The grasping side of post-error slowing

“Errare humanum est, sed in errore perseverare diabolicum” is probably one of the most famous quote by Seneca. The central message of this quote is that humans are error-prone by nature, and that immediate steps need to be taken to ensure that the same errors are avoided in the future. Indeed, reacting efficiently to our errors is a fundamental ability to interact with the outside world. For this reason, error reactivity is the focus of a growing body of research in cognitive neuroscience. In this respect, the study of the brain mechanisms underlying error processing has greatly advanced in the last few years. The discovery of specific event-related potentials, such as the error-related negativity (ERN), and of neural networks associated to error commission have contributed to our understanding of the processes taking place after error commission. If, on the one hand, the findings obtained in neuroimaging studies on error processing seem to be robust and consistent, on the other hand how such neural activity translates into a differential movement pattern has yet to be fully understood. So far what is known is that people tend to respond more slowly after making an error, an effect termed post-error slowing (PES; Rabbitt, 1966). PES has been traditionally hypothesized to reflect a strategic increase in response caution, aimed at preventing the occurrence of new errors. This interpretation of PES, however, has been challenged on multiple fronts. Firstly, recent investigations have suggested that errors may produce a decrement in performance accuracy and that PES might occur because error processing has a detrimental effect on subsequent information processing. Secondly, this research has been criticized because of the limited ecological validity of speeded RT tasks. The present work aims to extend previous literature by investigating for the first time the post-error effect in the context of realistic goal-directed actions. For this purpose I examined the effect of errors on both the preparation and the execution of reach-to-grasp movements. The introductory section of this thesis will focus on some of the most important empirical data acquired during the last years of research in experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience regarding error-reactivity. In Chapter 1, after a detailed introduction to behavioral adjustments following errors (sections 1.1 and 1.2), a set of neuroimaging studies investigating the neural mechanisms underlying error-reactivity will be exposed (section 1.3). Then, I shall review the most important theoretical accounts of error-reactivity (section 1.5). In Chapter 2, I shall introduce the experimental window used to explore PES in the context of goal directed actions, namely the reach to grasp movement. The second part of the present thesis concerns the experimental work I undertook. Chapter 3 provides a description of the general methodology common to the entire experimental work. In the first experiment (Chapter 4) a novel task to study error-reactivity will be described. Participants were asked to reach out and grasp a steel ball positioned upon a wooden support, without knock it over. In addition to RTs, a kinematical analysis was performed in order to asses if error-reactivity extends at the level of movement execution. In a subsequent experiment (Chapter 5), a similar paradigm was adopted, but the task was chiefly concerned with a reaching movement. This experiment was ran with the specific aim to investigate whether error-reactivity has a different impact on the grasping and the reaching components or whether it produces an unspecific slowdown of the whole movement. In Chapter 6, I shall describe an experiment in which kinematical analysis was coupled with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in order to measure corticospinal excitability after an error and whether behavioral and neural measures do correlate in such circumstances. In a further experiment (Chapter 7) the effect of error observation on the reach-to-grasp movement was examined via kinematical analysis. A general discussion (Chapter 8), contextualizing the results obtained by the studies presented in the present thesis will follow. Overall, these studies will help to understand how error-reactivity influence our behavior and the way errors are interpreted and evaluated by the human mind

Validation of the Italian Versions of the Flourishing Scale and of the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience

Researchers are divided between those who consider well-being as a single global construct and those who maintain the need to keep the hedonic and eudaimonic components of well-being separate. Diener et al. proposed two separate scales for measuring well-being: the Flourishing Scale (FS) for eudaimonic well-being and the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE) for hedonic well-being. The aim of this article is to validate the Italian versions of the FS and SPANE, and to provide support for the usefulness of distinct measures of well-being components. In Study 1, we examined an Italian undergraduate student sample ( n = 684), whereas in Study 2 we considered two samples of unemployed ( n = 282) and healthy control individuals ( n = 426). Through multigroup confirmatory factor analysis, we demonstrated that the Italian FS and SPANE obtained strict measurement invariance across administration methods (paper-and-pencil and Internet) and strong measurement invariance across different groups (unemployed individuals seeking work and a healthy control group). In our data, we found a superior fit for a two-factor model over a one-factor model of well-being, which suggests the utility of separate measures of well-being components. Concurrent validity was verified with other well-being, depression, and anxiety measures. Furthermore, we showed that flourishing is more strongly related to the cognitive component of subjective well-being than hedonic affect. In summary, the Italian FS and SPANE are reliable and valid instruments, and may be beneficial in their applications in future Italian studies on well-being

Validation of the Italian Versions of the Flourishing Scale and of the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience

