Psychophysiology

A thorough understanding of the EEG signal and its measurement is necessary to produce high quality data and to draw accurate conclusions from those data. However, publications that discuss relevant topics are written for divergent audiences with specific levels of expertise: explanations are either at an abstract level that leaves readers with a fuzzy understanding of the electrophysiology involved, or are at a technical level that requires mastery of the relevant physics to understand. A clear, comprehensive review of the origin and measurement of EEG that bridges these high and low levels of explanation fills a critical gap in the literature and is necessary for promoting better research practices and peer review. The present paper addresses the neurophysiological source of EEG, propagation of the EEG signal, technical aspects of EEG measurement, and implications for interpretation of EEG data.

Pierre-Jean-Georges Cabanis médecin et homme politique français. Considérant l'ensemble des opus réédités par les soins de C. Lehec et J. Cazenave en 1956 sous l'intitulé Oeuvres philosophiques de Cabanis, et bien que l'auteur n'ait jamais indiqué qu'il avait construit là un système intégrant la science, la politique et la religion, il nous a paru qu'il était possible de faire dériver, directement ou indirectement, un ensemble de recommandations pratiques, d'ordre politique et moral, de sa théorie psychophysiologique, théorie présentée dans son maître ouvrage les Rapports du physique et du moral de l'homme. Travaux dont nous avons cherché à montrer les liens plus ou moins étroits avec la pensée de prédécesseurs et de contemporains : philosophes, moralistes, politiques, économistes, médecins et naturalistes. Ces recommandations concourant à notre sens à un seul et même objectif éthique, faire que dans le cadre de la société un nombre d'hommes toujo...

Programmes for the introduction of virtual reality, which would serve as a psychological simulator for preparing psychology students for the conditions of professional activity in wartime, have not yet been used in practice. The relevance of the problem of studying the psycho-emotional training of specialists today indicates a tendency to increase the requirements for psychological training, which is part of the process of controlled formation of a new type of personality and activation of its readiness for psychological overload. The purpose is to research the peculiarities of psycho-emotional regulation, to develop a programme of psycho-emotional training of psychology students using the necessary resources in extreme situations by means of virtual reality and to study its effectiveness. Methods- testing, surveys, methods of mathematical statistics. The effectiveness of the proposed programme of psycho-emotional training of psychology students for extreme situations using virtual reality is reliable. Thanks to a set of measures containing VR simulators, it was possible to reduce the level of depression, increase the motivational and emotional components of readiness to act in an emergency situation, which is achieved in traditional methods of psychotherapy for a longer period of time. At the previous stage, the relationship between motivational readiness and risk and achievement resources was established, i.e. to increase motivation to act in an extreme environment, it is necessary to increase the resources of achievement in professional activities, and to replace risk with a conscious attitude to the situation. Such stabilisation of the psycho-emotional state preserves mental health and provides an opportunity for professional development and efficiency. The results of the research show the guidelines for improving the preparation of psychology students for future ‘real situations’, which forms their attitude to comprehend the actions they perform, increases the degree of readiness for stressful situations, which will further reduce the risk of psychological trauma.

Using a mirror adequately oriented, the motion of just one hand induces the illusion of the movement with the other hand. Here, we tested the hypothesis that such a mirror phenomenon may be underpinned by an electroencephalographic (EEG) event-related desynchronization/synchronization (ERD/ERS) of central alpha rhythms (around 10 Hz) as a neurophysiological measure of the interactions among cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, and thalamus during movement preparation and execution. Eighteen healthy right-handed male participants performed standard auditory-triggered unilateral (right) or bilateral finger movements in the No Mirror (M-) conditions. In the Mirror (M+) condition, the unilateral right finger movements were performed in front of a mirror oriented to induce the illusion of simultaneous left finger movements. EEG activity was recorded from 64 scalp electrodes, and the artifact-free event-related EEG epochs were used to compute alpha ERD. In the M-conditions, a bilateral prominent central alpha ERD was observed during the bilateral movements, while left central alpha ERD and right alpha ERS were seen during unilateral right movements. In contrast, the M+ condition showed significant bilateral and widespread alpha ERD during the unilateral right movements. These results suggest that the above illusion of the left movements may be related to alpha ERD measures reflecting excitatory desynchronizing signals in right lateral premotor and primary somatomotor areas possibly in relation to basal ganglia-thalamic loops. alpha rhythm, EEG, eventrelated desynchronization/synchronization (ERD/ERS), mirror visual feedback (MVF), motor cortex, time-frequency analysis [Correction added on August 16, 2022, after online publication: The term Supporting Information motor area has been changed as Supplementary motor area.]

Focal electromagnetic slow-wave activity is generated in the vicinity of brain lesions. The present study confirmed this for the EEG delta band (1--4 Hz): Activity in the waking state was pronounced over the hemisphere of the lesion in 11 stroke patients suffering from aphasia, but not in 10 healthy controls. Changes of abnormal slow waves patterns were tracked from 1-3 months to 2 years poststroke by recording the EEG five times at 4-month intervals. Across the first year poststroke, mean left-hemispheric delta amplitude and equivalent current dipole strength decreased in parallel with the spontaneous recovery of language function, whereas the regional distribution of delta activity sources was stabile across time. No changes were observed during the second year poststroke. Results suggest that abnormal slow waves in the vicinity of brain lesions may be related to impairment in brain function, and that their measurement may assist in depicting the course of functional recovery.

