Action and posture influence the retrieval of memory for objects.

The embodied approach states that memory traces are retrieved, at least in part, through a sensorimotor simulation of the original events, i.e., during retrieval we use our body and its sensorimotor pathways to simulate what happened during encoding. Thus, body manipulations that are incongruent with the motor elements involved at encoding should modulate memory performance. To test this hypothesis, we devised two experiments. In Experiment 1, participants had to observe (observation task) or observe and also perform an action on (enactment task) a series of objects. At recognition, they recognised the enacted objects faster and more accurately than the observed ones. Crucially, in Experiment 2, we manipulated body posture during recognition: one group was asked to hold their hands/arms in front of them (non-interfering group), and the other group was asked to block their hands/arms behind their back (interfering group). The results on reaction times, but not those on accuracy, showed a critical interaction: while the noninterfering group recognised enacted objects faster than observed objects, this advantage disappeared for the interfering group. This suggests that adopting a posture inconsistent with action at encoding could influence the time needed to correctly recognise the objects, but not the accuracy of the recognition.

Remembering facts versus feelings in the wake of political events.

Amid rising political polarisation, inaccurate memory for facts and exaggerated memories of grievances can drive individuals and groups further apart. We assessed whether people with more accurate memories of the facts concerning political events were less susceptible to bias when remembering how events made them feel. Study 1 assessed participants' memories concerning the 2016 U.S. presidential election (N = 571), and included 33 individuals with Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM). Study 2 assessed participants' memories concerning the 2018 referendum on abortion in Ireland (N = 733). Participants rated how happy, angry, and scared they felt days after these events. Six months later, they recalled their feelings and factual information. In both studies, participants overestimated how angry they had felt but underestimated happiness and fear. Adjusting for importance, no association was found between the accuracy of memory for facts and feelings. Accuracy in remembering facts was predicted by media exposure. Accuracy in remembering feelings was predicted by consistency over time in feelings and appraisals about past events. HSAM participants in Study 1 remembered election-related facts better than others, but not their feelings. Thus, having a good grasp of the facts did not protect against bias in remembering feelings about political events.

Flashbulb memory: referring back to Brown and Kulik's definition.

Since Brown and Kulik's (1977. Flashbulb memories. Cognition, 5, 73-99. http://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0277(77)90018-X) seminal work, a central issue in memory literature is whether flashbulb memories (FBMs) hold a special status within autobiographical recalls. To address this issue, we refer back to Brown and Kulik's definition of FBM as a snapshot of the reception context of an important public news and propose a method to identify the contents of this snapshot. Although Brown and Kulik found that the majority of FBM's contents could be classified within six canonical categories (CCs), here we claim that assessing the presence of FBMs through guided CCs' questions - as done by most researchers in this field - can be misleading. We suggest, instead, to use free recall reports to identify the consistent perceptual elements of the snapshot. Across two test-retest studies, we show that the contents of FBMs assessed by free reports and the contents of CCs assessed by guided questions, do not exactly coincide. Moreover, a structural equation model supports results of previous research about the determinants of FBM and reveals that FBM facilitates the recall of more consistent explicitly requested CCs' contents. Theoretical implications concerning the qualitative contents of FBMs and the debate about their consistency are discussed.

On my right or on your left? Spontaneous spatial perspective taking in blind people.

Spatial perspective taking is a human ability that permits to assume another person's spatial viewpoint. Data show that spatial perspective taking might arise even spontaneously by the mere presence of another person in the environment. We investigated whether this phenomenon is observable also in blind people. Blind and blindfolded sighted participants explored a tridimensional tactile map and memorized the localization of different landmarks. Then, after the presentation of sounds coming from three landmarks-positioned on the right, on the left, and in front-participants had to indicate the reciprocal position of the two lateral landmarks. Results showed that when the sound coming from the frontal landmark suggested the presence of a speaking (voice) or moving person (footsteps), several blind and sighted people adopted this person's perspective. These findings suggest that auditory stimuli can trigger spontaneous spatial perspective taking in sighted as well as in blind people.

