W ostatnich latach badania prowadzone z wykorzystaniem metod neuroobrazowych, dostarczyły wielu cennych informacji na temat plastyczności ludzkiego mózgu. Jednym z modeli do badania neuroplastyczności, który cieszy się coraz większym zainteresowaniem badaczy jest trening muzyczny, który angażuje jednocześnie kilka systemów sensorycznych, układ motoryczny a także złożone procesy poznawcze. Artykuł prezentuje aktualną wiedzę na temat zmian funkcjonalnych i strukturalnym mózgu, które zachodzą pod wpływem trening muzycznego, z uwzględnieniem wieku jego rozpoczęcia, rodzaju a także indywidualnych predyspozycji osoby uczącej się. Celem opracowania jest także wykazanie znaczenia treningu muzycznego dla rozwoju poznawczego dzieci, w tym roli transferu umiejętności muzycznych na inne pozamuzyczne zdolności. W przeglądzie uwypuklono także terapeutyczny potencjał treningu muzycznego, między innymi w aspekcie klinicznym.

Background/Objectives: Considering the importance of physical activity on the development of cognitive functions in children, the aim of this study was to assess the effects of a ten-week training program using the Interactive Floor device (© Funtronic), i.e., a kinesthetic educational game, and aerobic activity training on executive functions in 9-year-old children. Given current knowledge of the advantages of gamification and on-task switching, stronger improvement was expected for the Interactive Floor device than aerobic exercise activities. Methods: Sixty-four children (29 boys/35 girls) were randomly assigned to the Interactive Floor (n = 22), Aerobic Training (n = 22), or Control groups (n = 20). The participants had their cognitive abilities assessed twice (pre- and post-intervention) using computer tests from the Vienna Test System (VTS) and subtests from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children® Fifth Edition (WISC®-V). From VTS, the Stroop Test was used to measure inhibition and attentional control, while the Corsi Block test assessed visuospatial short-term working memory. To assess auditory working memory, the Digit Span subtest from the WISC®-V was applied. Additionally, fluid intelligence was estimated using Raven’s Progressive Matrices. Results: Repeated-measures mixed ANOVA and post hoc tests with Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons showed that all intervention program groups improved in terms of intelligence and non-verbal abstract reasoning. The second significant finding in this study was that especially children from the Interactive Floor group developed their executive functions, i.e., inhibition and attentional control as well as their spatial short-term memory capacity. Conclusions: The results suggest that a combination of both physical exercise and cognitive games in the Interactive Floor group resulted in greater improvement in cognitive abilities in children than aerobic exercise or physical education lessons. It seems that a multidisciplinary approach combining physical and cognitive stimulation effectively promotes child development. Future programs aiming to improve cognitive skills in children should consider incorporating interactive and engaging activities that stimulate both the body and the mind.

Expectations and beliefs shape the experience of pain. This is most evident in context-induced, placebo analgesia, which has recently been shown to interact with the trait of magical thinking (MT) in adults. In children, placebo analgesia and the possible roles that MT and gender might play as modulators of placebo analgesia have remained unexplored. Using a paradigm in which heat pain stimuli were applied to both forearms, we investigated whether MT and gender can influence the magnitude of placebo analgesia in children. Participants were 49 right-handed children (aged 6–9 years) who were randomly assigned—stratified for MT and gender—to either an analgesia-expectation or a control-expectation condition. For both conditions, the placebo was a blue-colored hand disinfectant that was applied to the children's forearms. Independent of MT, the placebo treatment significantly increased both heat pain threshold and tolerance. The threshold placebo effect was more pronounced for girls than boys. In addition, independent of the expectation treatment, low-MT boys showed a lower tolerance increase on the left compared to the right side. Finally, MT specifically modulated tolerance on the right forearm side: Low-MT boys showed an increase, whereas high-MT boys showed a decrease in heat pain tolerance. This study documented a substantial expectation-induced placebo analgesia response in children (girls > boys) and demonstrated MT and gender-dependent laterality effects in pain perception. The findings may help improve individualized pain management for children.The study documents the first experimental evidence for a substantial expectancy-induced placebo analgesia response in healthy children aged 6 to 9 years (girls > boys). Moreover, the effect was substantially higher than the placebo response typically found in adults. The findings may help improve individualized pain management for children.