Advances in food transformation have dramatically increased the diversity of products on the market and, consequently, exposed consumers to a complex spectrum of bioactive nutrients whose potential risks and benefits have mostly not been confidently demonstrated. Therefore, tools are needed to efficiently screen products for selected physiological properties before they enter the market. NutriChip is an interdisciplinary modular project funded by the Swiss programme Nano-Tera, which groups scientists from several areas of research with the aim of developing analytical strategies that will enable functional screening of foods. The project focuses on postprandial inflammatory stress, which potentially contributes to the development of chronic inflammatory diseases. The first module of the NutriChip project is composed of three in vitro biochemical steps that mimic the digestion process, intestinal absorption, and subsequent modulation of immune cells by the bioavailable nutrients. The...

The effects of specific emotional states on a laboratory pain task were tested by examining the behavioural, verbal and psychophysiological responses of 80 student volunteers (50% female). Participants were assigned to one of four Velten-style emotion-induction conditions (ie, anxiety, depression, elation or neutral). The sexes of experimenters were counterbalanced. Overt escape behaviour (ie, pain tolerance), pain threshold and severity ratings, verbal reports of emotion and physiological measures (ie, electrocardiogram, corrugator and trapezium electromyogram) were recorded. A pressure pain task was given before and after the emotion induction. As predicted, those who participated in the anxiety or depression condition showed reduced pain tolerance after induction of these negative emotions; pain severity ratings became most pronounced in the depression condition. Emotion induction did not have a discernable effect on pain tolerance or severity ratings in the elation condition. A ...

This study utilizes voxel-based morphometry to examine the neural basis of developmental changes in transitive reasoning in parietal regions. Two groups of participants (young adolescents and adults) performed a transitive reasoning task, subsequent to undergoing anatomical MRI brain scans. Behaviorally, adults performed better on the transitive reasoning task than the young adolescents. Grey matter analysis of their brains showed the expected thinning/pruning of grey matter in BA 7 and a significantly greater correlation between the performance of the adults and grey matter density than the performance of adolescents and grey matter density in this area. These results support the idea that developmental anatomical changes in parietal cortex facilitate developmental changes in transitive reasoning.

Visual search tasks provide a powerful behavioral assay for selective attention, particularly in populations with attentional difficulties such as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In this study, we employed a controlled visual search paradigm in which participants detected a target letter among distractors arranged at varying eccentricities (150, 250, and 350 pixels from fixation). Behavioral performance was recorded in terms of accuracy (d') and reaction time (RT), with individual ADHD symptomatology assessed using the ASRS-A and ASRS-B self-report scales. Participants were classified into neurotypical and ADHD-like groups based on established thresholds. Results indicated robust eccentricity effects: accuracy declined and RTs increased with greater target eccentricity. Mixed-effects modeling further showed that ADHD-like participants exhibited generally reduced drift rates and altered boundary settings, suggesting differences in evidence accumulation strategies compared to neurotypical controls. Data-driven clustering partially aligned with self-report classifications, though misclassification rates highlight the heterogeneity of attentional profiles. Together, these findings demonstrate that the visual search paradigm, when combined with diffusion modeling, provides a sensitive behavioral probe of attentional control. The approach offers insights into the cognitive mechanisms underlying ADHD and establishes a framework for linking behavioral performance with clinical self-report measures.

Depressive disorders are a global mental health concern with significant implications for individual well-being and societal functioning. This paper explores the relationship between negative life events and the development of depressive disorders, emphasizing the role of neurobiological factors, specifically serotonin and norepinephrine, in the manifestation of these conditions. Drawing from recent research, the paper examines the interplay of psychological, biological, and social determinants in shaping depressive symptoms. It highlights the biological underpinnings of depression, focusing on neurotransmitter imbalances and hormonal dysregulations, including serotonin and norepinephrine, and their contribution to mood regulation. Social determinants, such as socioeconomic status, social support, and life events, are also discussed as influential factors in depressive outcomes. The paper underscores the importance of integrating pharmacological and psychosocial interventions to address the complex nature of depressive disorders. Through this framework, the paper aims to provide an understanding of depressive disorders, offering insight into potential intervention strategies for improving mental health outcomes.

Body odors change with health status and the odors of sick animals can induce avoidance behaviors in healthy conspecifics. Exposure to sickness odors might also alter the physiology of healthy conspecifics and modify the odors they produce. We hypothesized that exposure to odors of sick (but non-infectious) animals would alter the odors of healthy cagemates. To induce sickness, we injected mice with a bacterial endotoxin, lipopolysaccharide. We used behavioral odor discrimination assays and analytical chemistry techniques followed by predictive classification modeling to ask about differences in volatile odorants produced by two types of healthy mice: those cohoused with healthy conspecifics and those cohoused with sick conspecifics. Mice trained in Y-maze behavioral assays to discriminate between the odors of healthy versus sick mice also discriminated between the odors of healthy mice cohoused with sick conspecifics and odors of healthy mice cohoused with healthy conspecifics. Chemical analyses paired with statistical modeling revealed a parallel phenomenon. Urine volatiles of healthy mice cohoused with sick partners were more likely to be classified as those of sick rather than healthy mice based on discriminant model predictions. Sickness-related odors could have cascading effects on neuroendocrine or immune responses of healthy conspecifics, and could affect individual behaviors, social dynamics, and pathogen spread. Living in groups can increase access to resources such as food, shelter, and mates 1 , but can also impose direct costs on individuals, such as increased competition, greater conspicuousness to predators, and higher risk of infections transmitted from conspecifics . The ability to identify and respond to indicators of health status is therefore critical in groups. Many animals, including humans, have evolved sophisticated sensory mechanisms to detect the risk of contagion in the social environment . Visual, auditory, somatosensory, and olfactory cues are processed by the central nervous system and can orchestrate physiological and behavioral responses, enabling an organism to optimize survival and reproductive success under potentially adverse circumstances . Chemical cues are key mediators of two-way communication in social animals 6,8,12-14 , and convey fixed characteristics of individuals such as sex, age, and relatedness, as well as dynamic traits, such as physical condition, social dominance status, and health . Body odor may be among the most salient indicators of risk of contagion in an individual's social environment , particularly if visual or other types of pathological signs of infection or illness are absent, attenuated, or socially suppressed 18 . A large body of literature has shown that chronic disease, pathogenic and parasitic infection, inflammation, and vaccination can alter body odors . The consequences of such odor changes can be context-dependent , but experimental studies with rodents and humans have generally shown that healthy individuals limit their investigation of and rate as more aversive the odors of sick or infected, compared to healthy individuals . Several studies have specifically examined behavioral responses of healthy rodents to the odors of conspecifics injected with the non-replicating bacterial endotoxin, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) . Notably, most of these behavioral assessments of responses to the odors of LPS-injected individuals have involved presentation of odor stimuli (e.g., live animals or their urine or bedding material) within 4 hours of injection . This early time point following LPS injection is associated with robust pro-inflammatory immune responses, increased body temperature (fever), and the expression of sickness behaviors such as lethargy, anorexia, and self-isolation . It is unknown whether avoidance or constrained social investigation of sick animals and their odors by healthy conspecifics persists beyond early

