Caggiu I, Devinsky O, Ferracuti S, Focquaert F, Forgione A, Gilbert F, Pennati A, Pietrini P, Rainero I, Sartori G, Swerdlow R, Camperio Ciani AS. Acquired Pedophilia: international Delphi-method-based consensus guidelines. Transl Psychiatry 2023; 13:11. [PMID: 36653356 PMCID: PMC9849353 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02314-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Revised: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Idiopathic and acquired pedophilia are two different disorders with two different etiologies. However, the differential diagnosis is still very difficult, as the behavioral indicators used to discriminate the two forms of pedophilia are underexplored, and clinicians are still devoid of clear guidelines describing the clinical and neuroscientific investigations suggested to help them with this difficult task. Furthermore, the consequences of misdiagnosis are not known, and a consensus regarding the legal consequences for the two kinds of offenders is still lacking. The present study used the Delphi method to reach a global consensus on the following six topics: behavioral indicators/red flags helpful for differential diagnosis; neurological conditions potentially leading to acquired pedophilia; neuroscientific investigations important for a correct understanding of the case; consequences of misdiagnosis; legal consequences; and issues and future perspectives. An international and multidisciplinary board of scientists and clinicians took part in the consensus statements as Delphi members. The Delphi panel comprised 52 raters with interdisciplinary competencies, including neurologists, psychiatrists, neuropsychologists, forensic psychologists, expert in ethics, etc. The final recommendations consisted of 63 statements covering the six different topics. The current study is the first expert consensus on a delicate topic such as pedophilia. Important exploitable consensual recommendations that can ultimately be of immediate use by clinicians to help with differential diagnosis and plan and guide therapeutic interventions are described, as well as future perspectives for researchers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Scarpazza
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy. .,Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padova, Padova, Italy. .,IRCCS S. Camillo Hospital, Venezia, Italy.
| | - Cristiano Costa
- grid.5608.b0000 0004 1757 3470Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padova, Padova, Italy ,grid.5608.b0000 0004 1757 3470Department of Neuroscience, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Umberto Battaglia
- grid.5608.b0000 0004 1757 3470Department of Applied Psychology, FISPPA – University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Colleen Berryessa
- grid.430387.b0000 0004 1936 8796School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ USA
| | - Maria Lucia Bianchetti
- grid.5608.b0000 0004 1757 3470Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Ilenia Caggiu
- grid.5608.b0000 0004 1757 3470Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Orrin Devinsky
- grid.137628.90000 0004 1936 8753Epilepsy Center, NYU School of Medicine, New York, USA
| | - Stefano Ferracuti
- grid.7841.aDepartment of Human Neurosciences Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Farah Focquaert
- grid.5342.00000 0001 2069 7798Bioethics Institute Ghent, Department of Philosophy and Moral Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Arianna Forgione
- grid.5608.b0000 0004 1757 3470Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Fredric Gilbert
- grid.1009.80000 0004 1936 826XEthics, Policy & Public Engagement (EPPE) ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES), Faculty of Arts, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
| | | | - Pietro Pietrini
- grid.462365.00000 0004 1790 9464IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Innocenzo Rainero
- grid.7605.40000 0001 2336 6580Neurology I, Department of Neuroscience “Rita Levi Montalcini”, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Sartori
- grid.5608.b0000 0004 1757 3470Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Russell Swerdlow
- grid.412016.00000 0001 2177 6375University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS USA
| | - Andrea S. Camperio Ciani
- grid.5608.b0000 0004 1757 3470Department of Applied Psychology, FISPPA – University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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11
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Palumbo S, Mariotti V, Vellucci S, Antonelli K, Anderson N, Harenski C, Pietrini P, Kiehl KA, Pellegrini S. HTR1B genotype and psychopathy: Main effect and interaction with paternal maltreatment. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2022; 144:105861. [PMID: 35853382 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2021] [Revised: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Psychopathy is a condition characterized by atypical emotions and socially maladaptive behavioral patterns. Among incarcerated people, psychopathy has been associated with higher rates of crimes, recidivism, and resistance to treatment. Many studies have indicated significant heritability of psychopathic traits, but little is known about the specific contribution of genes and their interaction with adverse experiences in life. Considering the primary role that serotonin plays in cognition and emotion, we investigated TPH2-rs4570625, 5-HTTLPR, MAOA-uVNTR, HTR1B-rs13212041 and HTR2A-rs6314 as risk factors for psychopathy in the largest sample of institutionalized individuals studied so far, consisting of 793 US White male incarcerated adults, and in a replication sample of 168 US White male incarcerated adolescents. In a subgroup of the adult sample, the interaction between genetics and parenting style, assessed by the Measure of Parental Style (MOPS) questionnaire, was also evaluated. The HTR1B-rs13212041-T/T genotype, as compared to HTR1B-rs13212041-C allele, predicted higher psychopathy scores in both the adult and the adolescent samples. The interaction between HTR1B-rs13212041-T/T genotype and paternal MOPS scores, investigated in a subgroup of the adult sample, was an even stronger predictor of higher levels of psychopathy than either the genetics or the environment taken individually. Overall, these data, obtained in two independent samples, shed new light on neurobiological correlates of psychopathy with promising implications both at a clinical and forensic level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Palumbo
- Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Veronica Mariotti
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Stefano Vellucci
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Klizia Antonelli
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Nathaniel Anderson
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Carla Harenski
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Pietro Pietrini
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies, Lucca, Italy
| | - Kent A Kiehl
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM, USA; Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Silvia Pellegrini
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
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Pietrini P, Lavazza A, Farina M. COVID-19 and Biomedical Experts: When Epistemic Authority is (Probably) Not Enough. J Bioeth Inq 2022; 19:135-142. [PMID: 35038085 PMCID: PMC8762630 DOI: 10.1007/s11673-021-10157-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 06/01/2021] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
This critical essay evaluates the potential integration of distinct kinds of expertise in policymaking, especially during situations of critical emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This article relies on two case studies: (i) herd immunity (UK) and (ii) restricted access to ventilators for disabled people (USA). These case studies are discussed as examples of experts' recommendations that have not been widely accepted, though they were made within the boundaries of expert epistemic authority. While the fundamental contribution of biomedical experts in devising public health policies during the COVID-19 pandemic is fully recognized, this paper intends to discuss potential issues and limitations that may arise when adopting a strict expert-based approach. By drawing attention to the interests of minorities (disenfranchized and underrepresented groups), the paper also claims a broader notion of "relevant expertise." This critical essay thus calls for the necessity of wider inclusiveness and representativeness in the process underlying public health policymaking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pietro Pietrini
- Scuola Alti Studi Lucca, Piazza S. Francesco, 19, 55100 Lucca, LU Italy
| | - Andrea Lavazza
- Centro Universitario Internazionale, Via Antonio Garbasso 42, 52100 Arezzo, AR Italy
| | - Mirko Farina
- Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Universitetskaya St, 1, Innopolis, Republic of Tatarstan Russian Federation 420500
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Palumbo S, Mariotti V, Vellucci S, Antonelli K, Anderson N, Harenski C, Pietrini P, Kiehl KA, Pellegrini S. ANKK1 and TH gene variants in combination with paternal maltreatment increase susceptibility to both cognitive and attentive impulsivity. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:868804. [PMID: 35935430 PMCID: PMC9352854 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.868804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent scientific findings suggest that dopamine exerts a central role on impulsivity, as well as that aversive life experiences may promote the high levels of impulsivity that often underlie violent behavior. To deepen our understanding of the complex gene by environment interplay on impulsive behavior, we genotyped six dopaminergic allelic variants (ANKK1-rs1800497, TH-rs6356, DRD4-rs1800955, DRD4-exonIII-VNTR, SLC6A3-VNTR and COMT-rs4680) in 655 US White male inmates convicted for violent crimes, whose impulsivity was assessed by BIS-11 (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale). Furthermore, in a subsample of 216 inmates from the whole group, we also explored the potential interplay between the genotyped dopaminergic variants and parental maltreatment measured by MOPS (Measure of Parental Style) in promoting impulsivity. We found a significant interaction among paternal MOPS scores, ANKK1-rs1800497-T allele and TH-rs6356-A allele, which increased the variance of BIS-11 cognitive/attentive scores explained by paternal maltreatment from 1.8 up to 20.5%. No direct association between any of the individual genetic variants and impulsivity was observed. Our data suggest that paternal maltreatment increases the risk of attentive/cognitive impulsivity and that this risk is higher in carriers of specific dopaminergic alleles that potentiate the dopaminergic neurotransmission. These findings add further evidence to the mutual role that genetics and early environmental factors exert in modulating human behavior and highlight the importance of childhood care interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Palumbo
- Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Veronica Mariotti
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Stefano Vellucci
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Klizia Antonelli
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Nathaniel Anderson
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Carla Harenski
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Pietro Pietrini
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Kent A Kiehl
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM, United States.,Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Silvia Pellegrini
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
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Lancione M, Costagli M, Handjaras G, Tosetti M, Ricciardi E, Pietrini P, Cecchetti L. Complementing canonical fMRI with functional Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (fQSM) in modern neuroimaging research. Neuroimage 2021; 244:118574. [PMID: 34508897 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Revised: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Functional Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (fQSM) allows for the quantitative measurement of time-varying magnetic susceptibility across cortical and subcortical brain structures with a potentially higher spatial specificity than conventional fMRI. While the usefulness of fQSM with General Linear Model and "On/Off" paradigms has been assessed, little is known about the potential applications and limitations of this technique in more sophisticated experimental paradigms and analyses, such as those currently used in modern neuroimaging. To thoroughly characterize fQSM activations, here we used 7T MRI, tonotopic mapping, as well as univariate (i.e., GLM and population Receptive Field) and multivariate (Representational Similarity Analysis; RSA) analyses. Although fQSM detected less tone-responsive voxels than fMRI, they were more consistently localized in gray matter. Also, the majority of active gray matter voxels exhibited negative fQSM response, signaling the expected oxyhemoglobin increase, whereas positive fQSM activations were mainly in white matter. Though fMRI- and fQSM-based tonotopic maps were overall comparable, the representation of frequency tunings in tone-sensitive regions was significantly more balanced for fQSM. Lastly, RSA revealed that frequency information from the auditory cortex could be successfully retrieved by using either methods. Overall, fQSM produces complementary results to conventional fMRI, as it captures small-scale variations in the activation pattern which inform multivariate measures. Although positive fQSM responses deserve further investigation, they do not impair the interpretation of contrasts of interest. The quantitative nature of fQSM, its spatial specificity and the possibility to simultaneously acquire canonical fMRI support the use of this technique for longitudinal and multicentric studies and pre-surgical mapping.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Lancione
- MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Piazza San Francesco, 19, Lucca 55100, Italy; IMAGO7 Foundation, Pisa, Italy.
| | - Mauro Costagli
- Laboratory of Medical Physics and Magnetic Resonance, IRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris, Pisa, Italy; Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Sciences (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Giacomo Handjaras
- Social and Affective Neuroscience (SANe) Group, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Michela Tosetti
- IMAGO7 Foundation, Pisa, Italy; Laboratory of Medical Physics and Magnetic Resonance, IRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris, Pisa, Italy
| | - Emiliano Ricciardi
- MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Piazza San Francesco, 19, Lucca 55100, Italy
| | - Pietro Pietrini
- MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Piazza San Francesco, 19, Lucca 55100, Italy
| | - Luca Cecchetti
- Social and Affective Neuroscience (SANe) Group, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
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Berto M, Ricciardi E, Pietrini P, Bottari D. Interactions between auditory statistics processing and visual experience emerge only in late development. iScience 2021; 24:103383. [PMID: 34816108 PMCID: PMC8593607 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.103383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Revised: 09/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The auditory system relies on local and global representations to discriminate sounds. This study investigated whether vision influences the development and functioning of these fundamental sound computations. We employed a computational approach to control statistical properties embedded in sounds and tested samples of sighted controls (SC) and congenitally (CB) and late-onset (LB) blind individuals in two experiments. In experiment 1, performance relied on local features analysis; in experiment 2, performance benefited from computing global representations. In both experiments, SC and CB performance remarkably overlapped. Conversely, LB performed systematically worse than the other groups when relying on local features, with no alterations on global representations. Results suggest that auditory computations tested here develop independently from vision. The efficiency of local auditory processing can be hampered in case sight becomes unavailable later in life, supporting the existence of an audiovisual interplay for the processing of auditory details, which emerges only in late development. Computational and deprivation models can be combined to assess sensory plasticity Basic auditory computations develop independently from early visual input Late-onset sight loss can hamper the efficiency of local auditory processing
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Berto
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, 55100 Lucca, Italy
| | - Emiliano Ricciardi
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, 55100 Lucca, Italy
| | - Pietro Pietrini
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, 55100 Lucca, Italy
| | - Davide Bottari
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, 55100 Lucca, Italy
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Lettieri G, Handjaras G, Setti F, Cappello EM, Bruno V, Diano M, Leo A, Ricciardi E, Pietrini P, Cecchetti L. Default and Control Networks Connectivity Dynamics Track the Stream of Affect at Multiple Timescales. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 17:461-469. [PMID: 34673987 PMCID: PMC9071410 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsab112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2021] [Revised: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
In everyday life the stream of affect results from the interaction between past experiences, expectations, and the unfolding of events. How the brain represents the relationship between time and affect has been hardly explored, as it requires modeling the complexity of everyday life in the laboratory setting. Movies condense into hours a multitude of emotional responses, synchronized across subjects and characterized by temporal dynamics alike real-world experiences. Here, we use time-varying intersubject brain synchronization and real-time behavioral reports to test whether connectivity dynamics track changes in affect during movie watching. Results show that polarity and intensity of experiences relate to connectivity of the default mode and control networks and converge in the right temporo-parietal cortex. We validate these results in two experiments including four independent samples, two movies, and alternative analysis workflows. Lastly, we reveal chronotopic connectivity maps within temporo-parietal and prefrontal cortex, where adjacent areas preferentially encode affect at specific timescales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giada Lettieri
- Social and Affective Neuroscience Group, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Giacomo Handjaras
- Social and Affective Neuroscience Group, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Francesca Setti
- Molecular Mind Laboratory, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Elisa Morgana Cappello
- Social and Affective Neuroscience Group, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Valentina Bruno
- MANIBUS Lab, Psychology Department, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Matteo Diano
- Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Andrea Leo
- Department of Translational Research and Advanced Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Emiliano Ricciardi
- Molecular Mind Laboratory, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Pietro Pietrini
- Molecular Mind Laboratory, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Luca Cecchetti
- Social and Affective Neuroscience Group, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
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Avvenuti G, Bertelloni D, Lettieri G, Ricciardi E, Cecchetti L, Pietrini P, Bernardi G. Emotion Regulation Failures Are Preceded by Local Increases in Sleep-like Activity. J Cogn Neurosci 2021; 33:2342-2356. [PMID: 34618906 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Emotion self-regulation relies both on cognitive and behavioral strategies implemented to modulate the subjective experience and/or the behavioral expression of a given emotion. Although it is known that a network encompassing fronto-cingulate and parietal brain areas is engaged during successful emotion regulation, the functional mechanisms underlying failures in emotion suppression (ES) are still unclear. In order to investigate this issue, we analyzed video and high-density EEG recordings of 20 healthy adult participants during an ES and a free expression task performed on two consecutive days. Changes in facial expression during ES, but not free expression, were preceded by local increases in sleep-like activity (1-4 Hz) in brain areas responsible for emotional suppression, including bilateral anterior insula and anterior cingulate cortex, and in right middle/inferior frontal gyrus (p < .05, corrected). Moreover, shorter sleep duration the night before the ES experiment correlated with the number of behavioral errors (p = .03) and tended to be associated with higher frontal sleep-like activity during ES failures (p = .09). These results indicate that local sleep-like activity may represent the cause of ES failures in humans and may offer a functional explanation for previous observations linking lack of sleep, changes in frontal activity, and emotional dysregulation.
