1,721,028 research outputs found
Emotional eating, alexithymia and weight gain in healthy young adults
No full textEmotional Eating (EE) is the tendency to overeat to cope with negative emotions and stressful situations.
It was reported in excessive body weight and pathological eating behaviors. EE could be expressed as an
eating behavior associated with emotional dysregulation. Accordingly, alexithymia (i.e., a stable
personality trait indicating emotional dysregulation) is frequently correlated to high EE levels in
individuals with obesity or eating disorders. This study aims to verify the relationship between
alexithymia, EE, and weight status in a healthy sample.
Eighty-four healthy young adults with normal weight and without eating disorders (mean age:
23.38±2.50) participate in the study. The Italian version of the Dutch Eating Questionnaire and the 20-items Toronto Alexithymia Scale were adopted to assess EE and alexithymia. Physiological indices of
body condition (body mass index, body adiposity index, and waist-to-heigh ratio) were measured.
EE correlated positively with weight indices (p< 0.03). No significant association emerged between
alexithymia and EE, nor between alexithymia and weight.
The results of the study confirmed an association between weight status and EE even in a healthy sample.
However, the early association between alexithymia and EE was disconfirmed. The absence of
pathological alexithymia could justify this result. According to previous literature, the study would
indicate that alexithymia could be related to EE only in severe weight conditions, as a component of a
larger set of emotional dysregulation mechanisms that can influence weight gain through dysfunctional
eating behaviors. It would be interesting to investigate EE in a sample of people with high levels of
alexithymia. Emotional dysregulation and EE could be considered subthreshold variables capable of
affecting BMI only when associated with predisposing environmental and social factors, which should
be explored in future studies to prevent the risk of overweight.
Emotional Eating (EE) is the tendency to overeat to cope with negative emotions and stressful situations.
It was reported in excessive body weight and pathological eating behaviors. EE could be expressed as an
eating behavior associated with emotional dysregulation. Accordingly, alexithymia (i.e., a stable
personality trait indicating emotional dysregulation) is frequently correlated to high EE levels in
individuals with obesity or eating disorders. This study aims to verify the relationship between
alexithymia, EE, and weight status in a healthy sample.
Eighty-four healthy young adults with normal weight and without eating disorders (mean age:
23.38±2.50) participate in the study. The Italian version of the Dutch Eating Questionnaire and the 20-
items Toronto Alexithymia Scale were adopted to assess EE and alexithymia. Physiological indices of
body condition (body mass index, body adiposity index, and waist-to-heigh ratio) were measured.
EE correlated positively with weight indices (p< 0.03). No significant association emerged between
alexithymia and EE, nor between alexithymia and weight.
The results of the study confirmed an association between weight status and EE even in a healthy sample.
However, the early association between alexithymia and EE was disconfirmed. The absence of
pathological alexithymia could justify this result. According to previous literature, the study would
indicate that alexithymia could be related to EE only in severe weight conditions, as a component of a
larger set of emotional dysregulation mechanisms that can influence weight gain through dysfunctional
eating behaviors. It would be interesting to investigate EE in a sample of people with high levels of
alexithymia. Emotional dysregulation and EE could be considered subthreshold variables capable of
affecting BMI only when associated with predisposing environmental and social factors, which should
be explored in future studies to prevent the risk of overweight
RELAZIONE TRA ECCESSIVO PESO CORPOREO E FUNZIONI ESECUTIVE: UNA REVIEW SISTEMATICA CONSIDERANDO STUDI TRASVERSALI E LONGITUDINALI
No full textIntroduzione
L’incidenza sempre maggiore di sovrappeso e obesità rappresenta una problematica
rilevante di salute pubblica. Conoscere e approfondire i fattori di rischio o esacerbanti le
condotte alimentari inappropriate alla base dell’eccessivo accumulo di adipe corporeo
diviene molto importante.
La letteratura più recente si sta focalizzando sempre più sulla relazione tra peso corporeo e
processi cognitivi. Lo scopo di questa rassegna sistematica è stato quello di indagare la
presenza e la natura della relazione tra sovrappeso, obesità e funzioni esecutive,
considerando studi trasversali e longitudinali allo scopo di verificare l’eventuale causalità
tra queste due variabili.
Metodo
La rassegna è stata effettuata in accordo con il PRISMA-Statement, tramite una ricerca
sistematica nei database scientifici PubMed, PsychInfo e PsycArticles. Sono stati
selezionati studi che hanno considerato le prestazioni in compiti esecutivi di partecipanti in
sovrappeso e obesi di età compresa tra i 5 e i 70 anni. Sono stati esclusi gli studi che
consideravano i disturbi del comportamento alimentare o l’obesità derivante da altre
problematiche mediche. Inoltre, sono stati differenziati i risultati relativi agli studi che
hanno utilizzato un disegno trasversale da quelli che ne hanno utilizzato uno longitudinale.
