The Journey From Nonimmersive to Immersive Multiuser Applications in Mental Health Care: Systematic Review.

Background: Over the past 25 years, the development of multiuser applications has seen considerable advancements and challenges. The technological development in this field has emerged from simple chat rooms through videoconferencing tools to the creation of complex, interactive, and often multisensory virtual worlds. These multiuser technologies have gradually found their way into mental health care, where they are used in both dyadic counseling and group interventions.

No cardiac phase bias for threat-related distance perception under naturalistic conditions in immersive virtual reality.

Previous studies have found that threatening stimuli are more readily perceived and more intensely experienced when presented during cardiac systole compared with diastole. Also, threatening stimuli are judged as physically closer than neutral ones. In a pre-registered study, we tested these effects and their interaction using a naturalistic (interactive and three-dimensional) experimental design in immersive virtual reality: we briefly displayed threatening and non-threatening animals (four each) at varying distances (1.

Pretreatment Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment in Hodgkin Lymphoma Patients.

Background: Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is one of the most serious side effects of cancer that negatively impacts the quality of life of cancer patients and survivors. There is evidence of CRCI in Hodgkin lymphoma patients (HL); however, there is a lack of studies examining the presence of cognitive deficits before starting any treatment in HL patients.

Methods: Forty adult patients ( = 40) newly diagnosed with HL (with no previous cancer diagnoses) and 40 healthy controls ( = 40) matched for age, sex, education, and premorbid intellect completed the neuropsychological battery and subjective and objective measures of affective distress and quality of life.

Glutamatergic abnormalities in the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex in obsessive-compulsive disorder using magnetic resonance spectroscopy: A controlled study.

In this study, we utilized proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to understand the role of glutamate (Glu), glutamine (Gln), and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) of OCD patients in the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC). In total, 54 patients with OCD and 54 healthy controls (HC) matched for age and sex were included in the study. They underwent MRS in the pgACC region to calculate the concentrations of Glu, Gln, GABA, and Glu + Gln (Glx).

Spectroscopic abnormalities in the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex in obsessive-compulsive disorder using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy: a controlled study.

Background: The main aim of the present study is to determine the role of metabolites observed using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). As the literature describing biochemical changes in OCD yields conflicting results, we focused on accurate metabolite quantification of total N-acetyl aspartate (tNAA), total creatine (tCr), total choline-containing compounds (tCh), and myo-inositol (mI) in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) to capture the small metabolic changes between OCD patients and controls and between OCD patients with and without medication.

Methods: In total 46 patients with OCD and 46 healthy controls (HC) matched for age and sex were included in the study.

Cognitive impairment associated with Hodgkin's lymphoma and chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is a well-documented side effect of cancer treatment in various types of tumors including Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL). However, a longitudinal study evaluating the cognitive performance of HL patients has been completely lacking. The aim of the study was to determine the presence of CRCI in HL patients before, promptly after, and 6 months after treatment.

Impact of a Long Lockdown on Mental Health and the Role of Media Use: Web-Based Survey Study.

Background: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Czech population experienced a second lockdown lasting for about half a year, restricting free movement and imposing social isolation. However, it is not known whether the impact of this long lockdown resulted in habituation to the adverse situation or in the traumatization of the Czech population, and whether the media and specific media use contributed to these effects.

Objective: The aim of this study was to elucidate the effect of the long lockdown on the mental health of the Czech population, and the role of exposure to COVID-19 news reports and specific forms of media news use in mental health.

Cognitive Remediation in Virtual Environments for Patients with Schizophrenia and Major Depressive Disorder: A Feasibility Study.

Standard approaches to cognitive remediation can suffer from limited skill transferability to patients' life. Complex virtual environments (VEs) enable us to create ecologically valid remediation scenarios while preserving laboratory conditions. Nevertheless, the feasibility and efficacy of these programs in psychiatric patients are still unknown.

What is the future for immersive virtual reality in memory rehabilitation? A systematic review.

Background: A growing interest in non-pharmacological approaches aimed at cognitive rehabilitation and cognitive enhancement pointed towards the application of new technologies. The complex virtual reality (VR) presented using immersive devices has been considered a promising approach.

