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Ambrosanio M, Troisi Lopez E, Polverino A, Minino R, Cipriano L, Vettoliere A, Granata C, Mandolesi L, Curcio G, Sorrentino G, Sorrentino P. The Effect of Sleep Deprivation on Brain Fingerprint Stability: A Magnetoencephalography Validation Study. Sensors (Basel) 2024; 24:2301. [PMID: 38610512 PMCID: PMC11014248 DOI: 10.3390/s24072301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2024] [Revised: 03/29/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024]
Abstract
This study examined the stability of the functional connectome (FC) over time using fingerprint analysis in healthy subjects. Additionally, it investigated how a specific stressor, namely sleep deprivation, affects individuals' differentiation. To this aim, 23 healthy young adults underwent magnetoencephalography (MEG) recording at three equally spaced time points within 24 h: 9 a.m., 9 p.m., and 9 a.m. of the following day after a night of sleep deprivation. The findings indicate that the differentiation was stable from morning to evening in all frequency bands, except in the delta band. However, after a night of sleep deprivation, the stability of the FCs was reduced. Consistent with this observation, the reduced differentiation following sleep deprivation was found to be negatively correlated with the effort perceived by participants in completing the cognitive task during sleep deprivation. This correlation suggests that individuals with less stable connectomes following sleep deprivation experienced greater difficulty in performing cognitive tasks, reflecting increased effort.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Ambrosanio
- Department of Economics, Law, Cybersecurity and Sports Sciences (DiSEGIM), University of Naples “Parthenope”, 80035 Nola, Italy
| | - Emahnuel Troisi Lopez
- Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, National Research Council, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy
| | - Arianna Polverino
- Institute of Diagnosis and Treatment Hermitage Capodimonte, 80145 Naples, Italy
| | - Roberta Minino
- Department of Medical, Movement and Wellness Sciences (DiSMMEB), University of Naples “Parthenope”, 80133 Naples, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Cipriano
- Department of Medical, Movement and Wellness Sciences (DiSMMEB), University of Naples “Parthenope”, 80133 Naples, Italy
| | - Antonio Vettoliere
- Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, National Research Council, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy
| | - Carmine Granata
- Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, National Research Council, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, 80133 Naples, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Curcio
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Sorrentino
- Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, National Research Council, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy
- Institute of Diagnosis and Treatment Hermitage Capodimonte, 80145 Naples, Italy
- Department of Medical, Movement and Wellness Sciences (DiSMMEB), University of Naples “Parthenope”, 80133 Naples, Italy
| | - Pierpaolo Sorrentino
- Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, National Research Council, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy
- Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes, Aix-Marseille Université, 13005 Marseille, France
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
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2
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Mandolesi L, Passarello N, Lucidi F. Differences in motor imagery abilities in active and sedentary individuals: new insights from backward-walking imagination. Psychol Res 2024; 88:499-508. [PMID: 37773349 PMCID: PMC10858124 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-023-01876-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 10/01/2023]
Abstract
Evidence has shown that imagining a complex action, like backward-walking, helps improve the execution of the gesture. Despite this, studies in sport psychology have provided heterogeneous results on the use of motor imagery (MI) to improve performance. We aimed to fill this gap by analyzing how sport experience influences backward-walking MI processes in a sample of young women (n = 41, mean age = 21 ± 2.2) divided into Active and Sedentary. All participants were allocated to two randomized mental chronometric tasks, in which they had first to imagine and then execute forward-walking (FW) and backward-walking (BW). The Isochrony Efficiency measured the difference between imagination and execution times in both conditions (FW and BW). Moreover, we analyzed the ability to vividly imagine FW and BW within various perspectives in both groups through the Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire (VMIQ-2). Findings showed that active individuals performed better in the BW imagery task when compared to sedentary ones (F1,39 = 4.98; p = 0.03*), while there were no differences between groups in the FW imagery task (F1,39 = .10; p = 0.75). Further, VMIQ-2 had evidenced that the ability to imagine backward is influenced by perspective used. Specifically, the use of internal visual imagery (IVI) led to worse Isochrony Efficiency (t32,25 = 2.16; p = 0.04*), while the use of kinesthetic imagery (KIN) led to better Isochrony Efficiency (t32,25 = - 2.34; p = 0.03*). These results suggest a close relation between motor experience and complex motor imagery processes and open new insights for studying these mental processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities, "Federico II" University of Naples, Via Porta Di Massa, 1, 80133, Naples, Italy.
| | - Noemi Passarello
- Department of Humanities, "Federico II" University of Naples, Via Porta Di Massa, 1, 80133, Naples, Italy
| | - Fabio Lucidi
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Via dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy
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3
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Gelfo F, Petrosini L, Mandolesi L, Landolfo E, Caruso G, Balsamo F, Bonarota S, Bozzali M, Caltagirone C, Serra L. Land/Water Aerobic Activities: Two Sides of the Same Coin. A Comparative Analysis on the Effects in Cognition of Alzheimer's Disease. J Alzheimers Dis 2024; 98:1181-1197. [PMID: 38552114 DOI: 10.3233/jad-231279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
Evidence in the literature indicates that aerobic physical activity may have a protective role in aging pathologies. However, it has not been clarified whether different types of aerobic exercise produce different effects. In particular, these potential differences have not been explored in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The present narrative review has the specific aim of evaluating whether land (walking/running) and water (swimming) aerobic activities exert different effects on cognitive functions and neural correlates in AD patients. In particular, the investigation is carried out by comparing the evidence provided from studies on AD animal models and on patients. On the whole, we ascertained that both human and animal studies documented beneficial effects of land and water aerobic exercise on cognition in AD. Also, the modulation of numerous biological processes is documented in association with structural modifications. Remarkably, we found that aerobic activity appears to improve cognition per se, independently from the specific kind of exercise performed. Aerobic exercise promotes brain functioning through the secretion of molecular factors from skeletal muscles and liver. These molecular factors stimulate neuroplasticity, reduce neuroinflammation, and inhibit neurodegenerative processes leading to amyloid-β accumulation. Additionally, aerobic exercise improves mitochondrial activity, reducing oxidative stress and enhancing ATP production. Aerobic activities protect against AD, but implementing exercise protocols for patients is challenging. We suggest that health policies and specialized institutions should direct increasing attention on aerobic activity as lifestyle modifiable factor for successful aging and age-related conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Gelfo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
- Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities, Federico II University of Naples, Naples, Italy
| | | | | | - Francesca Balsamo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
- Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, Rome, Italy
| | - Sabrina Bonarota
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
- Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Marco Bozzali
- Department of Neuroscience 'Rita Levi Montalcini', University of Torino, Turin, Italy
- Department of Neuroscience, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
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D'Aurizio G, Di Pompeo I, Passarello N, Troisi Lopez E, Sorrentino P, Curcio G, Mandolesi L. Visuospatial working memory abilities in children analyzed by the bricks game task (BGT). Psychol Res 2023; 87:2111-2119. [PMID: 36800010 PMCID: PMC9936130 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-023-01803-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Abstract
The study of the development of visuospatial memory processes is useful for devising personalized educational interventions as well as for understanding the changes in cognitive functioning in an era characterized by technological progress. The present research is aimed at investigating spatial working memory ability in children that attended the first three years of primary school by means of the Brick Game Task (BGT), a novel visuospatial working memory test. BGT is a small-scale ecological test inspired by behavioral walking tasks with nine white bricks in different spatial configurations as well as to Corsi Block-Tapping test.228 Italian children (121 F; mean age: 7.22 ± 1.18) were assigned to three groups based on the primary school class attended: Group 1 (N = 85; 40 F; mean age 6.18 ± .5), Group 2 (N = 61; 36 F; mean age 7.2 ± .83), and Group 3 (N = 82; 44 F; mean age 8.32 ± .94). All participants were asked to complete the Digit Span test, the Corsi Block-Tapping test, and to explore the three spatial configurations of the BGT with the form of Matrix, M-BGT, Cluster, CL-BGT, Cross, CR-BGT.MANOVA revealed a main significant effect for Group (F12,434 = 15.06; p < .0001) indicating that the group of older obtained a better global executive performance than 1 and 2 groups. Multiple linear regression indicated that Corsi Block-Tapping test performance and Age significantly predicted the M-BGT score. Moreover, Corsi Block-Tapping test and Digit Span significantly predicted the CL-BGT performance, showing how a higher score results in a better CL- BGT performance. Finally, Corsi Block-Tapping test, Digit Span, and Age were positively associated with the CR- BGT performance. The present findings evidenced that novel BGT is a sensible visuospatial working memory task suggesting thus its use to assess the children's executive performance in ecological way. These results open to the development of personalized educational interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- G D'Aurizio
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, Via Vetoio - Loc. Coppito, 67100, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - I Di Pompeo
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, Via Vetoio - Loc. Coppito, 67100, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - N Passarello
- Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - E Troisi Lopez
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, University of Naples "Parthenope", Naples, Italy
| | - P Sorrentino
- Institut de Neurosciences Des Systemès, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - G Curcio
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, Via Vetoio - Loc. Coppito, 67100, L'Aquila, Italy.
| | - L Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
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Troisi Lopez E, Liparoti M, Passarello N, Lucidi F, Mandolesi L. Multimodal Physical Exercise Affects Visuo-Spatial Working Memory: Preliminary Evidence from a Descriptive Study on Tai-Chi Practitioners and Runners. Brain Sci 2023; 13:1400. [PMID: 37891768 PMCID: PMC10605525 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13101400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2023] [Revised: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent evidence has shown a relationship between physical exercise (PE) and cognitive functioning. However, it is unknown if unimodal and multimodal modalities of PE affect cognitive abilities in different ways. To fill this gap, we analyzed the effects of unimodal PE (running) and multimodal PE (Tai Chi) on specific cognitive abilities. A sample of 33 participants (mean age = 52.6 ± 7.2) divided into eleven runners, eleven Tai Chi practitioners, and eleven age-matched sedentary individuals were subjected to a neuropsychological tests battery to assess shifting and problem solving abilities (Rule Shift Cards, BADS-RS, and Key Search tasks), verbal fluency (semantic and phonemic verbal fluency tasks), verbal memory (Rey's 15 words test), visuo-spatial working memory (Corsi test), and global cognitive functioning (clock-drawing test). The results showed significantly higher BADS-RS scores in runners and Tai Chi practitioners in comparison to the sedentary participants, thus evidencing improved shifting abilities for active individuals. Interestingly, post hoc analysis showed significantly higher span scores of Corsi test only in Tai Chi practitioners as compared to sedentary participants, suggesting how multimodal PE facilitates the visuo-spatial working memory processes. Although preliminary, our descriptive study indicates that the type of PE could modulate specific cognitive domains, even if the practice of motor activity favors a global cognitive improvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emahnuel Troisi Lopez
- Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, National Research Council, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy;
| | - Marianna Liparoti
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University of Roma “Sapienza”, 00185 Rome, Italy; (M.L.); (F.L.)
| | - Noemi Passarello
- Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, 80138 Naples, Italy;
| | - Fabio Lucidi
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University of Roma “Sapienza”, 00185 Rome, Italy; (M.L.); (F.L.)