Risultati
Sono stati selezionati e analizzati sessantasei studi trasversali e ventinove studi
longitudinali che rispondevano ai criteri di inclusione ed esclusione considerati. I risultati
confermano la presenza di una relazione tra funzioni esecutive e accumulo di adipe
corporeo, sebbene non si sia evidenziata una chiara direzionalità di tale relazione né sia
emersa una funzione esecutiva più coinvolta in questa relazione. Nonostante ciò si osserva
una certa influenza reciproca tra funzioni esecutive e adipe corporeo.
Conclusioni
Questo lavoro sottolinea l’importanza di approfondire l’analisi della relazione tra le singole
funzioni esecutive e l’eccessivo peso corporeo, e di strutturare un modello teorico che
consideri il funzionamento esecutivo in relazione alle condotte alimentari che conducono
all’eccessivo accumulo di adipe, al fine di sviluppare un approccio integrato volto alla
risoluzione delle problematiche legate al peso
A model to understand risk behavior: interoception awareness and motivational systems in the binge watching
No full textThis study aims to test the interoceptive-motivational hypothesis as a possible marker for the risk
of developing binge-watching (BW) as a behavioral addiction. Like other risky behaviors, BW can
be included in a model that includes the interaction of personological and physiological factors as
predictors of the behavioral outcome. On a sample of 741 young adults, a structural equation
model considered the association between the interoceptive indices (MAIA questionnaire), inhi
bition/activation systems (BIS/BAS questionnaire) of the motivational theory, and BW pattern
(BWAQ questionnaire). The results suggested a different interaction between the variables when
BW was considered as a leisure activity and as an at-risk behavior. While in the first case,
interoception and BIS/BAS systems interact, and BIS and interoception positively affect the in
crease of BW as a leisure activity, in BW as at-risk behavior, the interoceptive-motivational link is
lost, and a different pattern of association with the behavior emerges. BIS and BW are still
positively associated with the problematic expression of the behavior. The result would suggest
that persons exhibiting better interoceptive sensitivity display lower risk of addictive BW. Finally,
the interoceptive-motivational model, if confirmed in other at-risk behaviors, would provide a
new perspective in the field of behavioral addictions
Executive Functions: a relevant feature of cognitive decline. Clinical impact of experimental evidence
No full textBoth physiological and pathological decline in aging is characterized by a loss of cognitive functioning from mild to severe. This decline involves many cognitive domains, and it is characterized by memory difficulties, poor mental flexibility, lower ability to inhibit responses and appropriately respond to environmental stim- uli. According to its severity, cognitive decline can affect daily life activities. However, in the classification of Mild Cognitive Decline (MCD), low attentional focus in the clinical field was directed toward executive functioning, a cognitive domain highly relevant for goal-directed behaviors and positive daily functioning. Analyzing the main features of executive functioning in MCD and the main differences from healthy to pathological aging can help define the impaired trend of functioning, which affects decline. Clinicians should consider including executive functioning in the diagnostic classification of MCD. This new classification would be useful for developing novelty treatments focused on enhancing this domain to reduce the impact on the daily life of elderly people. Experimental evidence on executive functioning in MCI may clarify these aspects
Inhibition changes across the lifespan: experimental evidence from the Stroop task
No full textIndividuals constantly exert inhibitory control over their thoughts and behaviors to plan actions that compete with habits and impulses. Cognitive inhibition enhances the selection of task-relevant stimuli and is closely related to neural changes that occur across the lifespan. Since few studies have focused on the entire lifespan, this study aimed to assess cognitive inhibition abilities in a sample of 425 healthy participants (age range: 7–88 years) using
the Stroop task. The participants were grouped according to age into children, adolescents, young adults, adults, middle-aged adults, and older adults. A series of ANOVAs considered Group as the independent variable and Performance indices as the dependent variables. The children did not show an interference effect (Stroop effect), likely due to the lack of an automated reading process as a consequence of ongoing brain maturation. Adolescents
and young adults performed significantly faster than older adults did. The results indicate that response speed reaches its peak during adolescence and young adulthood and then slightly decreases until older age. Nevertheless, when compared with the other groups, only older adults showed significant differences in the Stroop effect, suggesting that inhibitory abilities remain relatively consistent throughout adulthood but rapidly worsen in recent years due to the physiological decline in cognitive and brain functioning associated with aging
The enemy who sealed the world: effects quarantine due to the COVID-19 on sleep quality, anxiety, and psychological distress in the Italian population
Full text linkBackground
The 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic has become a global health emergency. The extreme actions aimed to reduce virus diffusion have profoundly changed the lifestyles of the Italian population. Moreover, fear of contracting the infection has generated high levels of anxiety. This study aimed to understand the psychological impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on sleep quality, general anxiety symptomatology, and psychological distress.
Methods
An online survey collected information on socio-demographic data and additional information concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, sleep quality, sleep disorders, generalized anxiety symptoms, psychological distress, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology related to COVID-19 were assessed.
Results
This study included 2291 respondents. The results revealed that 57.1% of participants reported poor sleep quality, 32.1% high anxiety, 41.8% high distress, and 7.6% reported PTSD symptomatology linked to COVID-19. Youth and women, those uncertain regarding possible COVID-19 infection, and greater fear of direct contact with those infected by COVID-19 had an increased risk of developing sleep disturbances, as well as higher levels of anxiety and distress. Finally, a significant relationship between sleep quality, generalized anxiety, and psychological distress with PTSD symptoms related to COVID-19 was evidenced.
