60 research outputs found
Author response to reviewer 1 of Ferracci et al., acp-2018-12', Valerio Ferracci, 16 Apr 2018
No full text
How head and visual movements affect evaluations of food products
No full textMany studies suggest that specific movements or postures with shared social meaning can influence mainly verbal stimuli evaluation. On the other hand, several visuospatial biases can interact with this influence. Thus, we tested whether both head and stimuli movements can influence individual attitude towards food pictures. In two experiments, we used images of common foods with a weak positive valence in association with two kinds of movements. In Experiment 1, head movement was induced by presenting food pictures with a vertical or horizontal continuous movement on a computer screen. Conversely, Experiment 2 was conducted to test the effects of participants' own head movements with respect to the same food pictures presented in a fixed position. In neither case did head movements influence product evaluation. However, Experiment 1 revealed that the continuous movement left-right-left in the horizontal condition improved the desire to buy and eat, as well as the willingness to pay for the product shown. Two further experiments, the Experiments 3 and 4 demonstrated, respectively, that this effect disappears if the stimulus does not make the return direction, and that it does not depend on the starting or final placement of the images on the screen. These findings are discussed in the context of embodied cognition and visuospatial bias theories
Hemispheric functional asymmetries and sex effects in visual bistable perception
No full text: This study investigates bistable perception as a function of the presentation side of the ambiguous figures and of participants' sex, to evaluate left-right hemispheric (LH-RH) asymmetries related to consciousness. In two experiments using the divided visual field paradigm, two Rubin's vase-faces figures were projected simultaneously and continuously 180 s long to the left (LVF) and right (RVF; Experiment 1) or to the upper (UVF) and lower (DVF; Experiment 2) visual hemifields of 48 healthy subjects monitored with eye-tracker. Experiment 1 enables stimulus segregation from the LVF to the RH and from the RVF to the LH, whereas Experiment 2 does not. Results from Experiment 1 show that males perceived the face profiles for more time in the LVF than in the RVF, with an opposite trend for the vase, whereas females show a similar pattern of perception in the two hemifields. A related result confirmed the previously reported possibility to have simultaneously two different percepts (qualia) in the two hemifields elicited by the two identic ambiguous stimuli, which was here observed to occur more frequently in males. Similar effects were not observed in Experiment 2. These findings suggest that the percepts display the processing abilities of the hemisphere currently processing the stimulus eliciting them (e.g., RH-faces), and that females and males reflect in bistable perception, a genuine manifestation of consciousness, the well-known hemispheric asymmetry differences they show in ordinary perception
The role of impulsivity and binge eating in outpatients with overweight or obesity: an EEG temporal discounting study
No full textBackground Binge eating (BE) is associated with a range of cognitive control deficits related to impulsivity,
including lower response inhibition, preference for immediate gratification, and maladaptive decision-making. The
aim was to investigate whether impulsivity and BE may interact with the decision process and underlying brain
activity in outpatients with overweight or obesity who are starting a treatment to achieve weight loss.
Methods A sample of 26 treatment-seeking outpatients with overweight or obesity was evaluated for impulsivity,
BE, and temporal discounting rates. Impulsivity was measured with the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), according
to which two groups were composed: high BIS and low BIS; BE was assessed with the eating disorders module
of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM5—Research Version, according to which two groups were composed:
with (BE group) or without BE (NBE group). Changes in subjective value of rewards were measured with the Temporal
Discounting Task (TDt) where participants had to choice between sooner but smaller vs. later but larger monetary
rewards. These choices were made in two differently delayed conditions (“Now” and “Not-now”). Brain rhythms were
recorded through high-density electroencephalogram (hd-EEG) during the TDt.
Results Patients with BE reported more impulsive tendencies and perceived sooner rewards as more gratifying
when both options were delayed (Not-now condition, p = 0.02). The reward choice in the TDt was accompanied
by a general EEG alpha band desynchronization in parietal areas observed without differences between experimental
conditions and patients groups. No effects were observed within the Now condition or in the other EEG bands.
Conclusions The tendency to favor immediate rewards may constitute an obstacle to adhering to treatment plans
and achieving weight loss goals for outpatients with overweight or obesity. Clinicians are therefore encouraged
to include psychological factors, such as impulsivity and dysfunctional eating behaviors, when designing weight loss
programs. By addressing these psychological aspects, clinicians can better support patients in overcoming barriers
to adherence and achieving sustainable weight loss
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