1,721,011 research outputs found
Sleep-related problems in highly sensitive individuals: testing the mediation effect of perceived stress
No full textObjectives/Introduction: Sensory-processing sensitivity (SPS) is defined as an underlying phenotypic trait that describes individual differences in sensitivity to internal and external stimuli. High sensitivity is characterized by greater awareness of environmental subtleties, a tendency for over-stimulation, greater depth of information processing, and increased emotional reactivity. Thus, highly sensitive individuals are more vulnerable to stress. A recent study found that subjects scoring high on SPS reported more nightmare frequency and lower mental well-being than subjects scoring low on SPS. On this basis, we hypothesized that SPS contributes to sleep disruption and poor sleep quality and that this effect could be mediated by increased perceived stress.
Methods: Two hundred eight volunteers (mean age 36.24 ± 11.18;154 females) completed the following questionnaires: the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) scale, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). We considered the total score for the HSP, PSS, and ISI, while for the PSQI, the global score and its seven components.
Results: Correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between HSP and PSS, r=0.18,p<0.01. HSP was also positively correlated with ISI, r=0.26,p<0.01, and PSQI global score,r=0.19,p<0.01,as well as with PSQI components: Subjective sleep quality,r=0.17,p<0.05, Sleep latency,r=0.17,p<0.05, and Daytime dysfunction,r=0.26,p<0.01. PSS was also positively correlated with ISI, r=0.50,p<0.01, and all PSQI scores except for sleep duration, with r coefficients ranging from 0.14 to 0.37,p<0.05. We then conducted mediation analysis with HSP as antecedent variable, PSS as mediator,and ISI and PSQI as outcomes. The analysis revealed that the effect of HSP on PSS completely mediated the effect of HSP on PSQI global score,0.22,p<0.01, and on its components Subjective sleep quality,0.04,p<0.05, and Sleep latency, 0.06,p<0.05. Instead, only a partial mediation was observed for the effect of HSP on ISI, 0.48,p<0.01,and on PSQI component Daytime dysfunction, 0.03,p<0.05.
Conclusions: Results supported the hypothesis that SPS correlates to increased sleep-related problems through increased perceived stress.Therefore, it is important to evaluate and further study sleep difficulties in highly sensitive individuals
Mindfulness, self regulation and pro-environmental behaviour
No full textHuman responsibility for the environmental crisis has been documented by increasing scientific evidence, and climate change is today a major subject of public concern. Numerous studies have investigated what drives pro-environmental behaviours (i.e. behaviours that seek to minimize the impact of one’s actions on the ecosystem), yet most explanations have been criticised for failing to explain the environmental attitude-behaviour gap. Based on evidence indicating that dispositional mindfulness would predict engagement in pro-environmental behaviour, and findings linking mindfulness to enhanced self-regulation, as well as self-regulation to pro-environmental behaviour, we made the hypothesis that mindfulness could contribute to explain why some people seem more likely to behave coherently with their attitudes towards the environmental crisis. To test this assumption, we carried out two correlational studies. The first one assessed, through an online survey (n=228), whether mindfulness would affect the relationship between pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours. Our results indicate that Acting with Awareness and Nonjudging would moderate the effects of pro-environmental attitudes on behaviours, suggesting that increased self-regulation abilities may participate to explain the positive correlation found between mindfulness and pro-environmental engagement. The second study (n=262) assessed whether mindfulness would contribute to explain individuals’ emotional response to the climate crisis and their likelihood to embrace an adaptive coping strategy. Our findings show that mindfulness would predict lower climate change anxiety and would moderate the relationship between climate anxiety and pro-environmental behaviour, suggesting that mindfulness may make individuals more prone to adopt an adaptive coping strategy facing the climate change threat
Understanding the Role of Dispositional Mindfulness in Moderating the Environmental Attitude-Behaviour Gap
No full textWhilst awareness about climate change has increased in recent years among the global population, global greenhouse gases emissions have not ceased to rise. As the environmental crisis deepens, understanding why individuals struggle to take action despite increased environmental concern is not only a relevant research question but also a pressing social challenge. Findings from multiple studies point out that higher dispositional mindfulness would be a predictor of higher engagement in pro- environmental behaviour (for a review, see Fisher et al, 2017; and Geiger et al, 2019). This phenomenon has been mostly explained in terms of an increased tendency of mindful individuals to be aware of environmental stimuli, resulting into higher sense of connectedness with (hence concern for) nature and other human-being affected by the crisis. Yet, other studies pinpoint that the positive association between mindfulness and pro-environmental behaviour might also be related to increased abilities, of individuals high in mindfulness trait, to act with awareness and better control their behaviour (Amel et al., 2009; Li et al., 2021). Based on these findings, and on findings indicating a role of self-regulation processes in explaining pro-environmental behaviour performance (for a review, see Colombo et al., 2023), we made the hypothesis that dispositional mindfulness could contribute to explain why certain individuals are more likely to perform pro- environmental behaviours whilst others seem to struggle to display a behavioural response coherent to their attitudes towards the environmental crisis. To assess our hypothesis, we carried out a first correlational study on 228 people investigating the role of mindfulness in explaining the pro-environmental attitude-behaviour gap. Results indicate that the Acting with Awareness and Nonjudging dimensions of mindfulness would be moderators of the relationship between pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours, suggesting that the positive relationship between mindfulness and pro- environmental engagement could be also explained in terms of better behavioural regulation. The findings, limitations and implications of this study will be discussed. Also, to expand our understanding of the dynamics of the relationship between mindfulness and pro-environmental engagement, we will discuss the first results of a second study (on-going) exploring the potential role of increased emotional regulation in explaining the link between mindfulness trait and pro-environmental behaviour performance
