Psychophysiological Reactivity in Couples During a Marital Interaction Task

Social neuropsychology of epilepsy in the digital age: A narrative review on challenges and opportunities

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Social cognition (e.g., theory of mind and emotion recognition) is frequently impaired in people with epilepsy (PWE) and plays a critical role in social functioning. The impact of the digital revolution on the social neuropsychology of PWE remains underexplored, while clinical neuropsychology has been slow to incorporate technological advancements. This study aims to (a) evaluate the impact of digital communication on social cognition and functioning in PWE, and (b) explore the potential of digital tools to enhance their assessment.

METHODS

Given the limited and fragmented nature of the available research, a non-systematic, exploratory, narrative approach was adopted. Literature relevant to the interplay of digital communication, social cognition, and social functioning in PWE was synthesized to identify key areas for future research.

RESULTS

Digital communication differs from face-to-face interaction at phenomenological and neural levels; however, research on its effects in PWE remains scarce. Traditional social cognition assessments suffer from low ecological validity. Technological innovations, involving second-person paradigms and dynamic multimodal assessments, address these limitations. Digital biomarkers enable high-frequency, longitudinal data collection of intra-individual variability.

CONCLUSION

Digital tools offer the opportunity to improve the assessment of social cognition and functioning in PWE, especially regarding ecological validity, by enabling real-world, interactive, dynamic, and multimodal paradigms. Digital social cognitive proxies (e.g., markers of interactional synchrony) may help capture social cognition and functioning in highly dynamic disease trajectories in PWE more accurately. The interplay between social cognition, social functioning, and digital communication in PWE offers research opportunities into their complex and dynamic relationships.

Silence between words: Is solitude important for relatedness?

Chronic loneliness is a risk factor for physical and health problems, in part due to dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathetic nervous system. In contrast, temporary moments of positive solitude (passing good times alone and not feeling lonely) appear to have positive effects on mental health, social life, and creativity, and seems to be a buffer against loneliness. Herein, three ways of how solitude may have positive effects on health and relatedness are discussed, namely effects on enhancement of mind-wandering, interoceptive awareness, and spirituality. Solitude may facilitate (1) activation of the default mode network (DMN) underlying mind-wandering including daydreaming about other people; (2) activation of brain areas supporting interoceptive awareness; (3) deactivation of prefrontal cortex, or deactivation and decreased connectivity of the DMN, giving raise to susceptibility to spiritual experiences. The capacity to handle and enjoy solitude is a developmental process that may be difficult for many persons. Craving for social connections and external stimulation with digital technologies (e.g., internet, smartphones, social media) might be interfering with the development of the capacity for solitude and thereby increasing loneliness; this might be partly due to impaired interoceptive awareness and impaired functional mind-wandering (common in solitude). Congruently, overuse of digital technologies was associated with reduced activity, and reduced gray matter volume and density, in brain areas supporting interoceptive awareness, as well as with decreased connectivity of the DMN supporting creative insights. Solitude has been a relatively dismissed topic in neuroscience and health sciences, but a growing number of studies is highlighting its importance for well-being.

Data mining techniques in psychotherapy: applications for studying therapeutic alliance

Therapeutic Alliance (TA) has been consistently reported as a robust predictor of therapy outcomes and is one of the most investigated therapy relational factors. Research on therapists' and clients' contributions to the alliance development and the alliance-outcome relationship had shown mixed results. The relation of the therapist's and client's biological markers with the alliance is an important and under-investigated topic. Taking advantage of data mining techniques, this exploratory study aimed to investigate the role of different therapist and client factors, including heart rate (HR) and electrodermal activity (EDA), in relation to TA. Twenty-two dyads with 6 therapists and 22 clients participated in the study. The Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) was used to evaluate the client's and therapist's perception of the alliance at the end of each session and through the therapy processes. The Cross-Industry Standard Process for Data Mining (CRISP-DM) was used to explore patterns that may contribute to TA. Machine Learning (ML) models have been employed to provide insights into the predictors and correlates of TA. Our results showed that Linear Regression (LR) was the best technique for predicting the therapist's TA, with client "Diagnostic" and therapy "Termination" being identified as significant predictors of the therapist's TA. In addition, for clients' TA, the Random Forest (RF) was shown to have the best performance. The therapist's TA and therapy "Outcome" were observed as the most influential predictors for the client's TA. In addition, while the Heart Rate (therapist) was negatively associated with the therapist's TA, EDA in the client was a physiological indicator related to the client's TA. Overall, these findings can assist in identifying key factors that therapists should focus on to enhance the quality of therapeutic alliance. Results are discussed in terms of their consistency with empirical literature, innovative and interdisciplinary research on the therapeutic alliance field, and, in particular, the use of the Data Mining approach in a psychotherapy context.

