Decomposing geographical judgments into spatial, temporal and linguistic components.

When mentally exploring maps representing large-scale environments (e.g., countries or continents), humans are assumed to mainly rely on spatial information derived from direct perceptual experience (e.g., prior visual experience with the geographical map itself). In the present study, we rather tested whether also temporal and linguistic information could account for the way humans explore and ultimately represent this type of maps. We quantified temporal distance as the minimum time needed to travel by train across Italian cities, while linguistic distance was retrieved from natural language through cognitively plausible AI models based on non-spatial associative learning mechanisms (i.e., distributional semantic models). In a first experiment, we show that temporal and linguistic distances capture with high-confidence real geographical distances. Next, in a second behavioral experiment, we show that linguistic information can account for human performance over and above real spatial information (which plays the major role in explaining participants' performance) in a task in which participants have to judge the distance between cities (while temporal information was found to be not relevant). These findings indicate that, when exploring maps representing large-scale environments, humans do take advantage of both perceptual and linguistic information, suggesting in turn that the formation of cognitive maps possibly relies on a strict interplay between spatial and non-spatial learning principles.

P.A.V.I.A. Study: Pervasiveness and Associated Factors of Video Slot Machine Use in a Large Sample of Italian Adolescents.

Video slot machines (VSM) are considered a particularly harmful gambling format; however, scant data is available on their use among underage Italian individuals. Two surveys were conducted in 2018 and 2022 involving 7,959 underage high school students (57.8% female) in Pavia, Northern Italy. We estimated adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) for lifetime experience and current regular (at least monthly) use of VSM, according to family, educational and behavioral factors. Overall, participants reporting lifetime VSM experience were 13.2% (95% CI: 12.5 - 13.9), 15.2% (95% CI: 14.0-16.4%) in 2018, and 12.0% (95% CI: 11.1-13.0%) in 2022. Current regular VSM users were 1.4% (95% CI: 1.1-1.7) in total, 1.2% (95% CI: 0.8-1.6%) in 2018 and 1.5% (95% CI: 1.1-1.8%) in 2022. VSM lifetime experience and current regular use were significantly more frequent in males (aORs: 1.55 and 4.81, respectively), students who failed a year (aORs: 2.07 and 3.44), or with daily gambling parents/siblings (aORs: 2.83 and 4.86). Lifetime use of alcohol, tobacco, or illicit substances was significantly directly associated with lifetime VSM use (aORs between 2.64 and 4.75); monthly alcohol, tobacco, or illicit substances use was significantly directly associated with current regular VSM use (aORs between 4.47 and 18.21). Sexting and voluntary self-injury were significantly more frequent among VSM lifetime/current regular users. VSM use, which is directly associated with other risky behaviors, may be pervasive among Italian minors. Such public health concern calls for legislative enforcements and integrated multidisciplinary health promotion and prevention strategies.

Hands-on false memories: a combined study with distributional semantics and mouse-tracking.

Although mouse-tracking has been seen as a real-time window into different aspects of human decision-making processes, currently little is known about how the decision process unfolds in veridical and false memory retrieval. Here, we directly investigated decision-making processes by predicting participants' performance in a mouse-tracking version of a typical Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) task through distributional semantic models, a usage-based approach to meaning. Participants were required to study lists of associated words and then to perform a recognition task with the mouse. Results showed that mouse trajectories were extensively affected by the semantic similarity between the words presented in the recognition phase and the ones previously studied. In particular, the higher the semantic similarity, the larger the conflict driving the choice and the higher the irregularity in the trajectory when correctly rejecting new words (i.e., the false memory items). Conversely, on the temporal evolution of the decision, our results showed that semantic similarity affects more complex temporal measures indexing the online decision processes subserving task performance. Together, these findings demonstrate that semantic similarity can affect human behavior at the level of motor control, testifying its influence on online decision-making processes. More generally, our findings complement previous seminal theories on false memory and provide insights into the impact of the semantic memory structure on different decision-making components.

Social cognition in chronic migraine with medication overuse: a cross-sectional study on different aspects of mentalization and social relationships.