Fatigue has been defined differently in the literature depending on the field of research. The inconsistent use of the term fatigue complicated scientific communication, thereby limiting progress towards a more in-depth understanding of the phenomenon. Therefore, Enoka and Duchateau (Med Sci Sports Exerc 48:2228–38, 2016, [3]) proposed a fatigue framework that distinguishes between trait fatigue (i.e., fatigue experienced by an individual over a longer period of time) and motor or cognitive task-induced state fatigue (i.e., self-reported disabling symptom derived from the two interdependent attributes performance fatigability and perceived fatigability). Thereby, performance fatigability describes a decrease in an objective performance measure, while perceived fatigability refers to the sensations that regulate the integrity of the performer. Although this framework served as a good starting point to unravel the psychophysiology of fatigue, several important aspects were not include...

In this review, we will present a model of brain events leading to conscious perception in audition. This represents an updated version of Na¨a¨ta¨nen's previous model of automatic and attentive central auditory processing. This revised model is mainly based on the mismatch negativity (MMN) and N1 indices of automatic processing, the processing negativity (PN) index of selective attention, and their magnetoencephalographic (MEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) equivalents. Special attention is paid to determining the neural processes that might underlie conscious perception and the borderline between automatic and attention-dependent processes in audition. Descriptors: Central auditory processing, Event-related potential (ERP), Mismatch negativity (MMN), N1 One of the most exciting issues of modern cognitive neuroscience is the division to, and borderline between, brain processes that underly or do not underly conscious experience. For example, how much of auditory processing occurs outside of our attention and conscious experience and, further, what are the brain mechanisms that determine whether conscious perception occurs or not? These questions will be the scope of the present review which will present a model of preconscious and conscious processes in audition that aims at determining the functional borderline between the two processing modes. This model is an extension of Na¨a¨ta¨nen's (1990) model on attention and automaticity in auditory processing. The principal tool that has developed this model is the mismatch negativity (MMN) . The (auditory) MMN is a fronto-centrally negative event-related potential (ERP) component that is elicited by sounds that violate the automatic predictions of the central auditory system. The MMN and its magnetoencephalographic (MEG) equivalent, the MMNm (Hari et al., 1984) provide a unique window to preconscious central auditory processing. Results obtained for the N1 and the processing negativity (PN) described by will also be used in specifying this model.Before introducing the model, it is necessary to examine the functional significance and separability of these overlapping brain responses, because these are central to the model. Moreover, this discussion will help in interpreting the roles that the processes that generate these responses play in the model.

Learning to speak a new language requires the formation of recognition patterns for the speech sounds specific to the newly acquired language. The present study demonstrates the dynamic nature of cortical memory representations for phonemes in adults by using the mismatch negativity ~MMN! event-related potential. We studied Hungarian and Finnish subjects, dividing the Hungarians into a naive ~no knowledge of Finnish! and a fluent ~in Finnish! group. We found that the MMN for a contrast between two Finnish phonemes was elicited in the fluent Hungarians but not in the naive Hungarians. This result indicates that the fluent Hungarians developed cortical memory representations for the Finnish phoneme system that enabled them to preattentively categorize phonemes specific to this language.

The mismatch negativity (MMN) is an electromagnetic response to any discriminable change in regular auditory input. This response is usually interpreted as being generated by an automatic cortical change‐detection process in which a difference is found between the current input and the representation of the regular aspects of the preceding auditory input. Recently, this interpretation was questioned by Jääskeläinen et al. (2004) who proposed that the MMN is a product of an N1 (N1a) difference wave emerging in the subtraction procedure used to visualize and quantify the MMN. We now evaluate this “adaptation hypothesis” of the MMN in the light of the available data. It is shown that the MMN cannot be accounted for by differential activation of the afferent N1 transient detectors by repetitive (“standard”) stimuli and deviant (“novel”) stimuli and that the presence of a memory representation of the standard is required for the elicitation of MMN.

This paper focussed on how electrophysiological autonomic data may contribute to better understand neural substrates of emotional processing. The utility of autonomic electrophysiological markers for assessing emotional and cognitive processes is presented in the context of an important bodily arousal interface. Components of general autonomic control are reviewed and relevant neural modulations of specific autonomic variables were discussed. The role of autonomic feedback on central processes is emphasized and neural influences on autonomic activities as an index of arousal dimension, the electrodermal activity (EDA), are outlined. An overview of brain mechanisms governing generation and control of EDA is presented, and the contribution of electrodermal parameters as indices of emotional activation illustrated by data related to diurnal emotional reactivity and to non consciously subjective emotionality. Conclusions highlight the role of electrical autonomic expressions as tools to explore emotional components of mind-body-mind relationships.

