Comparing online cognitive load on mobile versus PC-based devices.

Navigating the web represents a complex cognitive activity that requires effective integration of different stimuli and the correct functioning of numerous cognitive abilities (including attention, perception, and working memory). Despite the potential relevance of the topic, numerous limitations are present throughout the literature about the cognitive load during online activities. The main aim of this study is to investigate cognitive load during comprehension and information-seeking tasks. In particular, we here focus on the comparison of the cognitive load required while performing those tasks using mobile or PC-based devices. This topic has become even more crucial due to the massive adoption of smart working and distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. A great effort is nowadays devoted to the detection and quantification of stressful states induced by working and learning activities. Continuous stress and excessive cognitive load are two of the main causes of mental and physical illnesses such as depression or anxiety. Cognitive load was measured through electroencephalography (EEG), acquired via a low-cost wireless EEG headset. Two different tasks were considered: reading comprehension (CO) of online text and online information-seeking (IS). Moreover, two experimental conditions were compared, administering the two tasks using mobile (MB) and desktop (PC) devices. Eleven participants were involved in each experimental condition, MB and PC, performing both the tasks on the same device, for a total of twenty-two people, recruited from students, researchers, and employees of the university. The following two research questions were investigated: Q1: Is there a difference in the cognitive load while performing the comprehension and the information-seeking tasks? Q2: Does the adopted device influence the cognitive load? The results obtained show that the baseline (BL) requires the lower cognitive load in both the conditions, while in IS task, the requirement reaches its highest value, especially using a mobile phone. In general, the power of all the brain wave bands increased in all conditions (MB and PC) during the two tasks (CO and IS), except for alpha, which is usually high in a state of relaxation and low cognitive load. People include website navigation into their daily routines, and for this, it is important to create an interaction that is as easy and barrier-free as possible. An effective design allows a user to focus on interesting information: many website architectures, instead, are an obstacle to be overcome; they impose a high cognitive load and poor user experience. All these aspects draw cognitive resources away from the user's primary task of finding and comprehending the site's information. Having information about how the cognitive load varies based on the device adopted and the considered task can provide useful indicators in this direction. This work suggests that using an EEG low-cost wearable device could be useful to quantify the cognitive load induced, allowing the development of new experiments to analyse these dependencies deeper, and to provide suggestions for better interaction with the web.

Am I present in imaginary worlds? Intentions, actions, and flow in mediated experiences and fiction.

We support the idea of applying cultural evolution theory to the study of storytelling, and fiction in particular. However, we suggest that a more plausible link between real and imaginary worlds is the feeling of "presence" we can experience in both of them: we feel present when we are able to correctly and intuitively enact our embodied predictions.

Searching for the Metaverse: Neuroscience of Physical and Digital Communities.

What distinguishes real-world communities from their online counterparts? Social and cognitive neuroscience research on social networks and collective intentionality will be used in the article to answer this question. Physical communities are born in places. And places engage "we-mode" neurobiological and cognitive processes as behavioral synchrony, shared attention, deliberate attunement, interbrain synchronization, and so on, which create coherent social networks of very different individuals who are supported by a "wisdom of crowd." Digital technologies remove physical boundaries, giving people more freedom to choose their activities and groups. At the same time, however, the lack of physical co-presence of community members significantly reduces their possibility of activating "we-mode" cognitive processes and social motivation. Because of this, unlike physical communities that allow interaction between people from varied origins and stories, digital communities are always made up of people who have the same interests and knowledge (communities of practice). This new situation disrupts the "wisdom of crowd," making the community more radical and less accurate (polarization effect), allowing influential users to wield disproportionate influence over the group's beliefs, and producing inequalities in the distribution of social capital. However, a new emergent technology-the Metaverse-has the potential to reverse this trend. Several studies have revealed that virtual and augmented reality-the major technologies underlying the Metaverse-can engage the same neurobiological and cognitive "we-mode" processes as real-world environments. If the many flaws in this technology are fixed, it might encourage people to engage in more meaningful and constructive interactions in online communities.

Psychomatics-A Multidisciplinary Framework for Understanding Artificial Minds.

