Social cognition, particularly emotion recognition, can be impaired in neurological disorders involving brain damage and neurocognitive deficits. However, it remains unclear whether distinctive profiles of social versus general cognitive impairments exist across neurological patient groups: moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (mod-sevTBI), acute ischaemic stroke (AIS), aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (aSAH), frontal low-grade glioma (LGG), advanced Parkinson's disease (PD), and behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). Data were obtained from scientific studies and clinical records in four Dutch research centres. Neuropsychological testing included emotion recognition [Eckman 60-Faces test (EFT): total score and subscores], memory [Dutch Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (DRAVLT): encoding and retrieval], information processing speed, and cognitive control (Trail Making Test A and B). Scores were transformed into Z-scores using normative data and compared across groups. Included were 710 patients: 118 mod-sevTBI, 93 AIS, 121 aSAH, 100 LGG, 147 PD, 131 bvFTD. EFT-total was impaired in all groups (p < .001), with significant group differences (F(5,704) = 30.8, p < .001). Emotion recognition was the most severely affected domain in bvFTD, mod-sevTBI, AIS, and LGG. Only bvFTD and mod-sevTBI showed impairments in specific emotions, mainly sadness and fear. MANOVA showed overall group differences in general cognition (Wilks' Lambda = .69, p < .001). Memory encoding was impaired in all groups, but retrieval in none. Information processing speed and cognitive control were impaired only in bvFTD, mod-sevTBI, AIS, and PD. Emotion recognition is significantly affected across six neurological patient groups, with distinct profiles relative to general cognition. These findings support tailored neuropsychological assessment in clinical practice.
University students' emotional regulation abilities are crucial to their mental health. Existing research suggests that urban and rural backgrounds may be associated with emotional regulation among freshmen; however, the underlying mechanisms of this association remain unclear. Drawing on resource conservation theory and the bio-psycho-social model, this study examines whether psychological and social fitness exert statistical indirect effects on the relationship between urban-rural differences and emotional regulation. A cross-sectional design was employed to conduct a questionnaire survey of 6,718 first-year students at a comprehensive university. The measurement instruments included the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, the Emotion Regulation Difficulty Scale, and the Health Adaptation Scale. Control variables included gender, age, single-parent family status, and experience as a left-behind child. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to conduct a multiple mediation analysis, and the Bootstrap method was used to test statistical indirect effects, with a focus on the statistical indirect effects of psychological and social fitness. As this study employed a cross-sectional design with a sample drawn from a single university, the statistical indirect effects revealed reflect only statistical associations between variables and do not allow for inferences of causal relationships. Rural freshmen exhibited significantly greater difficulties in emotional regulation than their urban counterparts, and both psychological and social fitness were significantly lower. Physical fitness was also significantly lower among rural freshmen. Physical, psychological, and social fitness all exhibited significant statistical indirect effects on the urban-rural differences and the three emotional regulation indicators. Multiple mediation analyses revealed that psychological adaptability had the strongest statistical indirect association with difficulties in emotional regulation; social fitness had relatively stronger statistical indirect associations with cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression; physical fitness showed statistically significant but comparatively smaller indirect effects. The results remained robust after controlling for single-parent family status and experience as a left-behind child. The effect sizes of urban-rural differences across variables ranged from 0.05 to 0.24, falling within the small-effect range; statistical significance should not be equated with practical significance, and urban-rural background itself has limited explanatory power for differences in emotional regulation. Within the scope of this study, the association between urban-rural disparities and emotional regulation can be explained by the statistical indirect effects of physical, psychological, and social fitness, which serve as the three primary statistical indirect effect pathways. The study indicates that the association between urban-rural differences and emotional regulation is statistically mediated by individuals' physical, psychological, and social competence resources, providing preliminary exploratory targets for mental health interventions in higher education institutions. However, given the cross-sectional nature of the study, these conclusions require further validation through longitudinal research.