BACKGROUND: Social cognition refers to all mental operations to decipher information needed in social interactions. Here we aimed to outline the socio-cognitive profile of Chronic Migraine with Medication Overuse (CM + MO), given they are recognized to be at risk of socio-cognitive difficulties. Given the multidimensionality of this construct, we considered: (1) socio-cognitive abilities, (2) socio-cognitive beliefs, (3) alexithymia and autism traits, and (4) social relationships. METHODS: Seventy-one patients suffering from CM + MO, 61 from episodic migraine (EM), and 80 healthy controls (HC) were assessed with a comprehensive battery: (1) the Faux Pas test (FP), the Strange Stories task (SS), the Reading Mind in the Eyes test (RMET), (2) the Tromsø Social Intelligence Scale, (3) the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Autism Spectrum Quotient, (4) the Lubben Social Network Scale, the Friendship Scale. RESULTS: CM + MO: (1) performed similar to EM but worse than HC in the FP and SS, while they were worse than EM and HC in the RMET; (2) were similar to EM and HC in social intelligence; (3) had more alexithymic/autistic traits than EM and HC; (4) reported higher levels of contact with their family members but felt little support from the people around them than HC. CONCLUSIONS: CM + MO results characterized by a profile of compromised socio-cognitive abilities that affects different dimensions. These findings may have a relevant role in multiple fields related to chronic headache: from the assessment to the management.

Spatial Representations Without Spatial Computations.

Cognitive maps are assumed to be fundamentally spatial and grounded only in perceptual processes, as supported by the discovery of functionally dedicated cell types in the human brain, which tile the environment in a maplike fashion. Challenging this view, we demonstrate that spatial representations-such as large-scale geographical maps-can be as well retrieved with high confidence from natural language through cognitively plausible artificial-intelligence models on the basis of nonspatial associative-learning mechanisms. More critically, we show that linguistic information accounts for the specific distortions observed in tasks when college-age adults have to judge the geographical positions of cities, even when these positions are estimated on real maps. These findings indicate that language experience can encode and reproduce cognitive maps without the need for a dedicated spatial-representation system, thus suggesting that the formation of these maps is the result of a strict interplay between spatial- and nonspatial-learning principles.

A double-blind randomized controlled trial combining cognitive training (CoRe) and neurostimulation (tDCS) in the early stages of cognitive impairment.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases is expected to increase over the next years, therefore, new methods able to prevent and delay cognitive decline are needed. AIMS: To evaluate the effectiveness of a combined treatment protocol associating a computerized cognitive training (CoRe) with anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). METHODS: In this randomized controlled trial, 33 patients in the early stage of cognitive impairment were assigned to the experimental group (CoRE + real tDCS) or control group (CoRE + sham tDCS). In each group, the intervention lasted 3 consecutive weeks (4 sessions/week). A neuropsychological assessment was administered at baseline (T0), post-intervention (T1) and 6-months later (T2). RESULTS: The CoRE + real tDCS group only improved in working memory and attention/processing speed at both T1 and T2. It reported a stable MMSE score at T2, while the CoRE + sham tDCS group worsened. Age, mood, and T0 MMSE score resulted to play a role in predicting treatment effects. CONCLUSION: Combined multi-domain interventions may contribute to preventing or delaying disease progression. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Trial registration number (ClinicalTrials.gov): NCT04118686.

Facemasks and face recognition: Potential impact on synaptic plasticity.

Visual recognition of facial expression modulates our social interactions. Compelling experimental evidence indicates that face conveys plenty of information that are fundamental for humans to interact. These are encoded at neural level in specific cortical and subcortical brain regions through activity- and experience-dependent synaptic plasticity processes. The current pandemic, due to the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection, is causing relevant social and psychological detrimental effects. The institutional recommendations on physical distancing, namely social distancing and wearing of facemasks are effective in reducing the rate of viral spread. However, by impacting social interaction, facemasks might impair the neural responses to recognition of facial cues that are overall critical to our behaviors. In this survey, we briefly review the current knowledge on the neurobiological substrate of facial recognition and discuss how the lack of salient stimuli might impact the ability to retain and consolidate learning and memory phenomena underlying face recognition. Such an "abnormal" visual experience raises the intriguing possibility of a "reset" mechanism, a renewed ability of adult brain to undergo synaptic plasticity adaptations.

High perceived isolation and reduced social support affect headache impact levels in migraine after the Covid-19 outbreak: A cross sectional survey on chronic and episodic patients.