Psychological distress in sons as resident carers of older mothers in Japan

In Japan, care-giving sons are noted for their high rates of abuse of care recipients. This study revealed, for the first time, the difficulties unique to sons caring for their mothers. All sons used long-term care insurance services. However, they provided care that could not be covered by such public services while harbouring psychological distress. In this study, we interviewed 13 sons living with their older mothers as the primary carer and conducted a thematic analysis focusing on their psychological distress. As part of our study findings, we have identified nine themes during analysis: uncomfortable feelings that cannot be mitigated as a son; feeling of futility in being unrecognised as a carer; fear of losing something important; a strong sense of responsibility for one's mother's life; disappointment in being unable to obtain understanding and co-operation from one's siblings in providing care; irritation and anger towards one's wayward mother; guilt about treatment of one's mother; sense of exhaustion due to demanding care; and experiencing hopelessness and despair. Thus, it is important to understand what psychological distress carers experience and to consider possible approaches for their support. The study findings provide suggestions for long-term care support in regions, such as East Asia, where the numbers of son carers are increasing inevitably owing to declining birth rates and ageing population, as in Japan.

Are Psychophysiological Wearables Suitable for Comparing Pedagogical Teaching Approaches?

This study describes how wearable devices can be used in elementary schools to compare some aspects of different teaching approaches. Upper arm wearables were used as an objective tool to compare three approaches when teaching science: (i) classical frontal teaching, (ii) embodied (kinesthetic) teaching, and (iii) a distance teaching approach. Using the wearables, the approaches were compared in terms of their impact on students' psychological arousal and perceived well-being. In addition, short-term and long-term knowledge gain and physiological synchronization between teacher and students during the lecture were assessed. A synchronization index was defined to estimate the degree of physiological synchronization. During distance teaching, by means of measurements with wearables, students were significantly less physically active and significantly less psychologically aroused. Embodied teaching allowed significantly higher physical activation than during the other two approaches. The synchronization index for all three teaching approaches was positive with the highest values for distance and frontal teaching. Moreover, knowledge gain immediately after the embodied lessons was higher than after frontal lessons. No significant differences in the long-term knowledge retention between the three different teaching methods were found. This pilot study proved that wearables are a useful tool in research in the field of education and have the potential to contribute to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms involved in learning, even in complex environments such as an elementary school classroom.

A framework for incorporating physical activity in treatment: Competencies, guidelines, and implications for family therapists

Physical activity can have a profound impact on the cognitive, emotional, and social aspects of our clients' lives, and can even boost and sustain therapy outcomes. And yet, family therapists may not be trained or educated in the importance of physical activity nor how to assess, educate, and collaborate with health professionals to incorporate physical activity in treatment. As the evidence grows on the connection between physical activity and biopsychosocial functioning and more family therapists enter medical and healthcare settings, a framework for physical activity competencies is needed. As such, the purpose of this conceptual and empirical review paper is to (a) review the important brain-boosting benefits of physical activity for mental, cognitive, and social health, (b) provide a framework for the domains for family therapists for incorporating exercise in assessment and treatment, and finally, (c) outline recommendations for practice, education and supervision, and research for family therapists.

Heart Rate Variability and Erectile Function in Younger Men: A Pilot Study

Erectile dysfunction (ED) in younger men is an increasing concern. In middle aged and older men, ED was related to lower resting heart rate variability (HRV), but research in younger men is lacking. The present study examined, in a nonclinical sample of 105 men between 18 and 39 years, the association of ED with several parameters of resting HRV. Scores of the 5-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) below 22 were considered as indicating ED. Eighteen men (17.1%) reported ED (mild in 16, mild to moderate in 2). Welch's tests revealed that ED was associated with lower low-frequency power (LF), lower high-frequency power (HF), lower standard deviation of interbeat intervals, and lower standard deviation of the heart rate, which is influenced by both sympathetic and parasympathetic activity. After removing outliers, ED was unrelated to HF. In younger men, erections might be facilitated by a combination of higher parasympathetic tone and relatively higher sympathetic tone in the heart, as indicated by LF and greater standard deviation of the heart rate, a largely overlooked parameter in HRV research.

Interplay Between the Salience and the Default Mode Network in a Social-Cognitive Task Toward a Close Other

Social cognition relies on two main subsystems to construct the understanding of others, which are sustained by different social brain networks. One of these social networks is the default mode network (DMN) associated with the socio-cognitive subsystem (i.e., mentalizing), and the other is the salience network (SN) associated with the socio-affective route (i.e., empathy). The DMN and the SN are well-known resting state networks that seem to constitute a baseline for the performance of social tasks. We aimed to investigate both networks' functional connectivity (FC) pattern in the transition from resting state to social task performance. A sample of 38 participants involved in a monogamous romantic relationship completed a questionnaire of dyadic empathy and underwent an fMRI protocol that included a resting state acquisition followed by a task in which subjects watched emotional videos of their romantic partner and elaborated on their partner's (Other condition) or on their own experience (Self condition). Independent component and ROI-to-ROI correlation analysis were used to assess alterations in task-independent (Rest condition) and task-dependent (Self and Other conditions) FC. We found that the spatial FC maps of the DMN and SN evidenced the traditional regions associated with these networks in the three conditions. Anterior and posterior DMN regions exhibited increased FC during the social task performance compared to resting state. The Other condition revealed a more limited SN's connectivity in comparison to the Self and Rest conditions. The results revealed an interplay between the main nodes of the DMN and the core regions of the SN, particularly evident in the Self and Other conditions.