This study aims to reveal the influence of different pedagogical swimming teaching models on adolescents' emotional regulation and social adaptability. 120 adolescents aged 12-16 years were randomly divided into comprehensive teaching group, cooperative learning group and traditional teaching group, 40 cases each, and the intervention was performed for 16 weeks. Adolescent Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and Children's Social Adaptation Scale were used for evaluation, and combined with repeated measures analysis of variance and back-test. After the intervention, the total score of emotion regulation and the dimension of cognitive re-evaluation in the cooperative learning group were significantly higher than those in the understanding group and the traditional group; The total scores of social adaptation, peer interaction, and collective integration to cooperative learning were the best. Comprehension teaching outperformed the traditional model in problem solving and emotional expression (P < 0.05). The traditional group showed no significant disadvantage in skill mastery, but the weakest improvement in emotional and social indicators. The intra-group time effect and the inter-group interaction effect were significant (p < 0.001). There was a significant positive correlation between the total score of adolescents' emotion regulation ability and the total score of social adaptability (r > 0.7, p < 0.001), and the slope of regression line in cooperative learning group was significantly higher than that in comprehension teaching group and traditional teaching group. The cooperative learning model has the most significant effect on promoting adolescents' emotional regulation and social adaptation, and provides structured exercise intervention programs for adolescents' mental health and social adaptation.
No effort has still been made to integrate within a general model of emotions the relations between amygdala, fear (and other emotions) and the right hemisphere. This integration is the aim of this review that will start with the description of a model viewing emotions as a primitive adaptive system, alternative to the cognitive system. I will then analyze the main characteristics of the amygdala and of its subcortical pathway that allows to detect, with an urgency procedure, life-threatening stimuli, and to provide, with automatic and unconscious processing modalities, rough sensory data to the amygdala. Since this subcortical pathway is lateralized to the right hemisphere in humans, but not in animals, the reasons of this evolution will be discussed with reference to the "crowding model" , which assumes that brain lateralization may serve to avoid conflicts between systems (such as the emotional and the cognitive ones) competing at the decisional level. This model could explain the left lateralization of language and the consequent complex renovation of the working modalities of both hemispheres. Support to this model comes from the observation that the right hemisphere is characterized not only by a greater representation of emotions, but also by automatic and unconscious processing modalities typical of the emotional system, whereas the left hemisphere is characterized by language-mediated conscious and intentional functioning modalities.
Handwashing, as a common physical cleansing behavior, not only serves a physiological cleaning function but is also believed to symbolically "wash away" emotional experiences or mental residues. Previous research has primarily focused on the regulatory effects of handwashing on failure, negative emotions, or moral judgments, while its role in emotional regulation after success experiences and its influence on creative cognition (such as insight problem solving) remain unclear. Grounded in embodied cognition theory and the broaden-and-build theory, this study experimentally manipulated success experiences and handwashing behavior to examine the regulatory effect of handwashing on positive emotions induced by success and its influence on insight-related problem solving. The experiment initially recruited 96 undergraduate students, who were randomly assigned to a handwashing group, a non-handwashing group, and a control group; the final analyzed sample consisted of 87 participants after applying exclusion criteria. The results showed that: (1) Handwashing significantly reduced the positive emotions induced by success, serving as an "emotional reset"; (2) Participants in the success conditions responded significantly faster in the Chinese Compound Remote Associates Test (CCRA) than those in the control condition; however, no significant group differences were observed in overall solution accuracy, indicating that the effect of success experience was reflected primarily in problem-solving efficiency rather than a general improvement in insight problem-solving performance; (3) In insight solutions, no significant difference in accuracy was found between the handwashing and non-handwashing groups. However, accuracy in the handwashing group was significantly lower than in the control group. An opposite pattern was observed for non-insight solutions. These findings indicate that handwashing functions as a form of emotional regulation after success and may attenuate the carryover of success-induced positive emotions that support insight-related processing, although this effect should be interpreted with caution. This study extends the research scope of the "symbolic handwashing effect" and provides new experimental evidence for understanding the relationship between positive emotion regulation and creative thinking.