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Bednaya E, Pavani F, Ricciardi E, Pietrini P, Bottari D. Oscillatory signatures of Repetition Suppression and Novelty Detection reveal altered induced visual responses in early deafness. Cortex 2021; 142:138-153. [PMID: 34265736 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.05.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2020] [Revised: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
The ability to differentiate between repeated and novel events represents a fundamental property of the visual system. Neural responses are typically reduced upon stimulus repetition, a phenomenon called Repetition Suppression (RS). On the contrary, following a novel visual stimulus, the neural response is generally enhanced, a phenomenon referred to as Novelty Detection (ND). Here, we aimed to investigate the impact of early deafness on the oscillatory signatures of RS and ND brain responses. To this aim, electrophysiological data were acquired in early deaf and hearing control individuals during processing of repeated and novel visual events unattended by participants. By studying evoked and induced oscillatory brain activities, as well as inter-trial phase coherence, we linked response modulations to feedback and/or feedforward processes. Results revealed selective experience-dependent changes on both RS and ND mechanisms. Compared to hearing controls, early deaf individuals displayed: (i) greater attenuation of the response following stimulus repetition, selectively in the induced theta-band (4-7 Hz); (ii) reduced desynchronization following the onset of novel visual stimuli, in the induced alpha and beta bands (8-12 and 13-25 Hz); (iii) comparable modulation of evoked responses and inter-trial phase coherence. The selectivity of the effects in the induced responses parallels findings observed in the auditory cortex of deaf animal models following intracochlear electric stimulation. The present results support the idea that early deafness alters induced oscillatory activity and the functional tuning of basic visual processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evgenia Bednaya
- Molecular Mind Laboratory, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Italy
| | - Francesco Pavani
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences - CIMeC, University of Trento, Italy; Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Italy
| | | | - Pietro Pietrini
- Molecular Mind Laboratory, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Italy
| | - Davide Bottari
- Molecular Mind Laboratory, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Italy.
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Avvenuti G, Bertelloni D, Lettieri G, Ricciardi E, Cecchetti L, Pietrini P, Bernardi G. Reduced sleep time is associated with increases in frontal sleep-like activity and emotion regulation failures. Eur Psychiatry 2021. [PMCID: PMC9471493 DOI: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2021.452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Emotion self-regulation relies both on cognitive and behavioral strategies implemented to modulate the subjective experience and/or the behavioral expression of a given emotion. Objectives While it is known that a network encompassing fronto-cingulate and parietal brain areas is engaged during successful emotion regulation, the functional mechanisms underlying failures in emotion suppression are still unclear. Methods We analyzed facial-view video and high-density EEG recordings of nineteen healthy adult subjects (26±3yrs, 10F) during an emotion suppression (ES) and a free expression (FE) task performed on two consecutive days. An actigraph was worn for 7-days and used to determine sleep-time before each experiment. Changes in facial expression were identified and manually marked on the video recordings. Continuous hd-EEG recordings were preprocessed using standard approaches to reduce artifactual activity and source-modeled using sLORETA. Results Changes in facial expression during ES, but not FE, were preceded by local increases in sleep-like activity (1-4Hz) in in brain areas responsible for emotional suppression, including bilateral anterior insula and anterior cingulate cortex, and in right middle/inferior frontal gyrus (p<0.05, corrected; Figures 1 and 2). Moreover, shorter sleep duration the night prior to the ES experiment correlated with the number of behavioral errors (p=0.01; Figure 3) and tended to be associated with higher frontal sleep-like activity during emotion suppression failures (p=0.05). Conclusions These results indicate that local sleep-like activity may represent the cause of emotion suppression failures in humans, and may offer a functional explanation for previous observations linking lack of sleep, changes in frontal activity and emotional dysregulation. Disclosure No significant relationships.
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Lettieri G, Handjaras G, Ricciardi E, Pietrini P, Cecchetti L. Chronotopic encoding of emotional dimensions in the human brain assessed by FMRI. Eur Psychiatry 2021. [PMCID: PMC9470403 DOI: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2021.361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Affective experiences vary as function of context, motivations and the unfolding of events. This temporal fundamental aspect of emotional processes is often disrupted in psychiatric conditions. Objectives To investigate how the brain represents the association between affect and time, we combined fMRI and behavioral ratings during movie watching. Methods Participants watched ‘Forrest Gump’ in the fMRI scanner (n=14, 6F). Data were preprocessed (see 10.1101/2020.06.06.137851v1) and average brain activity from 1000 regions was extracted. Independent subjects (n=12, 5F) provided continuous ratings of the intensity of their affective state while watching the same movie. Using PCA, we derived the first 3 affective dimensions (polarity, complexity, intensity; 10.1038/s41467-019-13599-z) and computed their time-varying correlation in windows from 5-1000tps. We identified the window size with the maximum between-subjects accordance and computed the inter-subject functional connectivity (10.1038/ncomms12141). For each region, we obtained connectivity strength and its association in time with changes in affective dimensions (pBonf<0.05). Results Fluctuations in connectivity strength of the right rMFG, precuneus, pSTS/TPJ, dmPFC, aINS and left pMTG were associated to polarity. Also, connectivity of the right IPS/SPL, SFG, dpreCS, IFGpOrb, OFC, precuneus, vpreCS and pSTS/TPJ followed the timecourse of perceived intensity of affect. Conclusions Connectivity strength of default mode represents the pleasantness of the experience, whereas attention and control networks encode its intensity. Emotional descriptions converge in right temporoparietal and fronto-polar cortex, where the stream of affect is encoded in a chronotopic manner. These results expand our understanding of the neural correlates of emotional processing, a function severely affected by mental disorders. Disclosure No significant relationships.
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Cappello E, Lettieri G, Handjaras G, Ricciardi E, Pietrini P, Cecchetti L. How far in the future can we predict others’ affective states? Eur Psychiatry 2021. [PMCID: PMC9471739 DOI: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2021.370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Human social interactions are rooted in the ability to understand and predict one’s own and others emotions. Individuals develop accurate mental models of emotional transitions (MMET) by observing regularities in affective experiences (DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1616056114) and a failure in this regard can produce maladaptive behaviors, one of the hallmark features in several psychiatric conditions. Objectives To investigate whether MMET are stable over time and which emotion dimensions (e.g., valence, dominance) influence MMET over time. Methods We selected thirty-seven emotion categories (DOI: 10.1177/0539018405058216) and five different time intervals (from 15 minutes to 4 days). Sixty-two healthy participants rated the likelihood of transition between all possible pairs of affective states at each time interval. Results As expected, we observed a trend toward uncertainty as the timescale increased. In addition, the probability of shifting between two affective states having the same valence (e.g., happiness and contentment) was rated higher than for emotions with opposite polarity (e.g., happiness and sadness). Even though this pattern becomes gradually noisier for predictions far in the future, it is still present for infradian intervals (Fig.1).![]() Conclusions Our results suggest that MMET are informed by the valence dimension and moderately influenced by the timescale of the prediction. These findings in the healthy population may prompt the exploration of emotion dynamics in psychiatric conditions. Future studies could leverage the MMET approach to test whether specific psychiatric disorders (e.g., bipolar disorder) are associated with abnormal patterns of emotion transitions. Disclosure No significant relationships.