Objective: The article provides a systematic review of studies aimed at the efficacy of VR-based rehabilitation.

Mapping the Scene and Object Processing Networks by Intracranial EEG.

Human perception and cognition are based predominantly on visual information processing. Much of the information regarding neuronal correlates of visual processing has been derived from functional imaging studies, which have identified a variety of brain areas contributing to visual analysis, recognition, and processing of objects and scenes. However, only two of these areas, namely the parahippocampal place area (PPA) and the lateral occipital complex (LOC), were verified and further characterized by intracranial electroencephalogram (iEEG).

Fusiform Activity Distinguishes Between Subjects With Low and High Xenophobic Attitudes Toward Refugees.

This study analyzes how people's attitudes to the European refugee crisis (ERC) correspond to selected psychological state and trait measures and impact the neural processing of media images of refugees. From a large pool of respondents, who filled in an online xenophobia questionnaire, we selected two groups (total = 38) with the same socio-demographic background, but with opposite attitudes toward refugees. We found that a negative attitude toward refugees (high xenophobia - HX) was associated with a significantly higher conscientiousness score and with a higher trait aggression and hostility, but there was no group effect connected with empathy, fear, and anxiety measures.

Functional Connectivity Changes in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Correspond to Interference Control and Obsessions Severity.

Deficits in neurocognitive mechanisms such as inhibition control and cognitive flexibility have been suggested to mediate the symptoms in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). These mechanisms are proposedly controlled by the "affective" and "executive" orbitofronto-striato-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) circuits with well-documented morphological and functional alterations in OCD that are associated with OCD symptoms. The precuneus region has been suggested in OCD as another key structure associated with the mechanism of "thought-action fusion.

Personality reflection in the brain's intrinsic functional architecture remains elusive.

In the last years, there has been a considerable increase of research into the neuroimaging correlates of inter-individual temperament and character variability-an endeavour for which the term 'personality neuroscience' was coined. Among other neuroimaging modalities and approaches, substantial work focuses on functional connectivity in resting state (rs-FC) functional magnetic resonance imaging data. In the current paper, we set out to independently query the questions asked in a highly cited study that reported a range of functional connectivity correlates of personality dimensions assessed by the widely used 'Big Five' Personality Inventory.

Age-Related Differences With Immersive and Non-immersive Virtual Reality in Memory Assessment.

Memory decline associated with physiological aging and age-related neurological disorders has a direct impact on quality of life for seniors. With demographic aging, the assessment of cognitive functions is gaining importance, as early diagnosis can lead to more effective cognitive interventions. In comparison to classic paper-and-pencil approaches, virtual reality (VR) could offer an ecologically valid environment for assessment and remediation of cognitive deficits.

Cannabis-induced altered states of consciousness are associated with specific dynamic brain connectivity states.

Background: Cannabis, and specifically one of its active compounds delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in recreational doses, has a variety of effects on cognitive processes. Most studies employ resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging techniques to assess the stationary effects of cannabis and to-date one report addressed the impact of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on the dynamics of whole-brain functional connectivity.

Methods: Using a repeated-measures, within-subjects design, 19 healthy occasional cannabis users (smoking cannabis ⩽2 per week) underwent resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans.

Neural and neuronal discoordination in schizophrenia: From ensembles through networks to symptoms.

Despite the substantial knowledge accumulated by past research, the exact mechanisms of the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and causal treatments still remain unclear. Deficits of cognition and information processing in schizophrenia are today often viewed as the primary and core symptoms of this devastating disorder. These deficits likely result from disruptions in the coordination of neuronal and neural activity.

Do Personality Features Influence Our Intuitions of the Mind-Body Problem? A Pilot Study.

The elusive relationship between the mental domain and the physical brain, known as the mind-body problem, is still a hot topic of discussion among philosophers and neuroscientists. Rather than solving this problem, our pilot study addresses the question as to whether personality features could influence intuitions of the mind-body problem, or more precisely, whether it is possible to identify a person's intuitive inclinations toward dualism or materialism and their inclinations toward reduction of the mind to the brain. For the purposes of this pilot study, we developed a questionnaire, which employed several theories of analytic philosophy of the mind, in order to determine which category the participants would belong to.