Cultivating mathematical higher-order thinking is a paramount pedagogical objective. While student feedback literacy has gained attention, its longitudinal mechanisms on complex cognitive outcomes remain underexplored. This study investigates the sequential mediating roles of emotion and motivation self-regulation and mathematics discourse feedback skills in the relationship between feedback literacy behavior and mathematical higher-order thinking. A three-wave longitudinal design with a 3-month interval was employed. A total of 1,795 Chinese high school students completed surveys assessing feedback literacy behavior at Time 1, emotion and motivation self-regulation at Time 2, and mathematics discourse feedback skills alongside mathematical higher-order thinking at Time 3. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling, controlling for autoregressive effects. Feedback literacy behavior at Time 1 was significantly and positively associated with mathematical higher-order thinking at Time 3. Both emotion and motivation self-regulation and mathematics discourse feedback skills independently mediated this relationship. Furthermore, the serial mediation pathway was significant: feedback literacy behavior enhanced emotion and motivation self-regulation, which subsequently fostered mathematics discourse feedback skills, which were concurrently associated with mathematical higher-order thinking. Feedback literacy behavior acts as a developmental catalyst for cognitive restructuring. This trajectory is sequentially mediated by intra-individual psychological regulation and interpersonal social interaction. Educators should transcend traditional corrective feedback by actively cultivating feedback literacy and facilitating dialogic feedback environments.
This theoretical review explores the intricate dynamics of emotional regulation within social interactions, specifically focusing on aversive contexts where social threats necessitate regulatory intervention. Drawing on the Dual-Process Model and Pessoa's integrative neurobiological framework, the article examines how the brain negotiates between the "impulsive system" and the "reflective system." While classical literature promotes affect labeling as an effective implicit regulator that dampens physiological arousal, recent findings suggest a potential paradoxical effect: emotional crystallization. It is hypothesized that this process can transform fluid emotional experiences into rigid categories, potentially increasing cognitive load and hindering social flexibility. By integrating Bourdieu's Habitus with neuro-sociological insights, the review proposes a shift toward "Plural Rationality." It concludes that successful social regulation may require maintaining "cognitive fluidity" rather than mere linguistic categorization, ensuring that rationalization serves as a tool for cooperation rather than a shackle that fossilizes emotional responses.
Sleep deprivation (SD) is a major risk factor for neuropsychiatric disorders and is known to induce comorbid emotional and cognitive impairments; however, the temporal dynamics and underlying mechanistic pathways remain poorly defined. Here, we established a standardized rotating rod-based SD model using male ICR mice (4-6 weeks old) to systematically investigate the effects of different SD durations. (1, 2, 3, or 7 days) on emotional and cognitive functions and the potential involvement of ferroptosis-related mechanisms. Emotional and cognitive functions were evaluated using a battery of behavioral tests. Hippocampal morphology was assessed by hematoxylin-eosin staining, while hippocampal ferrous iron content, systemic oxidative stress markers including total antioxidant capacity, glutathione, and malondialdehyde, together with ferroptosis-related protein expression were quantified. Our study demonstrated that 1-day SD induced anxiety-like behaviors and a stress-induced hyperactive state, accompanied by mild cognitive deficits. In contrast, prolonged SD (3- and 7-day SD) progressively promoted depressive-like behaviors accompanied by worsening cognitive deficits. Histological analysis revealed duration-dependent neuronal loss and structural damage in the hippocampal CA1 and CA3 regions. Biochemical analyses revealed duration-dependent alterations in hippocampal Fe2+ levels, with marked lipid peroxidation dysregulation emerging after 7-day SD. Western blotting analysis indicated that 7-day SD markedly disrupted hippocampal ferroptosis-related SIRT1/SLC7A11/GPX4 signaling pathways. In conclusion, SD induce duration-dependent comorbid emotional and cognitive dysfunction, accompanied by hippocampal injury and ferroptosis-related alterations. These findings provide preliminary evidence for a potential link between SD-induced neurobehavioral impairments and ferroptosis-related changes, warranting further mechanistic investigation.
