The neural underpinnings of vicarious experience

Everyday we vicariously experience a range of states that we observe in other people: we may "feel" embarrassed when witnessing another making a social faux pas, or we may feel sadness when we see a loved one upset. In some cases this process appears to be implicit. For instance, observing pain in others may activate pain-related neural processes but without generating an overt feeling of pain. In other cases, people report a more literal, conscious sharing of affective or somatic states and this has sometimes been described as representing an extreme form of empathy. By contrast, there appear to be some people who are limited in their ability to vicariously experience the states of others. This may be the case in several psychiatric, neurodevelopmental, and personality disorders where deficits in interpersonal understanding are observed, such as schizophrenia, autism, and psychopathy. In recent decades, neuroscientists have paid significant attention to the understanding of the “social brain,” and the way in which neural processes govern our understanding of other people. In this Research Topic, we wish to contribute towards this understanding and ask for the submission of manuscripts focusing broadly on the neural underpinnings of vicarious experience. This may include theoretical discussion, case studies, and empirical investigation using behavioural techniques, electrophysiology, brain stimulation, and neuroimaging in both healthy and clinical populations. Of specific interest will be the neural correlates of individual differences in traits such as empathy, how we distinguish between ourselves and other people, and the sensorimotor resonant mechanisms that may allow us to put ourselves in another's shoes

Is body dysmorphic disorder associated with abnormal bodily self-awareness? A study using the rubber hand illusion.

Evidence from past research suggests that behaviours and characteristics related to body dissatisfaction may be associated with greater instability of perceptual body image, possibly due to problems in the integration of body-related multisensory information. We investigated whether people with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), a condition characterised by body image disturbances, demonstrated enhanced susceptibility to the rubber hand illusion (RHI), which arises as a result of multisensory integration processes when a rubber hand and the participant\u27s hidden real hand are stimulated in synchrony. Overall, differences in RHI experience between the BDD group and healthy and schizophrenia control groups (n = 17 in each) were not significant. RHI strength, however, was positively associated with body dissatisfaction and related tendencies. For the healthy control group, proprioceptive drift towards the rubber hand was observed following synchronous but not asynchronous stimulation, a typical pattern when inducing the RHI. Similar drifts in proprioceptive awareness occurred for the BDD group irrespective of whether stimulation was synchronous or not. These results are discussed in terms of possible abnormalities in visual processing and multisensory integration among people with BDD

Primary Motor Cortex Excitability Is Modulated during the Mental Simulation of Hand Movement

Special issue: Motor cognitio

Key Components of Antenatal Lifestyle Interventions to Optimize Gestational Weight Gain: Secondary Analysis of a Systematic Review

Importance: Randomized clinical trials have found that antenatal lifestyle interventions optimize gestational weight gain (GWG) and pregnancy outcomes. However, key components of successful interventions for implementation have not been systematically identified. Objective: To evaluate intervention components using the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) framework to inform implementation of antenatal lifestyle interventions in routine antenatal care. Data Sources: Included studies were drawn from a recently published systematic review on the efficacy of antenatal lifestyle interventions for optimizing GWG. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Health Technology Assessment Database, MEDLINE, and Embase were searched from January 1990 to May 2020. Study Selection: Randomized clinical trials examining efficacy of antenatal lifestyle interventions in optimizing GWG were included. Data Extraction and Synthesis: Random effects meta-analyses were used to evaluate the association of intervention characteristics with efficacy of antenatal lifestyle interventions in optimizing GWG. The results are reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses reporting guideline. Data extraction was performed by 2 independent reviewers. Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcome was mean GWG. Measures included characteristics of antenatal lifestyle interventions comprising domains related to theoretical framework, material, procedure, facilitator (allied health staff, medical staff, or researcher), delivery format (individual or group), mode, location, gestational age at commencement (<20 wk or ≥20 wk), number of sessions (low [1-5 sessions], moderate [6-20 sessions], and high [≥21 sessions]), duration (low [1-12 wk], moderate [13-20 wk], and high [≥21 wk]), tailoring, attrition, and adherence. For all mean differences (MDs), the reference group was the control group (ie, usual care). Results: Overall, 99 studies with 34546 pregnant individuals were included with differential effective intervention components found according to intervention type. Broadly, interventions delivered by an allied health professional were associated with a greater decrease in GWG compared with those delivered by other facilitators (MD, -1.36 kg; 95% CI, -1.71 to -1.02 kg; P <.001). Compared with corresponding subgroups, dietary interventions with an individual delivery format (MD, -3.91 kg; 95% CI -5.82 to -2.01 kg; P =.002) and moderate number of sessions (MD, -4.35 kg; 95% CI -5.80 to -2.89 kg; P <.001) were associated with the greatest decrease in GWG. Physical activity and mixed behavioral interventions had attenuated associations with GWG. These interventions may benefit from an earlier commencement and a longer duration for more effective optimization of GWG. Conclusions and Relevance: These findings suggest that pragmatic research may be needed to test and evaluate effective intervention components to inform implementation of interventions in routine antenatal care for broad public health benefit.