Although large language models (LLMs) and other artificial intelligence systems demonstrate cognitive skills similar to humans, such as concept learning and language acquisition, the way they process information fundamentally differs from biological cognition. To better understand these differences, this article introduces Psychomatics, a multidisciplinary framework bridging cognitive science, linguistics, and computer science. It aims to delve deeper into the high-level functioning of LLMs, focusing specifically on how LLMs acquire, learn, remember, and use information to produce their outputs. To achieve this goal, Psychomatics will rely on a comparative methodology, starting from a theory-driven research question-is the process of language development and use different in humans and LLMs?-drawing parallels between LLMs and biological systems. Our analysis shows how LLMs can map and manipulate complex linguistic patterns in their training data. Moreover, LLMs can follow Grice's Cooperative principle to provide relevant and informative responses. However, human cognition draws from multiple sources of meaning, including experiential, emotional, and imaginative facets, which transcend mere language processing and are rooted in our social and developmental trajectories. Moreover, current LLMs lack physical embodiment, reducing their ability to make sense of the intricate interplay between perception, action, and cognition that shapes human understanding and expression. Ultimately, Psychomatics holds the potential to yield transformative insights into the nature of language, cognition, and intelligence, both artificial and biological. Moreover, by drawing parallels between LLMs and human cognitive processes, Psychomatics can inform the development of more robust and human-like artificial intelligence systems.

Biosignal comparison for autism assessment using machine learning models and virtual reality.

Clinical assessment procedures encounter challenges in terms of objectivity because they rely on subjective data. Computational psychiatry proposes overcoming this limitation by introducing biosignal-based assessments able to detect clinical biomarkers, while virtual reality (VR) can offer ecological settings for measurement. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder where many biosignals have been tested to improve assessment procedures. However, in ASD research there is a lack of studies systematically comparing biosignals for the automatic classification of ASD when recorded simultaneously in ecological settings, and comparisons among previous studies are challenging due to methodological inconsistencies. In this study, we examined a VR screening tool consisting of four virtual scenes, and we compared machine learning models based on implicit (motor skills and eye movements) and explicit (behavioral responses) biosignals. Machine learning models were developed for each biosignal within the virtual scenes and then combined into a final model per biosignal. A linear support vector classifier with recursive feature elimination was used and tested using nested cross-validation. The final model based on motor skills exhibited the highest robustness in identifying ASD, achieving an AUC of 0.89 (SD = 0.08). The best behavioral model showed an AUC of 0.80, while further research is needed for the eye-movement models due to limitations with the eye-tracking glasses. These findings highlight the potential of motor skills in enhancing objectivity and reliability in the early assessment of ASD compared to other biosignals.

Virtual reality for enhancing the cognitive behavioral treatment of obesity with binge eating disorder: randomized controlled study with one-year follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Recent research identifies unhealthful weight-control behaviors (fasting, vomiting, or laxative abuse) induced by a negative experience of the body, as the common antecedents of both obesity and eating disorders. In particular, according to the allocentric lock hypothesis, individuals with obesity may be locked to an allocentric (observer view) negative memory of the body that is no longer updated by contrasting egocentric representations driven by perception. In other words, these patients may be locked to an allocentric negative representation of their body that their sensory inputs are no longer able to update even after a demanding diet and a significant weight loss. OBJECTIVE: To test the brief and long-term clinical efficacy of an enhanced cognitive-behavioral therapy including a virtual reality protocol aimed at unlocking the negative memory of the body (ECT) in morbidly obese patients with binge eating disorders (BED) compared with standard cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and an inpatient multimodal treatment (IP) on weight loss, weight loss maintenance, BED remission, and body satisfaction improvement, including psychonutritional groups, a low-calorie diet (1200 kcal/day), and physical training. METHODS: 90 obese (BMI>40) female patients with BED upon referral to an obesity rehabilitation center were randomly assigned to conditions (31 to ECT, 30 to CBT, and 29 to IP). Before treatment completion, 24 patients discharged themselves from hospital (4 in ECT, 10 in CBT, and 10 in IP). The remaining 66 inpatients received either 15 sessions of ECT, 15 sessions of CBT, or no additional treatment over a 5-week usual care inpatient regimen (IP). ECT and CBT treatments were administered by 3 licensed psychotherapists, and patients were blinded to conditions. At start, upon completion of the inpatient treatment, and at 1-year follow-up, patients' weight, number of binge eating episodes during the previous month, and body satisfaction were assessed by self-report questionnaires and compared across conditions. 22 patients who received all sessions did not provide follow-up data (9 in ECT, 6 in CBT, and 7 in IP). RESULTS: Only ECT was effective at improving weight loss at 1-year follow-up. Conversely, control participants regained on average most of the weight they had lost during the inpatient program. Binge eating episodes decreased to zero during the inpatient program but were reported again in all the three groups at 1-year follow-up. However, a substantial regain was observed only in the group who received the inpatient program alone, while both ECT and CBT were successful in maintaining a low rate of monthly binge eating episodes. CONCLUSIONS: Despite study limitations, findings support the hypothesis that the integration of a VR-based treatment, aimed at both unlocking the negative memory of the body and at modifying its behavioral and emotional correlates, may improve the long-term outcome of a treatment for obese BED patients. As expected, the VR-based treatment, in comparison with the standard CBT approach, was able to better prevent weight regain but not to better manage binge eating episodes.

