Overgeneralization of autonomic defensive reactions in obesity.

Generalizing defensive responses to new stimuli resembling learned threats is an adaptive process within an ever-changing environment. However, evaluation mechanisms excessively biased toward generalization (i.e.

The Hedonic Experience Associated with a Gentle Touch Is Preserved in Women with Fibromyalgia.

: Although manual therapies can be used for pain alleviation in fibromyalgia, there is no clear evidence about the processing of gentle, affective touch in this clinical condition. In fact, persistent painful sensations and psychological factors may impact the hedonic experience of touch. This observational cross-sectional study compared the subjective experience of affective touch between 14 women with fibromyalgia (age range: 35-70; range of years of education: 5-13) and 14 pain-free women (age range: 18-30; range of years of education: 13-19).

Correction: Counterfactual thinking in psychiatric and neurological diseases: A scoping review.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

An exploratory study on counterfactual thinking in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Objectives: This study aimed at exploring (1) the motor and non-motor correlates of counterfactual thinking (CFT) abilities in non-demented amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients and (2) the ability of CFT measures to discriminate these patients from healthy controls (HCs) and patients with and without cognitive impairment.

Methods: = 110 ALS patients and = 51 HCs were administered two CFT tasks, whose sum, resulting in a CFT Index (CFTI), was addressed as the outcome. Patients further underwent an in-depth cognitive, behavioral, and motor-functional evaluation.

The perception of affective touch in women affected by obesity.

Introduction: Pleasant and comforting bodily contacts characterized intimate and affective interactions. Affective touch informs us about others' emotions and intentions, sustains intimacy and closeness, protecting from loneliness and psychological distress. Previous evidence points to an altered experience of affective touch in clinical populations reporting interpersonal difficulties.

Italian validation of the (CORE-10): a short measure for routine outcome monitoring in clinical practice.

The customization of the intervention using patient feedback is an evidence-based practice aimed at the continuous evaluation, during treatment, of the patient's change at a clinical level. There are few easy-to-use tools for common assessment of psychological distress, designed to be used for screening and during treatment to monitor progress. The Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-10 (CORE-10) is definitely one of them.

Short-Term Benefits of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Treatment on Cognition in the Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome: A Retrospective Study.

The Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) significantly impacts cognitive functioning. The prolonged use (more than 3 months) of ventilotherapy with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) seems to have positive effects in restoring cognitive difficulties. However, there is poor evidence about its possible short-term effect.

Affective touch in anorexia nervosa: Exploring the role of social anhedonia and lifespan experiences.

Background: The pleasantness of a gentle and slow, namely affective, touch experienced in interpersonal interactions motivates social closeness. In anorexia nervosa (AN), independent evidence suggests lower pleasantness of affective touch, as well as social withdrawal. We aim to probe both the experience of affective touch and its possible association with social anhedonia and lifespan experiences of affective bodily contacts in AN.

Behind the Scenes of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: Psychological Predictors in an Italian Community Sample.

Psychological variables may be crucial in favoring or discouraging health-related behaviors, including vaccine acceptance. This study aimed to extend the previous literature by outlining the psychological profile associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in a sample of Italian citizens. Between April and May 2021, 1122 Italian volunteers completed a web survey on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance, also including several self-reported psychological measures.

Gaze-Contingent Eye-Tracking Training in Brain Disorders: A Systematic Review.

Eye movement abnormalities in association with cognitive and emotional deficits have been described in neurological, neurodevelopmental, and psychiatric disorders. Eye-Tracking (ET) techniques could therefore enhance cognitive interventions by contingently providing feedback to patients. Since no consensus has been reached thus far on this approach, this study aimed at systematically reviewing the current evidence.

The Effect of Surgical Masks on the Featural and Configural Processing of Emotions.

From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of surgical masks became widespread. However, they occlude an important part of the face and make it difficult to decode and interpret other people's emotions. To clarify the effect of surgical masks on configural and featural processing, participants completed a facial emotion recognition task to discriminate between happy, sad, angry, and neutral faces.

Emotional Processing and Experience in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Systematic and Critical Review.

Even though increasing literature describes changes in emotional processing in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), efforts to summarize relevant findings are lacking in the field. A systematic literature review was performed to provide a critical and up-to-date account of emotional abilities in ALS. References were identified by searches of PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus (1980-2021, English literature), with the following key terms: ("Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis" or "Primary Lateral Sclerosis" or "Motor Neuron") and "Emotion*" and ("Processing" or "Attribution" or "Elaboration" or "Perception" or "Recognition").