Emotion recognition of static and dynamic faces in autism spectrum disorder

There is substantial evidence for facial emotion recognition (FER) deficits in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The extent of this impairment, however, remains unclear, and there is some suggestion that clinical groups might benefit from the use of dynamic rather than static images. High-functioning individuals with ASD (n = 36) and typically developing controls (n = 36) completed a computerised FER task involving static and dynamic expressions of the six basic emotions. The ASD group showed poorer overall performance in identifying anger and disgust and were disadvantaged by dynamic (relative to static) stimuli when presented with sad expressions. Among both groups, however, dynamic stimuli appeared to improve recognition of anger. This research provides further evidence of specific impairment in the recognition of negative emotions in ASD, but argues against any broad advantages associated with the use of dynamic displays

Investigating mirror system (MS) activity in adults with ASD when inferring others\u27 intentions using both TMS and EEG

ASD is associated with mentalizing deficits that may correspond with atypical mirror system (MS) activation. We investigated MS activity in adults with and without ASD when inferring others&rsquo; intentions using TMS-induced motor evoked potentials (MEPs) and mu suppression measured by EEG. Autistic traits were measured for all participants. Our EEG data show, high levels of autistic traits predicted reduced right mu (8&ndash;10 Hz) suppression when mentalizing. Higher left mu (8&ndash;10 Hz) suppression was associated with superior mentalizing performances. Eye-tracking and TMS data showed no differences associated with autistic traits. Our data suggest ASD is associated with reduced right MS activity when mentalizing, TMS-induced MEPs and mu suppression measure different aspects of MS functioning and the MS is directly involved in inferring intentions

Pharmacoepidemiology and costs of medications dispensed during pregnancy: A retrospective population‐based study

First published: 11 April 2023. OnlinePublObjective: To describe the pharmacoepidemiology and costs associated with medications dispensed during pregnancy. Design: Pharmacoepidemiological study and cost analysis. Setting: Queensland, Australia. Population: All women who gave birth in Queensland between January 2013 and June 2018. Methods: We used a whole-of- population linked administrative dataset, Maternity 1000, to describe medications approved for public subsidy that were dispensed to 255 408 pregnant women. We describe the volume of medications dispensed and their associated costs from a Government and patient perspective. Main outcome measures: Prevalence of medication use; proportion of total dispensings; total medication costs in AUD 2020/21 ($1AUD =$0.67USD/£0.55GBP in December 2022). Results: During pregnancy, 61% (95% CI 60.96–61.29%) of women were dispensed at least one medication approved for public subsidy. The mean number of items dispensed per pregnancy increased from 2.14 (95% CI 2.11–2.17) in 2013 to 2.47 (95% CI 2.44–2.51) in 2017; an increase of 15%. Furthermore, mean Government cost per dispensing increased by 41% from $21.60 (95$20.99–$22.20) in 2013 to$30.44 (95% CI $29.38–$ 31.49) in 2017. These factors influenced the 53% increase in total Government expenditure observed for medication use during pregnancy between 2013 and 2017 ($2,834,227 versus$4,324,377); a disproportionate rise compared with the 17% rise in women's total out-of- pocket expenses observed over the same timeframe ($1,880,961 versus$2,204,415). Conclusions: Prevalence of medication use in pregnancy is rising and is associated with disproportionate and rapidly escalating cost implications for the Government.H. Jackson, L. E. Grzeskowiak, J. Enticott, E. Callande

