A5041135886- Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
- Body Image and Dysmorphia Studies
- Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
- Action Observation and Synchronization
- Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
- Pain Management and Placebo Effect
- Face Recognition and Perception
- Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Misinformation and Its Impacts
- Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
- Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Multisensory perception and integration
- Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Paranormal Experiences and Beliefs
- Media Influence and Politics
- Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Italian Fascism and Post-war Society
- Mental Health and Psychiatry
- Neural dynamics and brain function
- Free Will and Agency
- Deception detection and forensic psychology
- Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies
- Acupuncture Treatment Research Studies
- Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence
Sapienza University of Rome
2016-2025
Fondazione Santa Lucia
2016-2025
Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico
2014-2024
Italian Institute of Technology
2019-2020
University Hospital of Zurich
2016
Significance To ensure our survival, the brain continuously estimates important homeostatic and physiological variables, such as hunger, thirst, effort levels. This estimate relies on multiple signals, most prominently interoceptive signals coming from inside body (e.g., cardiac respiratory signals). Here we tested hypothesis that providing false feedback about these produces an illusion, is a misperception of one’s own state. We show giving participants (faster) acoustic their heartbeats...
Recent theories posit that physiological signals contribute to corporeal awareness, the basic feeling one has a body (body ownership) acts according one's will agency) and occupies specific position location). Combining recordings with immersive virtual reality, we found an ecological mapping of real respiratory patterns onto illusorily changes awareness. This new way inducing bodily illusion, called "embreathment," revealed breathing is almost as important visual appearance for ownership...
Research suggests that belief in conspiracy theories (CT) stems from basic psychological mechanisms and is linked to other systems (e.g., religious beliefs). While previous research has extensively examined individual contextual variables associated with CT beliefs, it not yet investigated the role of culture. In current research, we tested, based on a situated cultural cognition perspective, extent which culture predicts beliefs. Using Hofstede's model values, three nation‐level analyses...
We combined virtual reality and multisensory bodily illusion with the aim to characterize reduce perceptual (body overestimation) cognitive-emotional dissatisfaction) components of body image distortion (BID) in anorexia nervosa (AN). For each participant (20 anorexics, 20 healthy controls) we built personalized avatars that reproduced their own size, shape, verisimilar increases losses original weight. Body overestimation dissatisfaction were measured by asking participants choose avatar...
Face individual identity recognition skill is heritable and independent of intellectual ability. Difficulties in face are present autistic individuals their family members possibly linked to oxytocin polymorphisms families with an child. While it reported that developmental prosopagnosia (i.e., impaired recognition) occurs 2-3% the general population, no prevalence estimate available for autism. Furthermore, autism within-group approach has not been towards characterizing memory investigate...
Although it is generally held that gastrointestinal (GI) signals are related to emotions, direct evidence for such a link currently lacking. One of the reasons why internal milieu GI system poorly investigated because visceral organs difficult access and monitor. To directly measure influence endoluminal markers activity on emotional experience, we asked group healthy male participants ingest pill measured pH, pressure, temperature their tract while they watched video clips consistently...
Bodily signals influence high-order cognitive and emotional processes, including social decision making. Here, we examined whether individual differences in the capacity to read from inside (interoception) outside body (exteroception) predicted participants' (dis)honesty. Deceptive behavior was measured a card game where participants were tempted lie another person for financial gain two conditions, i.e., under high vs. low risk of being seen by other player (reputation risk). Participants...
Bodily self-consciousness, the state of mind that allows humans to be aware their own body, forms backdrop for almost every human experience, yet its underpinnings remain elusive. Here we combine an ingestible, minimally invasive capsule with surface electrogastrography probe if gut physiology correlates bodily self-consciousness in a sample healthy men during virtual illusion. We discover specific patterns stomach and bowel activity (temperature, pressure, pH) covary facets (feelings body...
Interoception - the processing of internal state body has been consistently tied to well-being and mental health, which in turn have severely challenged by COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, fact that symptoms (high temperature, shortness breath, fatigue, even gastro-intestinal problems) directly alter interoceptive signals fueled people's tendency constantly check their bodily state.In this longitudinal study we tested for changes interoception psychophysiological health during different stages...
We capitalized on the respiratory bodily illusion that we discovered in a previous study and called 'Embreathment' where showed breathing modulates corporeal awareness men. Despite relevance of issue, no such studies are available women. To bridge this gap, tested whether synchronization avatar-participant respiration patterns influenced females' awareness. collected cardiac interoceptive measures, administered body (dis)satisfaction questionnaires, tracked participants' menstrual cycles via...
Experiencing tactile facial stimulation while seeing synchronous stimuli on the face of another individual induces "enfacement," i.e., subjective illusory experience ownership other's (explicit measure) and attribution others' features to one's own (implicit measure). Here we expanded previous knowledge by investigating if tendency include other into representation is influenced positive or negative interpersonal attitudes derived either from consolidated socio-cultural stereotypes newly...
Abstract Interoceptive sensitivity (IS) –the beliefs related to noticing, appraising and regulating bodily signals – Anxiety Sensitivity (AS) the tendency interpret anxiety-related symptoms negatively –have been frequently associated with psychopathology. Our goal was evaluate associations between these constructs psychopathological using network analysis. Data from 438 participants were collected online, assessing psychopathology Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90), IS Multidimensional Assessment...
One's own face and gaze are never seen directly but only in a mirror. Yet, these stimuli capture attention more powerfully than others' gaze, suggesting the self is special for brain behavior. Synchronous touches felt on one's of others induce sensation including (enfacement). We demonstrate that enfacement may also reduce overwhelming distracting power self-gaze. This effect, hereafter called 'engazement', depends perceived physical attractiveness inner beauty pair partner. Thus, we...
Body image distortion (BID) is a crucial aspect of anorexia nervosa (AN), leading to body overestimation, dissatisfaction, and low self-esteem. BID significantly influences the onset, maintenance, relapse pathology. We assessed whether Full Illusion (FBI) using under normal-weight avatars' bodies affects perceptual schema estimations in both individuals with (AN) healthy controls (HC). After each embodiment procedure, we asked participants estimate width their hips (Perceptual Image Task)...