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, 80138 Naples, Italy;
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6
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D’Aurizio G, Tosti B, Tempesta D, Avvantaggiato L, Splendiani A, Sacco S, Mandolesi L, Curcio G. Reduced Sleep Amount and Increased Sleep Latency in Prisoners: A Pilot Study in an Italian Jail. Brain Sci 2023; 13:brainsci13010132. [PMID: 36672113 PMCID: PMC9856642 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13010132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2022] [Revised: 01/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2023] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Several previous subjective- or interview-based reports indicated a reduced sleep quality and quantity as well as a great incidence of insomnia troubles in prisoners living in jail. The aim of the present study is to assess the quality and quantity of sleep by using, for the first time, actigraphy. A total of thirty male prisoners and thirty male control volunteers accepted to participate in this study: to this end, they filled in some questionnaires to assess state and trait anxiety, depression, sleep quality, and insomnia severity. In addition, their sleep was actigraphically recorded for seven consecutive nights. The main results indicate a worsened mood in prisoners than in controls (with increased anxiety and depression) as well as a subjectively reported low sleep quality (higher scores at PSQI) with a clinical presence of insomnia complaints (as indicated by ISI scores). Moreover, objectively assessed sleep by means of actigraphy exhibited some worrying results, namely a longer sleep onset and a reduced total sleep time was seen in prisoners with respect to controls. The results have been discussed in the light of potential effects of sleep quality and quantity as well as of mood symptoms on cognitive functioning, as well as with respect to prisoners' health and well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia D’Aurizio
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
| | - Beatrice Tosti
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
| | - Daniela Tempesta
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
| | - Lucia Avvantaggiato
- Department of Penitentiary Administration, Ministry of Justice, 00164 Roma, Italy
| | - Alessandra Splendiani
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
| | - Simona Sacco
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, 80138 Naples, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Curcio
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-(0862)-433407
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7
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Serra L, Petrosini L, Mandolesi L, Bonarota S, Balsamo F, Bozzali M, Caltagirone C, Gelfo F. Walking, Running, Swimming: An Analysis of the Effects of Land and Water Aerobic Exercises on Cognitive Functions and Neural Substrates. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022; 19:16310. [PMID: 36498383 PMCID: PMC9740550 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192316310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
In the brain and cognitive reserves framework, aerobic exercise is considered as a protective lifestyle factor able to induce positive effects on both brain structure and function. However, specific aspects of such a beneficial effect still need to be completely clarified. To this aim, the present narrative review focused on the potential brain/cognitive/neural reserve-construction mechanisms triggered by different aerobic exercise types (land activities; such as walking or running; vs. water activities; such as swimming), by considering human and animal studies on healthy subjects over the entire lifespan. The literature search was conducted in PubMed database. The studies analyzed here indicated that all the considered kinds of activities exert a beneficial effect on cognitive/behavioral functions and on the underlying brain neurobiological processes. In particular, the main effects observed involve the cognitive domains of memory and executive functions. These effects appear related to structural and functional changes mainly involving the fronto-hippocampal axis. The present review supports the requirement of further studies that investigate more specifically and systematically the effects of each type of aerobic activity, as a basis to plan more effective and personalized interventions on individuals as well as prevention and healthy promotion policies for the general population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Serra
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
| | | | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities, Federico II University of Naples, 80138 Naples, Italy
| | - Sabrina Bonarota
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University of Rome, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Balsamo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, 00193 Rome, Italy
| | - Marco Bozzali
- Department of Neuroscience ‘Rita Levi Montalcini’, University of Torino, 10126 Turin, Italy
- Department of Neuroscience, Brighton & Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RY, UK
| | | | - Francesca Gelfo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, 00193 Rome, Italy
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Passarello N, Liparoti M, Padulo C, Sorrentino P, Alivernini F, Fairfield B, Lucidi F, Mandolesi L. Motor Imagery as a Key Factor for Healthy Ageing: A Review of New Insights and Techniques. Brain Sci 2022; 12:1492. [PMID: 36358418 PMCID: PMC9688582 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12111492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Revised: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 11/01/2022] [Indexed: 10/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Motor imagery (MI) describes a dynamic cognitive process where a movement is mentally simulated without taking place and holds potential as a means of stimulating motor learning and regaining motor skills. There is growing evidence that imagined and executed actions have common neural circuitry. Since MI counteracts cognitive and motor decline, a growing interest in MI-based mental exercise for older individuals has emerged. Here we review the last decade's scientific literature on age-related changes in MI skills. Heterogeneity in the experimental protocols, as well as the use of populations with unrepresentative age, is making it challenging to draw unambiguous conclusions about MI skills preservation. Self-report and behavioural tasks have shown that some MI components are preserved, while others are impaired. Evidence from neuroimaging studies revealed that, during MI tasks, older individuals hyperactivate their sensorimotor and attentional networks. Some studies have argued that this represents a compensatory mechanism, others claim that this is a sign of cognitive decline. However, further studies are needed to establish whether MI could be used as a promotion factor to improve cognitive functioning and well-being in older people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noemi Passarello
- Department of Humanities, Federico II University of Naples, 80138 Naples, Italy
| | - Marianna Liparoti
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Caterina Padulo
- Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, Gabriele d’Annunzio University of Chieti, 66100 Chieti, Italy
| | - Pierpaolo Sorrentino
- Institut de Neuroscience des Systemès, Aix-Marseille University, 13005 Marseille, France
| | - Fabio Alivernini
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Beth Fairfield
- Department of Humanities, Federico II University of Naples, 80138 Naples, Italy
| | - Fabio Lucidi
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities, Federico II University of Naples, 80138 Naples, Italy
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Troisi Lopez E, Colonnello V, Liparoti M, Castaldi M, Alivernini F, Russo PM, Sorrentino G, Lucidi F, Mandolesi L, Sorrentino P. Brain network topology and personality traits: A source level magnetoencephalographic study. Scand J Psychol 2022; 63:495-503. [PMID: 35674278 PMCID: PMC9796445 DOI: 10.1111/sjop.12835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2021] [Revised: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Personality neuroscience is focusing on the correlation between individual differences and the efficiency of large-scale networks from the perspective of the brain as an interconnected network. A suitable technique to explore this relationship is the magnetoencephalography (MEG), but not many MEG studies are aimed at investigating topological properties correlated to personality traits. By using MEG, the present study aims to evaluate how individual differences described in Cloninger's psychobiological model are correlated with specific cerebral structures. Fifty healthy individuals (20 males, 30 females, mean age: 27.4 ± 4.8 years) underwent Temperament and Character Inventory examination and MEG recording during a resting state condition. High harm avoidance scores were associated with a reduced centrality of the left caudate nucleus and this negative correlation was maintained in females when we analyzed gender differences. Our data suggest that the caudate nucleus plays a key role in adaptive behavior and could be a critical node in insular salience network. The clear difference between males and females allows us to suggest that topological organization correlated to personality is highly dependent on gender. Our findings provide new insights to evaluate the mutual influences of topological and functional connectivity in neural communication efficiency and disruption as biomarkers of psychopathological traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emahnuel Troisi Lopez
- Department of Motor Sciences and WellnessUniversity of Naples “Parthenope”NaplesItaly
| | - Valentina Colonnello
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, Alma Mater StudiorumUniversity of Bologna, Policlinico S. Orsola‐MalpighiBolognaItaly
| | - Marianna Liparoti
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and PsychologyUniversity of Roma “Sapienza”RomeItaly
| | - Mauro Castaldi
- Institute for Diagnosis and Cure Hermitage CapodimonteNaplesItaly
| | - Fabio Alivernini
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and PsychologyUniversity of Roma “Sapienza”RomeItaly
| | - Paolo Maria Russo
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, Alma Mater StudiorumUniversity of Bologna, Policlinico S. Orsola‐MalpighiBolognaItaly
| | - Giuseppe Sorrentino
- Department of Motor Sciences and WellnessUniversity of Naples “Parthenope”NaplesItaly,Institute for Diagnosis and Cure Hermitage CapodimonteNaplesItaly
| | - Fabio Lucidi
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and PsychologyUniversity of Roma “Sapienza”RomeItaly
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of HumanitiesUniversity of Naples “Federico II”NaplesItaly
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10
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Passarello N, Varini L, Liparoti M, Troisi Lopez E, Sorrentino P, Alivernini F, Gigliotta O, Lucidi F, Mandolesi L. Boosting effect of regular sport practice in young adults: Preliminary results on cognitive and emotional abilities. Front Psychol 2022; 13:957281. [PMID: 36248595 PMCID: PMC9555280 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.957281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Several studies have shown that physical exercise (PE) improves behavior and cognitive functioning, reducing the risk of various neurological diseases, protecting the brain from the detrimental effects of aging, facilitating body recovery after injuries, and enhancing self-efficacy and self-esteem. Emotion processing and regulation abilities are also widely acknowledged to be key to success in sports. In this study, we aim to prove that regular participation in sports enhances cognitive and emotional functioning in healthy individuals. A sample of 60 students (mean age = 22.12; SD = 2.40; M = 30), divided into sportive and sedentary, were subjected to a neuropsychological tests battery to assess their overall cognitive abilities (Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices, APM), verbal and graphic fluency (Word Fluency Task and modified Five Point Test, m-FPT), as well as their emotional awareness skills (Toronto Alexithymia Scale, TAS-20). Our results showed that sportive students performed better than sedentary ones in all cognitive tasks. Regarding emotional processing abilities, significant differences were found in the TAS-20 total score as well as in the Difficulty Describing Feelings (DDF) subscale and the Difficulty Identifying Feeling (DIF) subscale. Lastly, gender differences were found in the External-Oriented Thinking (EOT) subscale. Overall, our findings evidence that PE has positive effects on cognitive functioning and emotion regulation, suggesting how sports practice can promote mental health and wellbeing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noemi Passarello
- Department of Humanities, “Federico II” University of Naples, Naples, Italy
| | - Ludovica Varini
- Department of Humanities, “Federico II” University of Naples, Naples, Italy
| | - Marianna Liparoti
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Emahnuel Troisi Lopez
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, University of Naples “Parthenope”, Naples, Italy
| | - Pierpaolo Sorrentino
- Institut de Neuroscience des Systemès, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Fabio Alivernini
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Onofrio Gigliotta
- Department of Humanities, “Federico II” University of Naples, Naples, Italy
| | - Fabio Lucidi
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities, “Federico II” University of Naples, Naples, Italy
- *Correspondence: Laura Mandolesi
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11
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Laricchiuta D, Termine A, Fabrizio C, Passarello N, Greco F, Piras F, Picerni E, Cutuli D, Marini A, Mandolesi L, Spalletta G, Petrosini L. Only Words Count; the Rest Is Mere Chattering: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach to the Verbal Expression of Emotional Experience. Behav Sci (Basel) 2022; 12:bs12080292. [PMID: 36004863 PMCID: PMC9404916 DOI: 10.3390/bs12080292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The analysis of sequences of words and prosody, meter, and rhythm provided in an interview addressing the capacity to identify and describe emotions represents a powerful tool to reveal emotional processing. The ability to express and identify emotions was analyzed by means of the Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia (TSIA), and TSIA transcripts were analyzed by Natural Language Processing to shed light on verbal features. The brain correlates of the capacity to translate emotional experience into words were determined through cortical thickness measures. A machine learning methodology proved that individuals with deficits in identifying and describing emotions (n = 7) produced language distortions, frequently used the present tense of auxiliary verbs, and few possessive determiners, as well as scarcely connected the speech, in comparison to individuals without deficits (n = 7). Interestingly, they showed high cortical thickness at left temporal pole and low at isthmus of the right cingulate cortex. Overall, we identified the neuro-linguistic pattern of the expression of emotional experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Laricchiuta
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-065-0170-3077
| | | | | | - Noemi Passarello
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy
- Department of Humanities, Federico II University of Naples, 80138 Naples, Italy
| | - Francesca Greco
- Department of Communication and Social Research, Sapienza University of Rome, 00198 Rome, Italy
| | | | | | - Debora Cutuli
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, University “Sapienza” of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Marini
- Department of Languages, Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, 33100 Udine, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities, Federico II University of Naples, 80138 Naples, Italy
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12
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Romano A, Trosi Lopez E, Liparoti M, Polverino A, Minino R, Trojsi F, Bonavita S, Mandolesi L, Granata C, Amico E, Sorrentino G, Sorrentino P. The progressive loss of brain network fingerprints in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis predicts clinical impairment. Neuroimage Clin 2022; 35:103095. [PMID: 35764029 PMCID: PMC9241102 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2022.103095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Revised: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 06/19/2022] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterised by functional connectivity alterations in both motor and extra-motor brain regions. Within the framework of network analysis, fingerprinting represents a reliable approach to assess subject-specific connectivity features within a given population (healthy or diseased). Here, we applied the Clinical Connectome Fingerprint (CCF) analysis to source-reconstructed magnetoencephalography (MEG) signals in a cohort of seventy-eight subjects: thirty-nine ALS patients and thirty-nine healthy controls. We set out to develop an identifiability matrix to assess the extent to which each patient was recognisable based on his/her connectome, as compared to healthy controls. The analysis was performed in the five canonical frequency bands. Then, we built a multilinear regression model to test the ability of the "clinical fingerprint" to predict the clinical evolution of the disease, as assessed by the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-r), the King's disease staging system, and the Milano-Torino Staging (MiToS) disease staging system. We found a drop in the identifiability of patients in the alpha band compared to the healthy controls. Furthermore, the "clinical fingerprint" was predictive of the ALSFRS-r (p = 0.0397; β = 32.8), the King's (p = 0.0001; β = -7.40), and the MiToS (p = 0.0025; β = -4.9) scores. Accordingly, it negatively correlated with the King's (Spearman's rho = -0.6041, p = 0.0003) and MiToS scales (Spearman's rho = -0.4953, p = 0.0040). Our results demonstrated the ability of the CCF approach to predict the individual motor impairment in patients affected by ALS. Given the subject-specificity of our approach, we hope to further exploit it to improve disease management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonella Romano
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness - University of Naples "Parthenope", via Medina 40, 80133 Naples, Italy
| | - Emahnuel Trosi Lopez
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness - University of Naples "Parthenope", via Medina 40, 80133 Naples, Italy
| | - Marianna Liparoti
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, University of Rome "Sapienza", Italy
| | - Arianna Polverino
- Institute of Diagnosis and Treatment Hermitage Capodimonte, via Cupa delle Tozzole 2, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Roberta Minino
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness - University of Naples "Parthenope", via Medina 40, 80133 Naples, Italy
| | - Francesca Trojsi
- Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences, Division of Neurology, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy
| | - Simona Bonavita
- Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences, Division of Neurology, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanistic Studies, University of Naples Federico II, via Porta di Massa 1, 80133, Naples, Italy
| | - Carmine Granata
- Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, CNR, via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, NA, Italy
| | - Enrico Amico
- Institute of Bioengineering, Center for Neuroprosthetics, EPFL, Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, University of Geneva (UNIGE), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Giuseppe Sorrentino
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness - University of Naples "Parthenope", via Medina 40, 80133 Naples, Italy; Institute of Diagnosis and Treatment Hermitage Capodimonte, via Cupa delle Tozzole 2, 80131 Naples, Italy; Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, CNR, via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, NA, Italy.