BACKGROUND: Psychosocial variables are key factors influencing psycho-physical equilibrium in migraine patients. Social isolation and vulnerability to stressors may prevent efficient psychological adjustment negatively affecting adaptation to life changes, as that imposed during Covid-19 lockdown. Here, we explored psychosocial dimensions and changes in clinical condition during Covid-19 lockdown in migraine patients, with regard to migraine type and headache impact. METHODS: Sixty-four migraine patients (32 episodic and 32 chronic) and 64 healthy control subjects were included in a case-control cross-sectional study. A two-step clustering procedure split patients into two clusters, based on the Headache Impact Test. Perceived global distress, loneliness, empathy, and coping levels were compared in groups, as well as changes in clinical condition. RESULTS: Migraine patients reported higher general loneliness and lower social support compared to healthy control subjects. Emotional loneliness was more marked in patients with higher headache impact. This subgroup of patients more frequently reported changes in the therapeutic and care paths as the perceived cause of the occurrence of motor or extra-motor symptomatology. CONCLUSIONS: Migraine patients, especially those more severely affected, proved more vulnerable than healthy control subjects to Covid-19 lockdown. Long-lasting interruption of social interactions may be detrimental in fragile patients that are in need of structured support interventions to maintain psycho-physical wellbeing.

Closeness to friends explains age differences in positive emotional experience during the lockdown period of COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Studies on age differences in emotional states during the COVID-19 pandemic showed that older adults experienced greater emotional wellbeing compared to younger adults. We hypothesized these age differences to be related to the perception of closeness to family/friends or the engagement in daily activities during the pandemic. AIM: To investigate age differences in positive and negative emotional experiences and whether the perception of closeness to family/friends and the engagement in daily activities during pandemic explained such age-related differences. METHODS: Through a cross-sectional study, 1,457 adults aged 18-87 years old completed an online survey assessing positive and negative emotional experiences, the perception of more closeness to family/friends, and daily activities that participants started/re-started during the pandemic. RESULTS: Increasing age was associated with more positive and less negative emotional experiences. Age differences in positive emotional experience were explained by the perception of more closeness to friends and not by the engagement in daily activities. For negative emotional experience age, differences remained significant even after accounting for the perception of closeness to family/friends and engagements in daily activities. DISCUSSION: Older adults' greater overall level of positive emotional experience was explained by their greater perception of more closeness to friends. We speculate that social closeness provides a coping mechanism to increase emotional wellbeing employed especially in older adults. CONCLUSION: Our findings reinforce the link between perceived social closeness and emotional wellbeing especially in older adults. To cope with stressful situation, it is important to encourage older adults to increase the closeness to their social network.

Experiences of Mental Healthcare Reported by Individuals Diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder: An Italian Qualitative Study.

This qualitative study explores experiences of mental health care by nine Italian users with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. The findings from semi-structured interviews carried by professional researchers highlighted the following themes: mixed feelings about the diagnosis; lack of access to psychological interventions despite preferences of users; positive view of peer support, job as a safe haven, traumatic experiences of compulsory hospital admissions; need for crisis interventions as alternative to hospital admission. Most users' views look in accordance with evidence-based recommendations seldom implemented in practice. Future research directions, implications of users' expectations and experiences for service planning and quality improvement, are presented and discussed in the light of the qualitative available literature.

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on Neuropsychological Effects of Long-Term Use of Opioids in Patients With Chronic Noncancer Pain.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Opioid treatments are often prolonged because of the pathology causing pain. We focused on the cognitive functions in patients with chronic pain treated with opioids. This topic is currently controversial, but in practice, the consequences are important in patients' daily lives, social interactions, working ability, and driving. DATABASE AND DATA TREATMENT: Medline and Embase databases were searched for eligible articles. We included studies that enrolled patients with chronic noncancer pain, studies with patients receiving opioid treatment, studies with a control group not using opioids, and studies in which cognitive functions were evaluated with specific tests. The cognitive areas examined were as follows: attention, reaction time, executive functions, psychomotor speed, memory, and working memory. From 356 abstracts screened, 9 articles satisfied eligibility criteria and were included in our review: 7 observational and 7 experimental studies. We classified the pain treatments as follows: opioids, other drugs active on the central nervous system (CNS) (antidepressants/anticonvulsants), and treatments not specifically targeted to the CNS. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were seen only with regard to attention between opioids alone and no centrally acting treatment (standardized mean difference [SMD]: -0.53, 95% confidence interval [CI] : -0.91, -0.15; P = 0.007; I2 = 23%) and between opioids combined with antidepressants and/or anticonvulsants and no centrally acting treatment (SMD: -0.62, 95% CI: -1.04, -0.20; P = 0.004; I2 = 0%). No other significant differences were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Opioids reduce attention when compared with treatments not targeted on the CNS. If opioids are used together with antidepressants and/or anticonvulsants, this effect increases. SIGNIFICANCE: These findings on the neuropsychological effects of opioids could be used to generate strategies to refine pain treatments.