Pseudoneglect, a subtle attentional bias toward the left visual field in neurologically healthy individuals, can be measured with a split-screen method in which a bright stimulus in one hemifield elicits stronger pupil constriction when it appears on the left than on the right (Strauch, C., Romein, C., Naber, M., Van der Stigchel, S., & Ten Brink, A. F. (2022). The orienting response drives pseudoneglect-Evidence from an objective pupillometric method. Cortex, 151, 259-271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2022.03.006). Replications of this method have reported mixed results, including a large Registered Report that replicated the effect with a small effect size (d = -0.31). Given strong left-field biases in the emotional chimeric face test, the present study (n = 53) combined this task with split-screen pupillometry to test whether emotional face processing amplifies pupillary pseudoneglect. Pupillary pseudoneglect was observed during control trials with non-faces (d = -0.36) and was stronger for emotional faces (d = -0.76), but this difference was not significant. A strong left-field bias was confirmed for emotional face judgements (d = -0.76), which did not correlate with pupillary bias (ρ = -0.26), and for a line bisection test (d = -0.47), which also did not correlate with pupillary pseudoneglect (ρ = -0.19). These data support the split-screen pupillometric method for measuring pseudoneglect and replicate a previously-noted pattern that leftward biases across tasks show little statistical relation to one another.
The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and hippocampus are critically involved in cognitive and affective functions. However, the circuit architecture and functional organization linking the OFC with distinct hippocampal subregions, particularly dorsal CA1 (dCA1) and ventral CA1 (vCA1), remain poorly understood. We combined viral circuit tracing with a bilateral disconnection strategy to investigate the anatomical and functional organization of OFC-CA1 connectivity in mice. Dual viral tracing was used to map direct and polysynaptic pathways, and taCasp3-mediated targeted neuronal ablation was employed to assess circuit-specific functional contributions. Behavioral effects were evaluated using spatial memory assays (Y-maze and object location recognition) and emotion-related tests (open field, elevated plus maze, tail suspension, and forced swim tests). We identified a unidirectional indirect pathway linking OFC to dCA1 via the claustrum (OFC → claustrum→dCA1), with no evidence of reciprocal dCA1 → OFC connectivity. In contrast, vCA1 exhibited a distinct connectivity profile, including a direct monosynaptic projection to OFC and multiple indirect pathways through the anterior thalamic nuclei, basolateral amygdala, and entorhinal cortex, while no OFC → vCA1 projection was detected. Functionally, disconnection of OFC-dCA1 connectivity selectively impaired spatial memory without affecting anxiety- or depression-like behaviors. Conversely, disconnection of vCA1-OFC connectivity induced anxiety- and depression-like phenotypes while preserving spatial memory. These findings demonstrate that the OFC interacts with dorsal and ventral CA1 subregions through anatomically distinct circuits with dissociable behavioral functions. This study provides circuit-level insight into how OFC-CA1 interactions differentially regulate spatial memory and affect-related behaviors.
Cross-cultural psychometric evidence on instruments measuring attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI) remains scarce in transitional higher-education settings. This study provides the first Albanian-language validation of three widely used instruments - the General Attitudes toward Artificial Intelligence Scale (GAAIS), the Attitudes toward Ethical Artificial Intelligence Scale (AT-EAI), and the AI Anxiety Scale (AIAS) - and, as a secondary exploratory aim, examines how ethical cognition and AI-related anxiety are associated with positive and negative orientations toward AI. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 705 students and staff at one Albanian public university (University of Shkodra). Instruments were translated and back-translated, pilot-tested, and evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Hierarchical regression models examined exploratory associations between the AT-EAI subscales (fairness, transparency, non-maleficence, privacy, responsibility), the AIAS subscales (cognitive, affective), and the two GAAIS dimensions, controlling for demographics. All three instruments showed good factorial validity and reliability in Albanian (CFI ≥ 0.987; α range 0.74-0.91). In the exploratory regression models, non-maleficence was the only ethical dimension positively associated with positive GAAIS (β = 0.17), while privacy concerns were associated with stronger negative GAAIS (β = 0.10); these ethical effects were small in magnitude. Cognitive and affective AI anxiety showed the largest associations, both with reduced positive attitudes and increased negative attitudes, with affective anxiety strongest in the negative-attitudes model (β = 0.32). The study's primary contribution is the provision of the first validated Albanian versions of the GAAIS, AT-EAI, and AIAS, which are made available in the Supplementary Appendix for use by other researchers. Within this single-institution validation sample, the associational findings further suggest, in exploratory terms, that emotional responses to AI - more than ethical evaluations - are linked to students' general attitudes. Given the cross-sectional, single-institution design and the modest magnitude of several effects, generalisation to broader Albanian higher education or to AI policy contexts should be treated with caution.
