The mother-child interface: A neurobiological metamorphosis.

From the start of pregnancy, mother and child induce reciprocal neurobiological changes in the brain that will prove critical for neurodevelopment and survival of both. Molecular communication between mother and fetus is constantly active and persists even after the fetus starts to synthesize its hormones in late gestation. Intriguingly, some mother and fetus exchange cells remain in the other's brain and body with long-lasting effects and memories that do not follow the laws of classical genetics but involve complex epigenetic mechanisms.

Listen to the beat: Behavioral and neurophysiological correlates of slow and fast heartbeat sounds.

Background: Listening to heartbeat sounds have been found to affect cardiac activity and behavior. However, less is known about the effects of these stimuli on brain activity and cognition. Alpha oscillations (8-13 Hz) are considered markers of cortical activation.

Electrophysiological and hemodynamic mechanisms underlying load modulations in visuospatial working memory: A functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and electroencephalogram (EEG) study.

The n-back task has been widely used to study working memory. Previous studies investigating the electrophysiological (electroencephalogram [EEG]) and hemodynamic correlates (functional near-infrared spectroscopy [fNIRS]) of the n-back task have been generally based on verbal stimuli and only investigated EEG frequency bands. We simultaneously acquired the EEG and fNIRS in 35 participants (16 males; age = 26.

Relationship between intended force and actual force: comparison between athletes and non-athletes.

This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate whether athletes (ATHL) and non-athletes (NON-ATHL) individuals had similar accuracy in matching intended to actual force during ballistic (BAL) and tonic (TON) isometric contractions. In this cross-sectional study, the subjects were divided into ATHL ( = 20; 22.4 ± 2.

Gender differences in the effects of emotion induction on intertemporal decision-making.

'Good things come to those who wait' is a popular saying, which goes along with numerous daily life decisions requiring trade-offs between immediate-small and later-larger rewards; however, some individuals have a tendency to prefer sooner rewards while discounting the value of delayed rewards, known as delay discounting. The extant literature indicates that emotions and gender can modulate intertemporal choices, but their interplay remains hitherto poorly investigated. Here, 308 participants were randomized to different conditions, inducing distinct emotions-fear, joy, a neutral state-through standardized movie clips, and then completed a computerized delay discounting task for hypothetical money rewards.

Disentangling Cerebellar and Parietal Contributions to Gait and Body Schema: A Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Study.

The overlap between motor and cognitive signs resulting from posterior parietal cortex (PPC) and cerebellar lesions can mask their relative contribution in the sensorimotor integration process. This study aimed to identify distinguishing motor and cognitive features to disentangle PPC and cerebellar involvement in two sensorimotor-related functions: gait and body schema representation. Thirty healthy volunteers were enrolled and randomly assigned to PPC or cerebellar stimulation.

Sensory modality affects the spatiotemporal dynamics of alpha and theta oscillations associated with prospective memory.

Background: The maintenance of an intention in memory (Prospective Memory, PM) while performing a task is associated with a cost in terms of both performance (longer response times and lower accuracy) and neurophysiological modulations, which extent depends on several features of the stimuli.

Aim: This study explores the neural patterns associated with PM in different sensory modalities, to identify differences depending on this variable and discuss their functional meaning.

Method: Data were collected using a High-Density EEG during a baseline and a PM condition, proposed in a visual and an auditory version.

Thinking about it: the impact of COVID-19-related stimuli on prospective memory.

Background: Since 2020, information regarding COVID-19 has been a constant presence in the news, in our conversations and thoughts. Continuous exposure to this type of stimuli could have an impact on cognitive processes essential for our everyday activities, such as prospective memory (PM). PM is the ability to remember to perform an intention at a specific point in the future, like remembering to take prescribed medicines at a specific time or to turn off the stove after cooking.

Prospective assessment of early developmental markers and their association with neuropsychological impairment.

Children who experience adversities in the pre-perinatal period are at increased risk of developing impairment later in life, despite the absence of overt brain and neurological abnormalities. However, many of these children exhibit sequelae several years after a period of normal appearance. As a result, the need for reliable developmental assessments for the early detection of infants at high risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes has emerged.

Young adults and multisensory time perception: Visual and auditory pathways in comparison.

The brain continuously encodes information about time, but how sensorial channels interact to achieve a stable representation of such ubiquitous information still needs to be determined. According to recent research, children show a potential interference in multisensory conditions, leading to a trade-off between two senses (sight and audition) when considering time-perception tasks. This study aimed to examine how healthy young adults behave when performing a time-perception task.

Probing Intrinsic Neural Timescales in EEG with an Information-Theory Inspired Approach: Permutation Entropy Time Delay Estimation (PE-TD).

Time delays are a signature of many physical systems, including the brain, and considerably shape their dynamics; moreover, they play a key role in consciousness, as postulated by the temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC). However, they are often not known a priori and need to be estimated from time series. In this study, we propose the use of permutation entropy (PE) to estimate time delays from neural time series as a more robust alternative to the widely used autocorrelation window (ACW).