Prediction error (PE) is the mismatch between a prior expectation and reality, and it lies at the core of associative learning about aversive and appetitive stimuli. Human studies on fear learning have linked the amygdala to aversive PEs. In contrast, the relationship between the amygdala and PE in appetitive settings and stimuli, unlike those that induce fear, has received less research attention. Animal studies show that the amygdala is a functionally heterogeneous structure. Nevertheless, the role of the amygdala nuclei in PE signaling remains unknown in humans. To clarify the role of two subdivisions of the human amygdala, the centromedial amygdala (CMA) and basolateral amygdala (BLA), in appetitive and aversive PE signaling, we used gustatory pavlovian learning involving eating-related naturalistic outcomes. Thirty-eight right-handed individuals (19 females) participated in the study. We found that surprise with neutral feedback when a reward is expected triggers activity within the left and right CMA. When an aversive outcome is expected, surprise with neutral feedback triggers activity only within the left CMA. Notably, the BLA was not activated by those conditions. Thus, the CMA engages in negative PE signaling during appetitive and aversive gustatory pavlovian learning, whereas the BLA is not critical for this process. In addition, PE-related activity within the left CMA during aversive learning is negatively correlated with neuroticism and positively correlated with extraversion. The findings indicate the importance of the CMA in gustatory learning when the value of outcomes changes and have implications for understanding psychological conditions that manifest perturbed processing of negative PEs. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT A discrepancy between a prediction and an actual outcome (PE) plays a crucial role in learning. Learning improves when an outcome is more significant than expected (positive PE) and worsens when it is smaller than expected (negative PE). We found that the negative PE during appetitive and aversive taste learning is associated with increased activity of the CMA, which suggests that the CMA controls taste learning. Our findings may have implications for understanding psychological states associated with deficient learning from negative PEs, such as obesity and addictive behaviors.

There is a growing interest in therapeutic applications of non-invasive brain stimulation methods. Transcranial electrical stimulation is a non-invasive brain stimulation method used to modulate central nervous system excitability. The procedure involves placing two electrodes on the patient's head through which very low-intensity electrical current is sent. Transcranial electrical stimulation methods include transcranial direct current stimulation and transcranial alternating current stimulation. These methods are considered to be safe and relatively inexpensive, and can be used in home settings. Research conducted in recent years suggests that transcranial electrical stimulation can be applied to support substance use disorder therapy. The positive effects of stimulation include decreased craving and frequency of substance use, an improved quality of life and changes in the activity of functional brain networks. Transcranial direct current stimulation with the anode being placed over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the cathode being placed over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is considered to be of a particularly high therapeutic potential. There are a limited number of studies which indicate that not only direct current stimulation, but also alternating current stimulation can be used for substance use disorder therapy.

Social motivation is one of the psychological processes which underlie social functioning. Social motivation is understood as a set of behavior and predispositions that drive people to search for social interactions, and create and maintain social bonds. The components of social motivation are subserved by the reward system in the brain, and it is found that disrupted functioning of the system leads to a failure to experience pleasure from social interactions and/or decreased need to anticipate/ initiate them. Studies on social motivation encompass the com-ponents which are linked with the stages of reward processing. Reward processing is dissected into the approach behavior in response to rewarding stimuli (social approach and avoidance motivation), anticipat-ing the reward (wanting) and reaction on reward (lik-ing). The other component of social motivation which is investigated is trust in others (trust). Deficits of social motivation, including disrupted an-ticipation of social reward, are found to be crucial in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and in schizophrenia. The review of behavioral and neuroimaging studies on social motivation in ASD and in schizophrenia, in-cluding behavioral research and neuroimaging (fMRI), showed that disrupted social motivation in ASD is caused by decreased capacity for anticipating the re-warding value of social stimuli which occurred during social interaction. In schizophrenia the key factor of deficit in social motivation is limited trust in others. Although research on the role of social motivation in psychiatric disorders is a relatively new area, the results derived from studies on social motivation could bring inspiration for new therapeutic programs for patients with particular disorders.

Screen media are ubiquitous in human life across all age, cultural and socioeconomic groups. The ceaseless and dynamic growth of technological possibilities has given rise to questions regarding their effect on the well-being of children. Research in this area largely consists of cross-sectional studies; experimental and randomized studies are rare, which makes drawing causative conclusions difficult. However, the prevailing approach towards the use of screen media by children has focused on time limitations. The emerging evidence supports a more nuanced perspective. It appears that the older the child, the more important how the screen media are used becomes. Concentrating on the quality of the screen, time has become increasingly relevant in the recent COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitated a transfer of educational and social functioning from real-life to the digital world. With this review, we aimed at gathering current knowledge on the correlations of different screen media use and development outcomes, as well as providing an overview of potential benefits that new technologies may provide to the pediatric population. To summarize, if one cannot evade screen time in children, how can we use it for children’s maximum advantage?