Dietary habits adopted during young adulthood play a critical role in physical, emotional, and cognitive health. University students represent a particularly vulnerable group due to academic stress, lifestyle transitions, and increased autonomy, factors that may influence eating behaviors, body weight perception, and psychological well-being. This study aims to examine dietary habits among students and their associations with self-perceived body weight, lifestyle characteristics, and psychological factors within a biopsychosocial framework. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted using a structured, self-administered online questionnaire distributed to university students aged 18-30 years in Romania. The questionnaire assessed dietary habits, nutritional knowledge, lifestyle behaviors, and psychological variables, including perceived stress and body weight perception. Body mass index was calculated based on self-reported anthropometric data. The findings indicated substantial variability in dietary behaviors, with a high prevalence of irregular meal patterns, frequent snacking, and engagement in weight-control practices. Irregular meal patterns were reported by approximately 62% of participants, while 47% had engaged in at least one weight-loss diet. Discrepancies between self-reported BMI and perceived body weight were observed in roughly 38% of cases, and 83% of respondents reported at least one psychological symptom (stress, anxiety, or low mood) related to eating behaviors. A positive correlation was observed between sleep duration and perceived rest quality (r = 0.364, p < 0.001). High frequencies of caffeinated beverage consumption were also observed. Additionally, 204 participants reported no alcohol consumption, while the variety of alcoholic beverages consumed was strongly correlated with alcohol intake frequency (r = 0.734, p < 0.001). Dietary habits among university students are closely interconnected with body weight perception, lifestyle behaviors, and psychological well-being. These findings emphasize the need for integrative health promotion strategies that address nutrition, emotional regulation, and lifestyle balance to support mental and cognitive health during young adulthood.
Depression and anxiety are highly prevalent among clinical nurses. This study employed a person-centered analytical approach to identify distinct emotion regulation (ER) profiles among Chinese clinical nurses and examined the structure of depressive and anxiety symptoms within each profile using latent profile analysis (LPA) complemented by network analysis (NA). A cross-sectional survey was conducted among clinical nurses in China. A total of 1,436 eligible nurses (mean age = 34.16, SD = 7.49; 93.5% female) participated. Participants completed the 10-item Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7). LPA was conducted using the two ERQ subscales, cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression, to identify distinct ER profiles. NA was then applied to model the relationships among depressive and anxiety symptoms for the total sample and within each ER profile. Centrality (Expected Influence) and bridge centrality (Bridge Expected Influence) indices were calculated to identify core and bridging symptoms. Network accuracy and stability were assessed via bootstrap methods, and network structures were compared across profiles using the Network Comparison Test (NCT). LPA identified five distinct ER profiles: Low Regulation (7.2%), Below-Average Regulation (44.9%), Flexible Regulation (8.6%), Above-Average Regulation (32.0%), and High Regulation (7.2%). The Flexible Regulation group, characterized by high cognitive reappraisal and low expressive suppression, exhibited the lowest levels of depression and anxiety, whereas the Below-Average and Above-Average groups reported the highest symptom severity. NA revealed "Uncontrollable worry" (GAD6) and "Restlessness" (GAD5) as core and bridge symptoms across multiple profiles, while "Sad mood" (PHQ2), "Motor disturbance" (PHQ8), and "Suicidal ideation" (PHQ9) emerged as profile-specific central and bridge symptoms in the Low and Flexible Regulation groups. NCT indicated significant differences in global network structure across several profiles, yet global strength did not differ. This study reveals heterogeneous ER patterns among clinical nurses and demonstrates that the Flexible Regulation group is the most adaptive configuration. Key central and bridge symptoms differ across profiles, offering empirically grounded targets for profile-informed interventions. Regular mental health screening with attention to profile-specific symptom patterns is recommended to support tailored prevention strategies and improve overall well-being among clinical nurses. Not applicable.