| | - Pierpaolo Sorrentino
- Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, CNR, via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, NA, Italy; Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France
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13
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D’Aurizio G, Tempesta D, Saporito G, Pistoia F, Socci V, Mandolesi L, Curcio G. Can Stimulus Valence Modulate Task-Switching Ability? A Pilot Study on Primary School Children. IJERPH 2022; 19:ijerph19116409. [PMID: 35681994 PMCID: PMC9180860 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19116409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Revised: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Executive functions and emotional processes follow a time-dependent development that reflects the brain’s anatomo-functional maturation. Though the assessment of these cognitive functions is largely examined, in children the role of emotions in the mental set-shifting is still rarely investigated. The aim of this study was to assess how attention shifting can be modulated by the valence of emotional stimuli. To this end, sixty-two primary school children were tested with a new emotional task-switching paradigm obtained by manipulating the emotional valence and physical features of the stimulus pool. Thus, two tasks were alternatively presented: the Valence task and the Color task. Based on executive performance results, we found a lengthening of response times and a lower accuracy in the emotionally connoted task (Valence task), compared to the neutral task (Color task). The data demonstrate that the processing of emotional stimuli modulates the task-switching performance during development. These findings could help in the implementation of teaching strategies that can promote the development of executive functions and, therefore, functionally improve the overall academic performance of children. Finally, a better understanding of the developmental trajectories of executive functions can help neuropsychologists both in the early diagnosis and treatment of potential executive alterations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia D’Aurizio
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy; (G.D.); (D.T.); (G.S.); (F.P.); (V.S.)
| | - Daniela Tempesta
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy; (G.D.); (D.T.); (G.S.); (F.P.); (V.S.)
| | - Gennaro Saporito
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy; (G.D.); (D.T.); (G.S.); (F.P.); (V.S.)
| | - Francesca Pistoia
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy; (G.D.); (D.T.); (G.S.); (F.P.); (V.S.)
| | - Valentina Socci
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy; (G.D.); (D.T.); (G.S.); (F.P.); (V.S.)
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities, University Federico II, 80138 Napoli, Italy;
| | - Giuseppe Curcio
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy; (G.D.); (D.T.); (G.S.); (F.P.); (V.S.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-(0862)-433407
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14
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Pesoli M, Rucco R, Liparoti M, Lardone A, D'Aurizio G, Minino R, Troisi Lopez E, Paccone A, Granata C, Curcio G, Sorrentino G, Mandolesi L, Sorrentino P. A night of sleep deprivation alters brain connectivity and affects specific executive functions. Neurol Sci 2022; 43:1025-1034. [PMID: 34244891 PMCID: PMC8789640 DOI: 10.1007/s10072-021-05437-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2021] [Accepted: 06/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Sleep is a fundamental physiological process necessary for efficient cognitive functioning especially in relation to memory consolidation and executive functions, such as attentional and switching abilities. The lack of sleep strongly alters the connectivity of some resting-state networks, such as default mode network and attentional network. In this study, by means of magnetoencephalography (MEG) and specific cognitive tasks, we investigated how brain topology and cognitive functioning are affected by 24 h of sleep deprivation (SD). Thirty-two young men underwent resting-state MEG recording and evaluated in letter cancellation task (LCT) and task switching (TS) before and after SD. Results showed a worsening in the accuracy and speed of execution in the LCT and a reduction of reaction times in the TS, evidencing thus a worsening of attentional but not of switching abilities. Moreover, we observed that 24 h of SD induced large-scale rearrangements in the functional network. These findings evidence that 24 h of SD is able to alter brain connectivity and selectively affects cognitive domains which are under the control of different brain networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Pesoli
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, University of Naples "Parthenope", Naples, Italy
| | - Rosaria Rucco
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, University of Naples "Parthenope", Naples, Italy
- Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, CNR, Pozzuoli, Italy
| | - Marianna Liparoti
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, University of Naples "Parthenope", Naples, Italy
| | - Anna Lardone
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, University of Rome "Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - Giulia D'Aurizio
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Roberta Minino
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, University of Naples "Parthenope", Naples, Italy
| | - Emahnuel Troisi Lopez
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, University of Naples "Parthenope", Naples, Italy
| | - Antonella Paccone
- Institute for Diagnosis and Cure Hermitage Capodimonte, Naples, Italy
| | - Carmine Granata
- Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, CNR, Pozzuoli, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Curcio
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Sorrentino
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, University of Naples "Parthenope", Naples, Italy
- Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, CNR, Pozzuoli, Italy
- Institute for Diagnosis and Cure Hermitage Capodimonte, Naples, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities Studies, University Federico II, Via Porta di Massa 1, 80133, Naples, Italy.
| | - Pierpaolo Sorrentino
- Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, CNR, Pozzuoli, Italy
- Institut de Neurosciences Des Systèmes, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France
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15
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Lardone A, Liparoti M, Sorrentino P, Minino R, Polverino A, Lopez ET, Bonavita S, Lucidi F, Sorrentino G, Mandolesi L. Topological changes of brain network during mindfulness meditation: an exploratory source level magnetoencephalographic study. AIMS Neurosci 2022; 9:250-263. [PMID: 35860681 PMCID: PMC9256519 DOI: 10.3934/neuroscience.2022013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2021] [Revised: 03/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
<abstract>
<p>We have previously evidenced that Mindfulness Meditation (MM) in experienced meditators (EMs) is associated with long-lasting topological changes in resting state condition. However, what occurs during the meditative phase is still debated.</p>
<p>Utilizing magnetoencephalography (MEG), the present study is aimed at comparing the topological features of the brain network in a group of EMs (n = 26) during the meditative phase with those of individuals who had no previous experience of any type of meditation (NM group, n = 29). A wide range of topological changes in the EM group as compared to the NM group has been shown. Specifically, in EMs, we have observed increased betweenness centrality in delta, alpha, and beta bands in both cortical (left medial orbital cortex, left postcentral area, and right visual primary cortex) and subcortical (left caudate nucleus and thalamus) areas. Furthermore, the degree in beta band in parietal and occipital areas of EMs was increased too.</p>
<p>Our exploratory study suggests that the MM can change the functional brain network and provides an explanatory hypothesis on the brain circuits characterizing the meditative process.</p>
</abstract>
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Lardone
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, University of Roma Sapienza, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Marianna Liparoti
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, University of Roma Sapienza, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Pierpaolo Sorrentino
- Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes, Aix-Marseille University, 13005 Marseille, France
- Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, CNR, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy
| | - Roberta Minino
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, University of Naples “Parthenope”, 80133 Naples, Italy
| | - Arianna Polverino
- Institute for Diagnosis and Cure Hermitage Capodimonte, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Emahnuel Troisi Lopez
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, University of Naples “Parthenope”, 80133 Naples, Italy
| | - Simona Bonavita
- Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples Italy
| | - Fabio Lucidi
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, University of Roma Sapienza, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Sorrentino
- Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, CNR, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, University of Naples “Parthenope”, 80133 Naples, Italy
- Institute for Diagnosis and Cure Hermitage Capodimonte, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities, University Federico II, 80133, Naples
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16
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D’Aurizio G, Santoboni F, Pistoia F, Mandolesi L, Curcio G. Moral Judgement along the Academic Training. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021; 19:10. [PMID: 35010271 PMCID: PMC8750934 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19010010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2021] [Revised: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Moral reasoning and consequent decision making are central in the everyday life of all people, independent of their profession. It is undoubtedly crucial in the so-called "helping professions", when the professional through his/her decisions can support or not support others. Our study aimed to investigate whether academic training can play an essential role in influencing moral reasoning. We used three different conditions: 20 moral personal, 20 moral impersonal, and 20 nonmoral dilemmas to assessed differences in moral judgement between students of Economics, Medicine, and Psychology at their first year and at the end of university training. We observed a difference between school and year of course: psychology students showing more time when asked to read and answer the proposed questions. Moreover, medical students showed a significant increase in sensitiveness to moral issues as a function of academic ageing, whereas such a moral sense regressed from the first to the fifth year of academic training in other students. Gender was also relevant, with women showing an increased response and reading times compared to than men when asked to cope with moral decisions. This study shows that the main factor driving moral decision making is the faculty to which one is enrolled, significantly modulated by sex and academic seniority.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia D’Aurizio
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy; (G.D.); (F.P.)
| | - Fabrizio Santoboni
- Department of Management, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Roma, Italy;
| | - Francesca Pistoia
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy; (G.D.); (F.P.)
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities Studies, University Federico II, 80138 Napoli, Italy;
| | - Giuseppe Curcio
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy; (G.D.); (F.P.)