Distinct processes shape flashbulb and event memories.

In the present study, we examined the relation between memory for a consequential and emotional event and memory for the circumstances in which people learned about that event, known as flashbulb memory. We hypothesized that these two types of memory have different determinants and that event memory is not necessarily a direct causal determinant of flashbulb memory. Italian citizens (N = 352) described their memories of Italy's victory in the 2006 Football World Cup Championship after a delay of 18 months. Structural equation modeling showed that flashbulb memory and event memory could be clearly differentiated and were determined by two separate pathways. In the first pathway, importance predicted emotional intensity, which, in turn, predicted the frequency of overt and covert rehearsal. Rehearsal was the only direct determinant of vivid and detailed flashbulb memories. In the second pathway, importance predicted rehearsal by media exposure, which enhanced the accuracy and certainty of event memory. Event memory was also enhanced by prior knowledge. These results have important implications for the debate concerning whether the formation of flashbulb memory and event memory involve different processes and for understanding how flashbulb memory can be simultaneously so vivid and so error-prone.

Copy Skills and Writing Abilities in Children With and Without Specific Learning Disabilities.

Copying a text quickly and accurately is important both in school and in daily life. However, this skill has never been systematically studied, either in children with typical development (TD) or in children with specific learning disabilities (SLD). The aim of this research was to study the features of a copy task and its relationship with other writing tasks. For this purpose, 674 children with TD and 65 children with SLD from Grades 6 through 8 in Italy were tested with a copy task and other writing assessment tasks, measuring three aspects of writing: handwriting speed, spelling, and expressive writing. Children with SLD performed worse on the copy task, both in terms of speed and accuracy, than children with TD. Copy speed was predicted by grade level and by all three major writing skills for children with TD but only by handwriting speed and spelling for children with SLD. Copy accuracy was predicted by gender and the three major writing skills for children with TD but only by spelling for children with SLD. These results suggest that children with SLD also have difficulty copying a text and benefit less than children with TD from their other writing skills.

Remembering the silver lining: reappraisal and positive bias in memory for emotion.

Reappraisal and distraction, unlike suppression, are known to decrease the intensity of negative emotion in the short term. Little is known about long-term characteristics associated with emotion regulation strategies, however. In a longitudinal study, we examined the relation between the strategies people reported using to regulate emotions during a stressful situation and their later memory for their emotions. Students in Italy rated the intensity of positive and negative emotions they were experiencing as they prepared for their high school exit exam. They also rated the extent to which they were regulating emotion using reappraisal, distraction, and suppression. Six weeks later, students recalled their pre-exam emotions. The more students reported engaging in reappraisal before the exam, the more they overestimated positive emotion and underestimated negative emotion when recalling their experience. The association between reported reappraisal and memory bias was partially mediated by positive changes over time in students' appraisals of the exam preparation experience. Reports of engaging in distraction and suppression were not associated with memory bias. Because remembered emotion guides future choices, these findings suggest that reappraisal is a highly adaptive strategy for coping with stressful situations, not only in the short run, but also in the long run.

The Role of Working Memory on Writing Processes.

Literature has extensively demonstrated the coordination role of working memory (WM) in complex tasks such as writing. However, previous studies mostly concentrated on the relation between passive WM (e.g., WM span) components and specific writing tasks (e.g., dictation). Here, we aimed to investigate the relationship between different writing skills and the performance on a WM updating task measuring the more active components of WM. From a pool of 160 Italian pupils (grades 3-5), we selected 46 children divided in two groups based on their WM updating performance. The first group consisted of 21 children with low WM updating performance (≤10th percentile), the second group consisted of 25 children with high WM updating performance (≥90th percentile). All children were tested on a battery of writing tasks to assess writing speed, orthographic skills, and competences in expressive writing. MANOVAs and a discriminant analysis were computed to assess group differences and the contribution of the different writing tests in correctly predicting group membership. The results revealed that children with high WM updating performance scored significantly higher than children with low WM updating performance on most of the writing tasks. These results highlight the relevant role of the active components of WM on writing processes. In addition, they suggest that the improvement of writing skills should rely not only on the training of the specific processes implied in this complex task, but also on the training of the cognitive processes that support them, such as active WM processes.