A digital health home intervention for people within the Alzheimer's disease continuum: results from the Ability-TelerehABILITation pilot randomized controlled trial.

PURPOSE: This study tested the efficacy of digital-health home intervention for people within the Alzheimer's disease (AD)-continuum. METHODS: Thirty people within the AD continuum were randomly assigned to a telerehabilitation (ABILITY; 6 males, Mage=78.2 ± 3.95) or treatment as usual (TAU; 8 males, Mage=77.13 ± 6.38), performing cognitive and physical activities at home for six weeks. The ABILITY intervention additionally included a digital platform enabling communication between the hospital and the patient's home. Efficiency, such as adherence, perceived fit of demands and skills, usability, and effectiveness measures, including neuropsychological level, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and autonomy in daily living, were collected before (T0), after the treatment (T1), and at the 1-year-follow-up (T2). RESULTS: The ABILITY program was efficient, with a higher adherence (81% vs. 62%), a higher perceived fit of demands and skills than TAU (p<.05), and a good level of technology usability. In terms of effectiveness, a treatment effect (ABILITY > TAU) emerged on the global cognitive level, especially in language, executive functions, and memory domains. Moreover, a treatment carry-over effect (1-year follow-up) was observed in global cognitive functions (especially language) (ABILITY > TAU), behavioral symptoms, and caregiver distress (TAU > ABILITY). CONCLUSIONS: Our preliminary findings suggest that ABILITY is a promising eHealth intervention to improve at-home treatment adherence and to preserve cognitive and behavioral abilities.

People in the Alzheimer's Disease continuum facing chronic cognitive disabilities represent an emergency for the healthcare system given the substantial need for long-term rehabilitation;This study evaluates a new model of rehabilitation in the continuity of care for people with cognitive disabilities, adopting an asynchronous approach;The asynchronous telerehabilitation model may be considered a new frontier for continuity of care, capable of answering the unmet need of scaling up rehabilitation services to the broad population.

The whole-body motor skills of children with autism spectrum disorder taking goal-directed actions in virtual reality.

Many symptoms of the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are evident in early infancy, but ASD is usually diagnosed much later by procedures lacking objective measurements. It is necessary to anticipate the identification of ASD by improving the objectivity of the procedure and the use of ecological settings. In this context, atypical motor skills are reaching consensus as a promising ASD biomarker, regardless of the level of symptom severity. This study aimed to assess differences in the whole-body motor skills between 20 children with ASD and 20 children with typical development during the execution of three tasks resembling regular activities presented in virtual reality. The virtual tasks asked to perform precise and goal-directed actions with different limbs vary in their degree of freedom of movement. Parametric and non-parametric statistical methods were applied to analyze differences in children's motor skills. The findings endorsed the hypothesis that when particular goal-directed movements are required, the type of action could modulate the presence of motor abnormalities in ASD. In particular, the ASD motor abnormalities emerged in the task requiring to take with the upper limbs goal-directed actions with low degree of freedom. The motor abnormalities covered (1) the body part mainly involved in the action, and (2) further body parts not directly involved in the movement. Findings were discussed against the background of atypical prospective control of movements and visuomotor discoordination in ASD. These findings contribute to advance the understanding of motor skills in ASD while deepening ecological and objective assessment procedures based on VR.

Embedding the Patient-Citizen Perspective into an Operational Framework for the Development and the Introduction of New Technologies in Rehabilitation Care: The Smart&Touch-ID Model.

To date, at least 2.41 billion people with Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are in need of rehabilitation. Rehabilitation care through innovative technologies is the ideal candidate to reach all people with NCDs in need. To obtain these innovative solutions available in the public health system calls for a rigorous multidimensional evaluation that, with an articulated approach, is carried out through the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) methodology. In this context, the aim of the present paper is to illustrate how the Smart&TouchID (STID) model addresses the need to incorporate patients' evaluations into a multidimensional technology assessment framework by presenting a feasibility study of model application with regard to the rehabilitation experiences of people living with NCDs. After sketching out the STID model's vision and operational process, preliminary evidence on the experiences and attitudes of patients and citizens on rehabilitation care will be described and discussed, showing how they operate, enabling the co-design of technological solutions with a multi-stakeholder approach. Implications for public health are discussed including the view on the STID model as a tool to be integrated into public health governance strategies aimed at tuning the agenda-setting of innovation in rehabilitation care through a participatory methodology.