The present study aimed to empirically assess how regular piano instruction over a six-month period could influence working memory capacity and subjective psychological well-being among students with no prior musical training. A total of 120 first- and second-year students from Peking University participated in the experiment. Outcomes were assessed using the Working Memory Index from the WAIS-IV and the short form of Carol Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scale. Students in the piano training group exhibited significant improvements in both cognitive and emotional indicators. In the experimental group, mean working memory scores increased from 98.46 to 108.92 (p < 0.001, r = 0.61); concurrently, subjective well-being scores rose from 71.86 to 80.37 (p < 0.001, r = 0.61). The comparable magnitude of these changes suggests a parallel pattern of improvement, which warrants separate consideration and discussion. The results of the 2 × (2) mixed-design ANOVA revealed a significant Group × Time interaction: for working memory, F(1, 118) = 58.74, p < 0.001, η2p = 0.33; for psychological well-being, F(1, 118) = 71.26, p < 0.001, η2p = 0.38, with both effect sizes classified as large. These findings indicate an association between piano instruction and improvements in cognitive and emotional outcomes; however, this interpretation should be considered with caution given the limitations of the study design. Whether the observed effects are specific to piano training rather than to structured activity in general remains an open question and requires replication using an active control group.
Aim: This study aimed to investigate whether chronic war-related stress producessex-differentiated reorganization of large-scale cortical functional connectivity, as measur ed by EEG coherence, and to identify neurodynamic markers of cognitive and emotional vulnerability in civilian populations exposed to ongoing armed conflict. Materials and Methods: Fifty-three students of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (aged 18-24) voluntarily participated in the study. Pre-war groups (n = 24, nfem = 15) were examined between 2010 and 2012, before the onset of Russia's hybrid and full-scale invasion and the COVID-19 pandemic. War groups (n = 29, nfem = 18) were assessed during the ongoing full-scale invasion (2022-2024). EEG recordings were obtained at rest and during cognitive load induced by a mental arithmetic task. Magnitude-squared coherence was analyzed in θ1 (3.9-4.9 Hz), θ2 (5-6 Hz), β1 (13-20 Hz), and β2 (20-30 Hz) bands. Results: Pre-war maps showed posterior-dominant coupling with robust P3-P4 and O1-O2 homotopy and a preserved Fz-Cz-Pz axis. Men additionally exhibited stronger C3-C4 and midline integration, whereas women showed a right-posterior bias and weaker fronto-posterior coupling. During the war, men demonstrated strengthened fronto-temporal coupling and accentuated dorsal midline links, while women displayed diffuse θ reinforcement over right temporoparietal and posterior midline regions, emergent cross-hemispheric fronto-temporal links, and persistently attenuated long-range coupling. In β bands, posterior homotopy weakened in both sexes, with frontal strengthening more pronounced in women. Conclusions: Chronic war stress drives posterior-to-anterior reweighting of coherence, supporting reactivity through salience/control hubs at the expense of efficiency. Women's weaker long-range fronto-posterior coordination suggests heightened vulnerability and points toward sex-specific intervention strategies.