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17
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Polverino A, Sorrentino P, Pesoli M, Mandolesi L. Nutrition and cognition across the lifetime: an overview on epigenetic mechanisms. AIMS Neurosci 2021; 8:448-476. [PMID: 34877399 PMCID: PMC8611190 DOI: 10.3934/neuroscience.2021024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The functioning of our brain depends on both genes and their interactions with environmental factors. The close link between genetics and environmental factors produces structural and functional cerebral changes early on in life. Understanding the weight of environmental factors in modulating neuroplasticity phenomena and cognitive functioning is relevant for potential interventions. Among these, nutrition plays a key role. In fact, the link between gut and brain (the gut-brain axis) is very close and begins in utero, since the Central Nervous System (CNS) and the Enteric Nervous System (ENS) originate from the same germ layer during the embryogenesis. Here, we investigate the epigenetic mechanisms induced by some nutrients on the cognitive functioning, which affect the cellular and molecular processes governing our cognitive functions. Furthermore, epigenetic phenomena can be positively affected by specific healthy nutrients from diet, with the possibility of preventing or modulating cognitive impairments. Specifically, we described the effects of several nutrients on diet-dependent epigenetic processes, in particular DNA methylation and histones post-translational modifications, and their potential role as therapeutic target, to describe how some forms of cognitive decline could be prevented or modulated from the early stages of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arianna Polverino
- Institute of Diagnosis and Treatment Hermitage Capodimonte, Naples, Italy.,Department of Motor and Wellness Sciences, University of Naples "Parthenope", Naples, Italy
| | - Pierpaolo Sorrentino
- Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France.,Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, National Research Council, Pozzuoli, Italy
| | - Matteo Pesoli
- Department of Motor and Wellness Sciences, University of Naples "Parthenope", Naples, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities Studies, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
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18
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Serra L, Raimondi S, di Domenico C, Maffei S, Lardone A, Liparoti M, Sorrentino P, Caltagirone C, Petrosini L, Mandolesi L. The beneficial effects of physical exercise on visuospatial working memory in preadolescent children. AIMS Neurosci 2021; 8:496-509. [PMID: 34877401 PMCID: PMC8611191 DOI: 10.3934/neuroscience.2021026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The relationship between physical exercise and improvement in specific cognitive domains in children and adolescents who play sport has been recently reported, although the effects on visuospatial abilities have not yet been well explored. This study is aimed at evaluating in school-age children practicing artistic gymnastics the visuospatial memory by using a table version of the Radial Arm Maze (table-RAM) and comparing their performances with those ones who do not play any sport. The visuospatial performances of 14 preadolescent girls practicing artistic gymnastics aged between 7 and 10 years and those of 14 preadolescent girls not playing any sport were evaluated in the table-RAM forced-choice paradigm that allows disentangling short-term memory from working memory abilities. Data showed that the gymnasts obtained better performances than control group mainly in the parameters evaluating working memory abilities, such as within-phase errors and spatial span. Our findings emphasizing the role of physical activity on cognitive performances impel to promote physical exercise in educational and recreational contexts as well as to analyse the impact of other sports besides gymnastics on cognitive functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Serra
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Sara Raimondi
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Silvia Maffei
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Anna Lardone
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, University "Parthenope", Naples, Italy
| | - Marianna Liparoti
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, University "Parthenope", Naples, Italy
| | - Pierpaolo Sorrentino
- Institute de Neurosciences Des Systèmes, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France Department of Engineering, University "Parthenope", Naples, Italy
| | - Carlo Caltagirone
- Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Laboratory of Experimental and Behavioural Neurophysiology, Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
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19
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Rucco R, Lardone A, Liparoti M, Troisi Lopez E, De Micco R, Tessitore A, Granata C, Mandolesi L, Sorrentino G, Sorrentino P. Brain networks and cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease. Brain Connect 2021; 12:465-475. [PMID: 34269602 DOI: 10.1089/brain.2020.0985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Aim The aim of the present study is to investigate the relations between both functional connectivity and brain networks with cognitive decline, in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Introduction PD phenotype is not limited to motor impairment but, rather, a wide range of non-motor disturbances can occur, cognitive impairment being one of the commonest. However, how the large-scale organization of brain activity differs in cognitively impaired patients, as opposed to cognitively preserved ones, remains poorly understood. Methods Starting from source-reconstructed resting-state magnetoencephalography data, we applied the PLM to estimate functional connectivity, globally and between brain areas, in PD patients with and without cognitive impairment (respectively PD-CI and PD-NC), as compared to healthy subjects (HS). Furthermore, using graph analysis, we characterized the alterations in brain network topology and related these, as well as the functional connectivity, to cognitive performance. Results We found reduced global and nodal PLM in several temporal (fusiform gyrus, Heschl's gyrus and inferior temporal gyrus), parietal (postcentral gyrus), and occipital (lingual gyrus) areas within the left hemisphere, in the gamma band, in PD-CI patients, as compared to PD-NC and HS. With regard to the global topological features, PD-CI patients, as compared to HS and PD-NC patients, showed differences in multi frequencies bands (delta, alpha, gamma) in the Leaf fraction, Tree hierarchy (both higher in PD-CI) and Diameter (lower in PD-CI). Finally, we found statistically significant correlations between the MoCA test and both the Diameter in delta band and the Tree Hierarchy in the alpha band. Conclusion Our work points to specific large-scale rearrangements that occur selectively in cognitively compromised PD patients and correlated to cognitive impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosaria Rucco
- University of Naples - Parthenope, 18993, Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, Napoli, Campania, Italy.,Eduardo Caianiello Institute for Applied Science and Intelligent Systems National Research Council, 96973, Pozzuoli, Campania, Italy;
| | - Anna Lardone
- University of Rome La Sapienza Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, 247818, Roma, Lazio, Italy;
| | - Marianna Liparoti
- University of Naples - Parthenope, 18993, Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, Napoli, Campania, Italy;
| | - Emahnuel Troisi Lopez
- University of Naples - Parthenope, 18993, Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, Napoli, Campania, Italy;
| | - Rosa De Micco
- University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences, 217742, Napoli, Campania, Italy;
| | - Alessandro Tessitore
- University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences, 217742, Napoli, Campania, Italy;
| | - Carmine Granata
- Eduardo Caianiello Institute for Applied Science and Intelligent Systems National Research Council, 96973, Pozzuoli, Campania, Italy;
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- University of Naples Federico II, 9307, Department of Humanistic Studies, Napoli, Campania, Italy;
| | - Giuseppe Sorrentino
- University of Naples - Parthenope, 18993, Department of Motor and Wellness Sciences, Via Medina 40, 3, Napoli, Italy, 80133.,Institute of Diagnosis and Treatment Hermitage Capodimont, Naples, Campania, Italy.,National Research Council Research Area Naples 3 - Pozzuoli, 462880, Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems , Pozzuoli, Campania, Italy;
| | - Pierpaolo Sorrentino
- Eduardo Caianiello Institute for Applied Science and Intelligent Systems National Research Council, 96973, Pozzuoli, Campania, Italy.,Aix-Marseille Universite, 128791, Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes, Marseille, France;
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20
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Lardone A, Turriziani P, Sorrentino P, Gigliotta O, Chirico A, Lucidi F, Mandolesi L. Behavioral Restriction Determines Left Attentional Bias: Preliminary Evidences From COVID-19 Lockdown. Front Psychol 2021; 12:650715. [PMID: 33935910 PMCID: PMC8080029 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.650715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
During the COVID-19 lockdown, individuals were forced to remain at home, hence severely limiting the interaction within environmental stimuli, reducing the cognitive load placed on spatial competences. The effects of the behavioral restriction on cognition have been little examined. The present study is aimed at analyzing the effects of lockdown on executive function prominently involved in adapting behavior to new environmental demands. We analyze non-verbal fluency abilities, as indirectly providing a measure of cognitive flexibility to react to spatial changes. Sixteen students (mean age 20.75; SD 1.34), evaluated before the start of the lockdown (T1) in a battery of psychological tasks exploring different cognitive domains, have been reassessed during lockdown (T2). The assessment included the modified Five-Point Test (m-FPT) to analyze non-verbal fluency abilities. At T2, the students were also administered the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). The restriction of behaviors following a lockdown determines increased non-verbal fluency, evidenced by the significant increase of the number of new drawings. We found worsened verbal span, while phonemic verbal fluency remained unchanged. Interestingly, we observed a significant tendency to use the left part of each box in the m-FPT correlated with TAS-20 and with the subscales that assess difficulty in describing and identifying feelings. Although our data were collected from a small sample, they evidence that the restriction of behaviors determines a leftward bias, suggesting a greater activation of the right hemisphere, intrinsically connected with the processing of non-verbal information and with the need to manage an emotional situation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Lardone
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Patrizia Turriziani
- Department of Psychology, Educational Sciences and Human Movement, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Pierpaolo Sorrentino
- Institut de Neuroscience des Systemès, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Onofrio Gigliotta
- Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Andrea Chirico
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Fabio Lucidi
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
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21
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Zaccari V, Santonastaso O, Mandolesi L, De Crescenzo F, Foti F, Crescentini C, Fabbro F, Vicari S, Curcio G, Menghini D. Clinical application of mindfulness-oriented meditation in children with ADHD: a preliminary study on sleep and behavioral problems. Psychol Health 2021; 37:563-579. [PMID: 33678073 DOI: 10.1080/08870446.2021.1892110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE High incidence of sleep problems in children and adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has been described. Mindfulness meditation has emerged as a novel approach to sleep disturbances and insomnia remediation. This preliminary study tested the efficacy of Mindfulness-Oriented Meditation (MOM) training on sleep quality and behavioral problems in children with ADHD. DESIGN Twenty-five children with ADHD aged 7-11 years underwent two programs three times per week for eight-weeks: the MOM training (15 children) and an Active Control Condition (10 children). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Objective and subjective measures of sleep quality and behavioral measures were collected before and after the programs. RESULTS Positive effects on sleep and behavioral measures were found only in the MOM group. CONCLUSION Although they are preliminary, our results indicate that MOM training is a promising tool for ameliorating sleep quality and behavioral manifestations in ADHD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vittoria Zaccari
- Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Roma, Italy
| | - Ornella Santonastaso
- Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Roma, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, Napoli, Italy
| | - Franco De Crescenzo
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Clinical Trial Unit, University Department of Paediatrics, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Roma, Italy.,Department of Epidemiology, Lazio Regional Health Service, Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Foti
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Cristiano Crescentini
- Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
| | - Franco Fabbro
- Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
| | - Stefano Vicari
- Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Roma, Italy.,Department of Life Science and Public Health, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Roma, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Curcio
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Deny Menghini
- Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Roma, Italy
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22
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Somma F, Bartolomeo P, Vallone F, Argiuolo A, Cerrato A, Miglino O, Mandolesi L, Zurlo MC, Gigliotta O. Further to the Left: Stress-Induced Increase of Spatial Pseudoneglect During the COVID-19 Lockdown. Front Psychol 2021; 12:573846. [PMID: 33746815 PMCID: PMC7977289 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.573846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2020] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The measures taken to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, such as the lockdown in Italy, do impact psychological health; yet, less is known about their effect on cognitive functioning. The transactional theory of stress predicts reciprocal influences between perceived stress and cognitive performance. However, the effects of a period of stress due to social isolation on spatial cognition and exploration have been little examined. The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible effects and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on spatial cognition tasks, particularly those concerning spatial exploration, and the physiological leftward bias known as pseudoneglect. A right-hemisphere asymmetry for spatial attention processes crucially contributes to pseudoneglect. Other evidence indicates a predominantly right-hemisphere activity in stressful situations. We also analyzed the effects of lockdown on coping strategies, which typically show an opposite pattern of hemispheric asymmetry, favoring the left hemisphere. If so, then pseudoneglect should increase during the lockdown and be negatively correlated with the efficacy of coping strategies. METHODS One week before the start of the lockdown due to COVID-19 in Italy (T1), we had collected data from a battery of behavioral tests including tasks of peri-personal spatial cognition. During the quarantine period, from late April to early May 2020 (T2), we repeated the testing sessions with a subgroup of the same participants (47 right-handed students, mean age = 20, SD = 1.33). At both testing sessions, participants performed digitized neuropsychological tests, including a Cancellation task, Radial Arm Maze task, and Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices. Participants also completed a newly developed COVID-19 Student Stress Scale, based on transactional models of stress, and the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced-New Italian Version (COPE-NIV) to assess coping orientation. RESULTS The tendency to start cancelation from a left-sided item, to explore first a left-sided arm of the maze, and to choose erroneous response items on the left side of the page on Raven's matrices increased from T1 to T2. The degree of pseudoneglect increment positively correlated with perceived stress and negatively correlated with Positive Attitude and Problem-Solving COPE-NIV subscales. CONCLUSION Lockdown-related stress may have contributed to increase leftward bias during quarantine through a greater activation of the right hemisphere. On the other hand, pseudoneglect was decreased for better coping participants, perhaps as a consequence of a more balanced hemispheric activity in these individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Somma
- Natural and Artificial Cognition Laboratory, Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Paolo Bartolomeo
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
| | - Federica Vallone
- Dynamic Psychology Laboratory, Department of Political Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
- Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Antonietta Argiuolo
- Natural and Artificial Cognition Laboratory, Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Antonio Cerrato
- Natural and Artificial Cognition Laboratory, Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Orazio Miglino
- Natural and Artificial Cognition Laboratory, Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Maria Clelia Zurlo
- Dynamic Psychology Laboratory, Department of Political Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Onofrio Gigliotta
- Natural and Artificial Cognition Laboratory, Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
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23
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Sorrentino P, Rucco R, Baselice F, De Micco R, Tessitore A, Hillebrand A, Mandolesi L, Breakspear M, Gollo LL, Sorrentino G. Flexible brain dynamics underpins complex behaviours as observed in Parkinson's disease. Sci Rep 2021; 11:4051. [PMID: 33602980 PMCID: PMC7892831 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-83425-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2020] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Rapid reconfigurations of brain activity support efficient neuronal communication and flexible behaviour. Suboptimal brain dynamics is associated to impaired adaptability, possibly leading to functional deficiencies. We hypothesize that impaired flexibility in brain activity can lead to motor and cognitive symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD). To test this hypothesis, we studied the ‘functional repertoire’—the number of distinct configurations of neural activity—using source-reconstructed magnetoencephalography in PD patients and controls. We found stereotyped brain dynamics and reduced flexibility in PD. The intensity of this reduction was proportional to symptoms severity, which can be explained by beta-band hyper-synchronization. Moreover, the basal ganglia were prominently involved in the abnormal patterns of brain activity. Our findings support the hypotheses that: symptoms in PD relate to impaired brain flexibility, this impairment preferentially involves the basal ganglia, and beta-band hypersynchronization is associated with reduced brain flexibility. These findings highlight the importance of extensive functional repertoires for correct behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierpaolo Sorrentino
- Department of Engineering, University of Naples Parthenope, Centro Direzionale, Isola C4, 80143, Naples, Italy. .,QIMR Berghofer, 300 Herston Rd, Brisbane, QLD, 4006, Australia. .,Institute for Applied Science and Intelligent Systems, National Research Council, Via Campi Flegrei 34, Pozzuoli, Italy.