ENWEndNote BIBJabRef, Mendeley RISPapers, Reference Manager, RefWorks, Zotero AMA Pudło M, Makowska I, Rymarczyk K. Social motivation in autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia. Neuropsychiatria i Neuropsychologia/Neuropsychiatry and Neuropsychology. 2022;17(3):174-186. doi:10.5114/nan.2022.124704. APA Pudło, M., Makowska, I., & Rymarczyk, K. (2022). Social motivation in autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia. Neuropsychiatria i Neuropsychologia/Neuropsychiatry and Neuropsychology, 17(3), 174-186. https://doi.org/10.5114/nan.2022.124704 Chicago Pudło, Monika, Iwona Makowska, and Krystyna Rymarczyk. 2022. "Social motivation in autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia". Neuropsychiatria i Neuropsychologia/Neuropsychiatry and Neuropsychology 17 (3): 174-186. doi:10.5114/nan.2022.124704. Harvard Pudło, M., Makowska, I., and Rymarczyk, K. (2022). Social motivation in autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia. Neuropsychiatria i Neuropsychologia/Neuropsychiatry and Neuropsychology, 17(3), pp.174-186. https://doi.org/10.5114/nan.2022.124704 MLA Pudło, Monika et al. "Social motivation in autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia." Neuropsychiatria i Neuropsychologia/Neuropsychiatry and Neuropsychology, vol. 17, no. 3, 2022, pp. 174-186. doi:10.5114/nan.2022.124704. Vancouver Pudło M, Makowska I, Rymarczyk K. Social motivation in autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia. Neuropsychiatria i Neuropsychologia/Neuropsychiatry and Neuropsychology. 2022;17(3):174-186. doi:10.5114/nan.2022.124704.

Introduction DSM-5 defines non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) as socially unaccepted, direct, repeated and deliberate harm done to one’s own body. It is estimated that in a general population approximately 13-29% of adolescents present NSSI, and 70-80% among hospitalized youth. It seems that emotional dysregulation is the core characteristic of NSSI manifesting by self-harm behaviors, impulsiveness, lack of emotional awareness and experiencing high intensity of negative emotion. Emotional dysregulation is a pivotal characteristic of NSSI. Rationale of this theory is provided by the results of psychological and psychophysiological studies as well as those presenting brain activity. Neuroimaging data point to a variant pattern of brain activity of adolescents with NSSI during perception of emotionally negative stimuli i.e. hyperactivity in amygdala – a structure responsible for fear and automatic reaction to exciting stimuli and low activity of inferior frontal gyrus area – a structure responsible for inhibition and interpretation of social interactions. This activity pattern suggests a disorder of cortico-subcortical neuronal connections. Objectives The aim was to verify tDCS as a therapeutic aid for patients who exhibit NSSI despite implementation of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. Methods We investigated the modulation effect of tDCS treatment at the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) in hospitalized adolescents with NSSI. Results Preliminary tDCS stimulation results indicate potential usefulness of this method in regulating emotions and improving executive functions. Conclusions Prefrontal cortex stimulation may restore balance in aforementioned connections and, as a result, positively influence an emotional regulation i.e. lower the impulsiveness, agitation and, by doing so, decrease NSSI frequency. Disclosure No significant relationships.

Children are exposed to screen devices from early developmental stages and use them increasingly often as they grow. Screen time has reached unprecedented levels in paediatric population, raising concerns about whether it holds potential for harm. Additionally, a growing number of scholars suggest that different patterns of screen device use may be even more important for well-being than the duration of use itself. In this paper, we summarise the current state of the ongoing debate regarding common paediatric problems and their possible relationships with screen media use. Sleep disorders, obesity, musculoskeletal symptoms, vision problems, cognitive dysfunctions, as well as mood and behavioural disorders are discussed. Most evidence supporting the relationship between health problems and new technologies comes from cross-sectional studies that do not warrant inferences as to the direction of causality. Hence, our aim was to present various aspects of the discussed problems rather than to reach final conclusions. Currently, experts throughout the world agree that parents should guide, supervise and limit children's screen time before the age of 5 years. As children grow, more adequate approach would be to provide guidance and help if needed. Regardless of age, following general principles for raising children in the digital era might prevent health complications.