The Effects of Playing Video Games on Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Loneliness, and Gaming Disorder During the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic: PRISMA Systematic Review.

During the initial phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, playing video games has been much more than just a pastime. Studies suggested that video games for many individuals have helped to cope with such difficult life experience. However, other research indicates that gaming may have had harmful effects. Within this context, this systematic review aimed to describe the literature on the effects of video games during the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis on stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, and gaming disorder (GD), examining the study characteristics and outcomes. A systematic search of the literature was made following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines. It was preregistered in the International Platform of Registered Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (INPLASY)-INPLASY202180053. The search databases were PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Medline. The search string was: [("video game*") OR ("computer game*") OR ("gaming")] AND [("COVID-19")]. Twenty-four studies met the inclusion criteria. Four research explored the effects of playing video games during the COVID-19 pandemic on stress, anxiety, and depression. Four studies investigated loneliness, while 18 research investigated game disorder. Video games, especially augmented reality and online multiplayer ones, mitigated stress, anxiety, depression, and loneliness among adolescents and young adults during stay-at-home restrictions. However, in the case of at-risk individuals (i.e., particularly male youths), playing video games had detrimental effects.

Virtual Reality Applications in Medicine During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Virtual reality can play an important role during the COVID-19 pandemic in the health care sector. This technology has the potential to supplement the traditional in-hospital medical training and treatment, and may increase access to training and therapies in various health care settings. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review aimed to describe the literature on health care-targeted virtual reality applications during the COVID-19 crisis. METHODS: We conducted a systematic search of the literature on the PsycINFO, Web of Science, and MEDLINE databases, according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines. The search string was as follows: "[(virtual reality)] AND [(COVID-19) OR (coronavirus) OR (SARS-CoV-2) OR (healthcare)]." Papers published in English after December 2019 in peer-reviewed journals were selected and subjected to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. We used the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool to assess the quality of studies and the risk of bias. RESULTS: Thirty-nine studies met the inclusion criteria. Seventeen studies showed the usefulness of virtual reality during the COVID-19 crisis for reducing stress, anxiety, depression, and pain, and promoting physical activity. Twenty-two studies revealed that virtual reality was a helpful learning and training tool during the COVID-19 crisis in several areas, including emergency medicine, nursing, and pediatrics. This technology was also used as an educational tool for increasing public understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic. Different levels of immersion (ie, immersive and desktop virtual reality), types of head-mounted displays (ie, PC-based, mobile, and standalone), and content (ie, 360° videos and photos, virtual environments, virtual reality video games, and embodied virtual agents) have been successfully used. Virtual reality was helpful in both face-to-face and remote trials. CONCLUSIONS: Virtual reality has been applied frequently in medicine during the COVID-19 pandemic, with positive effects for treating several health conditions and for medical education and training. Some barriers need to be overcome for the broader adoption of virtual reality in the health care panorama. TRIAL REGISTRATION: International Platform of Registered Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Protocols (INPLASY) INPLASY202190108; https://inplasy.com/inplasy-2021-9-0108/.

Assessment of the Autism Spectrum Disorder Based on Machine Learning and Social Visual Attention: A Systematic Review.

The assessment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is based on semi-structured procedures addressed to children and caregivers. Such methods rely on the evaluation of behavioural symptoms rather than on the objective evaluation of psychophysiological underpinnings. Advances in research provided evidence of modern procedures for the early assessment of ASD, involving both machine learning (ML) techniques and biomarkers, as eye movements (EM) towards social stimuli. This systematic review provides a comprehensive discussion of 11 papers regarding the early assessment of ASD based on ML techniques and children's social visual attention (SVA). Evidences suggest ML as a relevant technique for the early assessment of ASD, which might represent a valid biomarker-based procedure to objectively make diagnosis. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