Researchers are divided between those who consider well-being as a single global construct and those who maintain the need to keep the hedonic and eudaimonic components of well-being separate. Diener et al. proposed two separate scales for measuring well-being: the Flourishing Scale (FS) for eudaimonic well-being and the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE) for hedonic well-being. The aim of this article is to validate the Italian versions of the FS and SPANE, and to provide support for the usefulness of distinct measures of well-being components. In Study 1, we examined an Italian undergraduate student sample ( n = 684), whereas in Study 2 we considered two samples of unemployed ( n = 282) and healthy control individuals ( n = 426). Through multigroup confirmatory factor analysis, we demonstrated that the Italian FS and SPANE obtained strict measurement invariance across administration methods (paper-and-pencil and Internet) and strong measurement invariance across different groups (unemployed individuals seeking work and a healthy control group). In our data, we found a superior fit for a two-factor model over a one-factor model of well-being, which suggests the utility of separate measures of well-being components. Concurrent validity was verified with other well-being, depression, and anxiety measures. Furthermore, we showed that flourishing is more strongly related to the cognitive component of subjective well-being than hedonic affect. In summary, the Italian FS and SPANE are reliable and valid instruments, and may be beneficial in their applications in future Italian studies on well-being

Carcere, attività fisica e rieducazione: ruolo e potenzialità pedagogiche dell’educazione al “fair play” nello sport carcerario

Sport is an integral part of the rehabilitation path that prison convicts follow during their detention, but the potential of this tool is probably not exploited the way it should be.In this study, ‘fair play’ was promoted as an educational tool –a behaviour model socially rewarded– and its impact on unsporting conduct of 22 convicts was assessed monitoring the fouls committed in 20 5-a-side football matches.The comparison of the fouls committed during the 10 matches played before and the 10 played after the educational activities showed a significant decrease in the total foul count and in voluntary fouls.These results stress the positive potentiality sport has in fostering socially accepted conducts –aiming at the rehabilitation in society– of convicts who attended specific educational courses.In ambito carcerario l’attività sportiva è parte integrante degli strumenti che affiancano i detenuti nel percorso di reinserimento nella società, ma le potenzialità di questo strumento sono forse poco sfruttate.In questo studio è stato attuato un intervento educativo di promozione del “fair play”, come modello comportamentale socialmente premiato, e ne sono stati valutati gli effetti sui comportamenti antisportivi messi in atto da 22 detenuti durante 20 partite di Calcio a 5. Il raffronto tra i falli commessi nelle 10 partite precedenti l’intervento e nelle 10 successive ha rivelato una significativa riduzione dei falli totali e dei falli volontari oltre che del numero totale di infortuni e dei tempi di interruzione di gioco.Questi risultati evidenziano la possibilità di potenziare, mediante semplici interventi pedagogici mirati, gli effetti positivi dello sport ai fini dell’adozione dei comportamenti socialmente accettati che stanno alla base del reinserimento nella società civile

Inhibitory effects of agmatine on monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity: Reconciling the discrepancies

Abstract Agmatine has been functionally characterized as an important hormone and co-neurotransmitter in mammals. Given its ability in binding Imidazoline sites, a regolatory site of monoaminoxydase, it has been suggested to be involved in many neurological aspects. However, its inhibitory effect on this enzyme still remains an unanswered question. This present study is aimed to asses whether different experimental conditions could affect the agmatine action on monoaminoxydase activity. We demonstrate that the monoaminoxydase inhibition by agmatine is obtained under alkaline conditions and a long time of incubation. No inhibitiory action was found for shorter times of reaction at elevated pH, or at neutral condition and long time of incubation. No inhibition was also detected by substituting the monoamineoxydase substrate tyramine with kynuramine, however, while in these conditions a remarkable inhibition was shown by two aminoxydase inhibitors tranylcypromine and idazoxan. Herein, we discuss a mechanism model and the functional consequences of agmatine action on monoaminoxydase

Localization of nuclear actin in nuclear lipid microdomains of liver and hepatoma cells: Possible involvement of sphingomyelin metabolism

Nuclear actin has been implicated in different nuclear functions. In this work, its localization in nuclear membrane, chromatin and nuclear lipid microdomains was investigated. The implication of sphingomyelin metabolism was studied. Nuclear membrane, chromatin and nuclear lipid microdomains were purified from hepatocyte nuclei and H35 human hepatoma cell nuclei. The presence of \u3b2-actin was analyzed with immunoblotting by using specific antibodies. Sphingomyelinase, sphingomyelin-synthase, and phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C activities were assayed by using radioactivity sphingomyelin and phosphatidylcholine as substrate. The results showed that \u3b2-actin is localized in nuclear lipid microdomains and it increases in cancer cells. Evidence is provided to the difference of phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin metabolism in various subnuclear fractions of cancer cell nuclei compared with normal cells. Our findings show increase of sphingomyelin-synthase and inhibition of sphingomyelinase activity only in nuclear lipid microdomains. Nuclear lipid microdomains, constituted by phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin and cholesterol, play a role as platform for \u3b2-actin anchoring. Possible role of sphingomyelin metabolism in cancer cells is discussed

Growth and glycemic control in children with type 1 diabetes and asymptomatic celiac disease treated with a gluten -free diet for 1 year