Prospective memory: the combined impact of cognitive load and task focality.

Prospective Memory (PM) entails a set of executive processes primarily associated with the activation of frontal and parietal regions. Both the number of PM-targets to be monitored (i.e.

Clinical, cognitive, and morphometric profiles of progressive supranuclear palsy phenotypes.

The International Parkinson's and Movement Disorder Society (MDS) criteria for progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) have broadened the clinical spectrum of the disease and established phenotypic characterization according to the predominant manifestation at onset. The objective of this study is to describe clinical/cognitive and imaging features of a monocentric cohort of PSP patients, highlighting different patterns of functional disability according to the assigned phenotype. We retrospectively reviewed clinical/imaging data of 53 PSP patients diagnosed with probable PSP according to the MDS criteria and 40 age/sex-matched healthy controls (HCs).

Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Past, Present, and Future.

Recent decades have seen a dramatic increase in neurodevelopmental disorders and the attention paid to them. Since their emergence in the not-so-distant past, some neurodevelopmental disorders have undergone considerable redefinition and, beginning in the 21st century, there has been a massive increase in research. In this paper, we briefly review the history of some of them, address some of the issues that characterize their current management and relationship with neurological pathologies, and share some insights for the future.

EEG correlates of developmental dyslexia: a systematic review.

Dyslexia is one of the most studied learning disorders. Despite this, its biological basis and main causes are still not fully understood. Electroencephalography (EEG) could be a powerful tool in identifying the underlying mechanisms, but knowledge of the EEG correlates of developmental dyslexia (DD) remains elusive.

Physical active lifestyle promotes static and dynamic balance performance in young and older adults.

Although regular physical activity exposure leads to positive postural balance control (PBC) adaptations, few studies investigated its effects, or the one of inactivity, on PBC in populations of different age groups. Thus, this study investigated the impact of a physically active lifestyle on static and dynamic PBC in young and older adults. Thirty-five young physically active subjects (YA), 20 young sedentary subjects (YS), 16 physically active older adults (OA), and 15 sedentary older adults (OS) underwent a static and a dynamic PBC assessment.

Cognitive impairment in people with previous COVID-19 infection: A scoping review.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is a worldwide public health issue. Almost 2 years into the pandemic, the persistence of symptoms after the acute phase is a well-recognized phenomenon. We conducted a scoping review to map cognitive domain impairments, their frequency, and associated psycho-affective disorders in people with a previous COVID-19 infection.

The impact of sensory modality on prospective memory: Differences between visual and auditory processing.

Prospective memory (PM) is the ability to perform an intended action when the appropriate conditions occur. Several features play a role in the successful retrieval of an intention: the activity we are concurrently engaged in, the number of intentions we are maintaining, where our attention is focused (outward vs. to inner states), and how outstanding the trigger of the intention is.

Anxiety predicts impulsive-compulsive behaviours in Parkinson's disease: Clinical relevance and theoretical implications.

Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) often present symptoms of anxiety, depression and apathy. These negative affect manifestations have been recently associated with the presence of impulsive compulsive behaviours (ICBs). However, their relation with the use of dopamine replacement therapy (DRT), a renewed risk factor for ICBs, is still not fully understood.

Long-Term Outcomes after Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy in the Era of Therapeutic Hypothermia: A Longitudinal, Prospective, Multicenter Case-Control Study in Children without Overt Brain Damage.

Background: Data on long-term outcomes in the era before therapeutic hypothermia (TH) showed a higher incidence of cognitive problems. Since the introduction of TH, data on its results are limited.

Methods: Our sample population consisted of 40 children with a history of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) treated with TH, with an average age of 6.

Asymmetric Dopamine Transporter Loss Affects Cognitive and Motor Progression in Parkinson's Disease.

Background: Asymmetric hemispheric loss of dopaminergic neurons is one of the characteristic features of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, it is still debated if right or left asymmetry differently affects cognitive and motor progression.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate, for the first time, the relevance of dopamine transporter (DAT) asymmetry on cognitive and motor manifestations at onset and at 4-year progression in drug-naïve PD.

Romantic love affects emotional processing of love-unrelated stimuli: An EEG/ERP study using a love induction task.

The aim of the present study was to investigate (a) the neural correlates of a love induction task (LIT) including listening to love-related songs and thinking about the romantic relationship, and (b) the effects of romantic love on the emotional processing of love-unrelated stimuli during a passive viewing task. The EEG was recorded in two groups of university students: people in love (Love Group, LG, N = 22, 19 F) and people not in love (Control Group, CG, N = 20, 15 F). The LIT induced higher pleasantness and arousal in the LG than in the CG, as well as higher alpha activity in occipital-right electrodes, suggesting active mental imagery and internal focused attention.

Structural and functional brain asymmetries in the early phases of life: a scoping review.

Asymmetry characterizes the brain in both structure and function. Anatomical asymmetries explain only a fraction of functional variability in lateralization, with structural and functional asymmetries developing at different periods of life and in different ways. In this work, we perform a scoping review of the cerebral asymmetries in the first brain development phases.