Although aesthetic appreciation is a subjective experience, classicist architecture is often judged as pleasant by many people, whereas modernist buildings may be more appreciated by experts, being somehow disliked by naive observers. In the present study, we aimed at investigating psychological (pleasantness evaluation) and physiological (electroencephalography) differences between architects (expert group) and nonarchitects (naive group) for classicist versus modernist buildings, shown as entire photos (far perspective) and as details of the same buildings (near perspective). At a psychological level, we confirmed that modernist buildings are more appreciated by experts and classicist buildings by naive. Electroencephalography revealed higher amplitude in the posterior P1 event-related potential component for classicist compared with modernist buildings only in experts. The subsequent P2 component was faster in latency for classicist than modernist buildings in naive, but it was faster for modernist than classicist buildings in experts. Perspective also affected P2, with a faster peak in the left hemisphere for modernist buildings when stimuli were shown from far with respect to near in both subgroups, and the same result was observed for the classicist style but only in the expert group. Finally, at frontal sites, a faster N400 was recorded for modernist compared with classicist architecture, only in expert participants. These results confirm the difference in aesthetic appreciation between experts and nonexperts, suggesting differences in the cortical responses associated with style and perspective.

Duration processing is influenced by task demands and cognitive functioning, but few studies have examined how it changes in different stages of life. The present study adopted an innovative paradigm that includes a traditional reproduction task and two more complex conditions, requiring participants to mentally halve (bisection) or double (doubling) temporal intervals.Four age groups spanning from adolescence to old age (n = 588) completed the task, and systematic biases in explicit duration judgments were analyzed. Results replicated and extended past findings, indicating that all participants, irrespective of their age, accurately reproduced time intervals, but made consistent errors when required to mentally manipulate durations. Older adults showed greater overestimation in the bisection condition compared to the other age groups, suggesting age-related differences in specific aspects of mental manipulation of durations.The findings offer initial insights into the stability of duration processing across the lifespan, while highlighting subtle individual differences across age groups.

Epistemic emotions, including curiosity, interest, and surprise, play a crucial role in learning and cognitive processes by bridging motivation and knowledge acquisition. The Magic Curiosity Arousing Tricks (MagicCATs) dataset, comprising 166 magic trick video clips, provides a standardized tool for studying these emotions in experimental settings. This study provides normative ratings for the dataset within an Italian context, based on a sample of 654 participants aged 18-86. Participants evaluated the videos based on clarity, curiosity, interest, surprise, and confidence in solving the trick, using both binary and Likert scales. Rigorous data screening ensured integrity, enhancing the reliability of the findings. The dataset's ecological validity, dynamic stimuli, and capacity to elicit multiple epistemic emotions offer advantages over traditional methods. By contextualizing MagicCATs within an Italian framework, this study advances the investigation of epistemic emotions by supporting their simultaneous assessment across a broad adult age range. Applications include experimental psychology, neuroscience, and education, with potential implications for mental health and age-related cognitive research. Data and resources are available for replication and further exploration.

Learning is a multidimensional process resulting from the interaction between cognitive and emotional factors within the learning context; in this respect the quality of the student-teacher relationship plays a significant role. Although the literature suggests that cognitive processes and emotions experienced during learning and task performing play a central role in academic achievement, it remains unclear how these factors interact with socio-affective factors in explaining academic performance, particularly in second language (L2) learning from primary school. This systematic review and meta-analysis focused on the studies that jointly or individually investigated the role of emotional factors (achievement emotions), socio-affective factors (student-teacher relationship) and cognitive factors (working memory) in L2 learning during primary school. Our sample contained 19 primary studies with 5,340 participants involved in at least one of the factors of our interest. 16 out of 19 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Our results showed a positive correlation between working memory and L2 learning, differentiated effects of achievement emotions, with a significant negative association with anxiety, and a small but positive association with enjoyment. The student-teacher relationship was supported only by qualitative evidence, however, showing a protective effect of emotional closeness to the teacher in the learning process in the presence of negative emotions such as anxiety. Findings support the importance of integrating cognitive, emotional, and relational factors to understand L2 learning in primary school. Further empirical research focusing on positive emotions and relational dynamics in different educational contexts is needed.