To compare growth and glycemic control in children with type 1 diabetes and silent celiac disease treated with a gluten-free diet for 1 year with those of similar age and gender with type 1 diabetes but without celiac disease, 16 type 1 diabetes patients with silent celiac disease were enrolled and each celiac disease-positive case was matched for age, sex, and duration of diabetes with two type 1 diabetes controls with negative serologic markers of celiac disease. All 16 children with positive celiac disease serology had histologic features consistent with celiac disease despite the absence of symptoms. The mean growth and metabolic control values were similar between children with type 1 diabetes and celiac disease and those with type 1 diabetes but without celiac disease. This study seems to suggest that the early diagnosis of celiac disease and initiation of a gluten-free diet may prevent further deterioration in the nutritional status of children with type 1 diabetes and celiac disease and may reduce the prospect of celiac disease complications without any impact on type 1 diabetes control

Flash Glucose Monitoring: A Review of the Literature with a Special Focus on Type 1 Diabetes

In people with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), obtaining good glycemic control is essential to reduce the risk of acute and chronic complications. Frequent glucose monitoring allows the adjustment of insulin therapy to improve metabolic control with near-normal blood glucose concentrations. The recent development of innovative technological devices for the management of T1DM provides new opportunities for patients and health care professionals to improve glycemic control and quality of life. Currently, in addition to traditional self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) through a glucometer, there are new strategies to measure glucose levels, including the detection of interstitial glucose through Continuous Glucose Monitoring (iCGM) or Flash Glucose Monitoring (FGM). In this review, we analyze current evidence on the efficacy and safety of FGM, with a special focus on T1DM. FGM is an effective tool with great potential for the management of T1DM both in the pediatric and adult population that can help patients to improve metabolic control and quality of life. Although FGM might not be included in the development of an artificial pancreas and some models of iCGM are more accurate than FGM and preferable in some specific situations, FGM represents a cheaper and valid alternative for selected patients. In fact, FGM provides significantly more data than the intermittent results obtained by SMBG, which may not capture intervals of extreme variability or nocturnal events. With the help of a log related to insulin doses, meal intake, physical activity and stress factors, people can achieve the full benefits of FGM and work together with health care professionals to act upon the information provided by the sensor. The graphs and trends available with FGM better allow an understanding of how different factors (e.g., physical activity, diet) impact glycemic control, consequently motivating patients to take charge of their health

Structure of the motor descending pathways correlates with the temporal kinematics of hand movements

Simple Summary: How hand motor behavior relates to the microstructure of the underlying subcortical white matter pathways is yet to be fully understood. Here we consider two well-known examples of our everyday motor repertoire, reaching and reach-to-grasp, by looking at their temporal unfolding and at the microstructure of descending projection pathways, conveying motor information from the motor cortices towards the more ventral regions of the nervous system. We combine three-dimensional kinematics, describing the temporal profile of hand movements, with diffusion imaging tractography, exploring the microstructure of specific segments of the projection pathways (internal capsule, corticospinal and hand motor tracts). The results indicate that the level of anisotropy characterizing these white matter tracts can influence the temporal unfolding of reaching and reach-to-grasp movements. Abstract: The projection system, a complex organization of ascending and descending white matter pathways, is the principal system for conveying sensory and motor information, connecting frontal and sensorimotor regions with ventral regions of the central nervous system. The corticospinal tract (CST), one of the principal projection pathways, carries distal movement-related information from the cortex to the spinal cord, and whether its microstructure is linked to the kinematics of hand movements is still an open question. The aim of the present study was to explore how microstructure of descending branches of the projection system, namely the hand motor tract (HMT), the corticospinal tract (CST) and its sector within the internal capsule (IC), can relate to the temporal profile of reaching and reach-to-grasp movements. Projection pathways of 31 healthy subjects were virtually dissected by means of diffusion tractography and the kinematics of reaching and reach-to-grasp movements were also analyzed. A positive association between Hindrance Modulated Orientation Anisotropy (HMOA) and kinematics was observed, suggesting that anisotropy of the considered tract can influence the temporal unfolding of motor performance. We highlight, for the first time, that hand kinematics and the visuomotor transformation processes underlying reaching and reach-to-grasp movements relate to the microstructure of specific projection fibers subserving these movements

Comparison of sampling bags for the analysis of volatile organic compounds in breath

Nalophan, Tedlar and Cali-5-Bond polymeric bags were compared to determine the most suitable type for breath sampling and storage when volatile organic compounds are to be determined. Analyses were performed by thermal desorption gas chromatography mass spectrometry. For each bag, the release of contaminants and the chemical stability of a gaseous standard mixture containing eighteen organic compounds, as well as the CO2 partial pressure were assessed. The selected compounds were representative of breath constituents and belonged to different chemical classes (i.e. hydrocarbons, ketones, aldehydes, aromatics, sulfurs and esters). In the case of Nalophan, the influence of the surface-to-volume ratio, related to the bag's filling degree, on the chemical stability was also evaluated. Nalophan bags were found to be the most suitable in terms of contaminants released during storage (only 2-methyl-1,3-dioxalane), good sample stability (up to 24 h for both dry and humid samples), and very limited costs (about 1 for a 20 liter bag). The (film) surface-to-(sample) volume ratio was found to be an important factor affecting the stability of selected compounds, and therefore we recommended to fill the bag completely