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Scarpazza C, Miolla A, Zampieri I, Melis G, Sartori G, Ferracuti S, Pietrini P. Translational Application of a Neuro-Scientific Multi-Modal Approach Into Forensic Psychiatric Evaluation: Why and How? Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:597918. [PMID: 33613339 PMCID: PMC7892615 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.597918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2020] [Accepted: 01/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
A prominent body of literature indicates that insanity evaluations, which are intended to provide influential expert reports for judges to reach a decision "beyond any reasonable doubt," suffer from a low inter-rater reliability. This paper reviews the limitations of the classical approach to insanity evaluation and the criticisms to the introduction of neuro-scientific approach in court. Here, we explain why in our opinion these criticisms, that seriously hamper the translational implementation of neuroscience into the forensic setting, do not survive scientific scrutiny. Moreover, we discuss how the neuro-scientific multimodal approach may improve the inter-rater reliability in insanity evaluation. Critically, neuroscience does not aim to introduce a brain-based concept of insanity. Indeed, criteria for responsibility and insanity are and should remain clinical. Rather, following the falsificationist approach and the convergence of evidence principle, the neuro-scientific multimodal approach is being proposed as a way to improve reliability of insanity evaluation and to mitigate the influence of cognitive biases on the formulation of insanity opinions, with the final aim to reduce errors and controversies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Scarpazza
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Alessio Miolla
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Ilaria Zampieri
- Molecular Mind Laboratory, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Giulia Melis
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Sartori
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Stefano Ferracuti
- Department of Human Neurosciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Pietro Pietrini
- Molecular Mind Laboratory, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
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Scarpazza C, Finos L, Genon S, Masiero L, Bortolato E, Cavaliere C, Pezzaioli J, Monaro M, Navarin N, Battaglia U, Pietrini P, Ferracuti S, Sartori G, Camperio Ciani AS. Idiopathic and acquired pedophilia as two distinct disorders: an insight from neuroimaging. Brain Imaging Behav 2021; 15:2681-2692. [PMID: 33507519 PMCID: PMC8500885 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-020-00442-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2020] [Revised: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 12/28/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Pedophilia is a disorder of public concern because of its association with child sexual offense and recidivism. Previous neuroimaging studies of potential brain abnormalities underlying pedophilic behavior, either in idiopathic or acquired (i.e., emerging following brain damages) pedophilia, led to inconsistent results. This study sought to explore the neural underpinnings of pedophilic behavior and to determine the extent to which brain alterations may be related to distinct psychopathological features in pedophilia. To this aim, we run a coordinate based meta-analysis on previously published papers reporting whole brain analysis and a lesion network analysis, using brain lesions as seeds in a resting state connectivity analysis. The behavioral profiling approach was applied to link identified regions with the corresponding psychological processes. While no consistent neuroanatomical alterations were identified in idiopathic pedophilia, the current results support that all the lesions causing acquired pedophilia are localized within a shared resting state network that included posterior midlines structures, right inferior temporal gyrus and bilateral orbitofrontal cortex. These regions are associated with action inhibition and social cognition, abilities that are consistently and severely impaired in acquired pedophiles. This study suggests that idiopathic and acquired pedophilia may be two distinct disorders, in line with their distinctive clinical features, including age of onset, reversibility and modus operandi. Understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of pedophilic behavior may contribute to a more comprehensive characterization of these individuals on a clinical ground, a pivotal step forward for the development of more efficient therapeutic rehabilitation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Scarpazza
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 25131, Padova, PD, Italy. .,Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
| | - Livio Finos
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialisation, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Sarah Genon
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain and Behaviour (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Laura Masiero
- Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Elena Bortolato
- Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Camilla Cavaliere
- Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Jessica Pezzaioli
- Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Merylin Monaro
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 25131, Padova, PD, Italy
| | - Nicolò Navarin
- Department of Mathematics "Tullio Levi-Civita", University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Umberto Battaglia
- Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Pietro Pietrini
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Stefano Ferracuti
- Department of Human Neurosciences, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Sartori
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 25131, Padova, PD, Italy
| | - Andrea S Camperio Ciani
- Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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Scarpazza C, Zampieri I, Miolla A, Melis G, Pietrini P, Sartori G. A multidisciplinary approach to insanity assessment as a way to reduce cognitive biases. Forensic Sci Int 2020; 319:110652. [PMID: 33360246 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2020.110652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2020] [Revised: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Insanity assessment requires the evaluation of the psychopathological condition that underlies the mens rea. Psychopathological evaluation may be quite challenging due to (i) absence of biomarkers; (ii) low inter-rater reliability; (iii) presence of cognitive bias. This intrinsic low reliability of forensic psychiatric diagnosis does impact on insanity assessment, leading to arbitrary and unjust legal outcomes for the examinee. Thus, strategies to improve the reliability of insanity evaluation are strongly needed. A multidisciplinary approach has been proposed as a way to enrich clinical diagnosis with reliable and biologically founded data, thus minimizing subjectivity, reducing controversies and increasing inter-subject concordance in insanity assessment. By discussing a real case, here we show how the convergence of multiple indices can produce evidence that cannot be denied without introducing logical fallacies. Applying this approach, the forensic discussion will move from the presence/absence of psychopathology to the impact of psychopathology on insanity. This article illustrates how a multidisciplinary evaluation, which integrates neuroscientific methods with the classical insanity assessment, may lead to a more accurate approach in insanity evaluation. Critically, this approach will minimize the impact of cognitive bias on insanity opinion and thus result in an improvement of the whole criminal justice process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Scarpazza
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padova, Italy.
| | - Ilaria Zampieri
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy.
| | - Alessio Miolla
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padova, Italy.
| | - Giulia Melis
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padova, Italy.
| | - Pietro Pietrini
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy.
| | - Giuseppe Sartori
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padova, Italy.
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25
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Papale P, Leo A, Handjaras G, Cecchetti L, Pietrini P, Ricciardi E. Shape coding in occipito-temporal cortex relies on object silhouette, curvature, and medial axis. J Neurophysiol 2020; 124:1560-1570. [PMID: 33052726 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00212.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Object recognition relies on different transformations of the retinal input, carried out by the visual system, that range from local contrast to object shape and category. While some of those transformations are thought to occur at specific stages of the visual hierarchy, the features they represent are correlated (e.g., object shape and identity) and selectivity for the same feature overlaps in many brain regions. This may be explained either by collinearity across representations or may instead reflect the coding of multiple dimensions by the same cortical population. Moreover, orthogonal and shared components may differently impact distinctive stages of the visual hierarchy. We recorded functional MRI activity while participants passively attended to object images and employed a statistical approach that partitioned orthogonal and shared object representations to reveal their relative impact on brain processing. Orthogonal shape representations (silhouette, curvature, and medial axis) independently explained distinct and overlapping clusters of selectivity in the occitotemporal and parietal cortex. Moreover, we show that the relevance of shared representations linearly increases moving from posterior to anterior regions. These results indicate that the visual cortex encodes shared relations between different features in a topographic fashion and that object shape is encoded along different dimensions, each representing orthogonal features.NEW & NOTEWORTHY There are several possible ways of characterizing the shape of an object. Which shape description better describes our brain responses while we passively perceive objects? Here, we employed three competing shape models to explain brain representations when viewing real objects. We found that object shape is encoded in a multidimensional fashion and thus defined by the interaction of multiple features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Papale
- Molecular Mind Laboratory, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Italy.,Department of Vision and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Andrea Leo
- Molecular Mind Laboratory, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Italy.,Department of Translational Research and Advanced Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Giacomo Handjaras
- Molecular Mind Laboratory, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Italy
| | - Luca Cecchetti
- Molecular Mind Laboratory, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Italy
| | - Pietro Pietrini
- Molecular Mind Laboratory, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Italy
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26
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Bottari D, Bednaya E, Dormal G, Villwock A, Dzhelyova M, Grin K, Pietrini P, Ricciardi E, Rossion B, Röder B. EEG frequency-tagging demonstrates increased left hemispheric involvement and crossmodal plasticity for face processing in congenitally deaf signers. Neuroimage 2020; 223:117315. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2019] [Revised: 08/06/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
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27
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Palumbo S, Mariotti V, Anastasio T, Rota G, Lucchi L, Manfrinati A, Rumiati R, Lotto L, Sarlo M, Pietrini P, Pellegrini S. A genetic profile of oxytocin receptor improves moral acceptability of outcome-maximizing harm in male insurance brokers. Behav Brain Res 2020; 392:112681. [PMID: 32387223 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2019] [Revised: 03/26/2020] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
In recent years, conflicting findings have been reported in the scientific literature about the influence of dopaminergic, serotonergic and oxytocinergic gene variants on moral behavior. Here, we utilized a moral judgment paradigm to test the potential effects on moral choices of three polymorphisms of the Oxytocin receptor (OXTR): rs53576, rs2268498 and rs1042770. We analyzed the influence of each single polymorphism and of genetic profiles obtained by different combinations of their genotypes in a sample of male insurance brokers (n = 129), as compared to control males (n = 109). Insurance brokers resulted significantly more oriented to maximize outcomes than control males, thus they expressed more than controls the utilitarian attitude phenotype. When analyzed individually, none of the selected variants influenced the responses to moral dilemmas. In contrast, a composite genetic profile that potentially increases OXTR activity was associated with higher moral acceptability in brokers. We hypothesize that this genetic profile promotes outcome-maximizing behavior in brokers by focusing their attention on what represents a greater good, that is, saving the highest number of people, even though at the cost of sacrificing one individual. Our data suggest that investigations in a sample that most expresses the phenotype of interest, combined with the analysis of composite genetic profiles rather than individual variants, represent a promising strategy to find out weak genetic influences on complex phenotypes, such as moral behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Palumbo
- Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Veronica Mariotti
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Teresa Anastasio
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | | | | | - Andrea Manfrinati
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Rino Rumiati
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Lorella Lotto
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Michela Sarlo
- Department of General Psychology and Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | | | - Silvia Pellegrini
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
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28
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Betta M, Handjaras G, Ricciardi E, Pietrini P, Haba-Rubio J, Siclari F, Heinzer R, Bernardi G. Quantifying peripheral sympathetic activations during sleep by means of an automatic method for pulse wave amplitude drop detection. Sleep Med 2020; 69:220-232. [DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2019.12.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2019] [Revised: 11/19/2019] [Accepted: 12/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
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29
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Avvenuti G, Leo A, Cecchetti L, Franco MF, Travis F, Caramella D, Bernardi G, Ricciardi E, Pietrini P. Reductions in perceived stress following Transcendental Meditation practice are associated with increased brain regional connectivity at rest. Brain Cogn 2020; 139:105517. [PMID: 31945602 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2020.105517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2019] [Revised: 12/17/2019] [Accepted: 01/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Transcendental Meditation (TM) is defined as a mental process of transcending using a silent mantra. Previous work showed that relatively brief period of TM practice leads to decreases in stress and anxiety. However, whether these changes are subserved by specific morpho-functional brain modifications (as observed in other meditation techniques) is still unclear. Using a longitudinal design, we combined psychometric questionnaires, structural and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI) to investigate the potential brain modifications underlying the psychological effects of TM. The final sample included 19 naïve subjects instructed to complete two daily 20-min TM sessions, and 15 volunteers in the control group. Both groups were evaluated at recruitment (T0) and after 3 months (T1). At T1, only meditators showed a decrease in perceived anxiety and stress (t(18) = 2.53, p = 0.02), which correlated negatively with T1-T0 changes in functional connectivity among posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), precuneus and left superior parietal lobule. Additionally, TM practice was associated with increased connectivity between PCC and right insula, likely reflecting changes in interoceptive awareness. No structural changes were observed in meditators or control subjects. These preliminary findings indicate that beneficial effects of TM may be mediated by functional brain changes that take place after a short practice period of 3 months.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Avvenuti
- MoMiLab Research Unit, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Andrea Leo
- MoMiLab Research Unit, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Luca Cecchetti
- MoMiLab Research Unit, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | | | | | - Davide Caramella
- Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Giulio Bernardi
- MoMiLab Research Unit, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Emiliano Ricciardi
- MoMiLab Research Unit, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Pietro Pietrini
- MoMiLab Research Unit, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy.
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30
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Alia-Klein N, Gan G, Gilam G, Bezek J, Bruno A, Denson TF, Hendler T, Lowe L, Mariotti V, Muscatello MR, Palumbo S, Pellegrini S, Pietrini P, Rizzo A, Verona E. The feeling of anger: From brain networks to linguistic expressions. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 108:480-497. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2019] [Revised: 10/14/2019] [Accepted: 12/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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31
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Ricciardi E, Bottari D, Ptito M, Röder B, Pietrini P. The sensory-deprived brain as a unique tool to understand brain development and function. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 108:78-82. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.10.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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32
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Pellegrini S, Mariotti V, Di Nunzio C, Palumbo S, Ricci P, Fornaciari G, Pietrini P. Did Giovanni dalle Bande Nere become a legendary condottiero because of his MAOA gene? J Affect Disord 2019; 259:218-220. [PMID: 31446383 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2019.08.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2019] [Revised: 08/08/2019] [Accepted: 08/17/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- S Pellegrini
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa (Italy)
| | - V Mariotti
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa (Italy)
| | - C Di Nunzio
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Legal Medicine, Magna Graecia University, Catanzaro (Italy)
| | - S Palumbo
- Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular Pathology and of Critical Care, University of Pisa, Pisa (Italy)
| | - P Ricci
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Legal Medicine, Magna Graecia University, Catanzaro (Italy)
| | - G Fornaciari
- Department of Civilisations and Forms of Knowledge, University of Pisa, Pisa (Italy)
| | - P Pietrini
- IMT School for Advanced Studies, Lucca (Italy).
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33
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Scarpazza C, Ferracuti S, Pietrini P, Sartori G. Investigating the Brain Network consistently impaired in acquired pedophilia. IBRO Rep 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ibror.2019.07.1576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
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34
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Costagli M, Lancione M, Cecchetti L, Pietrini P, Cosottini M, Ricciardi E, Tosetti M. Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping of Brain Function During Auditory Stimulation. IEEE Trans Radiat Plasma Med Sci 2019. [DOI: 10.1109/trpms.2019.2894262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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35
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Imperatori LS, Betta M, Cecchetti L, Canales-Johnson A, Ricciardi E, Siclari F, Pietrini P, Chennu S, Bernardi G. EEG functional connectivity metrics wPLI and wSMI account for distinct types of brain functional interactions. Sci Rep 2019; 9:8894. [PMID: 31222021 PMCID: PMC6586889 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-45289-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2019] [Accepted: 06/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The weighted Phase Lag Index (wPLI) and the weighted Symbolic Mutual Information (wSMI) represent two robust and widely used methods for MEG/EEG functional connectivity estimation. Interestingly, both methods have been shown to detect relative alterations of brain functional connectivity in conditions associated with changes in the level of consciousness, such as following severe brain injury or under anaesthesia. Despite these promising findings, it was unclear whether wPLI and wSMI may account for distinct or similar types of functional interactions. Using simulated high-density (hd-)EEG data, we demonstrate that, while wPLI has high sensitivity for couplings presenting a mixture of linear and nonlinear interdependencies, only wSMI can detect purely nonlinear interaction dynamics. Moreover, we evaluated the potential impact of these differences on real experimental data by computing wPLI and wSMI connectivity in hd-EEG recordings of 12 healthy adults during wakefulness and deep (N3-)sleep, characterised by different levels of consciousness. In line with the simulation-based findings, this analysis revealed that both methods have different sensitivity for changes in brain connectivity across the two vigilance states. Our results indicate that the conjoint use of wPLI and wSMI may represent a powerful tool to study the functional bases of consciousness in physiological and pathological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Monica Betta
- MoMiLab Research Unit, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Luca Cecchetti
- MoMiLab Research Unit, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Andrés Canales-Johnson
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), School of Psychology, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
- The Neuropsychology and Cognitive Neurosciences Research Center (CINPSI Neurocog), Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile
| | - Emiliano Ricciardi
- MoMiLab Research Unit, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Francesca Siclari
- Center for Investigation and Research on Sleep, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Pietro Pietrini
- MoMiLab Research Unit, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Srivas Chennu
- School of Computing, University of Kent, Chatham Maritime, United Kingdom
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Giulio Bernardi
- MoMiLab Research Unit, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy.
- Center for Investigation and Research on Sleep, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.
- University Hospital of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
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36
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Papale P, Betta M, Handjaras G, Malfatti G, Cecchetti L, Rampinini A, Pietrini P, Ricciardi E, Turella L, Leo A. Common spatiotemporal processing of visual features shapes object representation. Sci Rep 2019; 9:7601. [PMID: 31110195 PMCID: PMC6527710 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-43956-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2018] [Accepted: 04/25/2019] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Biological vision relies on representations of the physical world at different levels of complexity. Relevant features span from simple low-level properties, as contrast and spatial frequencies, to object-based attributes, as shape and category. However, how these features are integrated into coherent percepts is still debated. Moreover, these dimensions often share common biases: for instance, stimuli from the same category (e.g., tools) may have similar shapes. Here, using magnetoencephalography, we revealed the temporal dynamics of feature processing in human subjects attending to objects from six semantic categories. By employing Relative Weights Analysis, we mitigated collinearity between model-based descriptions of stimuli and showed that low-level properties (contrast and spatial frequencies), shape (medial-axis) and category are represented within the same spatial locations early in time: 100–150 ms after stimulus onset. This fast and overlapping processing may result from independent parallel computations, with categorical representation emerging later than the onset of low-level feature processing, yet before shape coding. Categorical information is represented both before and after shape, suggesting a role for this feature in the refinement of categorical matching.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Papale
- Momilab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, 55100, Lucca, Italy
| | - Monica Betta
- Momilab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, 55100, Lucca, Italy
| | | | - Giulia Malfatti
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, 38068, Trento, Italy
| | - Luca Cecchetti
- Momilab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, 55100, Lucca, Italy
| | | | - Pietro Pietrini
- Momilab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, 55100, Lucca, Italy
| | | | - Luca Turella
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, 38068, Trento, Italy
| | - Andrea Leo
- Momilab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, 55100, Lucca, Italy.