Resilience, Psychological Well-Being and Daily Functioning Following Hospitalization for Respiratory Distress Due to SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has affected people's psychological well-being, and hospitalized patients could face an even greater risk of psychological distress. We aimed to study resilience in recovered COVID-19 patients after hospital discharge. We recruited 50 patients (38 males, aged 28-77) who were hospitalized for COVID-19 between March and April 2020.

Body size estimation in obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Previous research about body size estimation in obesity reported heterogeneous results. This might be related to the fact that the tasks adopted explored different body representations. Classifying the previous studies according to the specific body representation probed (i.

Attachment, Personality and Locus of Control: Psychological Determinants of Risk Perception and Preventive Behaviors for COVID-19.

The understanding of factors that shape risk perception is crucial to modulate the perceived threat and, in turn, to promote optimal engagement in preventive actions. An on-line, cross-sectional, survey was conducted in Italy between May and July 2020 to investigate risk perception for COVID-19 and the adoption of preventive measures. A total of 964 volunteers participated in the study.

It won't happen to me! Psychosocial factors influencing risk perception for respiratory infectious diseases: A scoping review.

Understanding the determinants of risk perception for COVID-19 might help to promote self-preventive behaviours. This scoping review aimed to map the extent, variety and characteristics of the evidence on the possible determinants of risk perception for COVID-like diseases. PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science were searched for original, peer-reviewed English-written articles published up to March 2020 and investigating risk perception determinants for respiratory infectious diseases in adults.

Compensating for verbal-motor deficits in neuropsychological assessment in movement disorders: sensitivity and specificity of the ECAS in Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases.

Introduction: The study aims at investigating psychometric properties of the Edinburgh cognitive and behavioural ALS screen (ECAS) in Parkinson's (PD) and Huntington's (HD) diseases. The sensitivity and specificity of the ECAS in highlighting HD and PD cognitive-behavioural features and in differentiating between these two populations and from healthy controls (HC) were evaluated. Moreover, correlations between the ECAS and traditional cognitive measures, together with core clinical features, were analysed.

Counterfactual thinking in psychiatric and neurological diseases: A scoping review.

Background: The ability to simulate alternatives to factual events is called counterfactual thinking (CFT) and it is involved both in emotional and behavioral regulation. CFT deficits have been reported in psychiatric and neurological conditions, possibly contributing to patients' difficulties in modulating behaviors and affections. Thus, acknowledging the presence and possible consequences of CFT impairments might be essential for optimal clinical management.

Drawing lines and circles in Parkinson's Disease: The lateralized symptoms interfere with the movements of the unaffected hand.

Introduction: Evidence about altered bimanual coordination has been reported in Parkinson's Disease. However, no previous study has explored such an alteration quantifying the interference effect that the trajectory of each hand might impose on the other one. Thus, in the present research, we applied the traditional Circles-Lines Coupling Task, which allowed assessing the motor coordination of the two hands, in the context of Parkinson's Disease.

Is bimanual interference affected in the case of a central proprioceptive loss? New insight from a left-brain-damaged single-case study.

Objective: It was suggested that the might be linked to motor intentionality and planning, which are the top-down components of motor execution. However, previous results in pathological and healthy individuals have also underlined the pivotal role of bottom-up sensorimotor information.

Method: In this single-case study, the Circles-Lines Coupling Task was administered to a left-parietal-brain-damaged individual.

Reduced Temporal Sensitivity in Obesity: Evidence From a Simultaneity Judgement Task.

Preliminary evidence showed a reduced temporal sensitivity (i.e., larger temporal binding window) to audiovisual asynchrony in obesity.

The Virtual Hand Illusion in Obesity: Dissociation Between Multisensory Interactions Supporting Illusory Experience and Self-Location Recalibration.

The Rubber Hand Illusion (RHI) is used widely to investigate the multisensory integration mechanisms that support bodily self-consciousness and, more specifically, body ownership and self-location. It has been reported that individuals affected by obesity show anomalous multisensory integration processes. We propose that these obesity-induced changes could lead to an unusual susceptibility to the RHI and anomalous bodily self-experience.

Mental representation of the body in action in Parkinson's disease.

Mixed findings characterize studies in Parkinson's disease (PD): some studies indicate a relationship between physical impairments and the ability to mentally represent the body, while others suggest spared abilities for this cognitive function. To clarify the matter, in the present study we explored the mental representations of the body in action in the same PD patients, taking also into account lateralization of symptoms and visual imagery skills. 10 PD patients with left- (lPD), 10 with right (rPD) lateralized symptoms (lPD), and 20 matched healthy controls have been recruited for the study.