| | - Rosaria Rucco
- Institute for Applied Science and Intelligent Systems, National Research Council, Via Campi Flegrei 34, Pozzuoli, Italy.,Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, University of Naples Parthenope, Via Ammiraglio Ferdinando Acton, 38, 80133, Naples, Italy
| | - Fabio Baselice
- Department of Engineering, University of Naples Parthenope, Centro Direzionale, Isola C4, 80143, Naples, Italy
| | - Rosa De Micco
- Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", via Luciano Armanni 5, 80138, Naples, Italy
| | - Alessandro Tessitore
- Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", via Luciano Armanni 5, 80138, Naples, Italy
| | - Arjan Hillebrand
- Department of Clinical Neurophysiology and MEG Center, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam Neuroscience, The Netherlands, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanistic Studies, University of Naples Federico II, via Porta di Massa 1, 80133, Naples, Italy
| | - Michael Breakspear
- Priority Research Centre for Brain and Mind, The University of Newcastle, Medical Sciences, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia
| | - Leonardo L Gollo
- QIMR Berghofer, 300 Herston Rd, Brisbane, QLD, 4006, Australia.,The Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, and Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Giuseppe Sorrentino
- Institute for Applied Science and Intelligent Systems, National Research Council, Via Campi Flegrei 34, Pozzuoli, Italy.,Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, University of Naples Parthenope, Via Ammiraglio Ferdinando Acton, 38, 80133, Naples, Italy.,Hermitage-Capodimonte Hospital, via Cupa delle Tozzole 2, Naples, Italy
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24
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Lardone A, Sorrentino P, Giancamilli F, Palombi T, Simper T, Mandolesi L, Lucidi F, Chirico A, Galli F. Psychosocial variables and quality of life during the COVID-19 lockdown: a correlational study on a convenience sample of young Italians. PeerJ 2020; 8:e10611. [PMID: 33384910 PMCID: PMC7751426 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In 2020, to limit the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), many countries, including Italy, have issued a lengthy quarantine period for the entire population. For this reason lifestyle has changed, bringing inevitable repercussions to the Quality of Life (QoL). The present study aims to identify which psychosocial variables predict behaviors capable of affecting the QoL during the lockdown period, potentially highlighting factors that might promote well-being and health in the Italian population during the epidemic. METHODS Between 27 April 2020 and 11 May 2020, we administered a web-survey to a sample of young Italian people (age M = 21.2; SD = 3.5; female = 57.7% of the sample). Employing variance-based structural equation modeling, we attempted to identify whether social connectedness, social support, and loneliness were variables predictive of the QoL of young Italians. We also sought to identify specific psychological factors, such as symbolic threat, realistic threat, and the threat from potentially contaminated objects, was correlated to COVID-19 fear and whether engaging in particular behaviors was likely to improve the QoL. RESULTS Our results suggest that social connectedness and loneliness are significant predictors of QoL, while social support did not have a significant effect on QoL. Furthermore, we observed that symbolic and realistic threats and the threat from potentially contaminated objects are significant and positive predictors of COVID-19 fear. Moreover, COVID-19 fear had significant and positive relationships with the carrying out of specific behaviors, such as creative activities during the isolation period and that this related to affirming individuals' country-specific identity. Finally, COVID-19 fear is a significant predictor of behavioral factors related to the adherence to public health advice in line with national guidance regarding the containment of COVID-19; this factor, however, did not correlate with QoL. CONCLUSION Our results suggest the importance of social context and psychological factors to help devise intervention strategies to improve the QoL during lockdown from epidemic events and, in particular, support the importance of promoting social communication and accurate information about the transmission of the virus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Lardone
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University of Roma “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy
| | - Pierpaolo Sorrentino
- Institut de Neuroscience des Systemès, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Francesco Giancamilli
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University of Roma “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy
| | - Tommaso Palombi
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University of Roma “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy
| | - Trevor Simper
- School of Sports Science, Exercise & Health., University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, Napoli, Italy
| | - Fabio Lucidi
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University of Roma “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Chirico
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University of Roma “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy
| | - Federica Galli
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University of Roma “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy
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25
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Rucco R, Bernardo P, Lardone A, Baselice F, Pesoli M, Polverino A, Bravaccio C, Granata C, Mandolesi L, Sorrentino G, Sorrentino P. Neuronal Avalanches to Study the Coordination of Large-Scale Brain Activity: Application to Rett Syndrome. Front Psychol 2020; 11:550749. [PMID: 33192799 PMCID: PMC7656905 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.550749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2020] [Accepted: 09/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Many complex systems, such as the brain, display large-scale coordinated interactions that create ordered patterns. Classically, such patterns have been studied using the framework of criticality, i.e., at a transition point between two qualitatively distinct patterns. This kind of system is generally characterized by a scale-invariant organization, in space and time, optimally described by a power-law distribution whose slope is quantified by an exponent α. The dynamics of these systems is characterized by alternating periods of activations, called avalanches, with quiescent periods. To maximize its efficiency, the system must find a trade-off between its stability and ease of propagation of activation, which is achieved by a branching process. It is quantified by a branching parameter σ defined as the average ratio between the number of activations in consecutive time bins. The brain is itself a complex system and its activity can be described as a series of neuronal avalanches. It is known that critical aspects of brain dynamics are modeled with a branching parameter σ = , and the neuronal avalanches distribution fits well with a power law distribution exponent α = -3/2. The aim of our work was to study a self-organized criticality system in which there was a change in neuronal circuits due to genetic causes. To this end, we have compared the characteristics of neuronal avalanches in a group of 10 patients affected by Rett syndrome, during an open-eye resting-state condition estimated using magnetoencephalography, with respect to 10 healthy subjects. The analysis was performed both in broadband and in the five canonical frequency bands. We found, for both groups, a branching parameter close to 1. In this critical condition, Rett patients show a lower distribution parameter α in the delta and broadband. These results suggest that the large-scale coordination of activity occurs to a lesser extent in RTT patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosaria Rucco
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, University of Naples "Parthenope," Naples, Italy.,Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, National Research Council (CNR), Pozzuoli, Italy
| | - Pia Bernardo
- Department of Medical and Translational Science, Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, University of Naples "Federico II," Naples, Italy.,Department of Neuroscience, Pediatric Psychiatry and Neurology, Santobono-Pausilipon Children's Hospital, Naples, Italy
| | - Anna Lardone
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, University of Naples "Parthenope," Naples, Italy
| | - Fabio Baselice
- Department of Engineering, University of Naples "Parthenope," Naples, Italy
| | - Matteo Pesoli
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, University of Naples "Parthenope," Naples, Italy
| | | | - Carmela Bravaccio
- Department of Medical and Translational Science, Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, University of Naples "Federico II," Naples, Italy
| | - Carmine Granata
- Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, National Research Council (CNR), Pozzuoli, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanistic Studies, University of Naples "Federico II," Naples, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Sorrentino
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, University of Naples "Parthenope," Naples, Italy.,Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, National Research Council (CNR), Pozzuoli, Italy.,Hermitage Capodimonte Hospital, Naples, Italy
| | - Pierpaolo Sorrentino
- Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, National Research Council (CNR), Pozzuoli, Italy.,Department of Engineering, University of Naples "Parthenope," Naples, Italy.,Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France
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26
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Foti F, Sorrentino P, Menghini D, Montuori S, Pesoli M, Turriziani P, Vicari S, Petrosini L, Mandolesi L. Peripersonal Visuospatial Abilities in Williams Syndrome Analyzed by a Table Radial Arm Maze Task. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:254. [PMID: 32848661 PMCID: PMC7396499 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2020] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Williams syndrome (WS) is a genetic deletion syndrome characterized by severe visuospatial deficits affecting spatial exploration and navigation abilities in extra-personal space.To date, little is known about spatial elaboration and reaching abilities in the peripersonal space in individuals with WS. The present study is aimed at evaluating the visuospatial abilities in individuals with WS and comparing their performances with those of mental age-matched typically developing (TD) children by using a highly sensitive ecological version of the Radial Arm Maze (table RAM). We evaluated 15 individuals with WS and 15 TD children in two different table RAM paradigms: the free-choice paradigm, mainly to analyze the aspects linked to procedural and memory components, and the forced-choice paradigm, to disentangle the components linked to spatial working memory from the procedural ones.Data show that individuals with WS made significantly more working memory errors as compared with TD children, thus evidencing a marked deficit in resolving the task when the mnesic load increased. Our findings provide new insights on the cognitive profile of WS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Foti
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
| | | | - Deny Menghini
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, "Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù", Rome, Italy
| | - Simone Montuori
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, Parthenope University of Naples, Naples, Italy
| | - Matteo Pesoli
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, Parthenope University of Naples, Naples, Italy
| | - Patrizia Turriziani
- Department of Psychology, Educational Sciences and Human Movement, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Stefano Vicari
- Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital (IRCCS), Rome, Italy.,Department of Life Sciences and Public Health, Catholic University, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Laboratory of Experimental and Behavioural Neurophysiology, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanistic Studies, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
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27
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Ambrosini F, Benassi M, Sant’Angelo R, Raggini R, Mandolesi L, Piraccini G. Two-step Cluster Analysis Application to a Sample of Psychiatric Inpatients at Psychiatric Service of Diagnosis and Care. Eur Psychiatry 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.2226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
Abstract
IntroductionRecent findings demonstrated significant overlaps among major psychiatric disorders on multiple neurocognitive domains. However, it is not clear which are the cognitive functions that contribute to this phenomenon.ObjectivesTo find the optimal clustering solution using the two-step cluster analysis on a sample of psychiatric patients.AimsTo classify into subgroups a cross-diagnostic sample of psychiatric inpatients on the basis of their neurocognitive profiles.MethodsSeventy-one patients with psychotic, bipolar, depressive and personality disorders hospitalised at Psychiatric Diagnosis and Care Service of Bufalini Hospital of Cesena participated in the study. The symptomatology was assessed using Health of the Nation Outcome Scales-Roma and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Cognitive functions were evaluated using Tower of London, Modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Judgment and Verbal Abstract Tasks test, Raven matrices, Attentional Matrices, Stroop Test and Mini Mental State Examination. Two-step cluster analysis was conducted using the standardized scores of each neurocognitive test.ResultsTwo groups were obtained:– group 1, with good cognitive performances;– group 2, with almost all subjects having impaired cognitive performances.Executive functions and attention are the major determinants of the cluster solution. The clusters did not differ on socio-demographic correlates. Different diagnoses were equally distributed amongst the clusters.ConclusionsTwo-step cluster analysis was useful in identifying subgroups of psychiatric inpatients with different cognitive functioning, overcoming other cluster techniques limitations. According to former literature, these results confirm a continuum of severity in cognitive impairment across different psychiatric disorders.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.
