BACKGROUND there are evidence that children with ADHD exhibit a deficit both in automatic and con... more BACKGROUND there are evidence that children with ADHD exhibit a deficit both in automatic and controlled processes. AIMS the present study aimed to examine the visual-motor attention and the influence of cognitive load through a dual task paradigm in children with ADHD compared with typical developing children (TD). METHODS AND PROCEDURES 113 children with ADHD: 40 with subtype inattentive (ADHD- I group), 16 with subtype hyperactive (ADHD-H group), 57 with subtype combined (ADHD-C group), and 113 TD children (TD group) were recruited. We used a dual-task paradigm in which the primary task was a figure-tracing test whereas the second task was a digit span test. A figure-tracing test was used to evaluate visual motor attention. Based on the length and intersection of the lines, the figures of the primary task were categorized into simple and complex. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS the ADHD groups compared to the TD group showed a worse accuracy of performance in both condition with and without cognitive load. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS The findings were discussed in light of the relationship between automatic and controlled processes involved in the visual-motor attention.
The purpose of this study wasto examine the role of cognitive factors, such as superstition, locu... more The purpose of this study wasto examine the role of cognitive factors, such as superstition, locus of control, decision-making and unrealistic optimism,on gambling.Eighty-six subjects participated in this study. They were divided into four groups: non-players, social players, problem gamblers, and pathological gamblers. Groups were formed on the basis of South Oaks Gambling Screen Scale. Results showed that pathological gamblers group obtained a high superstition index. With reference to unrealistic optimism, gambler groupbelieved that they had a better chance of success compared to non-gamblers. They also showed a higher impulsivity index in decision making than non-gamblers. This study supports the idea that cognitive factors such as superstition, unrealistic optimism, impulsivity and external locus of control are involved in gambling.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
The aim of this study is to compare the performances of patients with Rett syndrome that were und... more The aim of this study is to compare the performances of patients with Rett syndrome that were undergoing advanced telerehabilitation (ATR) and patients that were undergoing basic telerehabilitation (BTR). It was hypothesized that patients that were undergoing ATR training would have better improvement in nearly all the motor and cognitive scale scoring activities that were administered, thus showing reduced disability. A total of 20 young girls and women with a diagnosis of RTT, ranging from age 4 to 31 years old (Median: 12.50; IQR: 9.50–17.25) underwent a pre-test, treatment post-test 1, treatment, and post-test 2 procedure. The treatment consisted of either ATR or BTR, lasting 10 weeks with three sessions a week of about an hour. The results showed that the group with advanced telerehabilitation improved their performance better than the control group only in some neuropsychological measurements. The results are discussed in the light of critical factors of telerehabilitation.
Background: The closure of all educational institutions and most rehabilitation centres represent... more Background: The closure of all educational institutions and most rehabilitation centres represents a precautionary measure to face the COVID-19 pandemic, but the isolation and social distancing may be particularly challenging for children with special needs and disabilities (SEND), such as Rett Syndrome (RTT). The main aim of this study was to promote cognitive and social interactions among children with RTT through an interactive school program.Methods: The Interactive School palimpsest was composed of moments in which a teacher spoke directly to children with RTT and expected a response through eye gaze, and moments in which storeys-cartoon were presented while tracking the eye gaze of children. We investigated behavioural, social and cognitive parameters.Results: Children participated in both social and cognitive tasks with the spontaneous reduction of stereotypies and with increase in attention. They recalled more significant indexes when music or a song was presented together w...
Background: Since subjects with Rett syndrome (RTT) focus their attention mainly on the faces of ... more Background: Since subjects with Rett syndrome (RTT) focus their attention mainly on the faces of people with whom they interact, in this study the role of a human-like avatar in enhancing cognitive processes was examined. More in depth, this study examined subjects with RTT performing attention and memory tasks with and without a virtual avatar.Method: Thirty-six girls with RTT participated in the study. They were matched for mental age and randomly submitted to two conditions (with and without virtual avatar) with two tasks (over-selectivity and memory paradigms). Results: The results indicated that the RTT group exposed to the virtual avatar condition, presented better attention and memory abilities than the matched RTT group without the avatar condition. Discussion: The results were discussed in light of the relationship between motivation, attention and memory in RTT.