Understanding the relationship between energy cost, cognitive activity, and performance is a key problem in psychophysiology. Prior studies have shown that solving cognitive tasks is accompanied by changes in the fractal dimension of EEG signals. In the present study, EEG was recorded from 68 participants solving a task in which participants matched graphs and tables. Participants identified which of three tables matched the numerical data presented in a graph. EEG signals were analyzed using the Higuchi fractal dimension algorithm. The results showed a short-term increase followed by a gradual decrease in EEG fractal dimension (F(4, 7656) = 36.594, p < 0.0001). We modeled this effect in the dynamics of neural network training. The first model was trained to classify 2 input values in the range from-π/2 to π/2. The target function was sinusoidal with further classification into two states: 0 or 1. At each training step, we summed the activations across all network neurons and computed the fractal dimension, which briefly increased and then gradually declined. The second model, based on ResNet18 and modified to solve the task of matching graphs and tables, showed a monotonic decrease in fractal dimension.

IntroductionThe dysregulation of psychophysiological responses to mental stressors is a common issue addressed in individuals with psychiatric conditions, while brain circuit abnormalities are often associated with psychiatric conditions and their manifestations. However, to our knowledge, there is no systematic overview that would comprehensively synthesize the literature on psychophysiological responses during laboratory-induced psychosocial stressor and neural correlates in people with mental disorders. Thus, we aimed to systematically review the existing research on psychophysiological response during laboratory-induced stress and its relationship with neural correlates as measured by magnetic resonance imaging techniques in mental disorders.MethodsThe systematic search was performed on PubMed/Medline, EBSCOhost/PsycArticles, Web of Science, and The Cochrane Library databases during November 2021 following the PRISMA guidelines. Risk of bias was evaluated by employing the checkl...

Background: Chewing before performing a cognitive task increases oxygen levels in the Central Nervous System (CNS) areas important for processes of learning and memory. This study was done to evaluate and compare the effects of chewing gum on reaction time, visual short term memory, selective attention, verbal and non-verbal reasoning, and problem-solving ability in healthy male and female subjects. Methodology: The comparative, gender-based, interventional study was conducted involving 300 individuals placed in the control (n=150) and interventional group (n=150). Participants in the interventional group were required to chew gum till they completed the task. A questionnaire was designed to record the reaction time, memory, attention, executive and intellectual functioning and time took to solve each parameter. Each subject in both control and interventional group completed the questionnaire with and without chewing gum, respectively. Results for the two groups were compared using SPSS version 20.0. Results: It was found that the gum chewing group performs significantly better than the control group, thus chewing gum significantly improves cognitive performance. These cognitive effects of chewing were comparable among the two genders but relatively more pronounced among male participants as compared to females. Chewing gum is positively associated with higher level of cognitive performance than controls.

Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle reflex (ASR) is the most common psychophysiological index of sensorimotor gating. Several studies have investigated the relationship of PPI of ASR to schizotypy in Caucasians. However, little has been reported on this relationship in Asians. We investigated a possible relationship between PPI of ASR and schizotypy in 79 healthy Japanese subjects. Schizotypy was assessed by the Schizotypal personality Questionnaire (SPQ). PPI was evaluated at signal-to-noise ratios (SnRs: difference between background noise intensity and prepulse intensity) of 112, 116, and 120 dB. The total SPQ score, cognitive/perceptual score, and interpersonal score correlated negatively with PPI at SnR of 116 and 120 dB. We conclude that PPI is associated with the trait of schizotypy in healthy Asian subjects.

Resumen El presente artículo realiza una revisión documental sobre el impacto del estrés académico crónico en la ansiedad de estudiantes universitarios, considerando investigaciones internacionales y locales. Se abordan los modelos teóricos del estrés y la ansiedad, los factores asociados en el contexto universitario y las principales intervenciones reportadas. Los hallazgos evidencian que el estrés académico sostenido se asocia con mayores niveles de sintomatología ansiosa, afectaciones en el rendimiento y la salud mental. Asimismo, se analizan programas de afrontamiento como el mindfulness, la terapia cognitivo-conductual y las estrategias psicoeducativas, mostrando eficacia en la reducción de síntomas.

Ambulatory skin conductance as we see it now emerging on the market with products like the Affectiva Qsensor and the Basis B1, was promoted already in 1997 by Picard and Healey [1]. Also prototype devices such as the Empatica E3, the Smartband, and the Philips DTI-2 ([3] and figure 1) typically measure skin conductance at the base of the wrist, since this is a convenient measurement position. However, traditionally skin conductance (electrodermal activity, or galvanic skin response) is measured on the fingers, the palmar region of the palms, or on the soles of the feet. A traditional skin conductance measurement usually is also corrected with a baseline measurement, while for ambulatory measurements this needs to be self-calibrating. These differences in measurement position and procedure are among the factors that cause differences in measurement results.