Atypical emotion interpretation has been widely reported in individuals with borderline personality disorder (iBPD); however, empirical studies reported mixed results so far. We suggest that discrepancies in observations of emotion interpretation by iBPD can be explained by biases related to their fear of rejection and abandonment, i.e., the three moral emotions of anger, disgust, and contempt. In this study, we hypothesized that iBPD would show a higher tendency to correctly interpret these three displays of social rejection and attribute more negative valence. A total of 28 inpatient iBPDs and 28 healthy controls were asked to judge static and dynamic facial expressions in terms of emotions, valence, and self-reported arousal evoked by the observed faces. Our results partially confirmed our expectations. The iBPD correctly interpreted the three unambiguous moral emotions. Contempt, a complex emotion with a difficulty in recognizing facial expressions, was recognized better by iBPD than by healthy controls. All negative emotions were judged more negatively by iBPD than by controls, but no difference was observed in the neutral or positive emotion. Alexithymia and anxiety trait and state levels were controlled in all analyses.

In Western societies, individuals are increasingly exposed to external stimuli and performance demands. Some individuals are more susceptible than others to both negative and positive environmental conditions. Specifically, high « sensory processing sensitivity » (SPS) can make it difficult to adjust to certain demands. Psychoactive substance use can sometimes be used as a means to reduce external stimulation, but to date there have been few community based studies on this topic.We used data from the 2018 French TEMPO based cohort study (n = 862 adults, 25–44 years) to study the relationship between sensory processing sensitivity and use of psychoactive substances including tobacco (regular use), alcohol (AUDIT), cannabis (CAST), and illicit drugs (lifetime use). To ascertain SPS, we used the 12-item Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) scale questionnaire. Data were analysed using logistic regression models adjusted on participants’ demographic characteristics, including gender, age, marital status, educational level, employment status, as well as juvenile history of externalizing problems in 1991 or 1999.High SPS was observed among 14% of subjects. No association was observed between SPS and psychotropic use. Nevertheless, each additional point on the SPS score was associated with a 20% increase in the odds of alcohol abuse, which came close to statistical significance.In the community based TEMPO cohort study, we observed no association between SPS and psychotropic substance use among adults. Additional studies in younger samples would be of interest to test the role of this trait on the onset of substance-related difficulties.

Although in a majority of cases, autistic children face difficulties communicating verbally, the valid diagnostic classifi cations do not identify them as the main symptoms of the disorder. The adoption of such a position has been supported by results of (mainly behavioural) research, which imply that language and speech development in the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is extremely variable and individually diversifi ed and the observed delay of its development is not unique to autism. On the other hand, the research conducted by means of neuroimaging methods shows that an atypical structure and activity of Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas, which are important for language processes, exist in the ASD. A weak structural and functional connectivity in the arcuate fasciculus, which connects these structures, has also been discovered. It is assumed that the changes arise from neurodevelopmental irregularities occurring at an early stage of foetal life and their causes are probably genetic. This study characterises speech development disorders and atypical brain development in autism referring to results of both behavioural and neuroimaging research.

Glass is an increasingly used material in construction and buildings. Despite its large application as load-bearing construction material, several aspects related to safe and optimal design are still under investigation and exploration, towards the full implementation of standardized and conservative rules of practical use. One of the main concerns in the design of this typically tensile brittle material is given by the rational estimation of static fatigue phenomena, under the effects of multiple design loads. In this paper, careful consideration is paid to the Ultimate Limit State (ULS) resistance verification of structural glass elements under a combination of variable loads with assigned duration. Taking advantage of past literature contributions and existing design standards for glass, an assessment of several available formulations to account for the cumulative stress effects of combined design loads is first carried out by means of selected case studies and extended parametric analytical calculations. Based on the obtained results, an alternative, simplified but practical and rather accurate - compared to the exact theoretical model - linear formulation is also finally proposed to account for static fatigue phenomena in load-bearing glass elements.

The ability to detect food plays an indispensable role in our survival and wellbeing. Previous psychological studies have revealed that food is detected more rapidly than non-food items. However, whether the detection of food could be modulated by cultural factors remains unknown. We investigated this issue in the present study using a visual search paradigm with Polish and Japanese participants. Photographs of international fast food, domestic Japanese food, or kitchen tools were presented alongside images of non-food distractors (cars). Participants were asked to judge whether the stimuli were all identical or not. The reaction time data showed that participants from both cultures detected food more rapidly than kitchen tools. Japanese participants detected fast food more rapidly than Japanese food, whereas Polish participants did not display such differences between food types. These results suggest that rapid detection of food is universal, but is modulated by cultural experiences.