A structured therapeutic education program for children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes: an analysis of the efficacy of the "Pediatric Education for Diabetes" project.

BACKGROUND: Therapeutic education for Type 1 Diabetes involves the process of transmitting knowledge and developing the skills and behavior required to treat the disease. guidelines agree on stressing the importance of therapeutic educational intervention in teaching self-management skills to children and adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). This study presents the results of the "Pediatric Education for Type 1 Diabetes (T1D)" (PED) project, specifically designed for children and adolescents aged 6 to 16, and structured on guidelines indications, as part of a broader clinical-educational intervention for Type 1 diabetes. METHODS: Twenty-four patients with Type 1 diabetes (mean age: 12,13 y; SD=1.48 y; range 9-14) were studied in a 12-month PED structured project followed by an educational summer camp. All the activities were designed and organized by a multidisciplinary team (dietitian, pediatric diabetologist, nurse, psychologist and adult diabetologist). Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C), knowledge about Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) (self-monitoring and nutrition), self-management (self-monitoring, nutrition and flexibility of medical treatment), and wellbeing were used as outcome measures. RESULTS: Data suggest that the PED had a positive impact on all the targeted levels indicated for recommended care. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study seem to confirm the effectiveness in altering the three levels of "knowing," "know-how" and "wellbeing" required to optimize the quality of life of young patients with Type 1 diabetes. In addition, the proposed model, where a pediatric diabetologist always cooperates with an adult diabetologist, seems to be a permanent solution to the transitional gap widely discussed in the literature.

Improving spatial working memory in blind and sighted youngsters using programmable tactile displays.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether training with tactile matrices displayed with a programmable tactile display improves recalling performance of spatial images in blind, low-vision and sighted youngsters. To code and understand the behavioral underpinnings of learning two-dimensional tactile dispositions, in terms of spontaneous exploration strategies. METHODS: Three groups of blind, low-vision and sighted youngsters between 6 and 18 years old performed four training sessions with a weekly schedule in which they were asked to memorize single or double spatial layouts, featured as two-dimensional matrices. RESULTS: Results showed that all groups of participants significantly improved their recall performance compared to the first session baseline in the single-matrix task. No statistical difference in performance between groups emerged in this task. Instead, the learning effect in visually impaired participants is reduced in the double-matrix task, whereas it is still robust in blindfolded sighted controls. We also coded tactile exploration strategies in both tasks and their correlation with performance. Sighted youngsters, in particular, favored a proprioceptive exploration strategy. Finally, performance in the double-matrix task negatively correlated with using one hand and positively correlated with a proprioceptive strategy. CONCLUSION: The results of our study indicate that blind persons do not easily process two separate spatial layouts. However, rehabilitation programs promoting bi-manual and proprioceptive approaches to tactile exploration might help improve spatial abilities. Finally, programmable tactile displays are an effective way to make spatial and graphical configurations accessible to visually impaired youngsters and they can be profitably exploited in rehabilitation.

Allocentric and contra-aligned spatial representations of a town environment in blind people.

Evidence concerning the representation of space by blind individuals is still unclear, as sometimes blind people behave like sighted people do, while other times they present difficulties. A better understanding of blind people's difficulties, especially with reference to the strategies used to form the representation of the environment, may help to enhance knowledge of the consequences of the absence of vision. The present study examined the representation of the locations of landmarks of a real town by using pointing tasks that entailed either allocentric points of reference with mental rotations of different degrees, or contra-aligned representations. Results showed that, in general, people met difficulties when they had to point from a different perspective to aligned landmarks or from the original perspective to contra-aligned landmarks, but this difficulty was particularly evident for the blind. The examination of the strategies adopted to perform the tasks showed that only a small group of blind participants used a survey strategy and that this group had a better performance with respect to people who adopted route or verbal strategies. Implications for the comprehension of the consequences on spatial cognition of the absence of visual experience are discussed, focusing in particular on conceivable interventions.