Changes in the Effective Connectivity of the Social Brain When Making Inferences About Close Others vs. the Self

Previous research showed that the ability to make inferences about our own and other’s mental states rely on common brain pathways; particularly in the case of close relationships (e.g., romantic relationships). Despite the evidence for shared neural representations of self and others, less is known about the distributed processing within these common neural networks, particularly whether there are specific patterns of internode communication when focusing on other vs. self. This study aimed to characterize context-sensitive coupling among social brain regions involved in self and other understanding. Participants underwent an fMRI while watching emotional video vignettes of their romantic partner and elaborated on their partner’s (other-condition) or on their own experience (self-condition). We used dynamic causal modeling (DCM) to quantify the associated changes in effective connectivity (EC) in a network of brain regions involved in social cognition including the temporoparietal junction (TPJ), the posterior cingulate (PCC)/precuneus and middle temporal gyrus (MTG). DCM revealed that: the PCC plays a central coordination role within this network, the bilateral MTG receives driving inputs from other nodes suggesting that social information is first processed in language comprehension regions; the right TPJ evidenced a selective increase in its sensitivity when focusing on the other’s experience, relative to focusing on oneself.

Sex differences in the psychophysiological response to an intergroup conflict

Conflict induces psychophysiological responses, but less is known about responses to intergroup conflict. Intergroup relationships activate social processes, adding complexity to people's physiological responses. This study analyzes the psychophysiological responses to intergroup conflict considering sex differences. Thus, 150 young people were distributed in 50 groups in two conditions (conflict vs. non-conflict). Conflict was created in the interaction between two groups (three people each) in the laboratory. Their responses were compared to a control group. Mood, heart rate variability, cortisol, and testosterone were measured. Results showed that intergroup conflict induced a less pronounced decrease in negative and positive mood, and a reduction in parasympathetic activity (RMSSD of IBI). Moreover, women in conflict showed lower testosterone levels than men in conflict and control women. Finally, women's conflict perception correlated with their psychophysiological response. Results suggest that intergroup conflict induces emotional, cardiovascular, and endocrine responses, and that men and women interpret conflict differently.

Dyadic Wind of Change: New Approaches to Improve Biopsychological Stress Regulation in Patients with Dementia and Their Spousal Caregivers

Patients with dementia (PWD) and their caregivers experience long-term stress, leading to accelerated disease progression and to stress-related morbidity. Previous research focused on intrapersonal biopsychological stress responses. Quite recently, dyadic interrelations between caregivers and PWD and their effects on stress and caregiver burden have received more attention, giving rise to dyadic intervention studies. However, while it is of importance to consider both the patient and the caregiver from a dyadic point of view, evaluation of these dyadic interventions considering underlying mechanisms is still lacking. We therefore extend the current literature on dyadic processes between PWD and caregivers by transferring the knowledge about underlying stress-modulating dyadic processes in healthy couples to the dementia patient-caregiver constellation. By targeting dyadic stress co-regulation between PWD and caregivers, we expect significant therapeutic effectiveness. The aims of this article are two-fold: 1) We aim to provide a rationale for incremental benefits of considering dyadic processes among caregivers and PWD by means of elucidating underlying mechanisms and 2) we aim to emphasize the need to evaluate these underlying mechanisms by means of objective physiological stress markers in both PWD and caregivers. Knowledge on these underlying mechanisms will ultimately help developing dyadic interventions tailored to the needs of both PWD and their caregivers.

Emotional Induction Through Music: Measuring Cardiac and Electrodermal Responses of Emotional States and Their Persistence

Emotional inductions through music (EIM) procedures have proved to evoke genuine emotions according to neuroimaging studies. However, the persistence of the emotional states after being exposed to musical excerpts remains mostly unexplored. This study aimed to investigate the curve of emotional state generated by an EIM paradigm over a 6-min recovery phase, monitored with valence and arousal self-report measures, and physiological parameters. Stimuli consisted of a neutral and two valenced musical excerpts previously reported to generate such states. The neutral excerpt was composed in a minimalist form characterized by simple sonorities, rhythms, and patterns; the positive excerpt had fast tempo and major tones, and the negative one was slower in tempo and had minor tone. Results of 24 participants revealed that positive and negative EIM effectively induced self-reported happy and sad emotions and elicited higher skin conductance levels (SCL). Although self-reported adjectives describing evoked-emotions states changed to neutral after 2 min in the recovery phase, the SCL data suggest longer lasting arousal for both positive and negative emotional states. The implications of these outcomes for musical research are discussed.