Within the context of telerehabilitation, serious games have a significant role, but creating sof... more Within the context of telerehabilitation, serious games have a significant role, but creating software for serious games is resource demanding. We present Proteo, a modular and open-source framework for developing serious games from scratch. We also present two serious game implementation examples with analysis of end user and therapist/researcher satisfaction. By involving a group of 11 specialized therapists and 9 end users we analyzed the Proteo’s user satisfaction. We found that both groups scored high for the level of involvement, and the therapists scored also high for the level of suitability. More in depth, both groups showed significant differences between positive and negative feelings, with positive feelings scoring higher than negative ones. Finally, the user level of suitability was reported as high while the difficulty of the system and the difficulty of the task were reported as low. Proteo has proven to be a useful tool to develop serious games for telerehabilitation...
Background Since subjects with Rett syndrome (RTT) focus their attention mainly on the faces of p... more Background Since subjects with Rett syndrome (RTT) focus their attention mainly on the faces of people with whom they interact, in this study the role of a human-like smart interactive agent (an avatar) in enhancing cognitive processes is examined. More in depth, this study aimed to understand if, and to what extent, the use of an avatar can improve attention and memory abilities in subjects with RTT. Method Thirty-six subjects with RTT participated in the study. All participants performed over-selectivity and memory tasks, for a total of six trials. These trials were randomly presented in two different conditions: with and without virtual avatar. Results The results indicated that the participants improved their attention and memory abilities when they performed the tasks with the avatar. There were no improvements when they performed the tasks without the avatar. Discussion The results were discussed considering the relationship between motivation, attention and memory in RTT.
Although the number of students with dyslexia enrolled in Italian universities is constantly grow... more Although the number of students with dyslexia enrolled in Italian universities is constantly growing, their presence remains relatively limited. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the choices made by students with dyslexia in relation to university studies, and the underlying reasons for their choices. This study also compares these choices for students with and without dyslexia. In all, 440 high school students and their families agreed to take part in this project. Socio-demographic data was collected for the 47 students with dyslexia and 47 class-matched students without dyslexia, along with information on their current schools and their future educational plans. A specially developed questionnaire was used for the students, in combination with structured interviews with their families. The results show significant differences between these groups regarding both choices for university studies and the underlying motivations for these choices. Furthermore, certain p...
We tested the hypothesis that expectancy-violation is key to understanding those conditions under... more We tested the hypothesis that expectancy-violation is key to understanding those conditions under which instrumental music disrupts immediate serial-recall. Using isochronic presentation of irrelevant-sound stimuli during encoding and retention, recall was found to be impaired following both piano-note sequences (Experiment 1) and pure-tone sequences (Experiment 2). However, whereas intervallic organisation was determinant for pure-tones (randomly-ordered frequencies caused recall impairment while repeated frequency or ascending-frequency sequences did not) there was no effect of intervallic organisation of piano-note sequences. When the to-be-ignored sequences were presented with random anisochrony, the disruptive effect was absent for both piano notes (Experiment 3) and pure tones (Experiment 4). It is proposed that the irrelevant sound effect can be explained in terms of stimulus specific expectancy violation.
Various studies have examined the role of executive functions in autism, but there is a lack of r... more Various studies have examined the role of executive functions in autism, but there is a lack of research in the current literature on cognitive flexibility in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The purpose of this study is to investigate whether cognitive flexibility deficits could be related to facial emotion recognition deficits in ASD.,In total, 20 children with ASD and 20 typically developing children, matched for intelligence quotient and gender, were examined both in facial emotion recognition tasks and in cognitive flexibility tasks through the dimensional change card sorting task.,Despite cognitive flexibility not being a core deficit in ASD, impaired cognitive flexibility is evident in the present research. Results show that cognitive flexibility is related to facial emotion recognition and support the hypothesis of an executive specific deficit in children with autism.,One of the limit is the use of just one cognitive test to measure cognitive flexibility and facial recognit...