Telepractice in neuropsychology has become increasingly prevalent in recent years due to its ability to provide accessible and convenient care to patients regardless of their location. However, the validation of many neuropsychological tools for distance assessments remains limited, and there is a particular lack of remotely administered assessment tests with alternate forms, which are crucial for monitoring symptoms and performance in clinical contexts and for minimizing practice effects in research practice. Consequently, the present study was aimed at evaluating the consistency of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) scores across videoconference and face-to-face administrations and to examine whether the scores obtained via videoconference support interpretations similar to those obtained via face-to-face administration. A total of 185 participants aged between 20 and 79 years (M=46.24, SD=19.63) underwent RBANS testing twice: once in person using the standard pen-and-paper modality and once remotely via videoconference, using Alternate Forms A and B to mitigate the learning effects. Results from the linear mixed models revealed no significant differences between remote and face-to-face administrations based on the modality of administration (p>0.05). Bayes factors supported the null hypothesis, suggesting that RBANS performance is consistent across the two modalities of administration. However, discrepancies were observed in certain subtests between alternate forms of the RBANS, highlighting the need for standardization. In conclusion, findings suggested that the same norms that are used to interpret the RBANS scores obtained via face-to-face administration may be employed when administered remotely through videoconferencing. Accordingly, the study provides valuable insights into the feasibility of remote neuropsychological assessment and underscores the potential utility of videoconference technology in clinical and research settings.

Background Auditory hallucinations (hearing voices in the absence of physical stimuli) are present in clinical conditions, but they are also experienced less frequently by healthy individuals. In the non-clinical population, auditory hallucinations are described more often as positive and not intrusive; indeed, they have received less attention. Aims The present study explores the phenomenology of non-clinical auditory hallucinations and their possible relationship with religiosity. Method Starting from previous findings suggesting that non-clinical auditory hallucinations are often described as a gift or a way to be connected with ‘someone else’, we administered standardised questionnaires to quantify proneness to experiencing auditory hallucinations, religiosity and anxiety/depression scores. Results Regression analysis carried out using an auditory hallucinations, index as the dependent variable on a final sample of 680 responders revealed that a total of 31% of the variance was explained by a five-steps model including demographic characteristics (i.e. being young, a woman and a non-believer) and negative (e.g. being afraid of otherworldly punishments) and positive (e.g. believing in benevolent supernatural forces) components of religiosity, anxiety and depression. Crucially, compared with believers, non-believers revealed higher scores in depression, anxiety and in a specific questionnaire measuring proneness to auditory hallucinations. Conclusions Results suggests that religiosity acts as a potential protective factor for proneness to paranormal experiences, but a complex relationship emerges between religious beliefs, mood alterations and unusual experiences.

BackgroundResting-state EEG studies have shown that neurodegenerative dementias like Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) can alter cortical functional connectivity. In DLB, the presence of a pre-alpha rhythm suggests frequency-specific network dysfunctions that remain poorly understood.ObjectiveIn the present study we tested the hypothesis that electroencephalography (EEG) recordings in DLB patients may show abnormal cortical functional connectivity.MethodsResting-state EEG activity was recorded in 73 DLB, 70 AD, and 41 healthy control (HC) participants from seven European DLB Consortium Centers. We used eLORETA to calculate lagged linear connectivity (LLC) from EEG sources at delta, theta, pre-alpha, alpha, beta, gamma bands.ResultsStatistical analyses revealed greater fronto-occipital connectivity at the theta and pre-alpha bands in the DLB group compared to the AD and HC groups. Furthermore, the DLB and AD groups displayed reduced alpha LLC compared to the HC group.ConclusionsThe results suggest that in DLB patients, resting-state EEG pre-alpha activity is not a local process. Instead, it may reflect enhanced functional connectivity, possibly propagating dysfunctional thalamocortical connectivity, within long fronto-occipital tracts.

The spectral analysis of the resting-state eyes-closed electroencephalographic (rsEEG) activity typically shows abnormal delta (< 4 Hz), theta (4-7 Hz), and alpha (8-12 Hz) power in older patients with cognitive deficits due to progressive neurodegenerative diseases. Interestingly, abnormally prominent posterior rsEEG power < 8 Hz with periodic fluctuations in the pre-alpha/theta range has been considered a supportive biomarker for diagnosing patients with prodromal or manifest dementia due to Lewy bodies (DLB) in international guidelines. Here, a panel of experts shortly reviews the concepts of thalamocortical dysrhythmia as a possible neurophysiological oscillatory mechanism generating those rsEEG abnormalities in DLB patients. It also recommends how to record and quantitatively analyze rsEEG activity in prodromal and manifesting DLB patients for the application of that cost-effective and largely available diagnostic procedure in clinical practice.

