Previous studies suggested that affective state could enhance stimulus salience and modulate atte... more Previous studies suggested that affective state could enhance stimulus salience and modulate attention allocation for mood-congruent information, but contrasting data have been reported on the effects of mood induction on attentional biases for threat (ABTs) in non-clinical individuals. We aimed to assess whether laboratory-induced negative mood can increase individuals' tendency to allocate attention on threatening stimuli, thus determining a difficulty in attentional disengagement from threat. We also aimed at assessing whether level of trait anxiety could modulate the effect of mood induction on attentional biases. We used an autobiographical episode recall procedure for mood induction (fear, happiness and neutral episode recall), and an exogenous cueing task with threatening and non-threatening images to assess attentional biases in 120 undergraduate students. Participants showed a significant difficulty in disengaging attention from threat after recalling fear-related episo...
Several processes are devoted to error reduction in response to a visual displacement, such as th... more Several processes are devoted to error reduction in response to a visual displacement, such as the one induced by wedge prisms. Strategic calibration and spatial realignment contribute to the iteratively process that allows a progressive adjustment of motor commands to reduce the magnitude of errors. Isolating the specific contributions to motor behaviour coming from these distinct processes is not possible using traditional single-step Prism Adaptation (PA), where participants are directly exposed to full prismatic shift. Here, we selectively investigated the effect of realignment on motor behaviour by means of a PA paradigm (the multiple-step PA) that allows to elude the development of strategic calibration. We tested for a specific cerebellar contribution to realignment by means of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) in healthy subjects. Confirming and expanding previous imaging and stimulation results, our study causally demonstrates cerebellar involvement in spatial ...
By anticipating potential rewards, external cues can guide behavior to achieve a goal. Whether th... more By anticipating potential rewards, external cues can guide behavior to achieve a goal. Whether the conscious elaboration of these cues is necessary to elicit cue-guided choices is still unknown. the goal of the present study is to test whether the subliminal presentation of a visual cue previously paired with a reward is sufficient to bias responses that can lead to the same or a similar reward. To this aim, three experiments compared the subliminal and supraliminal presentation of reward-associated cues during a pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer task. in line with previous evidence, results showed that the supraliminal presentation of reward-associated pavlovian cues biased participant's choice towards motivationally similar rewards (general transfer) as well as towards rewards sharing the precise sensory-specific properties of the cue (outcome-specific transfer). In striking contrast, subliminal cues biased choice only towards motivationally similar rewards (general transfer). taken together, these findings suggest that cue-guided choices are modulated by the level of perceptual threshold (i.e., subliminal vs supraliminal) of reward-associated cues. Although conscious elaboration of the cue is necessary to guide choice towards a specific reward, subliminal processing is still sufficient to push towards choices sharing the motivational properties of the cue. implications for everyday life, clinical conditions, and theoretical accounts of cue-guided choices are discussed.
Immobilizing freezing responses are associated with anxiety and may be etiologically related to s... more Immobilizing freezing responses are associated with anxiety and may be etiologically related to several anxiety disorders. Although recent studies have sought to investigate the underlying mechanisms in freezing responses that are so problematic in many forms of anxiety, cognitive factors related to anxiety have not been investigated. This study was designed to investigate the potential moderating role of a well-documented cognitive vulnerability to anxiety, the Looming Cognitive Style (i.e., LCS; Riskind et al., 2000), which assesses the extent to which individuals tend to routinely interpret ambiguous threats (e.g., physical or social threats) in a biased manner as approaching. We assessed participants' Reaction Times (RTs) when they made judgments about images of animals that differed in threat valence (threat or neutral) and motion direction (approach or recede). As expected, LCS for concerns about the approach of physical dangers appeared to moderate freeze reactions. Individuals who were high on this LCS factor tended to generally exhibit a freeze-response (slower RTs) and this was independent of the threat valence or motion direction of the animals. These general freezing reactions were in stark contrast to those of individuals who were low on the LCS factor for concerns about the approach of physical dangers. These participants tended to exhibit more selective and functional freezing responses that occurred only to threatening animals with approach motion; they did not exhibit freezing to neutral stimuli or any stimuli with receding motion. These findings did not appear to be explicable by a general slowing of RTs for the participants with high LCS. Moreover, the LCS factor for concerns about social threats (such as rejection or embarrassment) was not related to differences in freezing; there was also no additional relationship of freezing to behavioral inhibition scores on the Behavioral Inhibition System and the Behavioral Activation System Scales (BIS/BAS). It may prove fruitful to further explore cognitive factors related to anxiety to develop a more comprehensive understanding of how these factors are associated with anxiety-related freezing responses.