The role of the cerebellum in explicit and incidental processing of facial emotional expressions: A study with transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Growing evidence suggests that the cerebellum plays a critical role in non-motor functions, contributing to cognitive and affective processing. In particular, the cerebellum might represent an important node of the "limbic" network, underlying not only emotion regulation but also emotion perception and recognition. Here, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to shed further light on the role of the cerebellum in emotional perception by specifically testing cerebellar contribution to explicit and incidental emotional processing. In particular, in three different experiments, we found that TMS over the (left) cerebellum impaired participants' ability to categorize facial emotional expressions (explicit task) and to classify the gender of emotional faces (incidental emotional processing task), but not the gender of neutral faces. Overall, our results indicate that the cerebellum is involved in perceiving the emotional content of facial stimuli, even when this is task irrelevant.

The effect of strategic memory training in older adults: who benefits most?

ABSTRACTBackground:Previous research has suggested that there is a degree of variability among older adults' response to memory training, such that some individuals benefit more than others. The aim of the present study was to identify the profile of older adults who were likely to benefit most from a strategic memory training program that has previously proved to be effective in improving memory in healthy older adults. METHOD: In total, 44 older adults (60-83 years) participated in a strategic memory training. We examined memory training benefits by measuring changes in memory practiced (word list learning) and non-practiced tasks (grocery list and associative learning). In addition, a battery of cognitive measures was administered in order to assess crystallized and fluid abilities, short-term memory, working memory, and processing speed. RESULTS: Results confirmed the efficacy of the training in improving performance in both practiced and non-practiced memory tasks. For the practiced memory tasks, results showed that memory baseline performance and crystallized ability predicted training gains. For the non-practiced memory tasks, analyses showed that memory baseline performance was a significant predictor of gain in the grocery list learning task. For the associative learning task, the significant predictors were memory baseline performance, processing speed, and marginally the age. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that older adults with a higher baseline memory capacity and with more efficient cognitive resources were those who tended to benefit most from the training. The present study provides new avenues in designing personalized intervention according to the older adults' cognitive profile.

The Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex Plays a Causal Role in Integrating Social Impressions from Faces and Verbal Descriptions.

Several neuroimaging studies point to a key role of the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) in the formation of socially relevant impressions. In 3 different experiments, participants were required to form socially relevant impressions about other individuals on the basis of text descriptions of their social behaviors, and to decide whether a face alone, a trait adjective (e.g., "selfish"), or a face presented with a trait adjective was consistent or inconsistent with the impression they had formed. Before deciding whether the target stimulus matched the impression they had previously formed, participants received transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the dmPFC, the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG, also implicated in social impression formation), or over a control site (vertex). Results from the 3 experiments converged in showing that interfering with dmPFC activity significantly delayed participants in responding whether a face-adjective pair was consistent with the impression they had formed. No effects of TMS were observed following stimulation of the IFG or when evaluations had to be made on faces or trait adjectives presented alone. Our findings critically extend previous neuroimaging evidence by indicating a causal role of the dmPFC in creating coherent impressions based on the integration of face and verbal description of social behaviors.

Interfering with activity in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex via TMS affects social impressions updating.

In our everyday social interactions we often need to deal with others' unpredictable behaviors. Integrating unexpected information in a consistent representation of another agent is a cognitively demanding process. Several neuroimaging studies point to the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) as a critical structure in mediating social evaluations. Our aim here was to shed light on the possible causal role of the mPFC in the dynamic process of forming and updating social impressions about others. We addressed this issue by suppressing activity in the mPFC by means of 1 Hz offline transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) prior to a task requiring participants to evaluate other agents' trustworthiness after reading about their social behavior. In two different experiments, we found that inhibiting activity in the mPFC increased perceived trustworthiness when inconsistent information about one agent's behavior was provided. In turn, when only negative or positive behaviors of a person were described, TMS over the mPFC did not affect judgments. Our results indicate that the mPFC is causally involved in mediating social impressions updating-at least in cases in which judgment is uncertain due to conflicting information to be processed.