Phenomenological reports indicate that focused attention, breath, and intentional ritual produce fast, reproducible somatic responses (full-body chills, localized releases, tingling moving down a limb, a subsequent cooling/healing sensation). I propose a working hypothesis: these somatic events index transient increases in coherence across bioelectric, bioelectromagnetic, and autonomic systems, which in turn modulate cellular signaling and epigenetic states via DNA/ nuclear sensitivity to field-level shifts. Observations From sustained sobriety and embodied practice:-Focused attention on the solar plexus produced knotting under stress and pulsation under clarity.-Truthful or resonant speech sometimes triggered sudden, full-body chills.-With breath + intentional hand placement (one hand on solar plexus, one on heart) I observed an energy release that moved down to the hip and the right foot, produced tingling, then a cooling/ cauterizing sensation and a sense of sealing/healing.-These experiences were reproducible in similar contexts (ritual, breathwork, clear intention), and correlated with subjective increases in clarity and decreased internal distress. Conceptual Framing & Theoretical Scaffolding This hypothesis synthesizes four layers: A. Biofield & Coherence-Chills index parasympathetic engagement and coherence events. B. Bioelectric / Bioelectromagnetic coupling-Cells communicate electrically and electromagnetically, influencing tissue-level coordination. C. Nuclear/DNA responsiveness-DNA and chromatin respond to bioelectric and chemical cues, acting as portals for gene expression probabilities. D. Quantum-scale & informational perspective-Intent-driven field modulations may bias atomic charge environments, altering cellular signaling cascades.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by progressive cognitive decline, memory loss, and impaired quality of life. While pharmacological treatments remain limited, non-pharmacological interventions such as music therapy and caregiver-mediated emotional support have demonstrated promise in enhancing mood, reducing agitation, and eliciting transient improvements in memory and recognition. This paper proposes a novel, community-based pilot intervention: a 12-person "coherence circle" composed of family members, caregivers, and trusted individuals, who engage in collective heartcoherence practice while surrounding the person with AD. Sessions are structured to combine heart-focused breathing, group intention, and the use of personally meaningful music to stimulate residual memory pathways and foster emotional coherence. The hypothesis is that this combination may temporarily align the individual's physiological and emotional state with the group field, producing measurable improvements in calm, recognition, and engagement

Themes: HRV, coherence, neurodegeneration, music therapy.
Citations you may need:
• HeartMath research on coherence in clinical settings.
• Oliver Sacks (Musicophilia, music and memory).
• Clinical trials on music therapy in Alzheimer’s (lots of peer-reviewed studies in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease).
• Dispenza (heart-brain coherence meditations).
.

A detailed measurement of distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) fine structure was used to extract estimates of the two major components believed to contribute to the overall DPOAE level in the ear canal. A fixed-ratio paradigm was used to record DPOAE fine structure from three normal-hearing ears over a range of 400 Hz for 12 different stimulus-frequency ratios between 1.053 and 1.36 and stimulus levels between 45 and 75 dB SPL. Inverse Fourier transforms of the amplitude and phase data were filtered to extract the early component from the generator region of maximum stimulus overlap and the later component reflected from the characteristic frequency region of the DPOAE. After filtering, the data were returned to the frequency domain to evaluate the impact of the stimulus-frequency ratio and stimulus level on the relative levels of the components. Although there were significant differences between data from different ears some consistent patterns could be detected. The c...

Овчаренко Олена У статті розглядається актуальна проблема впливу стресу, тривоги та стійкості на внутрішні ресурси студентів з та без інвалідності з огляду позитивної психотерапії. Тема взаємодії стресу, тривоги, стійкості та внутрішніх ресурсів студентів є надзвичайно актуальною з огляду на кількість сучасних соціальних, психологічних та освітніх викликів. Розгляд цієї проблематики в контексті позитивної психотерапії (ППТ) сприяє акцентуванню на ресурсах особистості та можливостях розвитку, а також допомагає знайти ефективні підходи до підтримки ментального здоров'я різних студентських груп, зокрема тих, хто має інвалідність. Проведено емпіричний аналіз впливу стресу, тривоги та стійкості на внутрішні ресурси студентів з та без інвалідності. Вивчення впливу стресу, тривоги та стійкості на внутрішні ресурси студентів з інвалідністю та без неї в контексті позитивної психотерапії є актуальним як з наукової, так і з практичної точки зору. Це дослідження допоможе виявити ефективні підходи до розвитку стійкості та створити інклюзивні освітні середовища, де кожен студент зможе максимально розкрити свій потенціал. Ключові слова: Позитивна психотерапія, Вісбаденський опитувальник, стрес, стійкість, студенти з інвалідністю.

Little is known about transient effects of foods and nutrients on reactivity to mental stress. In a randomized crossover study of healthy adults (n = 20), we measured heart rate variability (respiratory sinus arrhythmia), blood pressure, and other hemodynamic variables after three test meals varying in type and amount of fat. Measurements were collected at rest and during speech and cold pressor tasks. There were significant post-meal changes in resting diastolic blood pressure (-4%), cardiac output (+18%), total peripheral resistance (-17%), and interleukin-6 (-27%). Heart rate variability and hemodynamic reactivity to stress was not affected by meal content. We recommend that future studies control for time since last meal and continue to examine effects of meal content on heart rate variability.

Maintaining motivation is one of the most important characteristics of rehabilitation strategies for successful treatment. Understanding the underlying mechanism of mental state helps develop new therapeutic methods based on virtual reality (VR) and serious game technologies. The present study develops a cost-benefit game-based hand rehabilitation system and assesses the influence on the psychological state of subjects when they interact with a VR environment in different task difficulty levels. Methods: First, we introduced a low-cost smart hand rehabilitation system based on the Leap Motion Tracker. Subsequently, the experimental study was performed with 20 healthy participants. Their mental states were evoked using interaction with two separate games in four different difficulty levels. Three measures from the self-assessment manikin (SAM) self-reported test were described as a psychological response to this condition, and four features were extracted from the photoplethysmogram signal to quantify psychophysiological responses of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Results: Comparison of the different difficulty levels revealed significant changes in arousal and dominance corresponding to the under-challenging and over-challenging conditions, respectively. The results of psychophysiological feature analysis showed significant differences only for the standard deviation of intervals between consecutive heartbeats. Conclusion: The developed system is a low-cost smart solution that can be useful for upper limb neurological rehabilitation. Regulating difficulty parameters of the implemented game can be used to influence the motivation of users through rehabilitation procedures. Photoplethysmogram is an appropriate psychophysiological indicator of mental states, but further studies are required.