Our study aimed to develop and validate the Maladaptive Eating Behavior Questionnaire after Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (MEBQMBS). Based on the conceptual framework of maladaptive eating behavior after metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS), literature review, focus group discussion, and a pilot study, the initial questionnaire was developed. The questionnaire was administered to 457 patients who had undergone MBS at a tertiary hospital in Jiangsu Province, China. Its validity and reliability were evaluated using psychometric analyses. The initial questionnaire comprised 90 items. After stepwise removal of items with inadequate factor loadings, 53 items were retained, accounting for 69.54% of the total variance. The final MEBQMBS comprised 8 factors, including emotional eating (negative emotion and positive emotion subdomains), grazing behavior, food craving (positive outcome expectancy, emotional craving, and preoccupation with food subdomains), and uncontrolled eating (cognition and behavior subdomains). Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated acceptable model fit; the indices of χ2/df, goodness-of-fit index, normed fit index, incremental fit index, Tucker-Lewis index, confirmatory fit index, and root mean-square error of approximation were 1.868, 0.804, 0.884, 0.943, 0.934, 0.942, and 0.050. The item-level content validity index ranged from 0.86 to 1.00, and the scale-level content validity index with universal agreement was 0.91. The correlation between the score of MEBQMBS and the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R21 (r = 0.59, P < 0.01), Self-Rating Depression Scale (r = 0.30, P < 0.01), and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (r = 0.36, P < 0.01). MEBQMBS explained significant additional variance in percentage of excess weight loss after MBS beyond the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R21 (ΔR2 = 0.013, P = 0.039), and was significantly negatively associated with the percentage of excess weight loss (β=-0.154, P = 0.039). The McDonald's ω coefficient and Guttman's split-half coefficient of MEBQMBS were 0.97 and 0.79. MEBQMBS demonstrated excellent internal consistency and good construct validity in patients following MBS. It provides a comprehensive, population-specific tool for describing and characterizing maladaptive eating behaviors following MBS in China, with potential value for clinical assessment. This study firstly developed and validated the Maladaptive Eating Behavior Questionnaire after Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (MEBQMBS). The final 53-item MEBQMBS comprises 8 factors across 4 core dimensions: emotional eating, grazing behavior, food craving, and uncontrolled eating. MEBQMBS is a valid and reliable tool that supports detailed behavioral assessment and phenotyping of maladaptive eating behaviors after MBS, facilitating timely and tailored interventions.
Mental imagery is theorised to support important mental simulation processes, yet there remains little direct evidence of its functional impact on affective, moral, and motivation outcomes. This study examined whether the ability to generate visual mental imagery amplifies "as-if-real" responding to a mentally constructed harm event. Using a modified laboratory harm provocation paradigm, Aphantasics (individuals with no or minimal visual imagery; N = 32) and Visualisers (those with normal to high imagery ability; N = 48) were asked to write down the sentence "I hope [name of a loved one] is in a car accident", followed by instructed mental simulation of the event. The Aphantasic group reported significantly lower anxiety, guilt, moral violation, sense of responsibility and control, as well as urge to neutralise (cancel) the effects the sentence relative to the Visualiser group, but similar perceptions of event likelihood and severity. While Aphantasics were also less likely to engage in neutralisation behaviour than Visualisers, this effect reflected baseline group differences in age and thought-action fusion beliefs. Mental imagery ratings and episodic detail reports confirmed that visualisers generated more vivid and detailed representations of the imagined event. These findings support emulation theory by demonstrating that scene-based mental imagery makes mental events more real, eliciting greater "as-if-real" response. Results have implications for understanding the cognitive mechanisms involved in the development of obsessions and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and suggest that aphantasia may confer reduced vulnerability to such responses.