Conclusions
Our findings indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be a risk factor for sleep disorders and psychological diseases in the Italian population, as previously reported in China.
These results should be used as a starting point for further studies aimed to develop psychological interventions to minimize the brief and long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic
CHANGE BLINDNESS TOWARD FOOD STIMULI IN NORMAL-WEIGHT AND OVERWEIGHT PEOPLE
No full textMany studies reported an attentional bias (AB; i.e., an automatic response) toward food-stimuli (FS) in overweightindividuals. However, the paradigms used to evaluate it usually require rapid esponses that do not allow assessing the behaviour in ecological conditions when FS persist for a long time. This possibility is given by the flicker task (FT) in which two pictures, identical except in one detail, are alternatively presented. The changes are of central interest (rapid detection) or marginal interest (longer detection). FT allows evaluating change blindness (CB), i.e., the inability to detect changes occurring between two consecutive views of a scene. This study aims to evaluate CB toward FS in normal-weight and overweight people. Eighty-eight students (44 overweight / 44 normal-weight) complete a Food-FT. Results showed an AB toward hypercaloric FT when changes were of marginal interest and no betweengroup differences. These findings suggest an AB toward FS in all the individuals, independently from their BMI
The instinct to eat: the role of autonomic nervous system in influencing executive response toward food stimuli.
No full textThe current society, characterized by a food-abundant environment may contribute to the tendency to overeat and weight gain. Previous research confirms an altered attentional response towards food stimuli which can influence dysregulated eating behavior via executive functions. The Neurovisceral Integration Model, proposing a role of the integration between biological and cognitive systems in the environmental adaptation of the organism. It may indicate a role of the autonomic response (via heart rate variability; HRV) in influencing executive response toward food stimuli.
One-hundred and twenty young adults (age range: 18-30 years) participated at the study. The 26 percent of the sample presented overweight condition. All the participants completed modified version of the Stroop task with food stimuli (hypercaloric and hypocaloric). HRV was recorded in resting (5 minutes), reactivity (during the task) and recovery (3 minutes). No differences emerged between overweight and normal weight condition in HRV indices (p> 0.05). However, a mediator role of HRV was reported in the association between executive performances and weight condition, particularly in case of hypercaloric food stimuli. These preliminary results support the evidence of a mediator role of autonomic system in influencing executive response toward food stimuli in general population
Unravelling the role of the insula in apraxia: A systematic review of VLSM studies in stroke patients
No full textApraxia refers to a variety of higher-order motor disorders not primarily caused by motor, sensory or cognitive impairment. Evaluation of apraxia typically involves gestural imitation, pantomime, and actual tool use. Lesion studies correlate the ability of movement control to cortical areas such as the inferior frontal gyrus, inferior parietal, and temporal lobes. Apraxia-related lesions often extend to subcortical regions, white matter, and the insula. Despite its involvement in several cognitive and sensorimotor-related processes, the insula's role in gesture execution remains unclear. Functional imaging revealed a role of the left anterior insula in tool recognition and object use. Individual experimental studies fail to explain the involvement of the insula in praxic abilities, however involvement of the right insula during gesture imitation was documented. Stroke affecting the middle cerebral artery frequently damages the insula, suggesting its secondary role in apraxia. We conducted a systematic review of studies in apraxic stroke patients which used VLSM. 31 of the papers identified through keyword searches met inclusion criteria. Consistent with the literature, most of the selected studies identify apraxia as a typical syndrome of LBD. The left insula has been found to be one of the most frequently impaired areas in patients who manifested apraxia after a stroke, particularly when assessed with pantomime and imitation tasks. Although the role of the insula is not always investigated and is sometimes indicated only in relation to language abilities, its structural and functional integrity seem closely related to the quality of praxic abilities
Episodic and Semantic Autobiographical Memory in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI): A Systematic Review
Full text linkIntroduction: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a syndrome defined as a decline in cognitive performance greater than expected for an individual according to age and education level, not interfering notably with daily life activities. Many studies have focused on the memory domain in the analysis of MCI and more severe cases of dementia. One specific memory system is represented by autobiographical memory (AM), which has been largely studied in Alzheimer’s disease and its effect on AM; however, the impairment of AM in moderate forms of decline, such as MCI, is still controversial. Objective: The main aim of this systematic review is to analyze the functioning of autobiographical memory in patients with MCI, considering both the semantic and the episodic components. Materials: The review process was conducted according to the PRISMA statement. The search was conducted until 20 February 2023 in the following bibliographical databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and PsycInfo, and twenty-one articles were included. Results: The results highlight controversial findings concerning the semantic component of AM since only seven studies have found a worse semantic AM performance in patients with MCI compared to the HC group. The results of impaired episodic AM in individuals with MCI are more consistent than those concerning semantic AM. Conclusions: Starting from the evidence of this systematic review, further studies should detect and investigate the cognitive and emotional mechanisms that undermine AM performance, allowing the development of specific interventions targeting these mechanisms
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