Eye-gaze independent EEG-based brain-computer interfaces for communication
No full textThe present review systematically examines the literature reporting gaze independent interaction modalities in non-invasive brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) for communication. BCIs measure signals related to specific brain activity and translate them into device control signals. This technology can be used to provide users with severe motor disability (e.g. late stage amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); acquired brain injury) with an assistive device that does not rely on muscular contraction. Most of the studies on BCIs explored mental tasks and paradigms using visual modality. Considering that in ALS patients the oculomotor control can deteriorate and also other potential users could have impaired visual function, tactile and auditory modalities have been investigated over the past years to seek alternative BCI systems which are independent from vision. In addition, various attentional mechanisms, such as covert attention and feature-directed attention, have been investigated to develop gaze independent visual-based BCI paradigms. Three areas of research were considered in the present review: (i) auditory BCIs, (ii) tactile BCIs and (iii) independent visual BCIs. Out of a total of 130 search results, 34 articles were selected on the basis of pre-defined exclusion criteria. Thirteen articles dealt with independent visual BCIs, 15 reported on auditory BCIs and the last six on tactile BCIs, respectively. From the review of the available literature, it can be concluded that a crucial point is represented by the trade-off between BCI systems/paradigms with high accuracy and speed, but highly demanding in terms of attention and memory load, and systems requiring lower cognitive effort but with a limited amount of communicable information. These issues should be considered as priorities to be explored in future studies to meet users' requirements in a real-life scenario. © 2012 IOP Publishing Ltd
Visual attention modulates phenomenal consciousness: evidence from a change detection study
Full text linkThe distinction between phenomenal and access consciousness has been influential in the field of consciousness studies. Both Block and Lamme proposed that access consciousness, or narrow cognitive accessibility, is related to a limited capacity working memory, and that phenomenal consciousness, or broad cognitive accessibility, is related to iconic memory or, more recently, to a fragile (intermediate) short-term memory store with a larger capacity than working memory. They have also highlighted the preattentive nature of phenomenal consciousness and of the related iconic and fragile visual short-term stores, thus selectively linking attention with access consciousness, in line with Baars and Dehaene, among others. However, a range of electrophysiological and neurophysiological studies suggest that visual attention can affect early responses of neurons in visual cortex, before conscious access. Furthermore, some theories and neurocomputational models suggest earlier attentional biases related to phenomenal consciousness. To solve this controversy, and to shed light on the relationships of attention with iconic memory and subsequent stages of visual maintenance, we conducted an experiment with a novel procedure of change detection based on delayed cueing of the target for report with high- and low-priority objects marked by color. In line with our hypothesis, the results show an attentional bias toward high-priority objects in the memory array with the longer (600 and 1,200 ms) cueing delays associated with a fragile (intermediate) visual short-term memory, but not with the shorter cueing delays (16.6 and 200 ms) associated with iconic memory. These findings therefore suggest two stages of phenomenal consciousness before access consciousness: a first preattentive stage related to iconic memory and a second stage related to fragile visual short-term memory intermediate between iconic and visual working memory, which is modulated by visual attention in a time-dependent manner. Finally, our results suggest the dissociation between a mid-level visual attention modulating phenomenal consciousness and a central attention directing access consciousness
Neural basis of communication of auditory BCIs
No full textThe aim of this project is a systematic and critical analysis of the studies exploring different interaction modalities in Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs) for communication. BCIs measure signals related to specific brain activity and translate them into device control signals. This technology can be used to provide users with locked-in syndrome (e.g. late stage Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, ALS) with an assistive device that does not rely on muscular contraction. Several studies about BCI explored mental tasks and paradigms using visual modality. Considering that in ALS patients the oculomotor control can deteriorate and also the potential users with other diseases could have impaired visual function, in the last years, tactile and auditory modality have been investigated to find alternative BCI independent of vision. The aim of this review is to survey the cognitive and neural basis of the tasks explored to control the auditory BCI systems to better understand their limits and potentials applications, toward a real user centered approach helping the scientific community to move the BCIs from the laboratory to user's houses. © 2011 IADIS
Behavioral, neuroimaging and phenomenological evidence of the minimal-bodily self.