Waiting is a universal experience in sport, marked by distinct cognitive patterns and affective dynamics that carry psychophenomenological significance. This study investigates the psychogenesis of sport across three key dimensions of sport-preparation for participation, competitive engagement, and spectatorship-through the lens of sport behavioral science. The findings reveal three major domains of psychological processing: (1) During preparation for participation, athletes engage in psychological preparation and emotional regulation during waiting periods. Goal orientation exerts neuromodulatory effects, linguistic self-regulation enhances neural plasticity, and neural motor coding supports a stable cognitive state of readiness. Emotional regulation draws on autonomic neuromodulation strategies, models of directed cognitive resource allocation, and mechanisms of social neuroendocrine regulation. (2) During competition, athletes experience waiting through psychological strategising and stress coping. Tactical neuromodulation under pressure, neuro-metabolic resilience mechanisms, and cognitive restructuring models inform strategising. Stress coping involves neural appraisal reconstruction, sympathetic-vagal balance paradigms, and coordinated social neuroendocrine responses. (3) Concerning spectatorship, spectators' waiting experiences encompass emotional engagement and psychological resonance. Anticipatory motivation aligns with neural coding theories, empathic stress maps onto neuro-resonance models, and emotional regulation follows neuro-metabolic balancing processes. Therefore, psychological resonance emerges through neurochemical models of group identity, neural embodiment simulations, and co-activation within the social brain network.
Heart failure (HF) is frequently accompanied by cognitive and affective impairments, yet the underlying neural mechanisms of altered brain information processing in HF remain poorly defined. We applied an integrated information decomposition framework to resting-state fMRI from 48 HF patients (including HFrEF and HFmrEF, with LVEF < 50 %) and 33 matched healthy controls, quantifying synergistic and redundant information across 246 brain regions. Group differences were assessed at global and regional levels and correlated with cardiac function, cognitive performance, and affective symptoms. Neuromaps, neurotransmitter and neuropeptide receptor maps and cognition-related meta-analytic data from NeuroSynth were used to contextualize findings. HF patients exhibited significantly greater global brain synergy, with regional elevations in the thalamus, basal ganglia, and limbic-temporal areas. Altered synergistic interactions correlated with lower ejection fraction, poorer cognition, and greater depression. Spatial mapping showed negative associations between synergy and cerebral blood flow, glucose and oxygen metabolism, and microstructural integrity. Synergy patterns overlapped with the distribution of dopamine, histamine, and opioid receptors, and neuropeptides including somatostatin, vasopressin, and kinin/tensin. NeuroSynth decoding linked these patterns to memory, emotion, pain, and motor control domains. HF is characterized by distinct alterations in synergistic brain information processing that relate to cognitive-emotional impairment and show exploratory spatial correspondence with normative molecular architecture. These findings provide multimodal evidence for altered heart-brain interactions in HF.
Background and Objectives: Quality of life (QoL) is an important issue for breast cancer (BC) survivors. The objective of this study was to assess health-related QoL (HRQoL) of BC patients and investigate the impact of different demographic and clinical factors on physical and social functioning and BC-related symptoms. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 107 BC patients undergoing chemotherapy in Greece completed a questionnaire collecting sociodemographic and clinical information and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) in order to assess HRQoL. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression analyses were used to identify factors linked to HRQoL outcomes. Results: Overall, participants reported moderate HRQoL, with high physical and social functioning and moderate emotional, cognitive, and role functioning. Fatigue was the most common symptom, whereas other symptoms were generally uncommon. Multiple regression analyses showed that marital status, place of residence, time since diagnosis, and type of surgery were significantly associated with the global QLQ-C30 score (R2 = 0.337, p < 0.001). Physical functioning was associated with comorbidity burden, time since diagnosis, and employment status (R2 = 0.155, p = 0.035), and social functioning with marital status and type of surgery (R2 = 0.171, p = 0.011). Emotional functioning showed exploratory associations with place of residence and type of surgery; however, the overall regression model for emotional functioning did not reach statistical significance. No symptom model reached overall significance, but time since diagnosis, treatment type, and surgery were linked to distinct symptoms. Conclusions: BC patients undergoing chemotherapy in Greece report an overall moderate level of HRQoL, which is significantly influenced by a combination of demographic and clinical factors; physical and social functioning were high, with moderate emotional, cognitive, and role functioning. These findings highlight the importance of individualized supportive care strategies in order to improve QoL of BC patients.