BackgroundGamma oscillation modulation has emerged as a potential non-invasive treatment to counteract cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Non-invasive brain stimulation techniques like transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), gamma sensory stimulation (GSS), and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) show promise in supporting specific cognitive functions.ObjectiveTo review and evaluate the efficacy of gamma oscillation modulation techniques in benefiting cognitive functions among individuals with AD and MCI.MethodsA systematic review was conducted, analyzing studies from 2015 to 2023 across databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. Inclusion criteria focused on studies involving tACS, GSS, or TMS applied to older adults with MCI or AD. A total of 438 articles were screened, of which 10 met the eligibility criteria.ResultsFindings suggest that gamma tACS, especially targeting the precuneus and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, benefits episodic memory and cognitive performance. GSS also showed potential in supporting memory and attention, while TMS exhibited inconsistent but promising results when applied to the angular gyrus. However, heterogeneity in study designs and small sample sizes limit the generalizability of these outcomes.ConclusionsGamma oscillation modulation offers potential cognitive benefits for patients with AD and MCI, particularly in memory support. Further studies with larger samples and well-designed protocols are needed to confirm its therapeutic efficacy and optimize intervention parameters.

(1) Background: It is well-established that older persons compared with younger persons show a bias toward positive valence (a positivity effect), together with less pronounced hemispheric asymmetries, but these topics have been scarcely explored in auditory modality. (2) Methods: We presented auditory stimuli with positive, neutral, or negative emotional valence dichotically to 20 younger and 20 older participants and asked them to memorize the stimuli. In a following session, stimuli were presented binaurally, and participants had to decide whether they were new or already presented in the left/right ear. (3) Results: A higher performance by younger compared with older listeners emerged, but neither the expected Right Ear Advantage nor the positivity effect was confirmed. New stimuli were correctly categorized more frequently if they had neutral valence, whereas stimuli already presented were better recognized with negative rather than neutral or positive valence, without any age difference. (4) Conclusions: These results reveal no hemispheric asymmetries and no age difference in a memory task for auditory stimuli and suggest the existence of a bias to better encode negative content, possibly due to the crucial role of negative stimuli in everyday life.

Virtual Reality (VR) has been gaining increasing attention as a potential ecological and effective intervention system for treating Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). However, it remains unclear the efficacy and effectiveness of VR-based cognitive rehabilitation therapy (VR-CRT) in comparison with cognitive rehabilitation therapy (CRT). Consequently, a systematic review on Pubmed, Scopus, PsycInfo, and Web Of Science was conducted to assess the state of the art of the literature published between 2003 and April 2023. Only articles that adopted CRT as control group and that included some measure of at least one domain among overall cognitive function, executive function and functional status were included. Participants needed to be older adults aged 65 or over with a diagnosis of MCI. The risk of bias and the quality of evidence were assessed using the Version 2 of the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials. Initially, 6503 records were considered and screened after removing duplicates (n = 1321). Subsequently, 81 full texts were assessed for eligibility. Four articles met the inclusion criteria but 2 of them were merged as they were describing different outcomes of the same research project. Consequently, 3 overall studies with a total of 130 participants were included in the final analysis. Due to the high heterogeneity in the methodology and outcome measures employed, it was not possible to conduct a meta-analysis. Included studies used semi-immersive (k = 2) and full-immersive (k = 1) VR systems in their research. Two articles evaluated overall cognitive function through the MoCA together with specific tests for executive functions (n = 69), while one study adopted a comprehensive neuropsychological battery to evaluate both cognitive function and executive function (n = 61). Finally, one study evaluated functional status through instrumental activities of daily living (n = 34). A However, the limited number of studies, the small sample size, and the potential issues with the quality and methodology of these studies that emerged from the risk of bias assessment may raise doubts about the reliability of their results. Nevertheless, although scarce, results of the present review suggest that VR-CRT may be paramount in treating MCI for its additional ecological and adaptive advantages, as all of the studies highlighted that it was at least as effective as conventional CRT for all the outcome measures. Therefore, more rigorous research that compares VR-CRT and CRT is needed to understand the degree to which VR-CRT is effective with older adults with MCI and the potential role of immersion to influence its efficacy. Indeed, these preliminary findings highlight the need for the development of standardized VR protocols, as the integration of such technology into clinical practice may help improve the quality of life and cognitive outcomes for this growing demographic.