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28
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Sorriso A, Sorrentino P, Rucco R, Mandolesi L, Ferraioli G, Franceschini S, Ambrosanio M, Baselice F. An automated magnetoencephalographic data cleaning algorithm. Comput Methods Biomech Biomed Engin 2019; 22:1116-1125. [DOI: 10.1080/10255842.2019.1634695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Pierpaolo Sorrentino
- Department of Engineering, University “Parthenope”, Naples, Italy
- IDC Hermitage Capodimonte, Naples, Italy
| | - Rosaria Rucco
- IDC Hermitage Capodimonte, Naples, Italy
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, University “Parthenope”, Naples, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities, University “Federico II”, Naples, Italy
| | - Giampaolo Ferraioli
- Department of Science and Technologies, University of Naples “Parthenope”, Naples, Italy
| | | | | | - Fabio Baselice
- Department of Engineering, University “Parthenope”, Naples, Italy
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29
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Sorrentino P, Lardone A, Pesoli M, Liparoti M, Montuori S, Curcio G, Sorrentino G, Mandolesi L, Foti F. The Development of Spatial Memory Analyzed by Means of Ecological Walking Task. Front Psychol 2019; 10:728. [PMID: 30984092 PMCID: PMC6450422 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2018] [Accepted: 03/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The present study is aimed at investigating the development of spatial memory in pre-school children aged 4–6 years using an ecological walking task with multiple rewards. The participants were to explore an open space in order to find nine rewards placed in buckets arranged in three spatial configurations: a Cross, a 3 × 3 Matrix, and a Cluster composed of three groups of three buckets each. Clear age-related improvements were evident in all the parameters analyzed. In fact, there was a general trend for younger children to display worse performance than the older ones. Moreover, males performed better than females in both the search efficiency and visiting all buckets. Additionally, the search efficiency proved to be a function of the difficulty of the configuration to be explored: the Matrix and Cluster configurations were easier to explore than the Cross configuration. Taken altogether, the present findings suggest that there is a general improvement in the spatial memory abilities in preschoolers and that solving an open space task could be influenced by gender. Moreover, it can be proposed that both the procedural competences and the memory load requested to explore a specific environment are determined by its specific features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierpaolo Sorrentino
- Department of Engineering, Università degli Studi di Napoli Parthenope, Naples, Italy
| | - Anna Lardone
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, Università degli Studi di Napoli Parthenope, Naples, Italy
| | - Matteo Pesoli
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, Università degli Studi di Napoli Parthenope, Naples, Italy
| | - Marianna Liparoti
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, Università degli Studi di Napoli Parthenope, Naples, Italy
| | - Simone Montuori
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, Università degli Studi di Napoli Parthenope, Naples, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Curcio
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Sorrentino
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, Università degli Studi di Napoli Parthenope, Naples, Italy.,Istituto di Diagnosi e Cura Hermitage Capodimonte, Naples, Italy.,Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, CNR, Naples, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanistic Studies, University Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Francesca Foti
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Università degli studi Magna Græcia di Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
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Foti F, Piras F, Vicari S, Mandolesi L, Petrosini L, Menghini D. Observational Learning in Low-Functioning Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Behavioral and Neuroimaging Study. Front Psychol 2019; 9:2737. [PMID: 30687188 PMCID: PMC6338041 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2018] [Accepted: 12/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
New skills may be learned from the outcomes of their own internally generated actions (experiential learning) or from the observation of the consequences of externally generated actions (observational learning). Observational learning requires the coordination of cognitive functions and the processing of social information. Due to the “social” abilities underlying observational learning, the study of this process in individuals with limited social abilities such as those affected by Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is worthy of being investigated. We asked a group of 16 low-functioning young children with ASD and group of 16 sex- and mental age-matched typically developing (TD) children to build a house with a set of bricks after a video-demonstration showing an actor who built the house (observational task – OBS task) and then to build by trial and error another house (experiential task – EXP task). For ASD group, performances in learning tasks were correlated with measures of cortical thickness of specific Regions of Interest (ROI) and volume of deep gray matter structures known to be related with such kinds of learning. According to our a priori hypothesis, for OBS task we selected the following ROI: frontal lobe (pars opercularis, pars triangularis, and premotor area), parietal lobe (inferior parietal gyrus), temporal lobe (superior temporal gyrus), cerebellar hemispheres. For EXP task, we selected the following ROI: precentral frontal gyrus and superior frontal gyrus, cerebellar hemispheres, basal ganglia, thalamus. Although performances of ASD and TD children improved in both OBS and EXP tasks, children with ASD obtained lower scores of goal achievement than TD children in both learning tasks. Only in ASD group, goal achievement scores positively correlated with hyperimitations indicating that children with ASD tended to have a “copy-all” approach that facilitated the goal achievement. Moreover, the marked hyperimitative tendencies of children with ASD were positively associated with the thickness of left pars opercularis, left premotor area, and right superior temporal gyrus, areas belonging to mirror neuron system, and with the volume of both cerebellar hemispheres. These findings suggest that in children with ASD the hyperimitation can represent a learning strategy that might be related to the mirror neuron system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Foti
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Magna Græcia University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Stefano Vicari
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, Università degli Studi di Napoli Parthenope, Naples, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Deny Menghini
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy
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Montuori S, D'Aurizio G, Foti F, Liparoti M, Lardone A, Pesoli M, Sorrentino G, Mandolesi L, Curcio G, Sorrentino P. Executive functioning profiles in elite volleyball athletes: Preliminary results by a sport-specific task switching protocol. Hum Mov Sci 2018; 63:73-81. [PMID: 30503984 DOI: 10.1016/j.humov.2018.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2018] [Revised: 11/20/2018] [Accepted: 11/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Executive functions (EF) are crucial for the athletes' success, and they are even more essential in open skill sports (e.g. volleyball and football). In these sports, due to continuously changing conditions, goal-directed behaviours need to be repeatedly adjusted and corrected. One of the most important EF is the ability to continuously switch between two different tasks being required in a random sequence. We used a task-switching protocol in elite volleyball athletes, usually playing different roles, with the aim of evaluating if each role is characterized by specific switching abilities. On the basis of the specific competences requested by the game, thirty-six elite volleyball athletes were assigned to three groups: Strikers, Defenders and Mixed. Each player completed a customized sport-specific task-switching paradigm. Data evidenced that each role has specific characteristics. In Reaction Times, the Strikers were the fastest to answer to stimuli, while the Defender group provided a worse performance, particularly when defensive actions, that probably require more cognitive elaboration, had to be processed. Different effects emerged by the Errors. In fact, the Mixed group, which was the one with more expertise, appeared to be more accurate in the responses. Although preliminary, these results showed a minimal degree of cognitive flexibility for highly specialized Strikers and a maximum level for Mixed, allowing thus to highlight specific profiles of athletes. Data observed indicate the possibility to develop a test assessing the executive domain during the recruitment in a team, revealing a useful tool for choosing the most suitable role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Montuori
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, University "Parthenope", Via Medina 40, 80133 Naples, Italy.
| | - Giulia D'Aurizio
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, Via Vetoio (Coppito 2), 67100 L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Francesca Foti
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, "Magna Graecia" University of Catanzaro, Viale Europa - Loc. Germaneto, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy; IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 64, 00143 Rome, Italy.
| | - Marianna Liparoti
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, University "Parthenope", Via Medina 40, 80133 Naples, Italy
| | - Anna Lardone
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, University "Parthenope", Via Medina 40, 80133 Naples, Italy
| | - Matteo Pesoli
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, University "Parthenope", Via Medina 40, 80133 Naples, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Sorrentino
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, University "Parthenope", Via Medina 40, 80133 Naples, Italy; Istituto di Diagnosi e Cura Hermitage Capodimonte, Via Cupa delle Tozzole 2, 80131 Naples, Italy; Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, CNR, Via Campi Flegrei 34, Pozzuoli, NA, Italy.
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, University "Parthenope", Via Medina 40, 80133 Naples, Italy; IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 64, 00143 Rome, Italy.
| | - Giuseppe Curcio
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, Via Vetoio (Coppito 2), 67100 L'Aquila, Italy.
| | - Pierpaolo Sorrentino
- Department of Engineering, University "Parthenope", Centro Direzionale Isola C4, 80143 Naples, Italy.
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Foti F, Menghini D, Alfieri P, Costanzo F, Mandolesi L, Petrosini L, Vicari S. Inside Front Cover: Cover Image, Volume 21, Issue 5. Dev Sci 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/desc.12731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Mandolesi L, Polverino A, Montuori S, Foti F, Ferraioli G, Sorrentino P, Sorrentino G. Effects of Physical Exercise on Cognitive Functioning and Wellbeing: Biological and Psychological Benefits. Front Psychol 2018; 9:509. [PMID: 29755380 PMCID: PMC5934999 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 342] [Impact Index Per Article: 57.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2018] [Accepted: 03/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Much evidence shows that physical exercise (PE) is a strong gene modulator that induces structural and functional changes in the brain, determining enormous benefit on both cognitive functioning and wellbeing. PE is also a protective factor for neurodegeneration. However, it is unclear if such protection is granted through modifications to the biological mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration or through better compensation against attacks. This concise review addresses the biological and psychological positive effects of PE describing the results obtained on brain plasticity and epigenetic mechanisms in animal and human studies, in order to clarify how to maximize the positive effects of PE while avoiding negative consequences, as in the case of exercise addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, Parthenope University of Naples, Naples, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Arianna Polverino
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, Parthenope University of Naples, Naples, Italy.,Istituto di Diagnosi e Cura Hermitage Capodimonte, Naples, Italy
| | - Simone Montuori
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, Parthenope University of Naples, Naples, Italy
| | - Francesca Foti
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Magna Graecia University, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Giampaolo Ferraioli
- Department of Science and Technology, Parthenope University of Naples, Naples, Italy
| | | | - Giuseppe Sorrentino
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, Parthenope University of Naples, Naples, Italy.,Istituto di Diagnosi e Cura Hermitage Capodimonte, Naples, Italy.,Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, CNR, Pozzuoli, Italy
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Foti F, Menghini D, Alfieri P, Costanzo F, Mandolesi L, Petrosini L, Vicari S. Learning by observation and learning by doing in Down and Williams syndromes. Dev Sci 2017; 21:e12642. [PMID: 29280247 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2016] [Accepted: 10/19/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
New skills may be learned by active experience (experiential learning or learning by doing) or by observation of others' experience (learning by observation). In general, learning by observation reduces the time and the attempts needed to learn complex actions and behaviors. The present research aimed to compare learning by observation and learning by doing in two clinical populations with different etiology of intellectual disability (ID), as individuals with Down syndrome (DS) and individuals with Williams syndrome (WS), with the hypothesis that specific profiles of learning may be found in each syndrome. To this end, we used a mixture of new and existing data to compare the performances of 24 individuals with DS, 24 individuals with WS and 24 typically developing children on computerized tasks of learning by observation or learning by doing. The main result was that the two groups with ID exhibited distinct patterns of learning by observation. Thus, individuals with DS were impaired in reproducing the previously observed visuo-motor sequence, while they were as efficient as TD children in the experiential learning task. On the other hand, individuals with WS benefited from the observational training while they were severely impaired in detecting the visuo-motor sequence in the experiential learning task (when presented first). The present findings reinforce the syndrome-specific hypothesis and the view of ID as a variety of conditions in which some cognitive functions are more disrupted than others because of the differences in genetic profile and brain morphology and functionality. These findings have important implications for clinicians, who should take into account the genetic etiology of ID in developing learning programs for treatment and education.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Foti
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy.,Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Deny Menghini
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy
| | - Paolo Alfieri
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy
| | - Floriana Costanzo
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Motor Science and Wellness, University Parthenope, Naples, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Vicari
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy
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Gelfo F, Mandolesi L, Serra L, Sorrentino G, Caltagirone C. The Neuroprotective Effects of Experience on Cognitive Functions: Evidence from Animal Studies on the Neurobiological Bases of Brain Reserve. Neuroscience 2017; 370:218-235. [PMID: 28827089 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2017.07.065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2017] [Revised: 07/26/2017] [Accepted: 07/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Brain plasticity is the ability of the nervous system to change structurally and functionally in response to experience. By shaping brain structure and function, experience leads to the creation of a protective reserve that accounts for differences among individuals in susceptibility to age-related brain modifications and pathology. This review is aimed to address the biological bases of the experience-dependent "brain reserve" by describing the results of animal studies that focused on the neuroanatomical and molecular effects of environmental enrichment. More specifically, the effects at the cellular level are considered in terms of changes in neurogenesis, gliogenesis, angiogenesis, and synaptogenesis. Moreover, the effects at the molecular level are described, highlighting gene- and protein-level changes in neurotransmitter and neurotrophin expression. The experimental evidence for the basic biological consequences of environmental enrichment is described for healthy animals. Subsequently, by discussing the findings for animal models that mimic age-related diseases, the involvement of such plastic changes in supporting an organism as it copes with normal and pathological age-related cognitive decline is considered. On the whole, studies of the structural and molecular effects of environmental enrichment strongly support the neuroprotective action of a particularly stimulating lifestyle on cognitive functions. Our current level of understanding of these effects and mechanisms is such that additional and novel studies, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses are necessary to investigate the specific effects of the different components of environmental enrichment in both healthy and pathological models. Only in this way can comprehensive recommendations for proper life habits be developed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Gelfo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy; Department of Systemic Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy.
