Abstract: Performance efficiency in cognitive tasks is a combination of effectiveness, that is, accuracy, and cognitive effort. Resting-state and task-related autonomic and cortical activity, together with psychological variables, may represent effective predictors of performance efficiency. This study aimed to investigate the impact of these variables in the prediction of performance during a set of cognitive tasks in a sample of young adults. The 76 participants (age: 23.96 ± 2.69 years; 51.3% females) who volunteered for this study completed several psychological questionnaires and performed a set of attention and executive functions tasks. Resting-state and task-related prefrontal and autonomic activity were collected through a Time-Domain and a Continuous Wave 2-channel Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) and a portable Electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring system, respectively. A set of Machine Learning (ML) approaches were employed to (i) predict the performance of each cognitive task, while minimizing and quantifying the prediction error, and to (ii) quantitatively evaluate the predictors that most affected the cognitive outcome. Results showed that perfectionistic traits, as well as both resting-state and task-related autonomic and cortical activity, predicted performance for most of the tasks, partially supporting previous evidence. Our results add to the knowledge of psycho-physiological determinants of performance efficiency in cognitive tasks and provide preliminary evidence on the role of ML approaches in detecting important predictors in cognitive neuroscience.
This study aims to longitudinally investigate the effects of individual's factors on subsequent burn-out/psychological distress in a sample of mental health practitioners, testing if higher attachment anxiety and avoidance and lower reflective functioning (i.e., certainty and uncertainty of mental states) and well-being at baseline may lead to a greater psychological distress and burn-out 1 year later.The sample consisted of 40 experienced psychotherapists (females: 72.5%; mean age: 47.40 ± 9.48 years) who completed a battery of questionnaires at baseline and 1 year later. Statistical analyses were conducted with Bayesian multiple linear regressions.Greater attachment anxiety and certainty about mental states and lower individual's well-being at baseline predicted greater burn-out 1 year later. Similarly, greater attachment anxiety and lower individual's well-being at baseline predicted psychological distress at 1 year follow-up. Of note, uncertainty of mental states and avoidant attachment were not associated with outcomes.These findings suggest that the levels of burn-out and psychological distress among psychotherapists may be alleviated with interventions targeting attachment insecurity, specific aspects of reflective functioning (i.e., certainty about mental states) and well-being.
Objective: The impact of pain on quality of life and mental health of women with endometriosis is well known. However, the role that personality traits and coping strategies might have in influencing pain experience is still poorly understood and was the chief purpose of this study. Materials and Methods: We conducted a mixed-method sequential explanatory study, composed of a quantitative survey followed by qualitative interviews. The first quantitative phase included 162 women with endometriosis who completed a battery of validated questionnaires. After statistical analysis, a semistructured qualitative interview has been developed and conducted with 6 of them, in order to help explain findings obtained in the first phase. Thereafter, both analyses were combined in a metamatrix. Results: From the metamatrix, it emerged that acute pain experience, fear of its occurrence, its unpredictability, and control difficulties are the main concerns of women with endometriosis. Worry trait characteristics (ie, the need for control, anticipatory anxiety, intrusive worry thoughts) and maladaptive thoughts such as coping strategies (ie, self-blame, rumination, catastrophizing) were common in this sample and seem to indirectly affect pain experience. Indeed, the unsuccessful struggle in controlling pain reinforces negative thoughts/beliefs and feelings of powerlessness, leading, in turn, to psychological distress and higher pain experience. Discussion: From the study emerged a model of onset and maintenance of acute pain in women with endometriosis. Findings have clinical implications for the medical team and psychologists.