Metacognition is the process of thinking about one's own thinking, learning, and problem-solving strategies. It involves being aware of one's own cognitive processes and knowing how to regulate and monitor them. Sustainability, instead, refers to the ability to maintain or preserve resources and ecosystems for future generations. Here, we draw from the classical metacognitive approach and propose that metacognition plays an important role in sustainability. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and MetaAnalyses) Statement was used to perform and recode this review. Given that metacognitive abilities develop early during childhood, metacognition can be viewed as a useful approach to teach pro-environmental behavior from early childhood. Although the interaction between metacognition and sustainability in preschoolers appears to be insufficiently explored, the final aim of this review is to offer a new education-based perspective about metacognition that can be implemented in early childhood to foster pro-environmental actions in the long-term.

A Right Ear Advantage (REA) is well-established in perceptual tasks but it has been found also during imagery. It is ascribed to the left temporoparietal activity for language, and it can be absent/reversed in some clinical conditions including auditory hallucinations. We applied 1-Hz repetitive TMS over TP3/TP4 (left/right language areas) identified through neuronavigation in 18 healthy participants, before administering a modified white noise (WN) speech illusion paradigm: a voice was presented at one ear, at the same or lower intensities with respect to binaural WN. In some trials the voice was not presented, but participants were anyway instructed to report in which ear they believed perceiving it in all trials. Results confirmed the REA both when the voice was present (perceptual REA) and when it was absent (imaginative REA). Interestingly, results suggested that the correct localization of the voice when the stimulus was ambiguous (presented at low intensity and “masked” by WN) was better when TMS was applied over the right/left hemisphere, in male participants with a low/high proneness to unusual experiences (e.g., auditory hallucinations), respectively. This interaction must be further explored to shed light on the relationship between hemispheric asymmetries and auditory hallucinations, in healthy and clinical samples.

Emotions are processed in the brain through a cortical route, responsible for detailed-conscious recognition and mainly based on image High Spatial Frequencies (HSF), and a subcortical route, responsible for coarse-unconscious processing and based on Low SF (LSF). However, little is known about possible changes in the functioning of the two routes in ageing. In the present go/no-go online task, 112 younger adults and 111 older adults were asked to press a button when a happy or angry face appeared (go) and to inhibit responses for neutral faces (no-go). Facial stimuli were presented unfiltered (broadband image), filtered at HSF and LSF, and hybrids (LSF of an emotional expression superimposed to the HSF of the same face with a neutral expression). All stimuli were also presented rotated on the vertical axis (upside-down) to investigate the global analysis of faces in ageing. Results showed an overall better performance of younger compared to older participants for all conditions except for hybrid stimuli. The expected face-inversion effect was confirmed in both age groups. We conclude that, besides an overall worsening of the perceptual skill with ageing, no specific impairment in the functioning of both the cortical and the subcortical route emerged.

Sleep quality is a vital component of one’s overall health and well-being. Inadequate sleep quality is linked to various adverse consequences, including cognitive decline, mood disruptions, and an elevated susceptibility to non-communicable diseases. Hence, it is crucial to precisely evaluate the quality of sleep, in order to identify individuals who are at risk and to develop successful interventions. Importantly, it has been shown that sleep quality can impact physiological processes even when a person is awake, leading to changes in heart rate variability (HRV). From this standpoint, the utilization of wearables and contactless technologies that can measure HRV without causing any discomfort is extremely well-suited for evaluating sleep quality. Nevertheless, there is a dearth of studies that analyze the correlation between HRV and sleep quality during waking. The aim of this study is to create a machine-(ML) learning model that uses HRV data to estimate sleep quality, as evaluated by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The measurement of HRV was conducted using a wearable photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor positioned on the fingertip. Subsequently, models were created to classify sleep quality based on the PSQI score. By employing the current approach, a classification good accuracy of 76.7