The role of the lateral occipital cortex in aesthetic appreciation of representational and abstract paintings: a TMS study.

Neuroimaging studies of aesthetic appreciation have shown that activity in the lateral occipital area (LO)-a key node in the object recognition pathway-is modulated by the extent to which visual artworks are liked or found beautiful. However, the available evidence is only correlational. Here we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to investigate the putative causal role of LO in the aesthetic appreciation of paintings. In our first experiment, we found that interfering with LO activity during aesthetic appreciation selectively reduced evaluation of representational paintings, leaving appreciation of abstract paintings unaffected. A second experiment demonstrated that, although the perceived clearness of the images overall positively correlated with liking, the detrimental effect of LO TMS on aesthetic appreciation does not owe to TMS reducing perceived clearness. Taken together, our findings suggest that object-recognition mechanisms mediated by LO play a causal role in aesthetic appreciation of representational art.

Self-help memory training for healthy older adults in a residential care center: specific and transfer effects on performance and beliefs.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive flexibility has repeatedly been shown to improve after training programs in community-dwelling older adults, but few studies have focused on healthy older adults living in other settings. OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the efficacy of self-help training for healthy older adults in a residential care center on memory tasks they practiced (associative and object list learning tasks) and any transfer to other tasks (grocery lists, face-name learning, figure-word pairing, word lists, and text learning). Transfer effects on everyday life (using a problem-solving task) and on participants' beliefs regarding their memory (efficacy and control) were also examined. With the aid of a manual, the training adopted a learner-oriented approach that directly encouraged learners to generalize strategic behavior to new tasks. The maintenance of any training benefits was assessed after 6 months. METHOD: The study involved 34 residential care center residents (aged 70-99 years old) with no cognitive impairments who were randomly assigned to two programs: the experimental group followed the self-help training program, whereas the active control group was involved in general cognitive stimulation activities. RESULTS: Training benefits emerged in the trained group for the tasks that were practiced. Transfer effects were found in memory and everyday problem-solving tasks and on memory beliefs. The effects of training were generally maintained in both practiced and unpracticed memory tasks. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that learner-oriented self-help training enhances memory performance and memory beliefs, in the short term at least, even in residential care center residents.

Semantic and episodic processes differently predict false memories in the DRM task.

There is a fervent debate about the processes underpinning false memories formation. Seminal theories have suggested that semantic memory would be involved in false memories production, while episodic memory would counter their formation. Yet, direct evidence corroborating such view is still lacking. Here, we tested this possibility by asking participants to perform the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) task, a typical false memory paradigm, in which they had to study lists of words and subsequently to recognize and distinguish them from new words (i.e., the false memory items). The same participants were also required to perform a semantic task and an episodic-source memory task. Our results showed that a higher number of false memories in the DRM task occurred for those participants with better semantic memory abilities, while a lower number of false memories occurred for participants with better episodic abilities. These findings support a key role of semantic processes in false memory formation and, more generally, help clarify the specific contribution of different memory systems to false recognitions.

Theory of mind in chronic migraine with medication overuse assessed with the MASC.

Theory of Mind (ToM) is the ability to infer one's own and others' mental states. Growing research indicates that ToM is impaired in Chronic Migraine with Medication Overuse (CM + MO). However, the research in this field has been conducted using static scenario-based tasks, often failing to test mentalization in everyday situations and measuring only performance accuracy. We filled this gap by administering the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC) to subjects with CM + MO compared to episodic migraine (EM). This test allows us to assess both affective and cognitive ToM and which, in addition to being accurate, also analyzes the type of error in attribution of mental states, distinguishing between hypo-mentalization and hyper-mentalization. Thirty patients suffering from CM + MO and 42 from EM were enrolled. Results showed that CM + MO patients were less accurate in mental state attribution than EM. In addition, compared to EM, CM + MO individuals were more impaired in the affective ToM dimensions and committed more errors of hypo-mentalization. In conclusion, the application of MASC in patients with CM + MO allowed for the detection of an alteration in their ability to correctly draw conclusions about other people's mental states. This latter contributes critically to appropriate social reactions and also, possibly, to satisfactory social interactions.