Spatial representations in blind people: the role of strategies and mobility skills.

The role of vision in the construction of spatial representations has been the object of numerous studies and heated debate. The core question of whether visual experience is necessary to form spatial representations has found different, often contradictory answers. The present paper examines mental images generated from verbal descriptions of spatial environments. Previous evidence had shown that blind individuals have difficulty remembering information about spatial environments. By testing a group of congenitally blind people, we replicated this result and found that it is also present when the overall mental model of the environment is assessed. This was not always the case, however, but appeared to correlate with some blind participants' lower use of a mental imagery strategy and preference for a verbal rehearsal strategy, which was adopted particularly by blind people with more limited mobility skills. The more independent blind people who used a mental imagery strategy performed as well as sighted participants, suggesting that the difficulty blind people may have in processing spatial descriptions is not due to the absence of vision per se, but could be the consequence of both, their using less efficient verbal strategies and having poor mobility skills.

The identification of unfolding facial expressions.

We asked whether the identification of emotional facial expressions (FEs) involves the simultaneous perception of the facial configuration or the detection of emotion-specific diagnostic cues. We recorded at high speed (500 frames s-1) the unfolding of the FE in five actors, each expressing six emotions (anger, surprise, happiness, disgust, fear, sadness). Recordings were coded every 10 frames (20 ms of real time) with the Facial Action Coding System (FACS, Ekman et al 2002, Salt Lake City, UT: Research Nexus eBook) to identify the facial actions contributing to each expression, and their intensity changes over time. Recordings were shown in slow motion (1/20 of recording speed) to one hundred observers in a forced-choice identification task. Participants were asked to identify the emotion during the presentation as soon as they felt confident to do so. Responses were recorded along with the associated response times (RTs). The RT probability density functions for both correct and incorrect responses were correlated with the facial activity during the presentation. There were systematic correlations between facial activities, response probabilities, and RT peaks, and significant differences in RT distributions for correct and incorrect answers. The results show that a reliable response is possible long before the full FE configuration is reached. This suggests that identification is reached by integrating in time individual diagnostic facial actions, and does not require perceiving the full apex configuration.

Pain and emotions reported after childbirth and recalled 6 months later: the role of controllability.

The aim of this longitudinal study was twofold: to investigate the relationship between subjectively evaluated control, positive and negative emotional feelings, and pain intensity during childbirth; to assess the recall of these aspects of childbirth experience 6 months after delivery. Participants were 123 women who delivered naturally and spoke fluent Italian. Results showed that both immediately after delivery and 6 months later, higher subjective controllability was related to less severe reported pain, more intense positive emotions and less intense negative emotions. Furthermore, although there was no significant bias in the vividness of the recall, 6 months after delivery women reported higher subjective controllability, more intense positive emotions, less intense negative emotions and less intense pain. It is concluded that in preparing women for childbirth, two aspects deserve particular attention: the enhancement of subjectively perceived controllability and the possibility to work on both negative and positive emotions.

Appraisals, emotions and emotion regulation: An integrative approach.

The present work aims to investigate the relation between appraisals, emotions, and emotion regulation strategies by creating a structural equation model which integrates these three aspects of the emotion process. To reach this aim, Italian students (N = 610) confronted with their high school diploma examination completed a questionnaire 3 weeks before the beginning of the exam. Results showed that they experienced primarily three types of emotions-anxiety/fear, frustration/powerlessness, positive emotions-which were related to specific appraisal profiles. Importantly, these appraisal profiles and emotions were associated with the use of different strategies for regulating emotions: anxiety/fear was associated with focusing on the exam, drug use, and an inability to distance oneself from the exam; frustration/powerlessness, with use of suppression, distancing, and drugs; positive emotion, with reappraisal and problem focused strategies. The effectiveness of these different strategies will be discussed.