Objective of the study: to assess the impact of the armed conflict on the medical and social characteristics of pregnant women, focusing on financial security, educational level, psychological well-being, access to healthcare services, and the overall quality of maternal care during pregnancy. Special emphasis was focused on evaluating the effects of stress, socio-economic factors, and employment changes on the health of expectant mothers and fetal development.
Materials and methods. The study was conducted in the Lviv region and involved 1,000 pregnant women divided into three groups: group 1 – women who relocated from active combat zones; group 2 – women who moved from other regions of Ukraine during the military conflict; group 3 – a control group of local residents.
The primary methods included structured surveys, comprehensive medical examinations, and statistical analysis using chi-square tests.
Results. Pregnant women in groups 1 and 2 exhibited significantly lower levels of financial security and educational attainment compared to the control group. These groups experienced markedly higher levels of psychological stress, substandard living conditions, and reduced access to quality healthcare services. The analysis also demonstrated a higher incidence of employment termination due to health issues among displaced women. Consequently, the adverse effects of the armed conflict are reflected in multiple socio-economic and medical indicators that directly affect maternal health.
Conclusions. The study shows that the armed conflict has a profound negative impact on the medical and social characteristics of pregnant women by deteriorating their economic conditions, increasing stress levels, and limiting access to healthcare services. These findings underscore the urgent need for targeted social support programs and improvements in maternal healthcare. Implementing measures to reduce psychological burden, improve living conditions, and enhance the availability of modern medical resources should be a priority for both national and local authorities, thereby contributing to the overall well-being of expectant mothers and their children.

There is wide consensus concerning the existence of a central motor programming stage wherein movement elements are assembled prior to movement execution. The present study involved a determination of which of two types of interaction were involved in the organization of motor parameters during motor programming. One possibility involves a unitary stage with interactions between different kinds of parameters. In the other possibility each parameter is set independently of the others. To distinguish between the two possibilities, participants performed choice reaction time tasks in three experiments. In these experiments the subjects responded to one of two kanji characters (logographic Chinese characters with the meaning of left and right) by tapping their left or right fingers, respectively, with different movement duration, hand placement, or sequence complexity. All factors yielded main effects of these parameters on reaction time (RT) but no interactions were seen. These findings support the assumption that independent stages (subprocesses) exist during motor programming.

Event‐related brain potentials (ERPs) are important research tools because they provide insights into mental processing at high temporal resolution. Their usefulness, however, is limited by the need to average over a large number of trials, sacrificing information about the trial‐by‐trial variability of latencies or amplitudes of specific ERP components. Here we propose a novel method based on an iteration strategy of the residues of averaged ERPs (RIDE) to separate latency‐variable component clusters. The separated component clusters can then serve as templates to estimate latencies in single trials with high precision. By applying RIDE to data from a face‐priming experiment, we separate priming effects and show that they are robust against latency shifts and within‐condition variability. RIDE is useful for a variety of data sets that show different degrees of variability and temporal overlap between ERP components.

P300 amplitude and reaction time ~RT! are strongly affected by the sequence of events preceding the eliciting stimulus. Sommer, Leuthold and Soetens ~1999! found that robust sequential effects in P300 amplitude could be dissociated from more variable sequential effects in RTs. However, global changes in P300 amplitude and topography gave rise to the suggestion that sequential effects are specific for a subcomponent of P300 that is separate from and anterior to the classical parietal P300. Here, confirming evidence for dissociable subcomponents of P300 is reported from two experiments. Independent component analysis separated a centrally distributed sequence-sensitive subcomponent from a more parietal subcomponent. Subsequent dipole source analysis indicated a deep mesial source for the sequencesensitive subcomponent. Overlap with reafferent somatosensory activity appears to be responsible for an apparent lateralization of this component towards the hemisphere ipsilateral to the responding hand. We thank Scott Makeig and his colleagues for the very valuable advice regarding the application of independent component analysis onto our data. We also thank Hartmut Leuthold for helpful discussions and comments on preliminary versions of this article.

We present a compact, operatorial formulation in which the accessibility membrane 𝔇 is reorganised by a filtration operator Δ 𝔉 and a soft iterative operator 𝛿 *. The process RI (Recursio Intensitatis) denotes recurrent returns of intensity that do not restore sameness but reconfigure availability within the same topology. Two empirical families follow: (i) phase organisation in the cortical theta band (4-8 Hz), quantified by the Kuramoto order parameter 𝑅(𝑡), dwell statistics, inter-site PLV, and a topology-first proxy of trajectory complexity; (ii) cardio-respiratory resonance near 0.1 Hz, assessed by RMSSD and a narrowband power ratio. Minimal simulations and a field-ready clinical protocol are supplied to bridge the operatorial grammar to data.

This article analyzes the fundamental mechanism of vision from both neurobiological and philosophical perspectives. Rather than treating perception as a passive reflection of the world, it emphasizes that the eye encodes differences in brightness from the very beginning through ON and OFF receptive fields. As a result, vision operates as a dual prediction: of what becomes illuminated and of what becomes darkened. Only at later stages of neuronal integration are these contrasts combined into a coherent image, allowing perception to be understood as an act of reconstruction rather than passive registration. In philosophical terms, vision discloses a truth about reality: it does not appear as a direct image, but as a tension of differences, whose synthesis takes place within consciousness.