No full textThe quest to understand the nature of the “self” has been a fundamental goal of philosophy, psychology, and cognitive science for centuries. Numerous definitions have been proposed, each attempting to elucidate what the self is in slightly different contexts. One of the most acknowledged models, in contemporary psychological and neuroscientific studies, defines the influential distinction between the narrative-cognitive dimension of the self and the bodily-affective dimension. In our systematic review, we provide an overview of the evidences gathered on the nature of the minimal-bodily self. We used the PRISMA method, which yielded over 208 experimental clinical and non-clinical articles between the phenomenological, behavioral, and neuroscientific domains. Neurocognitive, psychological, psychiatric and contemplative studies were consequently gathered and analyze. Such effort allowed us to frame the problem of the self in a new, exhaustive, and multidisciplinary manner. Our results highlight the role of emotion in the emergence of the bodily self, specify whether the self can be framed as a neural, functional organization of the brain, and addresses the issue of whether the bodily self can be defined as graded in nature, or an all-or-none phenomenon. Lastly, we draw conclusions regarding the nature of bodily self and posit some outstanding questions regarding the future inquiry of this fascinating field of research
The Relationship between Acceptance and Sleep–Wake Quality before, during, and after the First Italian COVID-19 Lockdown
Full text linkSeveral studies have reported that the COVID-19 pandemic has had deleterious effects on sleep quality and mood, but the mechanisms underlying these effects are not clearly understood. Recently, it has been shown that the acceptance component of mindfulness reduces anxiety, and, in turn, lower anxiety improves sleep quality. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to assess changes in mindfulness traits, sleep–wake quality, and general distress, before, during, and after the first COVID-19 wave, testing the model in which acceptance influences sleep through anxiety in each period. A total of 250 participants were recruited before (Pre-Lockdown group: 69 participants, 29 females, 33.04 ± 12.94 years), during (Lockdown group: 78 participants, 59 females, 29.174 ± 8.50 years), and after (After-Lockdown group: 103 participants, 86 females, 30.29 ± 9.46 years) the first Italian lockdown. In each group, self-report questionnaires, assessing mindfulness facets, distress, and sleep–wake quality, were administered and assessed. The Lockdown group reported lower acceptance and higher depression, while the After-Lockdown group reported lower sleep–wake quality and higher anxiety. The results of the path analysis confirmed that higher acceptance reduced anxiety and higher anxiety decreased sleep–wake quality in all groups. Our results confirm that acceptance influences sleep through the mediating role of anxiety
The mechanisms of selective attention in phenomenal consciousness
No full text: In three experiments we investigated the effects of selective attention in iconic memory and fragile-visual short-term memory (VSTM), which have been related to phenomenal consciousness. We used a novel retro-cue paradigm with different delays (early vs late) and object priorities (high vs equal vs low), to investigate (a) attentional costs and benefits and the role of (b) bottom-up factors and (c) fragile-VSTM in feature-based attentional selection. Experiment 1 showed that attentional costs modulate visual maintenance at longer delays, while Experiment 2 showed that by reducing the time exposure of the memory array from 250 ms to 100 ms, as a bottom-up factor, participants were not able to select the objects based on their priorities. Finally, Experiment 3 showed that a pattern mask presented before the transfer in visual working memory, attenuates the overall performance while preserving the priority effect. The implications for phenomenal consciousness before conscious access are discussed
- …