Externally validated prediction models for pre‐eclampsia:systematic review and meta‐analysis

Objective: This systematic review and meta‐analysis aimed to evaluate the performance of existing externally validated prediction models for pre‐eclampsia (PE) (specifically, any‐onset, early‐onset, late‐onset and preterm PE). Methods: A systematic search was conducted in five databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Emcare, CINAHL and Maternity &amp; Infant Care Database) and using Google Scholar/reference search to identify studies based on the Population, Index prediction model, Comparator, Outcome, Timing and Setting (PICOTS) approach until 20 May 2023. We extracted data using the CHARMS checklist and appraised the risk of bias using the PROBAST tool. A meta‐analysis of discrimination and calibration performance was conducted when appropriate. Results: Twenty‐three studies reported 52 externally validated prediction models for PE (one preterm, 20 any‐onset, 17 early‐onset and 14 late‐onset PE models). No model had the same set of predictors. Fifteen any‐onset PE models were validated externally once, two were validated twice and three were validated three times, while the Fetal Medicine Foundation (FMF) competing‐risks model for preterm PE prediction was validated widely in 16 different settings. The most common predictors were maternal characteristics (prepregnancy body mass index, prior PE, family history of PE, chronic medical conditions and ethnicity) and biomarkers (uterine artery pulsatility index and pregnancy‐associated plasma protein‐A). The FMF model for preterm PE (triple test plus maternal factors) had the best performance, with a pooled area under the receiver‐operating‐characteristics curve (AUC) of 0.90 (95% prediction interval (PI), 0.76–0.96), and was well calibrated. The other models generally had poor‐to‐good discrimination performance (median AUC, 0.66 (range, 0.53–0.77)) and were overfitted on external validation. Apart from the FMF model, only two models that were validated multiple times for any‐onset PE prediction, which were based on maternal characteristics only, produced reasonable pooled AUCs of 0.71 (95% PI, 0.66–0.76) and 0.73 (95% PI, 0.55–0.86). Conclusions: Existing externally validated prediction models for any‐, early‐ and late‐onset PE have limited discrimination and calibration performance, and include inconsistent input variables. The triple‐test FMF model had outstanding discrimination performance in predicting preterm PE in numerous settings, but the inclusion of specialized biomarkers may limit feasibility and implementation outside of high‐resource settings. © 2023 The Authors. Ultrasound in Obstetrics &amp; Gynecology published by John Wiley &amp; Sons Ltd on behalf of International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology

Modeling the Maturation of Grip Selection Planning and Action Representation: Insights from Typical and Atypical Motor Development

We investigated the purported association between developmental changes in grip selection planning and improvements in an individual’s capacity to represent action at an internal level (i.e., motor imagery). Participants were groups of healthy children aged 6-7 years and 8-12 years respectively, while a group of adolescents (13-17 years) and adults (18-34 years) allowed for consideration of childhood development in the broader context of motor maturation. A group of children aged 8-12 years with probable DCD (pDCD) was included as a reference group for atypical motor development. Participants’ proficiency to generate and/or engage internal action representations was inferred from performance on the hand rotation task, a well-validated measure of motor imagery. A grip selection task designed to elicit the end-state comfort (ESC) effect provided a window into the integrity of grip selection planning. Consistent with earlier accounts, the efficiency of grip selection planning followed a non-linear developmental progression in neurotypical individuals. As expected, analysis confirmed that these developmental improvements were predicted by an increased capacity to generate and/or engage internal action representations. The profile of this association remained stable throughout the (typical) developmental spectrum. These findings are consistent with computational accounts of action planning that argue that internal action representations are associated with the expression and development of grip selection planning across typical development. However, no such association was found for our sample of children with pDCD, suggesting that individuals with atypical motor skill may adopt an alternative, sub-optimal strategy to plan their grip selection compared to their same-age control peers