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37
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Bernardi G, Betta M, Cataldi J, Leo A, Haba-Rubio J, Heinzer R, Cirelli C, Tononi G, Pietrini P, Ricciardi E, Siclari F. Visual imagery and visual perception induce similar changes in occipital slow waves of sleep. J Neurophysiol 2019; 121:2140-2152. [PMID: 30943100 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00085.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that regional slow-wave activity (SWA) during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep is modulated by prior experience and learning. Although this effect has been convincingly demonstrated for the sensorimotor domain, attempts to extend these findings to the visual system have provided mixed results. In this study we asked whether depriving subjects of external visual stimuli during daytime would lead to regional changes in slow waves during sleep and whether the degree of "internal visual stimulation" (spontaneous imagery) would influence such changes. In two 8-h sessions spaced 1 wk apart, 12 healthy volunteers either were blindfolded while listening to audiobooks or watched movies (control condition), after which their sleep was recorded with high-density EEG. We found that during NREM sleep, the number of small, local slow waves in the occipital cortex decreased after listening with blindfolding relative to movie watching in a way that depended on the degree of visual imagery subjects reported during blindfolding: subjects with low visual imagery showed a significant reduction of occipital sleep slow waves, whereas those who reported a high degree of visual imagery did not. We also found a positive relationship between the reliance on visual imagery during blindfolding and audiobook listening and the degree of correlation in sleep SWA between visual areas and language-related areas. These preliminary results demonstrate that short-term alterations in visual experience may trigger slow-wave changes in cortical visual areas. Furthermore, they suggest that plasticity-related EEG changes during sleep may reflect externally induced ("bottom up") visual experiences, as well as internally generated ("top down") processes. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Previous work has shown that slow-wave activity, a marker of sleep depth, is linked to neural plasticity in the sensorimotor cortex. We show that after short-term visual deprivation, subjects who reported little visual imagery had a reduced incidence of occipital slow waves. This effect was absent in subjects who reported strong spontaneous visual imagery. These findings suggest that visual imagery may "substitute" for visual perception and induce similar changes in non-rapid eye movement slow waves.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulio Bernardi
- Center for Investigation and Research on Sleep, Lausanne University Hospital , Lausanne , Switzerland.,IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca , Italy
| | - Monica Betta
- IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca , Italy
| | - Jacinthe Cataldi
- Center for Investigation and Research on Sleep, Lausanne University Hospital , Lausanne , Switzerland
| | - Andrea Leo
- IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca , Italy
| | - José Haba-Rubio
- Center for Investigation and Research on Sleep, Lausanne University Hospital , Lausanne , Switzerland
| | - Raphaël Heinzer
- Center for Investigation and Research on Sleep, Lausanne University Hospital , Lausanne , Switzerland.,Pulmonary Department, Lausanne University Hospital , Lausanne , Switzerland
| | - Chiara Cirelli
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison , Madison, Wisconsin
| | - Giulio Tononi
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison , Madison, Wisconsin
| | | | | | - Francesca Siclari
- Center for Investigation and Research on Sleep, Lausanne University Hospital , Lausanne , Switzerland
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38
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Bernardi G, Betta M, Ricciardi E, Pietrini P, Tononi G, Siclari F. Regional Delta Waves In Human Rapid Eye Movement Sleep. J Neurosci 2019; 39:2686-2697. [PMID: 30737310 PMCID: PMC6445986 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2298-18.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2018] [Revised: 11/28/2018] [Accepted: 01/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Although the EEG slow wave of sleep is typically considered to be a hallmark of nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, recent work in mice has shown that slow waves can also occur in REM sleep. Here, we investigated the presence and cortical distribution of negative delta (1-4 Hz) waves in human REM sleep by analyzing high-density EEG sleep recordings obtained in 28 healthy subjects. We identified two clusters of delta waves with distinctive properties: (1) a frontal-central cluster characterized by ∼2.5-3.0 Hz, relatively large, notched delta waves (so-called "sawtooth waves") that tended to occur in bursts, were associated with increased gamma activity and rapid eye movements (EMs), and upon source modeling displayed an occipital-temporal and a frontal-central component and (2) a medial-occipital cluster characterized by more isolated, slower (<2 Hz), and smaller waves that were not associated with rapid EMs, displayed a negative correlation with gamma activity, and were also found in NREM sleep. Therefore, delta waves are an integral part of REM sleep in humans and the two identified subtypes (sawtooth and medial-occipital slow waves) may reflect distinct generation mechanisms and functional roles. Sawtooth waves, which are exclusive to REM sleep, share many characteristics with ponto-geniculo-occipital waves described in animals and may represent the human equivalent or a closely related event, whereas medial-occipital slow waves appear similar to NREM sleep slow waves.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The EEG slow wave is typically considered a hallmark of nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, but recent work in mice has shown that it can also occur in REM sleep. By analyzing high-density EEG recordings collected in healthy adult individuals, we show that REM sleep is characterized by prominent delta waves also in humans. In particular, we identified two distinctive clusters of delta waves with different properties: a frontal-central cluster characterized by faster, activating "sawtooth waves" that share many characteristics with ponto-geniculo-occipital waves described in animals and a medial-occipital cluster containing slow waves that are more similar to NREM sleep slow waves. These findings indicate that REM sleep is a spatially and temporally heterogeneous state and may contribute to explaining its known functional and phenomenological properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulio Bernardi
- Center for Investigation and Research on Sleep, Lausanne University Hospital, CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland,
- MoMiLab Research Unit, IMT School for Advanced Studies, IT-55100 Lucca, Italy, and
| | - Monica Betta
- MoMiLab Research Unit, IMT School for Advanced Studies, IT-55100 Lucca, Italy, and
| | - Emiliano Ricciardi
- MoMiLab Research Unit, IMT School for Advanced Studies, IT-55100 Lucca, Italy, and
| | - Pietro Pietrini
- MoMiLab Research Unit, IMT School for Advanced Studies, IT-55100 Lucca, Italy, and
| | - Giulio Tononi
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53719
| | - Francesca Siclari
- Center for Investigation and Research on Sleep, Lausanne University Hospital, CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland,
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Rampinini AC, Handjaras G, Leo A, Cecchetti L, Betta M, Marotta G, Ricciardi E, Pietrini P. Formant Space Reconstruction From Brain Activity in Frontal and Temporal Regions Coding for Heard Vowels. Front Hum Neurosci 2019; 13:32. [PMID: 30837851 PMCID: PMC6383050 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2018] [Accepted: 01/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Classical studies have isolated a distributed network of temporal and frontal areas engaged in the neural representation of speech perception and production. With modern literature arguing against unique roles for these cortical regions, different theories have favored either neural code-sharing or cortical space-sharing, thus trying to explain the intertwined spatial and functional organization of motor and acoustic components across the fronto-temporal cortical network. In this context, the focus of attention has recently shifted toward specific model fitting, aimed at motor and/or acoustic space reconstruction in brain activity within the language network. Here, we tested a model based on acoustic properties (formants), and one based on motor properties (articulation parameters), where model-free decoding of evoked fMRI activity during perception, imagery, and production of vowels had been successful. Results revealed that phonological information organizes around formant structure during the perception of vowels; interestingly, such a model was reconstructed in a broad temporal region, outside of the primary auditory cortex, but also in the pars triangularis of the left inferior frontal gyrus. Conversely, articulatory features were not associated with brain activity in these regions. Overall, our results call for a degree of interdependence based on acoustic information, between the frontal and temporal ends of the language network.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Andrea Leo
- IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | | | - Monica Betta
- IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Giovanna Marotta
- Department of Philology, Literature and Linguistics, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
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40