Real-life faces are dynamic by nature, particularly when expressing emotion. Increasing evidence suggests that the perception of dynamic displays enhances facial mimicry and induces activation in widespread brain structures considered to be part of the mirror neuron system, a neuronal network linked to empathy. The present study is the first to investigate the relations among facial muscle responses, brain activity, and empathy traits while participants observed static and dynamic (videos) facial expressions of fear and disgust. During display presentation, blood-oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal as well as muscle reactions of the corrugator supercilii and levator labii were recorded simultaneously from 46 healthy individuals (21 females). It was shown that both fear and disgust faces caused activity in the corrugator supercilii muscle, while perception of disgust produced facial activity additionally in the levator labii muscle, supporting a specific pattern of facial mimicry for these emotions. Moreover, individuals with higher, compared to individuals with lower, empathy traits showed greater activity in the corrugator supercilii and levator labii muscles; however, these responses were not differentiable between static and dynamic mode. Conversely, neuroimaging data revealed motion and emotional-related brain structures in response to dynamic rather than static stimuli among high empathy individuals. In line with this, there was a correlation between electromyography (EMG) responses and brain activity suggesting that the Mirror Neuron System, the anterior insula and the amygdala might constitute the neural correlates of automatic facial mimicry for fear and disgust. These results revealed that the dynamic property of (emotional) stimuli facilitates the emotional-related processing of facial expressions, especially among whose with high trait empathy.

Previous psychological studies have shown that images of food elicit hedonic responses, either consciously or unconsciously, and that participants' cultural experiences moderate conscious hedonic ratings of food. However, whether cultural factors moderate unconscious hedonic responses to food remains unknown. We investigated this issue in Polish and Japanese participants using the subliminal affective priming paradigm. Images of international fast food and domestic Japanese food were presented subliminally as prime stimuli. Participants rated their preferences for the subsequently presented target ideographs. Participants also rated their preferences for supraliminally presented food images. In the subliminal rating task, Polish participants showed higher preference ratings for fast food primes than for Japanese food primes, whereas Japanese participants showed comparable preference ratings across these two conditions. In the supraliminal rating task, both Polish and Japanese participants reported comparable preferences for fast and Japanese food stimuli. These results suggest that cultural experiences moderate unconscious hedonic responses to food, which may not be detected based on explicit ratings.

ABSTRACT Introduction: The study investigates how benzodiazepine (BZD) use and detoxification affects empathy and the recognition and intensity rating of emotional facial expressions. The sample comprised 43 participants in three groups: (1) during detoxification (N = 13), (2) after detoxification (N = 15), (3) a matched control group (N = 15). Clinical subjects were recruited from in-patients of an addiction treatment unit. Methods: Empathy levels were tested with the Empathy Quotient (EQ-Short). Recognition accuracy and emotion intensity rating were based on a computerised task displaying static and dynamic facial expressions of joy, anger, sadness, and fear. Results: The controls proved more accurate than both experimental groups in identifying facial expressions of negative emotions. Joy recognition proved most accurate overall. Among the clinical subjects, women in particular exhibited an impaired ability to correctly identify negative emotions from facial expressions. Dynamic stimuli were better recognised than static ones albeit only in the experimental groups. No significant differences were found for emotion intensity ratings and EQ scores. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the impaired facial emotion recognition accuracy is not caused by deficits in empathy. No improvement was recorded post-detoxification which may indicate impaired interpersonal functioning among BZD users. Further research is warranted in light of this study’s limitations.

Facial mimicry (FM) is an automatic response to imitate the facial expressions of others. However, neural correlates of the phenomenon are as yet not well established. We investigated this issue using simultaneously recorded EMG and BOLD signals during perception of dynamic and static emotional facial expressions of happiness and anger. During display presentations, BOLD signals and zygomaticus major (ZM), corrugator supercilii (CS) and orbicularis oculi (OO) EMG responses were recorded simultaneously from 46 healthy individuals. Subjects reacted spontaneously to happy facial expressions with increased EMG activity in ZM and OO muscles and decreased CS activity, which was interpreted as FM. Facial muscle responses correlated with BOLD activity in regions associated with motor simulation of facial expressions [i.e., inferior frontal gyrus, a classical Mirror Neuron System (MNS)]. Further, we also found correlations for regions associated with emotional processing (i.e., insula, part of the extended MNS). It is concluded that FM involves both motor and emotional brain structures, especially during perception of natural emotional expressions.