The positivity effect can be defined as an age-related attentional preference for positive inform... more The positivity effect can be defined as an age-related attentional preference for positive information. The age differences are due to an attentional bias in which the young focused more intently on the negative stimuli, whereas the older attend to capture positive stimuli. There are two cognitive-emotional models that can explain the positivity effect: the socio-emotional selectivity theory (SST) and the dynamic integration theory (DIT). The SST states that in the older the positivity effect is related to controlled attentional processes, on the opposite, the DIT states that the positivity effect is related to automatic processes. The main aim of the present study was to examine automatic and controlled attentional orienting of young and older adults in the positivity effect. To reach these goals and to verify the generalization of the previous results, we used two experimental paradigms: the dot-probe task and the visual discrimination task with facial stimuli with positive (happy...
Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology, 2017
Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show an impaired functioning in multi... more Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show an impaired functioning in multiple cognitive domains: executive functioning (EF), attention, response inhibition, planning and organization, reward and timing. However, the neuropsychological profile of these patients is unclear. Investigations of neuropsychological functioning in a sample of Italian adults with ADHD are currently lacking. The present study aimed at examining neuropsychological performance on tasks measuring executive functioning, attention response inhibition, planning and organization, comparing adults with ADHD (N= 23, mean age 19,7; SD= 3,27) and healthy adults (N= 23, mean age 19,7; SD= 3,27) matched for age and gender. Results showed that adults with ADHD present impaired EF, response inhibition and disorganization/planning. By contrast, they didn’t exhibit attention deficits. This study supports the persistence of cognitive impairments in subjects with ADHD also in adulthood.
BACKGROUND there are evidence that children with ADHD exhibit a deficit both in automatic and con... more BACKGROUND there are evidence that children with ADHD exhibit a deficit both in automatic and controlled processes. AIMS the present study aimed to examine the visual-motor attention and the influence of cognitive load through a dual task paradigm in children with ADHD compared with typical developing children (TD). METHODS AND PROCEDURES 113 children with ADHD: 40 with subtype inattentive (ADHD- I group), 16 with subtype hyperactive (ADHD-H group), 57 with subtype combined (ADHD-C group), and 113 TD children (TD group) were recruited. We used a dual-task paradigm in which the primary task was a figure-tracing test whereas the second task was a digit span test. A figure-tracing test was used to evaluate visual motor attention. Based on the length and intersection of the lines, the figures of the primary task were categorized into simple and complex. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS the ADHD groups compared to the TD group showed a worse accuracy of performance in both condition with and without cognitive load. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS The findings were discussed in light of the relationship between automatic and controlled processes involved in the visual-motor attention.
The purpose of this study wasto examine the role of cognitive factors, such as superstition, locu... more The purpose of this study wasto examine the role of cognitive factors, such as superstition, locus of control, decision-making and unrealistic optimism,on gambling.Eighty-six subjects participated in this study. They were divided into four groups: non-players, social players, problem gamblers, and pathological gamblers. Groups were formed on the basis of South Oaks Gambling Screen Scale. Results showed that pathological gamblers group obtained a high superstition index. With reference to unrealistic optimism, gambler groupbelieved that they had a better chance of success compared to non-gamblers. They also showed a higher impulsivity index in decision making than non-gamblers. This study supports the idea that cognitive factors such as superstition, unrealistic optimism, impulsivity and external locus of control are involved in gambling.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
The aim of this study is to compare the performances of patients with Rett syndrome that were und... more The aim of this study is to compare the performances of patients with Rett syndrome that were undergoing advanced telerehabilitation (ATR) and patients that were undergoing basic telerehabilitation (BTR). It was hypothesized that patients that were undergoing ATR training would have better improvement in nearly all the motor and cognitive scale scoring activities that were administered, thus showing reduced disability. A total of 20 young girls and women with a diagnosis of RTT, ranging from age 4 to 31 years old (Median: 12.50; IQR: 9.50–17.25) underwent a pre-test, treatment post-test 1, treatment, and post-test 2 procedure. The treatment consisted of either ATR or BTR, lasting 10 weeks with three sessions a week of about an hour. The results showed that the group with advanced telerehabilitation improved their performance better than the control group only in some neuropsychological measurements. The results are discussed in the light of critical factors of telerehabilitation.