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Benuzzi F, Ballotta D, Handjaras G, Leo A, Papale P, Zucchelli M, Molinari MA, Lui F, Cecchetti L, Ricciardi E, Sartori G, Pietrini P, Nichelli PF. Eight Weddings and Six Funerals: An fMRI Study on Autobiographical Memories. Front Behav Neurosci 2018; 12:212. [PMID: 30279649 PMCID: PMC6153347 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2018] [Accepted: 08/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
“Autobiographical memory” (AM) refers to remote memories from one's own life. Previous neuroimaging studies have highlighted that voluntary retrieval processes from AM involve different forms of memory and cognitive functions. Thus, a complex and widespread brain functional network has been found to support AM. The present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study used a multivariate approach to determine whether neural activity within the AM circuit would recognize memories of real autobiographical events, and to evaluate individual differences in the recruitment of this network. Fourteen right-handed females took part in the study. During scanning, subjects were presented with sentences representing a detail of a highly emotional real event (positive or negative) and were asked to indicate whether the sentence described something that had or had not really happened to them. Group analysis showed a set of cortical areas able to discriminate the truthfulness of the recalled events: medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate/retrosplenial cortex, precuneus, bilateral angular, superior frontal gyri, and early visual cortical areas. Single-subject results showed that the decoding occurred at different time points. No differences were found between recalling a positive or a negative event. Our results show that the entire AM network is engaged in monitoring the veracity of AMs. This process is not affected by the emotional valence of the experience but rather by individual differences in cognitive strategies used to retrieve AMs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Benuzzi
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.,Center for Neurosciences and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Daniela Ballotta
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Giacomo Handjaras
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Andrea Leo
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Paolo Papale
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | | | | | - Fausta Lui
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.,Center for Neurosciences and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Luca Cecchetti
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | | | | | - Pietro Pietrini
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Paolo Frigio Nichelli
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.,Center for Neurosciences and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.,Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale di Modena, Modena, Italy
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41
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Gentili C, Vanello N, Cristea I, Pietrini P, Bianconi S, Dal Bò E, David D. The application of non-linear metrics to resting state fMRI data analysis. Int J Psychophysiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2018.07.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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42
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Betta M, Handjaras G, Papale P, Rampinini A, Malfatti G, Pietrini P, Turella L, Ricciardi E, Leo A. MEG spectro-temporal patterns underlying semantic processing. Int J Psychophysiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2018.07.205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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43
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Lancione M, Lettieri G, Handjaras G, Costagli M, Pietrini P, Cecchetti L, Ricciardi E. Fine-grained tonotopic architecture is retrieved from resting state connectivity in the auditory cortex. Int J Psychophysiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2018.07.481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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44
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Bruno RM, Stea F, Sicari R, Ghiadoni L, Taddei S, Ungar A, Bonuccelli U, Tognoni G, Cintoli S, Del Turco S, Sbrana S, Gargani L, D’Angelo G, Pratali L, Berardi N, Maffei L, Picano E, Andreassi M, Angelucci A, Baldacci F, Baroncelli L, Begenisic T, Bellinvia P, Biagi L, Bonaccorsi J, Bonanni E, Borghini A, Braschi C, Broccardi M, Caleo M, Carlesi C, Carnicelli L, Cartoni G, Cecchetti L, Cenni M, Ceravolo R, Chico L, Cioni G, Costa M, D’Ascanio P, De Nes M, Di Coscio E, Di Galante M, di Lascio N, Faita F, Falorni I, Faraguna U, Fenu A, Fortunato L, Franco R, Gargiulo R, Giorgi F, Iannarella R, Iofrida C, Kusmic C, Limongi F, Maestri M, Maffei M, Maggi S, Mainardi M, Mammana L, Marabotti A, Mariotti V, Melissari E, Mercuri A, Molinaro S, Narducci R, Navarra T, Noale M, Pagni C, Palumbo S, Pasquariello R, Pellegrini S, Pietrini P, Pizzorusso T, Poli A, Retico A, Ricciardi E, Rota G, Sale A, Scabia G, Scali M, Scelfo D, Siciliano G, Tonacci A, Tosetti M, Turchi S, Volpi L. Vascular Function Is Improved After an Environmental Enrichment Program. Hypertension 2018; 71:1218-1225. [DOI: 10.1161/hypertensionaha.117.10066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2017] [Revised: 08/09/2017] [Accepted: 03/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Environmental enrichment may slow cognitive decay possibly acting through an improvement in vascular function. Aim of the study was to assess the effects of a 7-month cognitive, social, and physical training program on cognitive and vascular function in patients with mild cognitive impairment. In a single-center, randomized, parallel-group study, 113 patients (age, 65–89 years) were randomized to multidomain training (n=55) or usual care (n=58). All participants underwent neuropsychological tests and vascular evaluation, including brachial artery flow-mediated dilation, carotid–femoral pulse wave velocity, carotid distensibility, and assessment of circulating hematopoietic CD34+ and endothelial progenitor cells. At study entry, an age-matched control group (n=45) was also studied. Compared with controls, patients had at study entry a reduced flow-mediated dilation (2.97±2.14% versus 3.73±2.06%;
P
=0.03) and hyperemic stimulus (shear rate area under the curve, 19.1±15.7 versus 25.7±15.1×10
−3
;
P
=0.009); only the latter remained significant after adjustment for confounders (
P
=0.03). Training improved Alzheimer disease assessment scale cognitive (training, 14.0±4.8 to 13.1±5.5; nontraining, 12.1±3.9 to 13.2±4.8;
P
for interaction visit×training=0.02), flow-mediated dilation (2.82±2.19% to 3.40±1.81%, 3.05±2.08% to 2.24±1.59%;
P
=0.006;
P
=0.023 after adjustment for diameter and shear rate area under the curve), and circulating hematopoietic CD34
+
cells and prevented the decline in carotid distensibility (18.4±5.3 to 20.0±6.6, 23.9±11.0 to 19.5±7.1 Pa
−1
;
P
=0.005). The only clinical predictor of improvement of cognitive function after training was established hypertension. There was no correlation between changes in measures of cognitive and vascular function. In conclusion, a multidomain training program slows cognitive decline, especially in hypertensive individuals. This effect is accompanied by improved systemic endothelial function, mobilization of progenitor CD34
+
cells, and preserved carotid distensibility.
Clinical Trial Registration—
URL:
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique identifier: NCT01725178.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosa Maria Bruno
- From the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Italy (R.M.B., F.S., L.G., S.T., U.B.)
- Institute of Clinical Physiology of the National Research Council (CNR), Pisa, Italy (R.M.B., F.S., R.S., S.D.T., S.S., L.G., G.D., L.P., E.P.)
| | - Francesco Stea
- From the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Italy (R.M.B., F.S., L.G., S.T., U.B.)
- Institute of Clinical Physiology of the National Research Council (CNR), Pisa, Italy (R.M.B., F.S., R.S., S.D.T., S.S., L.G., G.D., L.P., E.P.)
| | - Rosa Sicari
- Institute of Clinical Physiology of the National Research Council (CNR), Pisa, Italy (R.M.B., F.S., R.S., S.D.T., S.S., L.G., G.D., L.P., E.P.)
| | - Lorenzo Ghiadoni
- From the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Italy (R.M.B., F.S., L.G., S.T., U.B.)
| | - Stefano Taddei
- From the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Italy (R.M.B., F.S., L.G., S.T., U.B.)
| | | | - Ubaldo Bonuccelli
- From the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Italy (R.M.B., F.S., L.G., S.T., U.B.)
| | - Gloria Tognoni
- Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Careggi, University of Florence, Italy (A.U.); Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Pisana, Italy (G.T., S.C.)
| | - Simona Cintoli
- Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Careggi, University of Florence, Italy (A.U.); Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Pisana, Italy (G.T., S.C.)
| | - Serena Del Turco
- Institute of Clinical Physiology of the National Research Council (CNR), Pisa, Italy (R.M.B., F.S., R.S., S.D.T., S.S., L.G., G.D., L.P., E.P.)
| | - Silverio Sbrana
- Institute of Clinical Physiology of the National Research Council (CNR), Pisa, Italy (R.M.B., F.S., R.S., S.D.T., S.S., L.G., G.D., L.P., E.P.)
| | - Luna Gargani
- Institute of Clinical Physiology of the National Research Council (CNR), Pisa, Italy (R.M.B., F.S., R.S., S.D.T., S.S., L.G., G.D., L.P., E.P.)
| | - Gennaro D’Angelo
- Institute of Clinical Physiology of the National Research Council (CNR), Pisa, Italy (R.M.B., F.S., R.S., S.D.T., S.S., L.G., G.D., L.P., E.P.)
| | - Lorenza Pratali
- Institute of Clinical Physiology of the National Research Council (CNR), Pisa, Italy (R.M.B., F.S., R.S., S.D.T., S.S., L.G., G.D., L.P., E.P.)
| | | | | | - Eugenio Picano
- Institute of Clinical Physiology of the National Research Council (CNR), Pisa, Italy (R.M.B., F.S., R.S., S.D.T., S.S., L.G., G.D., L.P., E.P.)