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy; Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, University "Parthenope", Naples, Italy
| | | | - Giuseppe Sorrentino
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, University "Parthenope", Naples, Italy; Istituto di diagnosi e cura Hermitage Capodimonte, Naples, Italy
| | - Carlo Caltagirone
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy; Department of Systemic Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy
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Foti F, Martone D, Orrù S, Montuori S, Imperlini E, Buono P, Petrosini L, Mandolesi L. Are young children able to learn exploratory strategies by observation? Psychol Res 2017; 82:1212-1223. [PMID: 28725993 PMCID: PMC6132659 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-017-0896-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2016] [Accepted: 07/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
New competencies may be learned through active experience (experiential learning or learning by doing) or observation of others' experiences (learning by observation). Observing another person performing a complex action facilitates the observer's acquisition of the same action. The present research is aimed at analyzing if the observation of specific explorative strategies adopted in a constrained environment, such as the Radial Arm Maze (RAM), could help young children to explore the maze and to build a cognitive spatial map of the explored environment. To this aim young children were randomly assigned to three groups: children who performed the RAM task following the observation of an actor solving the same maze by putting into action a highly structured exploratory strategy; children who performed the RAM task following the observation of the actor solving the same maze by putting into action a less structured exploratory strategy; children who directly performed the RAM task without any observation. The main result of the present research is that the children who observed the highly structured and correct exploratory strategy spent less time, made fewer errors, exhibited a longer spatial span, and thus they explored the maze more efficiently than the children who directly performed the RAM task without any observation. This finding indicates that when the observed explorative procedure is structured, sequential and repetitive the action understanding and information storage processes are more effective. Importantly, the observation of specific spatial strategies helped the children to build the cognitive spatial map of the explored environment and consequently to acquire/enrich the declarative knowledge of the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Foti
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University "Magna Graecia", Catanzaro, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 65, 00143, Rome, Italy
| | - Domenico Martone
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, University "Parthenope", Naples, Italy
| | - Stefania Orrù
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, University "Parthenope", Naples, Italy.,Fondazione IRCCS SDN, Naples, Italy
| | - Simone Montuori
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, University "Parthenope", Naples, Italy
| | | | - Pasqualina Buono
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, University "Parthenope", Naples, Italy.,Fondazione IRCCS SDN, Naples, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 65, 00143, Rome, Italy.,Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 65, 00143, Rome, Italy. .,Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, University "Parthenope", Naples, Italy. .,Department of Motor Science and Wellbeing, University "Parthenope", Via Medina, 40, 80133, Naples, Italy.
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Piccini G, Menghini D, D'Andrea A, Caciolo C, Pontillo M, Armando M, Perrino F, Mandolesi L, Salerni A, Buzzonetti L, Digilio MC, Zampino G, Tartaglia M, Benassi M, Vicari S, Alfieri P. Visual perception skills: a comparison between patients with Noonan syndrome and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. Genes Brain Behav 2017; 16:627-634. [PMID: 28378436 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2016] [Revised: 03/14/2017] [Accepted: 03/28/2017] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Ventral and dorsal streams are visual pathways deputed to transmit information from the photoreceptors of the retina to the lateral geniculate nucleus and then to the primary visual cortex (V1). Several studies investigated whether one pathway is more vulnerable than the other during development, and whether these streams develop at different rates. The results are still discordant. The aim of the present study was to understand the functionality of the dorsal and the ventral streams in two populations affected by different genetic disorders, Noonan syndrome (NS) and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS), and explore the possible genotype-phenotype relationships. 'Form coherence' abilities for the ventral stream and 'motion coherence' abilities for the dorsal stream were evaluated in 19 participants with NS and 20 participants with 22q11.2DS. Collected data were compared with 55 age-matched controls. Participants with NS and 22q11.2DS did not differ in the form coherence task, and their performance was significantly lower than that of controls. However, in the motion coherence task, the group with NS and controls did not differ, and both obtained significantly higher scores than the group with 22q11.2DS. Our findings indicate that deficits in the dorsal stream are related to the specific genotype, and that in our syndromic groups the ventral stream is more vulnerable than the dorsal stream.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Piccini
- Department of Neuroscience, Child Neuropsychiatric Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - D Menghini
- Department of Neuroscience, Child Neuropsychiatric Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - A D'Andrea
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies, University "G.d'Annunzio", Chieti-Pescara, Italy
| | - C Caciolo
- Department of Neuroscience, Child Neuropsychiatric Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - M Pontillo
- Department of Neuroscience, Child Neuropsychiatric Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - M Armando
- Department of Neuroscience, Child Neuropsychiatric Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - F Perrino
- Center for Rare Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Polo Salute Donna e Bambino, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli, Catholic University, Rome, Italy
| | - L Mandolesi
- Psychology Department, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - A Salerni
- Institute of Ophthalmology, Catholic University, Rome, Italy
| | - L Buzzonetti
- Ophthalmology Department, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - M C Digilio
- Genetics and Rare Diseases Research Division, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - G Zampino
- Center for Rare Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Polo Salute Donna e Bambino, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli, Catholic University, Rome, Italy
| | - M Tartaglia
- Genetics and Rare Diseases Research Division, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - M Benassi
- Psychology Department, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - S Vicari
- Department of Neuroscience, Child Neuropsychiatric Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - P Alfieri
- Department of Neuroscience, Child Neuropsychiatric Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
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Mandolesi L, Piraccini G, Ambrosini F, Vetere F, Sant’Angelo R, Raggini R, Benassi M. Smooth pursuit eye movements in psychiatric inpatients. Eur Psychiatry 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.1438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
IntroductionEye movements are used in several studies as a biomarker in order to evaluate cortical alterations in psychiatric disorders. Pursuit eye movements’ deficits were found both in schizophrenia and in affective disorder patients. Nevertheless, these findings are still controversial.ObjectivesSet up a system to record and evaluate the eye movements in psychiatric patients.AimsTo verify the applicability of a smooth pursuit task in a sample of psychiatric inpatients and to prove its efficiency in discriminating patient and control group performance.MethodsA sample of psychiatric inpatients was tested at psychiatric service of diagnosis and care of AUSL Romagna-Cesena. Eye movement measures were collected at a sampling rate of 60 Hz using the eye tribe tracker, a bar plugged into a PC, placed below the screen and containing both webcam and infrared illumination. Subjects underwent to a smooth pursuit eye movement task. They had to visually follow a white dot target moving horizontally on a black background with a sinusoidal velocity. At the end of the task, a chart of the eye movements done is shown on the screen. Data are off-line analyzed to calculate several eye movement parameters: gain, eye movement delay with respect to the movement of the target, maximum speed and number of saccades exhibited during pursuit.ResultsPatients compared to controls showed higher delay and lower gain values.ConclusionsFindings confirm the adequacy of this method in order to detect eye movement differences between psychiatric patients and controls in a smooth pursuit task.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.
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Foti F, Sdoia S, Menghini D, Mandolesi L, Vicari S, Ferlazzo F, Petrosini L. Are the deficits in navigational abilities present in the Williams syndrome related to deficits in the backward inhibition? Front Psychol 2015; 6:287. [PMID: 25852605 PMCID: PMC4364167 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2014] [Accepted: 02/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Williams syndrome (WS) is associated with a distinct profile of relatively proficient skills within the verbal domain compared to the severe impairment of visuo-spatial processing. Abnormalities in executive functions and deficits in planning ability and spatial working memory have been described. However, to date little is known about the influence of executive function deficits on navigational abilities in WS. This study aimed at analyzing in WS individuals a specific executive function, the backward inhibition (BI) that allows individuals to flexibly adapt to continuously changing environments. A group of WS individuals and a mental age- and gender-matched group of typically developing children were subjected to three task-switching experiments requiring visuospatial or verbal material to be processed. Results showed that WS individuals exhibited clear BI deficits during visuospatial task-switching paradigms and normal BI effect during verbal task-switching paradigm. Overall, the present results suggest that the BI involvement in updating environment representations during navigation may influence WS navigational abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Foti
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of RomeRome, Italy
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa LuciaRome, Italy
| | - Stefano Sdoia
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of RomeRome, Italy
| | - Deny Menghini
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Neuroscience Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital RomeItaly
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa LuciaRome, Italy
- Department of Motor Science and Wellness, University of Naples “Parthenope”Naples, Italy
| | - Stefano Vicari
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Neuroscience Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital RomeItaly
| | - Fabio Ferlazzo
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of RomeRome, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of RomeRome, Italy
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa LuciaRome, Italy
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Foti F, Menghini D, Petrosini L, Vicari S, Valerio G, Orlandi E, Crinò A, Spera S, De Bartolo P, Mandolesi L. Explorative function in Prader-Willi syndrome analyzed through an ecological spatial task. Res Dev Disabil 2015; 38:97-107. [PMID: 25575283 DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2014.11.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2014] [Accepted: 11/28/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
This study was aimed at evaluating the spatial abilities in individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) by using an ecological large-scale task with multiple rewards. To evaluate the extent of spatial deficit in PWS individuals, we compare their performances with those of individuals with Williams Syndrome (WS) in which the spatial deficits have been widely described. Participants had to explore an open space to search nine rewards placed in buckets arranged according to three spatial configurations: a Cross, a 3×3 Matrix and a Cluster composed by three groups of three buckets each. PWS individuals exhibited an explorative deficit in Cluster and Cross configurations, while WS participants in Matrix and Cross configurations. The findings indicate that the structural affordances of the environment influence the explorative strategies and can be related to how spatial information is processed.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Foti
- Department of Psychology, University "Sapienza", Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy; IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation (CERC), Via del Fosso di Fiorano 65, 00143 Rome, Italy
| | - D Menghini
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, "Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù", Piazza Sant'Onofrio 4, 00165 Rome, Italy
| | - L Petrosini
- Department of Psychology, University "Sapienza", Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy; IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation (CERC), Via del Fosso di Fiorano 65, 00143 Rome, Italy
| | - S Vicari
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, "Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù", Piazza Sant'Onofrio 4, 00165 Rome, Italy
| | - G Valerio
- Department of Motor Science and Wellness, University "Parthenope", Via Medina 40, 80133 Naples, Italy
| | - E Orlandi
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, "Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù", Piazza Sant'Onofrio 4, 00165 Rome, Italy
| | - A Crinò
- Pediatric and Autoimmune Endocrine Disease Unit, "Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù", Via Torre di Palidoro, 00050 Fiumicino (Rome), Italy
| | - S Spera
- Pediatric and Autoimmune Endocrine Disease Unit, "Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù", Via Torre di Palidoro, 00050 Fiumicino (Rome), Italy
| | - P De Bartolo
- IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation (CERC), Via del Fosso di Fiorano 65, 00143 Rome, Italy; Faculty of Formation Science, University "Guglielmo Marconi", Via Plinio 44, 00193 Rome, Italy
| | - L Mandolesi
- IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation (CERC), Via del Fosso di Fiorano 65, 00143 Rome, Italy; Department of Motor Science and Wellness, University "Parthenope", Via Medina 40, 80133 Naples, Italy.