Abstract Background Intracranial dural arterio-venous fistulas are pathological anastomoses between arteries and veins located within dural sheets and whose clinical manifestations depend on location and hemodynamic features. They can sometimes display perimedullary venous drainage (Cognard type V fistulas—CVFs) and present as a progressive myelopathy. Our review aims at describing CVFs’ variety of clinical presentation, investigating a possible association between diagnostic delay and outcome and assessing whether there is a correlation between clinical and/or radiological signs and clinical outcomes. Methods We conducted a systematic search on Pubmed, looking for articles describing patients with CVFs complicated with myelopathy. Results A total of 72 articles for an overall of 100 patients were selected. The mean age was 56.20 ± 14.07, 72% of patients were man, and 58% received an initial misdiagnosis. CVFs showed a progressive onset in 65% of cases, beginning with motor symptoms in 79% of cases. As for the MRI, 81% presented spinal flow voids. The median time from symptoms’ onset to diagnosis was 5 months with longer delays for patients experiencing worse outcomes. Finally, 67.1% of patients showed poor outcomes while the remaining 32.9% obtained a partial-to-full recovery. Conclusions We confirmed CVFs’ broad clinical spectrum of presentation and found that the outcome is not associated with the severity of the clinical picture at onset, but it has a negative correlation with the length of diagnostic delay. We furthermore underlined the importance of cervico-dorsal perimedullary T1/T2 flow voids as a reliable MRI parameter to orient the diagnosis and distinguish CVFs from most of their mimics.
Background: The understanding of factors that shape risk perception is crucial to modulate the perceived threat and, in turn, to promote optimal engagement in preventive actions. Methods: An on-line, cross-sectional, survey was conducted in Italy between May and July 2020 to investigate risk perception for COVID-19 and the adoption of preventive measures. A total of 964 volunteers participated in the study. Possible predictors of risk perception were identified through a hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis, including sociodemographic, epidemiological and, most of all, psychological factors. A path analysis was adopted to probe the possible mediating role of risk perception on the relationship between the independent variables considered and the adoption of preventive measures. Results: Focusing on the psychological predictors of risk perception, high levels of anxiety, an anxious attachment, and an external locus of control predicted higher perceived risk. Conversely, high levels of openness personality and of avoidant attachment predicted a lower perception of risk. In turn, the higher was the perceived risk the higher was the adoption of precautionary measures. Furthermore, psychological factors influenced the adoption of preventive behaviors both directly and indirectly through their effect on risk perception. Conclusions: Our findings might be taken into high consideration by stakeholders, who are responsible for promoting a truthful perception of risk and proper compliance with precautionary measures.
Sixty women with a diagnosis of endometriosis (30 with low pain severity - LP; 30 with high pain severity - HP) were evaluated at study entry (T0) and after three months (T1). At T0 they were compared for different psychological dimensions to sixty-two age-paired healthy women (CG). HP group had significantly higher scores on depressive symptomatology, sexual distress, and catastrophizing than CG, and higher scores on worry traits than LP. Metacognitive beliefs predicted sexual distress at T1, over and above pain severity. Pain affects different domains of mental health in this population. Coping strategies, metacognitive beliefs, and worry traits may modulate pain experience and psychological distress.
Binge Eating Disorder (BED) is a common mental illness, with lifetime prevalence estimates of 3%. BED is usually associated with a higher occurrence of psychological difficulties (e.g. interpersonal problems), and is often comorbid with obesity, poor physical health and somatic diseases. However, due to high treatment costs or the lack of clinicians to treat all existing cases, most of the patients do not receive a specialized care. A possible solution is the wider adoption of stepped care programs, or models of healthcare delivery that use briefer treatments, distributed in different steps. A typical first step consists in self-help (i.e. books), a minimal-care and evidence-based intervention derived from cognitive behavioral therapy. A second step could be a group treatment, which is effective as the individual one and allow to treat more patients at once, thus reducing welfare burden.
The present dissertation examined the efficacy of a stepped care model for Binge Eating Disorder: a total of 135 patients first attended a 10-week program of unguided self-help (USH). After USH, 85 participants were later randomized to either a control no-treatment condition or Group Psychodynamic Interpersonal Psychotherapy (GPIP). Outcomes were evaluated up to 6 months after treatment. Results evidenced that USH reduced binge eating frequency and the core eating disorder psychopathology (i.e. over-evaluation of weight, shape, eating). In addition, patients randomized to GPIP experienced a further reduction in binge eating and a greater improvement in attachment avoidance, interpersonal problems and weight concerns.
Our findings provided preliminary evidence on the effectiveness of a stepped care approach for patients with BED, supporting its wider adoption and suggesting that this model could reduce welfare costs and potentially increase the percentage of treated patients. Further investigation should explore changes in other secondary outcomes (e.g. attachment states of mind, reflective functioning) not examined yet, as well as the potential moderating factors of treatment outcomes.
