Coricelli, C., Foroni, F. & Rumiati, R.I. Doctor ‘Natural food’ and Mister ‘Transformed’: How explicit and implicit evaluations depend on food type. Submitted to Quaterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (under review).
The estimates we do of the energy content of different foods tend to be inaccurate, depending on several factors. The elements influencing such evaluation are related to the differences in the portion size of the foods shown, their energy density (kcal/g), but also to individual differences of the estimators, such as their body-mass index (BMI) or eating habits. Within this context the contribution of brain regions involved in food-related decisions to the energy estimation process is still poorly understood.
Over-imitation refers to the human tendency to imitate actions with such high fidelity, that even irrelevant action steps are reproduced to the expenses of task efficiency. A couple of studies have evaluated the pattern of over-imitation in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) but contradictory results were reported. In the present study we employed a two-method approach paradigm and directly tested whether the availability of causal information could explain the disparate findings reported.
Visual recognition of objects may rely on different features depending on the category to which they belong. Recognizing natural objects, such as fruits and plants, weighs more on their perceptual attributes, whereas recognizing man-made objects, such as tools or vehicles, weighs more upon the functions and actions they enable. Edible objects are perceptually rich but also prepared for specific functions, therefore it is unclear how perceptual and functional attributes affect their recognition.
Alexithymia is a psychological construct characterized by deficits in processing emotional stimuli. However, little is known about the processing of odours in alexithymia, even though there is extensive proof that emotion and olfaction are closely linked. The present study is aimed at investigating how alexithymic individuals process emotions conveyed by odors.
Introduction: Moral dilemmas are a common tool in moral decision-making research. However, they are often hardly comparable across languages and cultures. Here, we propose a methodology to adapt, convert and test moral dilemmas in languages diff erent from English, by outlining the process followed for the creation of the comprehensive 4CONFiDe set.
American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease & Other Dementias
Date:
14 June, 2017
Parkinson disease (PD) is not an unambiguous entity, and there is a general consensus for the statement that an akinetic-rigid dominant type of presentation has a worse prognosis, in the follow-up. The aim of our study was to examine the differences in frontal tasks and behavior, in 2 PD naive groups: the rigid and the tremor-dominant types of presentation, according to motor scores.
Weight gain has been reported after deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS), a widely used treatment for Parkinson's disease (PD). This nucleus has been repeatedly found to be linked both to reward and to inhibitory control, two key aspects in the control of food intake. In this study, we assessed whether weight gain experienced by patients with PD after STN-DBS, might be due to an alteration of reward and inhibitory functions.
Hypotheses are the first step in scientific and clinical enquiry. They guide all of the subsequent steps in an investigation, and influence data collection, analysis, and interpretation. But how do we build scientific and clinical hypotheses? In both research and clinical contexts, a professional’s idiosyncratic way of perceiving reality, her prejudices and biases will influence the process of hypothesis formulation.
Language and emotions are closely linked. However, previous research suggests that this link is stronger in a native language (L1) than in a second language (L2) that had been learned later in life. The present study investigates whether such reduced emotionality in L2 is reflected in changes in emotional memory and embodied responses to L2 in comparison to L1. Late Spanish/English bilinguals performed a memory task involving an encoding and a surprise retrieval phase. Facial motor resonance and skin conductance (SC) responses were recorded during encoding.
The role of emotional processes in driving moral choices remains debated. In particular, diminished emotional processing and reduced empathy have been associated with unusual high rates of utilitarian responses in moral judgments while, to date, the effects of diminished emotional processing and empathy on moral decision-making have been only partially considered. In this study, we investigated the influence of empathy and alexithymia on behavior and emotional responses while participants performed a moral decision task.
Meta-analytic evidence showed that the chemical senses affect moral decisions. However, how odours impact on morality is currently unclear. Through a set of three studies, we assess whether and how odour intensity biases moral choices (Study 1a), its psychophysiological responses (Study 1b), as well as the behavioural and psychophysiological effects of odour valence on moral choices (Study 2). Study 1a suggests that the presence of an odour plays a role in shaping moral choice.
Foroni, F., Vignando, M., Aiello, M., Parma, V., Paoletti, M. G., Squartini, A., & Rumiati, R. I. (2016). The Smell of Terroir! Olfactory Discrimination between Wines of different Grape Variety and different Terroir. Food Quality and Preference.
Ihssen N, Sokunbi M.O., Lawrence AD, Lawrence NS, Linden DEJ. (2016). Neurofeedback of visual food cue reactivity: a potential avenue to alter incentive sensitization and craving. Brain Imaging and Behavior. DOI 10.1007/s11682-016-9558-x
Rumiati, R.I. Carmo, J.C. & Corradi-Dell’Acqua, C. (2009). Neuropsychological perspectives on the mechanisms of imitation. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 364, 2337-47.
Tomasino, B., Skrap, M. & Rumiati, R.I. (2011). The role of the human motor hand area in mental rotation: Neuropsychological Evidence. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 23, 2068-78.