Background: The closure of all educational institutions and most rehabilitation centres represent... more Background: The closure of all educational institutions and most rehabilitation centres represents a precautionary measure to face the COVID-19 pandemic, but the isolation and social distancing may be particularly challenging for children with special needs and disabilities (SEND), such as Rett Syndrome (RTT). The main aim of this study was to promote cognitive and social interactions among children with RTT through an interactive school program.Methods: The Interactive School palimpsest was composed of moments in which a teacher spoke directly to children with RTT and expected a response through eye gaze, and moments in which storeys-cartoon were presented while tracking the eye gaze of children. We investigated behavioural, social and cognitive parameters.Results: Children participated in both social and cognitive tasks with the spontaneous reduction of stereotypies and with increase in attention. They recalled more significant indexes when music or a song was presented together w...
Background: Since subjects with Rett syndrome (RTT) focus their attention mainly on the faces of ... more Background: Since subjects with Rett syndrome (RTT) focus their attention mainly on the faces of people with whom they interact, in this study the role of a human-like avatar in enhancing cognitive processes was examined. More in depth, this study examined subjects with RTT performing attention and memory tasks with and without a virtual avatar.Method: Thirty-six girls with RTT participated in the study. They were matched for mental age and randomly submitted to two conditions (with and without virtual avatar) with two tasks (over-selectivity and memory paradigms). Results: The results indicated that the RTT group exposed to the virtual avatar condition, presented better attention and memory abilities than the matched RTT group without the avatar condition. Discussion: The results were discussed in light of the relationship between motivation, attention and memory in RTT.
Within the context of telerehabilitation, serious games have a significant role, but creating sof... more Within the context of telerehabilitation, serious games have a significant role, but creating software for serious games is resource demanding. We present Proteo, a modular and open-source framework for developing serious games from scratch. We also present two serious game implementation examples with analysis of end user and therapist/researcher satisfaction. By involving a group of 11 specialized therapists and 9 end users we analyzed the Proteo’s user satisfaction. We found that both groups scored high for the level of involvement, and the therapists scored also high for the level of suitability. More in depth, both groups showed significant differences between positive and negative feelings, with positive feelings scoring higher than negative ones. Finally, the user level of suitability was reported as high while the difficulty of the system and the difficulty of the task were reported as low. Proteo has proven to be a useful tool to develop serious games for telerehabilitation...
Background Since subjects with Rett syndrome (RTT) focus their attention mainly on the faces of p... more Background Since subjects with Rett syndrome (RTT) focus their attention mainly on the faces of people with whom they interact, in this study the role of a human-like smart interactive agent (an avatar) in enhancing cognitive processes is examined. More in depth, this study aimed to understand if, and to what extent, the use of an avatar can improve attention and memory abilities in subjects with RTT. Method Thirty-six subjects with RTT participated in the study. All participants performed over-selectivity and memory tasks, for a total of six trials. These trials were randomly presented in two different conditions: with and without virtual avatar. Results The results indicated that the participants improved their attention and memory abilities when they performed the tasks with the avatar. There were no improvements when they performed the tasks without the avatar. Discussion The results were discussed considering the relationship between motivation, attention and memory in RTT.