Schizophrenia is traditionally considered a major psychiatric disorder, characterized by hallucinations and delusions. However, certain reported experiences-such as the sensation that one's thoughts are circulating or being read-can be interpreted, in a speculative framework, as attempts at direct mental communication. This document proposes a conceptualization of schizophrenia as a telepathic threshold and presents a rigorous experimental protocol to empirically test this hypothesis. Epistemological challenges, potential societal benefits, and the risks of dismissing this line of research prematurely are discussed.

Schizophrenia is traditionally defined through symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions, framed as distortions of perception requiring suppression. But similar experiences are deliberately sought in other contexts, through psychedelics, meditation, and auditory technologies such as binaural beats. This paper explores that paradox by reframing schizophrenia as a disorder of oscillatory coherence rather than just a list of symptoms. Drawing on evidence of disrupted gamma, theta, and alpha rhythms, and interhemispheric disconnection in schizophrenia, I propose the Inversion Hypothesis: if sound can destabilise coherence in neurotypical brains to induce hallucination-like states, then carefully designed sound could also be used to restore coherence in schizophrenia. Building on auditory entrainment research, I outline a practical model in which EEG-informed, frequencyspecific binaural beats are tailored to individual oscillatory deficits. Beyond schizophrenia, this framework suggests wider applications for conditions such as trauma, ADHD, and anxiety, where characteristic oscillatory imbalances are also observed. I propose that these principles could contribute to the development of a Universal Oscillatory Therapy, an accessible, non-invasive, and humane intervention that uses rhythm itself as medicine. This work invites a shift in perspective: what psychiatry calls "symptoms" may be understood as signals of altered timing, and what was once dismissed as novelty sound may now become a therapeutic tool for restoring balance and dignity.

This paper introduces the concept of forecasting pain as a trauma-based mechanism grounded in predictive processing theory. Rather than responding to threat in real time, traumatized systems may preemptively simulate emotional or relational harm and initiate protective adaptations before any overt danger occurs. Drawing on hierarchical Bayesian models of brain function, I propose that forecasting pain involves high-precision priors that generate anticipatory affective, behavioral, and interpretive responses. These responses, commonly observed as emotional flattening, interpersonal withdrawal, or misattuned social perception—are frequently misinterpreted as avoidance or resistance. By situating these clinical patterns within a predictive framework, I argue for a reframing of dissociative behaviors as computationally coherent strategies to reduce surprise. The paper outlines four core mechanisms of forecasting pain—somatic pre-activation, affective dampening, relational disengagement, and interpretive bias—and integrates them into the Predictive Dissociation Therapy (PDT) model. Clinical implications are discussed in terms of precision modulation, therapeutic pacing, and model-sensitive interventions. This framework offers a novel contribution to trauma treatment models and supports phase-appropriate care for clients experiencing covert dissociative adaptation in the absence of overt threat.

The recording of event-related potentials (ERPs) in the brain has allowed for a better understanding of human sensory and cognitive processing. This technique may also prove useful in studying implicit social attitudes and their effects on information processing. Here, ERPs were used in a study of "hot cognition" in the context of political concepts. Hot cognition, as applied to the political domain, posits that all sociopolitical concepts that have been evaluated in the past are affectively charged, and that this affective charge is automatically activated from long-term memory within milliseconds of presentation of the political stimulus. During an evaluative priming task, ERP recordings showed that affectively incongruent prime/target pairs elicited an enhanced negativity with a peak latency of about 400 milliseconds relative to affectively congruent prime/target pairs. These differences suggest that automatic, implicit evaluations were made in response to strongly positive and negative political stimuli, and that these evaluations affected the subsequent processing of a high-valence adjective. Therefore, it appears that the emotional valence of a political prime is stored along with the concept itself, and that an affective response becomes active upon mere exposure to the political stimulus.

In the past few years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of psychoanalytic publications on the topic of psychosomatic illness, including edited collections and special editions of psychoanalytic journals. This paper is a critical conceptual review of the topic of psychosomatic illness using the material contained in a number of these recent publications as a basis, but also drawing on other works by the key authors of the publications discussed herein. This paper proposes that currently there appear to be two schools of thought around the origin, development, and treatment of psychosomatic symptoms. The first of these is the well-established &quot;Paris School of Psychosomatics.&quot; The second approach does not formally exist, but is referred to in this paper as the &quot;Attachment approach&quot; since there are a number of authors who theorize about the treatment of psychosomatic symptoms in a similar and important way. The paper will compare and contrast the two a...

Research has established that trauma-related symptoms may impede the formation of a strong working alliance (i.e., interpersonal connection, trust, and shared goals between therapist and client). As the alliance is critical in trauma-focused therapy, we studied how clients&#39; pretherapy factors, including symptoms and psychophysiological arousal, predict treatment alliance. We examined symptoms and physiological responses in 27 women who had exposure to extreme interpersonal violence; all of whom were enrolled in therapy. All had symptoms consistent with a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder. Clients completed measures of working alliance and were assessed before and after treatment on measures of symptoms and autonomic arousal. Autonomic assessment included measures of skin conductance and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), taken during baseline, while viewing positive and then trauma-related slides, and during recovery. Higher alliance ratings were predicted by lower pre...