Mechanisms underlying attentional biases towards threat (ABTs), such as attentional avoidance and... more Mechanisms underlying attentional biases towards threat (ABTs), such as attentional avoidance and difficulty of disengagement, are still unclear. To address this issue, we recorded participants' eye movements during a dot detection task in which threatening or neutral stimuli served as peripheral cues. We evaluated response times (RTs) in trials where participants looked at the central fixation cross (not at the cues), as they were required, and number and duration of (unwanted) fixations towards threatening or neutral cues; in all analyses trait anxiety was treated as a covariate. Difficulty in attentional disengagement (longer RTs) was found when peripheral threatening stimuli were presented for 100 ms. Moreover, we observed significantly shorter (unwanted) fixations on threatening than on neutral peripheral stimuli, compatible with an avoidance bias, for longer presentation times. These findings demonstrate that, independent of trait anxiety levels, disengagement bias occurs without eye movements, whereas eye movements are implied in threat avoidance.
Previous studies suggested that affective state could enhance stimulus salience and modulate atte... more Previous studies suggested that affective state could enhance stimulus salience and modulate attention allocation for mood-congruent information, but contrasting data have been reported on the effects of mood induction on attentional biases for threat (ABTs) in non-clinical individuals. We aimed to assess whether laboratory-induced negative mood can increase individuals' tendency to allocate attention on threatening stimuli, thus determining a difficulty in attentional disengagement from threat. We also aimed at assessing whether level of trait anxiety could modulate the effect of mood induction on attentional biases. We used an autobiographical episode recall procedure for mood induction (fear, happiness and neutral episode recall), and an exogenous cueing task with threatening and non-threatening images to assess attentional biases in 120 undergraduate students. Participants showed a significant difficulty in disengaging attention from threat after recalling fear-related episo...
Several processes are devoted to error reduction in response to a visual displacement, such as th... more Several processes are devoted to error reduction in response to a visual displacement, such as the one induced by wedge prisms. Strategic calibration and spatial realignment contribute to the iteratively process that allows a progressive adjustment of motor commands to reduce the magnitude of errors. Isolating the specific contributions to motor behaviour coming from these distinct processes is not possible using traditional single-step Prism Adaptation (PA), where participants are directly exposed to full prismatic shift. Here, we selectively investigated the effect of realignment on motor behaviour by means of a PA paradigm (the multiple-step PA) that allows to elude the development of strategic calibration. We tested for a specific cerebellar contribution to realignment by means of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) in healthy subjects. Confirming and expanding previous imaging and stimulation results, our study causally demonstrates cerebellar involvement in spatial ...
By anticipating potential rewards, external cues can guide behavior to achieve a goal. Whether th... more By anticipating potential rewards, external cues can guide behavior to achieve a goal. Whether the conscious elaboration of these cues is necessary to elicit cue-guided choices is still unknown. the goal of the present study is to test whether the subliminal presentation of a visual cue previously paired with a reward is sufficient to bias responses that can lead to the same or a similar reward. To this aim, three experiments compared the subliminal and supraliminal presentation of reward-associated cues during a pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer task. in line with previous evidence, results showed that the supraliminal presentation of reward-associated pavlovian cues biased participant's choice towards motivationally similar rewards (general transfer) as well as towards rewards sharing the precise sensory-specific properties of the cue (outcome-specific transfer). In striking contrast, subliminal cues biased choice only towards motivationally similar rewards (general transfer). taken together, these findings suggest that cue-guided choices are modulated by the level of perceptual threshold (i.e., subliminal vs supraliminal) of reward-associated cues. Although conscious elaboration of the cue is necessary to guide choice towards a specific reward, subliminal processing is still sufficient to push towards choices sharing the motivational properties of the cue. implications for everyday life, clinical conditions, and theoretical accounts of cue-guided choices are discussed.
Immobilizing freezing responses are associated with anxiety and may be etiologically related to s... more Immobilizing freezing responses are associated with anxiety and may be etiologically related to several anxiety disorders. Although recent studies have sought to investigate the underlying mechanisms in freezing responses that are so problematic in many forms of anxiety, cognitive factors related to anxiety have not been investigated. This study was designed to investigate the potential moderating role of a well-documented cognitive vulnerability to anxiety, the Looming Cognitive Style (i.e., LCS; Riskind et al., 2000), which assesses the extent to which individuals tend to routinely interpret ambiguous threats (e.g., physical or social threats) in a biased manner as approaching. We assessed participants' Reaction Times (RTs) when they made judgments about images of animals that differed in threat valence (threat or neutral) and motion direction (approach or recede). As expected, LCS for concerns about the approach of physical dangers appeared to moderate freeze reactions. Individuals who were high on this LCS factor tended to generally exhibit a freeze-response (slower RTs) and this was independent of the threat valence or motion direction of the animals. These general freezing reactions were in stark contrast to those of individuals who were low on the LCS factor for concerns about the approach of physical dangers. These participants tended to exhibit more selective and functional freezing responses that occurred only to threatening animals with approach motion; they did not exhibit freezing to neutral stimuli or any stimuli with receding motion. These findings did not appear to be explicable by a general slowing of RTs for the participants with high LCS. Moreover, the LCS factor for concerns about social threats (such as rejection or embarrassment) was not related to differences in freezing; there was also no additional relationship of freezing to behavioral inhibition scores on the Behavioral Inhibition System and the Behavioral Activation System Scales (BIS/BAS). It may prove fruitful to further explore cognitive factors related to anxiety to develop a more comprehensive understanding of how these factors are associated with anxiety-related freezing responses.