A virtual reality home-based training for the management of stress and anxiety among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers represent one of the most affected categories by the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health. Excessive stress and anxiety are critical factors that could compromise work performance. Besides, high levels of stress and anxiety may have long-term physical and psychological consequences. Recent studies investigated virtual reality to reduce stress and anxiety among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the proposed virtual reality interventions have important limitations related to their location (i.e., research lab and hospitals) and content (i.e., virtual experiences only for relaxation). Within this context, this randomized controlled trial aims to investigate the efficacy and acceptability of a brief home-based virtual reality training for managing stress and anxiety during the COVID-19 crisis in a sample of Italian healthcare workers. METHODS: The study is a randomized controlled trial. It includes two groups of 30 individuals recruited from healthcare workers: (1) the experimental group and (2) the control group. Participants in the experimental group will receive a training consisting of three home sessions performed in a week. In each session, participants will try through an immersive virtual reality standalone system (i.e., Oculus Quest 2) a virtual psychoeducation experience on stress and anxiety (i.e., MIND-VR). Subsequently, they will try the virtual relaxation content (i.e., The Secret Garden). The control group will receive no training and will be reassessed one week and one month after the initial evaluation. DISCUSSION: If the proposed brief home-based virtual reality training will result helpful and easy to use, it could become an empirically assessed viable option for protecting healthcare workers' mental health both during the COVID-19 pandemic and once it will be over. Furthermore, the intervention might be easily adapted for other categories of people who need support in managing stress and anxiety. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04611399 .

Presence, flow, and narrative absorption: an interdisciplinary theoretical exploration with a new spatiotemporal integrated model based on predictive processing.

Presence, flow, narrative absorption, immersion, transportation, and similar subjective phenomena are studied in many different disciplines, mostly in relation to mediated experiences (books, film, VR, games). Moreover, since real, virtual, or fictional agents are often involved, concepts like identification and state empathy are often linked to engaging media use. Based on a scoping review that identified similarities in the wording of various questionnaire items conceived to measure different phenomena, we categorize items into the most relevant psychological aspects and use this categorization to propose an interdisciplinary systematization. Then, based on a framework of embodied predictive processing, we present a new cognitive model of presence-related phenomena for mediated and non-mediated experiences, integrating spatial and temporal aspects and also considering the role of fiction and media design. Key processes described within the model are: selective attention, enactment of intentions, and interoception. We claim that presence is the state of perceived successful agency of an embodied mind able to correctly enact its predictions. The difference between real-life and simulated experiences ("book problem," "paradox of fiction") lays in the different precision weighting of exteroceptive and interoceptive signals.

Surviving COVID-19: The Neuroscience of Smart Working and Distance Learning.

The persistence of the coronavirus-caused respiratory disease (COVID-19) and the related restrictions to mobility and social interactions are forcing a significant portion of students and workers to reorganize their daily activities to accommodate the needs of distance learning and agile work (smart working). What is the impact of these changes on the bosses/teachers' and workers/students' experience? This article uses recent neuroscience research findings to explore how distance learning and smart working impact the following three pillars that reflect the organization of our brain and are at the core of school and office experiences: (a) the learning/work happens in a dedicated physical place; (b) the learning/work is carried out under the supervision of a boss/professor; and (c) the learning/work is distributed between team members/classmates. For each pillar, we discuss its link with the specific cognitive processes involved and the impact that technology has on their functioning. In particular, the use of videoconferencing affects the functioning of Global Positioning System neurons (neurons that code our navigation behavior), mirror neurons, self-attention networks, spindle cells, and interbrain neural oscillations. These effects have a significant impact on many identity and cognitive processes, including social and professional identity, leadership, intuition, mentoring, and creativity. In conclusion, just moving typical office and learning processes inside a videoconferencing platform, as happened in many contexts during the COVID-19 pandemic, can in the long term erode corporate cultures and school communities. In this view, an effective use of technology requires us to reimagine how work and teaching are done virtually, in creative and bold new ways.

Commercial Off-The-Shelf Video Games for Reducing Stress and Anxiety: Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Using commercial off-the-shelf video games rather than custom-made computer games could have several advantages for reducing stress and anxiety, including their low cost, advanced graphics, and the possibility to reach millions of individuals worldwide. However, it is important to emphasize that not all commercial video games are equal, and their effects strongly depend on specific characteristics of the games. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this systematic review was to describe the literature on the use of commercial off-the-shelf video games for diminishing stress and anxiety, examining the research outcomes along with critical variables related to computer game characteristics (ie, genre, platform, time of play). METHODS: A systematic search of the literature was performed following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) guidelines. The search databases were PsycINFO, Web of Science, Medline, IEEExplore, and the Cochrane Library. The search string was: [("video game*") OR ("computer game*")] AND [("stress") OR ("anxiety") OR ("relaxation")] AND [("study") OR ("trial") OR ("training")]. RESULTS: A total of 28 studies met the inclusion criteria for the publication period 2006-2021. The findings demonstrate the benefit of commercial off-the-shelf video games for reducing stress in children, adults, and older adults. The majority of the retrieved studies recruited young adults, and fewer studies have involved children, middle-aged adults, and older adults. In addition to exergames and casual video games, other genres of commercial off-the-shelf games helped to reduce stress and anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: Efficacy in reducing stress and anxiety has been demonstrated not only for exergames and casual video games but also for other genres such as action games, action-adventure games, and augmented reality games. Various gaming platforms, including consoles, PCs, smartphones, mobile consoles, and virtual reality systems, have been used with positive results. Finally, even single and short sessions of play had benefits in reducing stress and anxiety. TRIAL REGISTRATION: International Platform of Registered Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Protocols INPLASY202130081; https://inplasy.com/?s=INPLASY202130081.