Most everyday actions engender interactions with meaningful emotionally-laden stimuli. This study aimed to select pictures of objects as emotional stimulus of affordance to be grasped. The participant's depression trait was also assessed to examine its effect on the judgment of these pictures, and time spent in the classification was computed. Sixty-three participants joined this study. Self-Assessment-Manikin scale was used to classify pictures of the objects, and Beck Depression Inventory was applied to distribute the sample according depression trait. Cluster analysis was used in the classification of 123 objects based on valence and arousal values. Cluster results returned 102 classified pictures in three categories: pleasant (21), neutral (48) and unpleasant (33). Where cluster analysis did not agree, the picture was excluded and not used any further (21). Pleasant pictures presented the highest valence values and unpleasant pictures the lowest, and both categories returned the highest arousal level. In the middle of the valence range, the neutral category evoked the lowest arousal levels. Participants were slower to classify unpleasant pictures in valence sub-scale and faster to classify neutral pictures in arousal one. There was no effect of depression in the response time needed to score the pictures. Thus, agreement of high-performance soft clustering algorithms emerged as a good tool to classify pictures representing objects based on valence and arousal dimensions. Depression trait does not significantly affect the accuracy or time-order of emotional classification. Finally, we presented a set of emotional stimuli that can be employed to examine distinct aspects of emotion over physiology and behavior.

This thesis covers initial concepts for a Cross-Laminated Timber house made to resist EF 3 tornado wind pressures. At the time of writing, it is believed this is the first study to consider using CLT to make a tornado resistant house. Going through analytical approaches in conjunction with ASCE 7-16, NDS 15, and PRG-320, this research hopes to lay groundwork for future research into the feasibility of such a house design at larger sizes and faster tornadoes. Because it is rather difficult to test experimentally how these structures will behave in tornadoes directly, a Mathcad sheet was created that gives quantified information into the performance of the CLT house. A 640 ft 2 house was used as this is an early attempt and the process to calculate the capacities and loads was demonstrated throughout the body of this thesis with procedures to make edits for other sizes and tornado categories. In the appendices are CAD drawings; calculations; some suggestions for further research including a different configurations, larger homes, and faster tornadoes; a cost analysis; and a hypothetical fragility curve. The short-term goal is to provide the design process for a single house, and the long-term goal is to eventually have a community of tornado resistant homes. For right now though, this thesis focuses on providing a single home, with the appendices hinting at the long-term goal.

This thesis covers initial concepts for a Cross-Laminated Timber house made to resist EF 3 tornado wind pressures. At the time of writing, it is believed this is the first study to consider using CLT to make a tornado resistant house. Going through analytical approaches in conjunction with ASCE 7-16, NDS 15, and PRG-320, this research hopes to lay groundwork for future research into the feasibility of such a house design at larger sizes and faster tornadoes. Because it is rather difficult to test experimentally how these structures will behave in tornadoes directly, a Mathcad sheet was created that gives quantified information into the performance of the CLT house. A 640 ft2 house was used as this is an early attempt and the process to calculate the capacities and loads was demonstrated throughout the body of this thesis with procedures to make edits for other sizes and tornado categories. In the appendices are CAD drawings; calculations; some suggestions for further research includ...

Стоюхина Н.Ю. Деятельность психофизиологической лаборатории горьковского автозавода и ее руководителя К.К. Платонова // Институт психологии Российской академии наук. Социальная и экономическая психология. 2022. Т. 7, № 1(25). С. 148-177.


Статья посвящена нижегородскому периоду трудовой деятельности Константина Константиновича Платонова (1906-1984), выдающегося советского психолога, оставившего заметный след в психологии труда, психологии летного дела, военной медицине, социальной психологии и методологии психологии. В данной работе К.К. Платонов показан как психотехник, руководивший созданной им психофизиологической лабораторией на Горьковском автозаводе (1932-1934 гг.), куда он приехал по рекомендации А.К. Гастева, С.И. Каплуна и С.Г. Геллерштейна. Директор завода С.С. Дьяконов и главврач завода З.А. Бунатьян понимали, что на производстве должны быть свои исследователи условий, эффективности, охраны и безопасности труда, поэтому кандидатура Платонова была принята сразу. В статье рассматриваются такие виды деятельности сотрудников лаборатории, руководимой Платоновым, как профессиональный отбор и подбор, составление профессиограмм, а также борьба за безопасность на дорогах. Результат первых наборов в фабрично-заводские училища, нуждавшихся в деятельности психотехников, был не удовлетворителен ввиду имеющихся тестовых методик, не отвечавших запросам практики. Один из сотрудников лаборатории, профессор С.М. Василейский, создал свои тестовые комплексы, успешно работавших для задач профотбора, поэтому в итоге между психотехническими и медицинскими данными и показателями успешности наблюдалось полное соответствие. Задача рационализации подготовки кадров осуществлялась также за счет изменения содержания и методов производственного обучения, где психотехника опиралась на психологические принципы обучения. Для ее решения меняли процесс производственного обучения, а при планировании содержания и методов обучения учитывали разработанные ранее психотехниками профили профессий, что обеспечивало достижение рационализаторский целей. Работа Платонова с коллегами по предотвращению аварийности на дорогах касалась определения прав не профессиональных водителей, а шоферов-любителей, что было ново в то время.

Guilt is a negative emotion, elicited by realizing one has caused actual or perceived harm to another person. Anecdotally, guilt often is described as a visceral and physical experience. However, while the way that the body responds to and contributes to emotions is well known in basic emotions, little is known about the characteristics of guilt as generated by the autonomic nervous system. This study investigated the physiologic signature associated with guilt in adults with no history of psychological or autonomic disorder. Healthy adults completed a novel task, including an initial questionnaire about their habits and attitudes, followed by videos designed to elicit guilt, as well as the comparison emotions of amusement, disgust, sadness, pride, and neutral. During the video task, participants’ swallowing rate, electrodermal activity, heart rate, respiration rate, and gastric activity rate were continuously recorded. Guilt was associated with alterations in gastric rhythms, elect...