Theoretical Modeling of Cognitive Dysfunction in Schizophrenia by Means of Errors and Corresponding Brain Networks.

The current evidence of cognitive disturbances and brain alterations in schizophrenia does not provide the plausible explanation of the underlying mechanisms. Neuropsychological studies outlined the cognitive profile of patients with schizophrenia, that embodied the substantial disturbances in perceptual and motor processes, spatial functions, verbal and non-verbal memory, processing speed and executive functioning. Standardized scoring in the majority of the neurocognitive tests renders the index scores or the achievement indicating the severity of the cognitive impairment rather than the actual performance by means of errors.

Could Prolonged Usage of GPS Navigation Implemented in Augmented Reality Smart Glasses Affect Hippocampal Functional Connectivity?

Background: Augmented reality (AR) glasses with GPS navigation represent the rapidly evolving technology which spares (and externalizes) navigational capacities. Regarding the expected everyday usage of this device, its impact on neuroplastic brain changes and navigation abilities should be evaluated.

Aims: This study aimed to assess possible changes in functional connectivity (FC) of hippocampus and other brain regions involved in spatial navigation.

Perception of direct vs. averted gaze in portrait paintings: An fMRI and eye-tracking study.

In this study, we use separate eye-tracking measurements and functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the neuronal and behavioral response to painted portraits with direct versus averted gaze. We further explored modulatory effects of several painting characteristics (premodern vs modern period, influence of style and pictorial context). In the fMRI experiment, we show that the direct versus averted gaze elicited increased activation in lingual and inferior occipital and the fusiform face area, as well as in several areas involved in attentional and social cognitive processes, especially the theory of mind: angular gyrus/temporo-parietal junction, inferior frontal gyrus and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

Acute systemic MK-801 induced functional uncoupling between hippocampal areas CA3 and CA1 with distant effect in the retrosplenial cortex.

The hippocampus and retrosplenial cortex are integrated within a higher-order cognitive circuit supporting relational (spatial, contextual, episodic) forms of learning and memory. Hippocampal place cells can coordinate multiple parallel representations in the same physical environment. Novel environment exploration triggers expression of immediate-early genes (IEGs) Arc and Homer1a in spatial context-specific ensembles of CA1 and CA3 neurons.

Comparison of Visuospatial and Verbal Abilities in First Psychotic Episode of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder: Impact on Global Functioning and Quality of Life.

Objectives: Deficit in visuospatial functions can influence both simple and complex daily life activities. Despite the fact that visuospatial deficit was reported in schizophrenia, research on visuospatial functions as an independent entity is limited. Our study aims to elucidate the impact of visuospatial deficit in comparison with verbal deficit on global functioning and quality of life in the first psychotic episode of schizophrenia spectrum disorder (FES).

Case report: Is verbal cognitive performance in bilingual neuropsychiatric patients test-language dependent?

Bilingualism (BL) is increasing around the world. Although BL has been shown to have a broad impact-both positive and negative-on language and cognitive functioning, cognitive models and standards are mainly based on monolinguals. If we take cognitive performance of monolinguals as a standard, then the performance of bilinguals might not be accurately estimated.

Bridging disparate symptoms of schizophrenia: a triple network dysfunction theory.

Schizophrenia is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder with variable symptomatology, traditionally divided into positive and negative symptoms, and cognitive deficits. However, the etiology of this disorder has yet to be fully understood. Recent findings suggest that alteration of the basic sense of self-awareness may be an essential distortion of schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

A virtual reality task based on animal research - spatial learning and memory in patients after the first episode of schizophrenia.

Objectives: Cognitive deficit is considered to be a characteristic feature of schizophrenia disorder. A similar cognitive dysfunction was demonstrated in animal models of schizophrenia. However, the poor comparability of methods used to assess cognition in animals and humans could be responsible for low predictive validity of current animal models.