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45
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Papale P, Leo A, Cecchetti L, Handjaras G, Kay KN, Pietrini P, Ricciardi E. Foreground-Background Segmentation Revealed during Natural Image Viewing. eNeuro 2018; 5:ENEURO.0075-18.2018. [PMID: 29951579 PMCID: PMC6019392 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0075-18.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2018] [Revised: 05/15/2018] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
One of the major challenges in visual neuroscience is represented by foreground-background segmentation. Data from nonhuman primates show that segmentation leads to two distinct, but associated processes: the enhancement of neural activity during figure processing (i.e., foreground enhancement) and the suppression of background-related activity (i.e., background suppression). To study foreground-background segmentation in ecological conditions, we introduce a novel method based on parametric modulation of low-level image properties followed by application of simple computational image-processing models. By correlating the outcome of this procedure with human fMRI activity, measured during passive viewing of 334 natural images, we produced easily interpretable "correlation images" from visual populations. Results show evidence of foreground enhancement in all tested regions, from V1 to lateral occipital complex (LOC), while background suppression occurs in V4 and LOC only. Correlation images derived from V4 and LOC revealed a preserved spatial resolution of foreground textures, indicating a richer representation of the salient part of natural images, rather than a simplistic model of object shape. Our results indicate that scene segmentation occurs during natural viewing, even when individuals are not required to perform any particular task.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Papale
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, 55100 Italy
| | - Andrea Leo
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, 55100 Italy
| | - Luca Cecchetti
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, 55100 Italy
| | - Giacomo Handjaras
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, 55100 Italy
| | - Kendrick N. Kay
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, 55455
| | - Pietro Pietrini
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, 55100 Italy
| | - Emiliano Ricciardi
- Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, 55100 Italy
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46
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Ricciardi E, Menicagli D, Leo A, Costantini M, Pietrini P, Sinigaglia C. Peripersonal space representation develops independently from visual experience. Sci Rep 2017; 7:17673. [PMID: 29247162 PMCID: PMC5732274 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-17896-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2017] [Accepted: 12/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Our daily-life actions are typically driven by vision. When acting upon an object, we need to represent its visual features (e.g. shape, orientation, etc.) and to map them into our own peripersonal space. But what happens with people who have never had any visual experience? How can they map object features into their own peripersonal space? Do they do it differently from sighted agents? To tackle these questions, we carried out a series of behavioral experiments in sighted and congenitally blind subjects. We took advantage of a spatial alignment effect paradigm, which typically refers to a decrease of reaction times when subjects perform an action (e.g., a reach-to-grasp pantomime) congruent with that afforded by a presented object. To systematically examine peripersonal space mapping, we presented visual or auditory affording objects both within and outside subjects’ reach. The results showed that sighted and congenitally blind subjects did not differ in mapping objects into their own peripersonal space. Strikingly, this mapping occurred also when objects were presented outside subjects’ reach, but within the peripersonal space of another agent. This suggests that (the lack of) visual experience does not significantly affect the development of both one’s own and others’ peripersonal space representation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Dario Menicagli
- MOMILab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, I-55100, Lucca, Italy
| | - Andrea Leo
- MOMILab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, I-55100, Lucca, Italy.,Research Center "E. Piaggio", University of Pisa, Pisa, I-56100, Italy
| | - Marcello Costantini
- Department of Neuroscience and Imaging and Clinical Science, University G. d'Annunzio, Chieti, I-66100, Italy.,Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies - ITAB, Foundation University G. d'Annunzio, Chieti, I-66100, Italy.,Centre for Brain Science, Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
| | - Pietro Pietrini
- MOMILab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, I-55100, Lucca, Italy
| | - Corrado Sinigaglia
- Department of Philosophy, University of Milan, via Festa del Perdono 7, I-20122, Milano, Italy. .,CSSA, Centre for the Study of Social Action, University of Milan, Milan, I-20122, Italy.
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47
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Rampinini AC, Handjaras G, Leo A, Cecchetti L, Ricciardi E, Marotta G, Pietrini P. Functional and spatial segregation within the inferior frontal and superior temporal cortices during listening, articulation imagery, and production of vowels. Sci Rep 2017; 7:17029. [PMID: 29208951 PMCID: PMC5717247 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-17314-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2017] [Accepted: 11/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Classical models of language localize speech perception in the left superior temporal and production in the inferior frontal cortex. Nonetheless, neuropsychological, structural and functional studies have questioned such subdivision, suggesting an interwoven organization of the speech function within these cortices. We tested whether sub-regions within frontal and temporal speech-related areas retain specific phonological representations during both perception and production. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and multivoxel pattern analysis, we showed functional and spatial segregation across the left fronto-temporal cortex during listening, imagery and production of vowels. In accordance with classical models of language and evidence from functional studies, the inferior frontal and superior temporal cortices discriminated among perceived and produced vowels respectively, also engaging in the non-classical, alternative function - i.e. perception in the inferior frontal and production in the superior temporal cortex. Crucially, though, contiguous and non-overlapping sub-regions within these hubs performed either the classical or non-classical function, the latter also representing non-linguistic sounds (i.e., pure tones). Extending previous results and in line with integration theories, our findings not only demonstrate that sensitivity to speech listening exists in production-related regions and vice versa, but they also suggest that the nature of such interwoven organisation is built upon low-level perception.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Andrea Leo
- IMT School for Advanced Studies, Lucca, 55100, Italy
| | | | | | - Giovanna Marotta
- Department of Philology, Literature and Linguistics, University of Pisa, Pisa, 56100, Italy
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48
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Betta M, Bernardi G, Ricciardi E, Pietrini P, Haba-Rubio J, Siclari F, Heinzer R. Quantifying peripheral sympathetic activation during sleep by means of an automatic method for pulse wave amplitude drop detection. Sleep Med 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2017.11.091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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49
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Scarpazza C, Pellegrini S, Pietrini P, Sartori G. The Role of Neuroscience in the Evaluation of Mental Insanity: on the Controversies in Italy. NEUROETHICS-NETH 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s12152-017-9349-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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50
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Danti S, Handjaras G, Cecchetti L, Beuzeron-Mangina H, Pietrini P, Ricciardi E. Different levels of visual perceptual skills are associated with specific modifications in functional connectivity and global efficiency. Int J Psychophysiol 2017; 123:127-135. [PMID: 28987780 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2017.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2017] [Revised: 09/28/2017] [Accepted: 10/02/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The disembedding ability (i.e., the ability to identify a simple masked figure within a complex one) depends on attentional mechanisms, executive functions and working memory. Recent cognitive models ascribed different levels of disembedding task performance to the efficiency of the subtended mental processes engaged during visuo-spatial perception. Here we aimed at assessing whether different levels of the disembedding ability were associated to the functional signatures of neural efficiency, defined as a specific modulation in response magnitude and functional connectivity strength in task-related areas. Consequently, brain activity evoked by a visual task involving the disembedding ability was acquired using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a sample of 23 right-handed healthy individuals. Brain activity was analyzed at different levels of information processing, from local responses to connectivity interactions between brain nodes, as far as to network topological properties. All different levels of information processing were significantly modulated by individual behavioral performance. Specifically, single voxel response magnitude, connectivity strength of the right intrahemispheric and interhemispheric edges, and graph measures (i.e., local and global efficiency) were negatively associated to behavioral performance. Altogether, these results indicate that efficiency during a disembedding task cannot be merely attributed to a reduced neural recruitment of task-specific regions, but can be better characterized as an enhanced functional hemispherical asymmetry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Danti
- Laboratory of Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dept. Surgical, Medical, Molecular Pathology and Critical Care, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | | | | | - Helen Beuzeron-Mangina
- Cognitive Psychophysiology Laboratory, Montreal Research and Treatment Center for Learning Abilities and Disabilities, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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