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Foti F, Menghini D, Orlandi E, Rufini C, Crinò A, Spera S, Vicari S, Petrosini L, Mandolesi L. Learning by observation and learning by doing in Prader-Willi syndrome. J Neurodev Disord 2015; 7:6. [PMID: 25914757 PMCID: PMC4409733 DOI: 10.1186/s11689-015-9102-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2014] [Accepted: 01/28/2015] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND New competencies may be learned through active experience (learning by doing) or observation of others' experience (learning by observation). Observing another person performing a complex action accelerates the observer's acquisition of the same action, limiting the time-consuming process of learning by doing. Here, we compared learning by observation and learning by doing in individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). It is hypothesized that PWS individuals could show more difficulties with learning by observation than learning by doing because of their specific difficulty in interpreting and using social information. METHODS The performance of 24 PWS individuals was compared with that of 28 mental age (MA)- and gender-matched typically developing (TD) children in tasks of learning a visuo-motor sequence by observation or by doing. To determine whether the performance pattern exhibited by PWS participants was specific to this population or whether it was a nonspecific intellectual disability effect, we compared the PWS performances with those of a third MA- and gender-matched group of individuals with Williams syndrome (WS). RESULTS PWS individuals were severely impaired in detecting a sequence by observation, were able to detect a sequence by doing, and became as efficient as TD children in reproducing an observed sequence after a task of learning by doing. The learning pattern of PWS children was reversed compared with that of WS individuals. CONCLUSIONS The observational learning deficit in PWS individuals may be rooted, at least partially, in their incapacity to understand and/or use social information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Foti
- Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy ; IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 64, 00143 Rome, Italy
| | - Deny Menghini
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, "Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù", Piazza Sant'Onofrio 4, 00100 Rome, Italy
| | - Enzo Orlandi
- Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Cristina Rufini
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, "Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù", Piazza Sant'Onofrio 4, 00100 Rome, Italy
| | - Antonino Crinò
- Pediatric and Autoimmune Endocrine Disease Unit, "Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù", Palidoro, Via Torre di Palidoro, 00050 Fiumicino, Rome, Italy
| | - Sabrina Spera
- Pediatric and Autoimmune Endocrine Disease Unit, "Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù", Palidoro, Via Torre di Palidoro, 00050 Fiumicino, Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Vicari
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, "Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù", Piazza Sant'Onofrio 4, 00100 Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy ; IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 64, 00143 Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 64, 00143 Rome, Italy ; Department of Motor Science and Wellness, University of Naples "Parthenope", Via Medina 40, 80133 Naples, Italy
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Gelfo F, Petrosini L, Graziano A, De Bartolo P, Burello L, Vitale E, Polverino A, Iuliano A, Sorrentino G, Mandolesi L. Cortical metabolic deficits in a rat model of cholinergic basal forebrain degeneration. Neurochem Res 2013; 38:2114-23. [PMID: 23925861 DOI: 10.1007/s11064-013-1120-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2012] [Revised: 07/23/2013] [Accepted: 07/30/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Evidence indicates that the degeneration of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons may represent an important factor underlying the progressive cognitive decline characterizing Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the nature of the relationship between cholinergic depletion and AD is not fully elucidated. This study aimed at clarifying some aspects of the relation existing between deficits in cerebral energy metabolism and degeneration of cholinergic system in AD, by investigating the neuronal metabolic activity of several cortical areas after depletion of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons. In cholinergically depleted rats, we evaluated the neuronal metabolic activity by assaying cytochrome oxidase (CO) activity in frontal, parietal and posterior parietal cortices at four different time-points after unilateral injection of 192 IgG-saporin in the nucleus basalis magnocellularis. Unilateral depletion of cholinergic cells in the basal forebrain induced a bilateral decrease of metabolic activity in all the analyzed areas. Frontal and parietal cortices showed decreased metabolic activity even 3 days after the lesion, when the cholinergic degeneration was still incomplete. In posterior parietal cortex metabolic activity decreased only 7 days after the lesion. The possible molecular mechanisms underlying these findings were also investigated. Real-time PCR showed an increase of CO mRNA levels at 3, 7 and 15 days after the lesion both in frontal and parietal cortices, followed by normalization at 30 days. Western Blot analysis did not show any change in CO protein levels at any time-point after the lesion. Our findings support a link between metabolic deficit and cholinergic hypofunctionality characterizing AD pathology. The present model of cholinergic hypofunctionality provides a useful means to study the complex mechanisms linking two fundamental and interrelated phenomena characterizing AD from the early stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Gelfo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via del Fosso di Fiorano, 64, 00143, Rome, Italy,
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Foti F, Menghini D, Mandolesi L, Federico F, Vicari S, Petrosini L. Learning by observation: insights from Williams syndrome. PLoS One 2013; 8:e53782. [PMID: 23326504 PMCID: PMC3542281 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0053782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2012] [Accepted: 12/04/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Observing another person performing a complex action accelerates the observer’s acquisition of the same action and limits the time-consuming process of learning by trial and error. Observational learning makes an interesting and potentially important topic in the developmental domain, especially when disorders are considered. The implications of studies aimed at clarifying whether and how this form of learning is spared by pathology are manifold. We focused on a specific population with learning and intellectual disabilities, the individuals with Williams syndrome. The performance of twenty-eight individuals with Williams syndrome was compared with that of mental age- and gender-matched thirty-two typically developing children on tasks of learning of a visuo-motor sequence by observation or by trial and error. Regardless of the learning modality, acquiring the correct sequence involved three main phases: a detection phase, in which participants discovered the correct sequence and learned how to perform the task; an exercise phase, in which they reproduced the sequence until performance was error-free; an automatization phase, in which by repeating the error-free sequence they became accurate and speedy. Participants with Williams syndrome beneficiated of observational training (in which they observed an actor detecting the visuo-motor sequence) in the detection phase, while they performed worse than typically developing children in the exercise and automatization phases. Thus, by exploiting competencies learned by observation, individuals with Williams syndrome detected the visuo-motor sequence, putting into action the appropriate procedural strategies. Conversely, their impaired performances in the exercise phases appeared linked to impaired spatial working memory, while their deficits in automatization phases to deficits in processes increasing efficiency and speed of the response. Overall, observational experience was advantageous for acquiring competencies, since it primed subjects’ interest in the actions to be performed and functioned as a catalyst for executed action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Foti
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University Sapienza of Rome, Rome, Italy.
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Foti F, Menghini D, Petrosini L, Valerio G, Crinò A, Vicari S, Grimaldi T, Mandolesi L. Spatial Competences in Prader–Willi Syndrome: A Radial Arm Maze Study. Behav Genet 2011; 41:445-56. [DOI: 10.1007/s10519-011-9471-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2010] [Accepted: 04/20/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Foti F, Petrosini L, Cutuli D, Menghini D, Chiarotti F, Vicari S, Mandolesi L. Explorative function in Williams syndrome analyzed through a large-scale task with multiple rewards. Res Dev Disabil 2011; 32:972-985. [PMID: 21353462 DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2011.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2011] [Revised: 02/01/2011] [Accepted: 02/01/2011] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate spatial function in subjects with Williams syndrome (WS) by using a large-scale task with multiple rewards and comparing the spatial abilities of WS subjects with those of mental age-matched control children. In the present spatial task, WS participants had to explore an open space to search nine rewards placed in buckets arranged according to three spatial configurations: a cross, a 3 × 3 matrix and a cluster composed by three groups of three buckets each. The findings demonstrate that WS individuals were impaired in efficiently exploring the environment and in building cognitive spatial maps. In exploring the three spatial configurations, they performed worse than control subjects on all parameters analyzed. In fact, WS individuals took more time to complete the task, made more errors, performed a reduced number of error-free trials, displayed lower search efficiency, exhibited shorter spatial spans, showed a higher number of no-visits and displayed marked tendencies to perseverate and to neglect some buckets. Furthermore, WS individuals showed disorganized explorative patterns in comparison to control children. WS influenced performances differentially as a specific effect of the susceptibility of the configurations to being explored in a principled way. In the cross configuration that had strong spatial constraints, both groups exhibited their worst performances. In the matrix configuration, the altered explorative strategies of the WS subjects primarily affected their central exploration. The performances in the cluster configuration indicated that chunking was a strategy of strength in both TD and WS groups. In conclusion, WS individuals' deficits exhibited in the present explorative test may be considered an index of their difficulties in spatial orientation and motion perception displayed in the real world. The marked impairment in spatial information processing is discussed in neuro-anatomical alterations reported in WS.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Foti
- Department of Psychology, University Sapienza of Rome, Rome, Italy.
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Mandolesi L, Foti F, Cutuli D, Laricchiuta D, Gelfo F, De Bartolo P, Petrosini L. Features of sequential learning in hemicerebellectomized rats. J Neurosci Res 2010; 88:478-86. [PMID: 19746422 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.22220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Because the sequencing property is one of the functions in which cerebellar circuits are involved, it is important to analyze the features of sequential learning in the presence of cerebellar damage. Hemicerebellectomized and control rats were tested in a four-choice visuomotor learning task that required both the detection of a specific sequence of correct choices and the acquisition of procedural rules about how to perform the task. The findings indicate that the presence of the hemicerebellectomy did not affect the first phases of detection and acquisition of the sequential visuomotor task, delayed but did not prevent the learning of the sequential task, slowed down speed-up and proceduralization phases, and loosened the reward-response associative structure. The performances of hemicerebellectomized animals in the serial learning task as well as in the open field task demonstrated that the delayed sequential learning task could not be ascribed to impairment of motor functions or discriminative abilities or to low levels of motivation. The delay in sequential learning observed in the presence of a cerebellar lesion appeared to be related mainly to a delay of the automatization of the response. In conclusion, it may be advanced that, through cortical and subcortical connections, the cerebellum provides the acquisition of rapid and accurate sensory-guided sequence of responses.
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Foti F, Mandolesi L, Cutuli D, Laricchiuta D, De Bartolo P, Gelfo F, Petrosini L. Cerebellar Damage Loosens the Strategic Use of the Spatial Structure of the Search Space. Cerebellum 2009; 9:29-41. [DOI: 10.1007/s12311-009-0134-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Petrosini L, De Bartolo P, Foti F, Gelfo F, Cutuli D, Leggio MG, Mandolesi L. On whether the environmental enrichment may provide cognitive and brain reserves. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2009; 61:221-39. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresrev.2009.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 161] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2008] [Revised: 07/10/2009] [Accepted: 07/14/2009] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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De Bartolo P, Mandolesi L, Federico F, Foti F, Cutuli D, Gelfo F, Petrosini L. Cerebellar involvement in cognitive flexibility. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2009; 92:310-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2009.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2008] [Revised: 03/10/2009] [Accepted: 03/25/2009] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Mandolesi L, Petrosini L, Menghini D, Addona F, Vicari S. Children’ s radial arm maze performance as a function of age and sex. Int J Dev Neurosci 2009; 27:789-97. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2009.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2009] [Revised: 08/03/2009] [Accepted: 08/20/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- L. Mandolesi
- IRCCS Santa Lucia FoundationRomeItaly
- University of Naples “Parthenope”Italy
| | - L. Petrosini
- IRCCS Santa Lucia FoundationRomeItaly
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Rome “La Sapienza”Italy
| | - D. Menghini
- IRCCS, Children's Hospital “Bambino Gesù”RomeItaly
| | - F. Addona
- IRCCS, Children's Hospital “Bambino Gesù”RomeItaly
- University LUMSARomeItaly
| | - S. Vicari
- IRCCS, Children's Hospital “Bambino Gesù”RomeItaly
- University LUMSARomeItaly
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