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the effects of normobaric hypoxia (NH) and hypobaric hypoxia (HH) on associative memory performance for emotionally valenced stimuli. Methods: Two experiments were conducted. In Study 1, n = 18 undergraduates performed an associative memory task under three NH conditions (FiO(2)= 20.9%, 15.1 %, 13.6%) using a tent with a hypoxic generator. In Study 2, n = 20 participants were assessed in a field study at various altitudes on the Himalayan mountains, including the Pyramid Laboratory (5000 m above sea level), using functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) and behavioral assessments. Results: Study 1 revealed no significant differences in recognition accuracy across NH conditions. However, Study 2 showed a complex relationship between altitude and memory for emotionally valenced stimuli. At lower altitudes, participants more accurately recognized emotional stimuli compared to neutral ones, a trend that reversed at higher altitudes. Brain oxygenation varied with altitude, indicating adaptive cognitive processing, as revealed by fNIRS measurements. Conclusions: These findings suggest that hypoxia affects associative memory and emotional processing in an altitude-dependent manner, highlighting adaptive cognitive mechanisms. Understanding the effects of hypobaric hypoxia on cognition and memory can help develop strategies to mitigate its impact in high-altitude and hypoxic environments.

Previous studies have highlighted that temporal source memory can be influenced by factors such as the individual's age and the emotional valence of the event to be remembered. In this study, we investigated how the different points of view (POVs) from which an event is presented could interact with the relationship between age-related differences and emotional valence on temporal source memory. One hundred and forty-one younger adults (aged 18-30) and 90 older adults (aged 65-74) were presented with a series of emotional videos shot from different POVs (first vs. third-person) in three sessions. In the fourth session, participants were asked to indicate in which session (1, 2, or 3) they viewed each video. The results indicated that the first-person POV amplified the effects of the emotional valence on temporal source memory. Only in this experimental condition, older adults "pushed away" negative stimuli by perceiving them as more distant in time, and "kept closer" positive stimuli by perceiving them as more recent. In comparison, younger adults "kept closer" positive stimuli. These findings add to the existing literature on the positivity effect on temporal source memory and highlighted the importance of considering the POV in relation to the emotional valence.

The causal role of the cerebral hemispheres in positive and negative emotion processing remains uncertain. The Right Hemisphere Hypothesis proposes right hemispheric superiority for all emotions, while the Valence Hypothesis suggests the left/right hemisphere's primary involvement in positive/negative emotions, respectively. To address this, emotional video clips were presented during dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) electrical stimulation, incorporating a comparison of tDCS and high frequency tRNS stimulation techniques and manipulating perspective-taking (first-person vs third-person Point of View, POV). Four stimulation conditions were applied while participants were asked to rate emotional video valence: anodal/cathodal tDCS to the left/right DLPFC, reverse configuration (anodal/cathodal on the right/left DLPFC), bilateral hf-tRNS, and sham (control condition). Results revealed significant interactions between stimulation setup, emotional valence, and POV, implicating the DLPFC in emotions and perspective-taking. The right hemisphere played a crucial role in both positive and negative valence, supporting the Right Hemisphere Hypothesis. However, the complex interactions between the brain hemispheres and valence also supported the Valence Hypothesis. Both stimulation techniques (tDCS and tRNS) significantly modulated results. These findings support both hypotheses regarding hemispheric involvement in emotions, underscore the utility of video stimuli, and emphasize the importance of perspective-taking in this field, which is often overlooked.

Objective: Emotional faces are automatically processed in the human brain through a cortical route (conscious processing based on high spatial frequencies, HSF) and a subcortical route (subliminal processing based on low spatial frequencies, LSF). How each route contributes to emotional face recognition is still debated, and little is known about this process in aging. Method: Here, 147 younger adults (YA) and 137 older adults (OA) were passively presented with neutral, happy, and angry faces, shown as (a) unfiltered, (b) filtered at LSF, and (c) hybrid (emotional LSF superimposed to the neutral HSF of the same face). In a succeeding recognition phase, the same faces and new faces were shown as unfiltered, and participants were asked whether each face had been already presented in the encoding phase. Results: Despite the better performance by YA compared with OA for neutral faces presented as unfiltered (cortical route), the performance of OA was better than that of YA for angry faces presented as hybrid and for happy faces presented at LSF and as hybrid. Conclusions: We conclude that the activity of the subcortical route during the encoding phase facilitates emotional recognition in aging. Results are discussed in accordance with the dual-route model.