Mechanisms underlying attentional biases towards threat (ABTs), such as attentional avoidance and... more Mechanisms underlying attentional biases towards threat (ABTs), such as attentional avoidance and difficulty of disengagement, are still unclear. To address this issue, we recorded participants' eye movements during a dot detection task in which threatening or neutral stimuli served as peripheral cues. We evaluated response times (RTs) in trials where participants looked at the central fixation cross (not at the cues), as they were required, and number and duration of (unwanted) fixations towards threatening or neutral cues; in all analyses trait anxiety was treated as a covariate. Difficulty in attentional disengagement (longer RTs) was found when peripheral threatening stimuli were presented for 100 ms. Moreover, we observed significantly shorter (unwanted) fixations on threatening than on neutral peripheral stimuli, compatible with an avoidance bias, for longer presentation times. These findings demonstrate that, independent of trait anxiety levels, disengagement bias occurs without eye movements, whereas eye movements are implied in threat avoidance.
The aim of this study is to clarify the specific role of the cerebellum during prism adaptation p... more The aim of this study is to clarify the specific role of the cerebellum during prism adaptation procedure (PAP), considering its involvement in early prism exposure (i.e., in the recalibration process) and in post-exposure phase (i.e., in the after-effect, related to spatial realignment). For this purpose we interfered with cerebellar activity by means of cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), while young healthy individuals were asked to perform a pointing task on a touch screen before, during and after wearing base-left prism glasses. The distance from the target dot in each trial (in terms of pixels) on horizontal and vertical axes was recorded and served as an index of accuracy. Results on horizontal axis, that was shifted by prism glasses, revealed that participants who received cathodal stimulation showed increased rightward deviation from the actual position of the target while wearing prisms and a larger leftward deviation from the target after prisms removal. Results on vertical axis, in which no shift was induced, revealed a general trend in the two groups to improve accuracy through the different phases of the task, and a trend, more visible in cathodal stimulated participants, to worsen accuracy from the first to the last movements in each phase. Data on horizontal axis allow to confirm that the cerebellum is involved in all stages of PAP, contributing to early strategic recalibration process, as well as to spatial realignment. On vertical axis, the improving performance across the different stages of the task and the worsening accuracy within each task phase can be ascribed, respectively, to a learning process and to the task-related fatigue.
Previous studies demonstrated that observation of facial expressions can modulate threat detectio... more Previous studies demonstrated that observation of facial expressions can modulate threat detection while looking at neutral or emotion-related scenes. Similarly, stimuli presented outside conscious awareness could influence social judgments of neutral novel stimuli. The two-fold aim of this study was: i) to evaluate whether observation of seen emotional faces could affect the judgment of social interactions without contextual cues (visible prime condition), and ii) whether this effect could also emerge when the emotional faces were made not visible by means of continuous flash suppression (invisible prime condition). We found that both seen and unseen faces are able to affect the judgment of ambiguous social interactions although this effect was particularly evident when affective faces were clearly visible. The present findings supported the idea that both conscious and unconscious processing of emotional faces have an important role in modulating perceivers' affective state and their judgment of social interactions.
Prism Adaptation (PA) is a non-invasive method to investigate visuomotor control. Recent neurosti... more Prism Adaptation (PA) is a non-invasive method to investigate visuomotor control. Recent neurostimulation studies have proposed an interpretation of the mechanisms underlying PA based on functioning of brain networks, instead of focusing on single brain areas. To test the functioning of the network during a classical PA procedure, here we used for the first time High-Definition transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (HD-tDCS) to simultaneously inhibit or facilitate brain activity in two main nodes of the network, namely the parietal cortex and the cerebellum, in healthy individuals. The main results showed that simultaneous anodal HD-tDCS over the two regions reduced terminal errors during exposure to prism glasses as compared to cathodal and sham stimulation. Conversely, cathodal HD-tDCS reduced after-effect as compared to anodal and sham stimulation following prism removal. Overall, these results provide new insights on the network related to the deployment of PA mechanisms and demonstrate the feasibility of using non-invasive HD-tDCS to modulate the adaptive mechanisms of PA.
Personality and Individual Differences, Sep 1, 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures to avert contagion heavily impacted individuals' mental he... more The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures to avert contagion heavily impacted individuals' mental health. In the present cross-sectional study, we investigate the relationship between cognitive reserve, coping modalities and the perceived stress during a chronic stage of COVID-19 pandemic by online administration of three standardized questionnaires in a sample of healthy volunteers covering a large lifespan (18–85 years). We found that positive orientation to problems and higher levels of cognitive reserve were associated with lower levels of stress. Conversely, coping strategies involving negation, substance consumption, and appeal to other people and religion to face everyday life, together with higher education, were associated with higher levels of stress. These results shade light on the long-term psychological consequences of COVID-19 and call for the development of psychological interventions improving coping and cognitive reserve, to preserve and restore mental health following the pandemic.
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Article by Laura Sagliano