Although the number of students with dyslexia enrolled in Italian universities is constantly grow... more Although the number of students with dyslexia enrolled in Italian universities is constantly growing, their presence remains relatively limited. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the choices made by students with dyslexia in relation to university studies, and the underlying reasons for their choices. This study also compares these choices for students with and without dyslexia. In all, 440 high school students and their families agreed to take part in this project. Socio-demographic data was collected for the 47 students with dyslexia and 47 class-matched students without dyslexia, along with information on their current schools and their future educational plans. A specially developed questionnaire was used for the students, in combination with structured interviews with their families. The results show significant differences between these groups regarding both choices for university studies and the underlying motivations for these choices. Furthermore, certain p...
We tested the hypothesis that expectancy-violation is key to understanding those conditions under... more We tested the hypothesis that expectancy-violation is key to understanding those conditions under which instrumental music disrupts immediate serial-recall. Using isochronic presentation of irrelevant-sound stimuli during encoding and retention, recall was found to be impaired following both piano-note sequences (Experiment 1) and pure-tone sequences (Experiment 2). However, whereas intervallic organisation was determinant for pure-tones (randomly-ordered frequencies caused recall impairment while repeated frequency or ascending-frequency sequences did not) there was no effect of intervallic organisation of piano-note sequences. When the to-be-ignored sequences were presented with random anisochrony, the disruptive effect was absent for both piano notes (Experiment 3) and pure tones (Experiment 4). It is proposed that the irrelevant sound effect can be explained in terms of stimulus specific expectancy violation.
Various studies have examined the role of executive functions in autism, but there is a lack of r... more Various studies have examined the role of executive functions in autism, but there is a lack of research in the current literature on cognitive flexibility in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The purpose of this study is to investigate whether cognitive flexibility deficits could be related to facial emotion recognition deficits in ASD.,In total, 20 children with ASD and 20 typically developing children, matched for intelligence quotient and gender, were examined both in facial emotion recognition tasks and in cognitive flexibility tasks through the dimensional change card sorting task.,Despite cognitive flexibility not being a core deficit in ASD, impaired cognitive flexibility is evident in the present research. Results show that cognitive flexibility is related to facial emotion recognition and support the hypothesis of an executive specific deficit in children with autism.,One of the limit is the use of just one cognitive test to measure cognitive flexibility and facial recognit...
The positivity effect can be defined as an age-related attentional preference for positive inform... more The positivity effect can be defined as an age-related attentional preference for positive information. The age differences are due to an attentional bias in which the young focused more intently on the negative stimuli, whereas the older attend to capture positive stimuli. There are two cognitive-emotional models that can explain the positivity effect: the socio-emotional selectivity theory (SST) and the dynamic integration theory (DIT). The SST states that in the older the positivity effect is related to controlled attentional processes, on the opposite, the DIT states that the positivity effect is related to automatic processes. The main aim of the present study was to examine automatic and controlled attentional orienting of young and older adults in the positivity effect. To reach these goals and to verify the generalization of the previous results, we used two experimental paradigms: the dot-probe task and the visual discrimination task with facial stimuli with positive (happy...
Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology, 2017
Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show an impaired functioning in multi... more Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show an impaired functioning in multiple cognitive domains: executive functioning (EF), attention, response inhibition, planning and organization, reward and timing. However, the neuropsychological profile of these patients is unclear. Investigations of neuropsychological functioning in a sample of Italian adults with ADHD are currently lacking. The present study aimed at examining neuropsychological performance on tasks measuring executive functioning, attention response inhibition, planning and organization, comparing adults with ADHD (N= 23, mean age 19,7; SD= 3,27) and healthy adults (N= 23, mean age 19,7; SD= 3,27) matched for age and gender. Results showed that adults with ADHD present impaired EF, response inhibition and disorganization/planning. By contrast, they didn’t exhibit attention deficits. This study supports the persistence of cognitive impairments in subjects with ADHD also in adulthood.
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