Virtual Body Ownership Illusions for Mental Health: A Narrative Review.

Over the last 20 years, virtual reality (VR) has been widely used to promote mental health in populations presenting different clinical conditions. Mental health does not refer only to the absence of psychiatric disorders but to the absence of a wide range of clinical conditions that influence people's general and social well-being such as chronic pain, neurological disorders that lead to motor o perceptual impairments, psychological disorders that alter behaviour and social cognition, or physical conditions like eating disorders or present in amputees. It is known that an accurate perception of oneself and of the surrounding environment are both key elements to enjoy mental health and well-being, and that both can be distorted in patients suffering from the clinical conditions mentioned above. In the past few years, multiple studies have shown the effectiveness of VR to modulate such perceptual distortions of oneself and of the surrounding environment through virtual body ownership illusions. This narrative review aims to review clinical studies that have explored the manipulation of embodied virtual bodies in VR for improving mental health, and to discuss the current state of the art and the challenges for future research in the context of clinical care.

Digital Interventions for Psychological Comorbidities in Chronic Diseases-A Systematic Review.

Chronic diseases represent one of the main causes of death worldwide. The integration of digital solutions in clinical interventions is broadly diffused today; however, evidence on their efficacy in addressing psychological comorbidities of chronic diseases is sparse. This systematic review analyzes and synthesizes the evidence about the efficacy of digital interventions on psychological comorbidities outcomes of specific chronic diseases. According to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, a systematic search of PubMed, PsycInfo, Scopus and Web of Science databases was conducted. Only Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) were considered and either depression or anxiety had to be assessed to match the selection criteria. Of the 7636 identified records, 17 matched the inclusion criteria: 9 digital interventions on diabetes, 4 on cardiovascular diseases, 3 on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and one on stroke. Of the 17 studies reviewed, 14 found digital interventions to be effective. Quantitative synthesis highlighted a moderate and significant overall effect of interventions on depression, while the effect on anxiety was small and non-significant. Design elements making digital interventions effective for psychological comorbidities of chronic diseases were singled out: (a) implementing a communication loop with patients and (b) providing disease-specific digital contents. This focus on "how" to design technologies can facilitate the translation of evidence into practice.

Positive Technology and COVID-19.

The past 10 years have seen the development and maturation of several digital technologies that can have a critical role to enhancement of happiness and psychological well-being. In particular, the past decade has seen the emergence of a new paradigm: "Positive Technology," the scientific and applied approach to the use of technology for improving the quality of our personal experience. In this article we discussed the potential of Positive Technology to augment and enhance the existing strategies for generating psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular different positive technologies-m-Health and smartphone apps, stand-alone and social virtual reality, video games, exergames, and social technologies-have the potential of enhancing different critical features of our personal experience-affective quality, engagement/actualization, and connectedness-that are challenged by the pandemic and its social and economic effects. In conclusion, although the focus of tackling the direct impact of COVID-19 is important, positive technologies can be extremely useful to reduce the psychological burden of the pandemic and to help individuals in flourishing even during difficult and complex times.

Global Storm of Stress-Related Psychopathological Symptoms: A Brief Overview on the Usefulness of Virtual Reality in Facing the Mental Health Impact of COVID-19.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a global health emergency requiring clinicians to be prepared to cope with the increase in the future incidence of trauma and stress-related psychopathological symptoms. The early detection of psychological distress and timely intervention are strongly recommended. Clinicians should also consider integrating new technologies such as virtual reality (VR) in the treatment of these trauma and stress-related psychopathological symptoms. Here we provide a brief overview of how VR can help to cope with the potential short-term and long-term mental health consequences related to this global emergency.