Publications by authors named "Gabriela M Marcu"

This case report presents a comprehensive assessment of four maltreated adolescents, two half-siblings, and two non-identical twins to investigate the effects of complex childhood trauma on brain functioning. The study aimed to identify shared psychophysiological features in the electroencephalographic (EEG) data of these adolescents compared to database norms. Quantitative EEG, event-related potentials (ERPs), and their independent components were analyzed to examine alterations in patterns of electrical activity associated with psychopathology.

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The present study explored whether, given the association of temporal alpha with fear circuitry (learning and conditioning), exposure to complex childhood trauma (CCT) is reflected in the temporal-posterior alpha power in resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) in complex trauma-exposed adolescents in a sample of 25 adolescents and similar controls aged 12-17 years. Both trauma and psychopathology were screened or assessed, and resting-state EEG was recorded following a preregistered protocol for data collection. Temporal-posterior alpha power, corresponding to the T5 and T6 electrode locations (international 10-20 system), was extracted from resting-state EEG in both eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions.

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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is often considered challenging to treat due to factors that contribute to its complexity. In the last decade, more attention has been paid to non-pharmacological or non-psychological therapies for PTSD, including neurofeedback (NFB). NFB is a promising non-invasive technique targeting specific brainwave patterns associated with psychiatric symptomatology.

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Introduction: The search for biomarkers has been central to efforts of improving clinical diagnosis and prognosis in psychopathology in the last decades. The main approach has been to validate biomarkers that could accurately discriminate between clinical diagnoses of very prevalent forms of psychopathology. One of the most popular electrophysiological markers proposed for discrimination in depressive disorders is the electroencephalography (EEG)-derived frontal alpha asymmetry.

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The spread of the COVID-19 virus created more than a medical crisis, while it also negatively affected the mental health of the general population. This context increased the vulnerability of the psychiatric population. While research interest highly targeted vaccine hesitancy and acceptance, many studies focused on trust issues-both in vaccine efficacy and in communication with authorities.

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The COVID-19 pandemic (and its aftermath) highlights a critical need to communicate health information effectively to the global public. Given that subtle differences in information framing can have meaningful effects on behavior, behavioral science research highlights a pressing question: Is it more effective to frame COVID-19 health messages in terms of potential losses (e.g.

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The study of moral judgements often centres on moral dilemmas in which options consistent with deontological perspectives (that is, emphasizing rules, individual rights and duties) are in conflict with options consistent with utilitarian judgements (that is, following the greater good based on consequences). Greene et al. (2009) showed that psychological and situational factors (for example, the intent of the agent or the presence of physical contact between the agent and the victim) can play an important role in moral dilemma judgements (for example, the trolley problem).

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The COVID-19 pandemic has increased negative emotions and decreased positive emotions globally. Left unchecked, these emotional changes might have a wide array of adverse impacts. To reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions, we tested the effectiveness of reappraisal, an emotion-regulation strategy that modifies how one thinks about a situation.

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Over the past 10 years, Oosterhof and Todorov's valence-dominance model has emerged as the most prominent account of how people evaluate faces on social dimensions. In this model, two dimensions (valence and dominance) underpin social judgements of faces. Because this model has primarily been developed and tested in Western regions, it is unclear whether these findings apply to other regions.

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