104 research outputs found
Poetry in Pandemic: A Multimodal Neuroaesthetic Study on the Emotional Reaction to the Divina Commedia Poem
Poetry elicits emotions, and emotion is a fundamental component of human ontogeny.
Although neuroaesthetics is a rapidly developing field of research, few studies focus on poetry, and
none address its different modalities of fruition (MOF) of universal cultural heritage works, such as
the Divina Commedia (DC) poem. Moreover, alexithymia (AX) resulted in being a psychological
risk factor during the Covid-19 pandemic. The present study aims to investigate the emotional
response to poetry excerpts from different cantica (Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso) of DC with the
dual objective of assessing the impact of both the structure of the poem and MOF and that of the
characteristics of the acting voice in experts and non-experts, also considering AX. Online emotion
facial coding biosignal (BS) techniques, self-reported and psychometric measures were applied to
131 literary (LS) and scientific (SS) university students. BS results show that LS globally manifest
more JOY than SS in both reading and listening MOF and more FEAR towards Inferno. Furthermore,
LS and SS present different results regarding NEUTRAL emotion about acting voice. AX influences
listening in NEUTRAL and SURPRISE expressions. DC’s structure affects DISGUST and SADNESS
during listening, regardless of participant characteristics. PLEASANTNESS varies according to
DC’s structure and the acting voice, as well as AROUSAL, which is also correlated with AX. Results
are discussed in light of recent findings in affective neuroscience and neuroaesthetics, suggesting
the critical role of poetry and listening in supporting human emotional processing
NeuroDante: Poetry Mentally Engages More Experts but Moves More Non-Experts, and for Both the Cerebral Approach Tendency Goes Hand in Hand with the Cerebral Effort
Neuroaesthetics, the science studying the biological underpinnings of aesthetic experience,
recently extended its area of investigation to literary art; this was the humus where neurocognitive
poetics blossomed. Divina Commedia represents one of the most important, famous and studied
poems worldwide. Poetry stimuli are characterized by elements (meter and rhyme) promoting
the processing fluency, a core aspect of neuroaesthetics theories. In addition, given the evidence
of different neurophysiological reactions between experts and non-experts in response to artistic
stimuli, the aim of the present study was to investigate, in poetry, a different neurophysiological
cognitive and emotional reaction between Literature (L) and Non-Literature (NL) students. A further
aim was to investigate whether neurophysiological underpinnings would support explanation of
behavioral data. Investigation methods employed: self-report assessments (recognition, appreciation,
content recall) and neurophysiological indexes (approach/withdrawal (AW), cerebral effort (CE)
and galvanic skin response (GSR)). The main behavioral results, according to fluency theories in
aesthetics, suggested in the NL but not in the L group that the appreciation/liking went hand by
hand with the self-declared recognition and with the content recall. The main neurophysiological
results were: (i) higher galvanic skin response in NL, whilst higher CE values in L; (ii) a positive
correlation between AW and CE indexes in both groups. The present results extended previous
evidence relative to figurative art also to auditory poetry stimuli, suggesting an emotional attenuation
“expertise-specific” showed by experts, but increased cognitive processing in response to the stimuli
A simplified genomic profiling approach predicts outcome in metastatic colorectal cancer
The response of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) to the first-line conventional combination therapy is highly variable, reflecting the elevated heterogeneity of the disease. The genetic alterations underlying this heterogeneity have been thoroughly characterized through omic approaches requiring elevated efforts and costs. In order to translate the knowledge of CRC molecular heterogeneity into a practical clinical approach, we utilized a simplified Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) based platform to screen a cohort of 77 patients treated with first-line conventional therapy. Samples were sequenced using a panel of hotspots and targeted regions of 22 genes commonly involved in CRC. This revealed 51 patients carrying actionable gene mutations, 22 of which carried druggable alterations. These mutations were frequently associated with additional genetic alterations. To take into account this molecular complexity and assisted by an unbiased bioinformatic analysis, we defined three subgroups of patients carrying distinct molecular patterns. We demonstrated these three molecular subgroups are associated with a different response to first-line conventional combination therapies. The best outcome was achieved in patients exclusively carrying mutations on TP53 and/or RAS genes. By contrast, in patients carrying mutations in any of the other genes, alone or associated with mutations of TP53/RAS, the expected response is much worse compared to patients with exclusive TP53/RAS mutations. Additionally, our data indicate that the standard approach has limited efficacy in patients without any mutations in the genes included in the panel. In conclusion, we identified a reliable and easy-to-use approach for a simplified molecular-based stratification of mCRC patients that predicts the efficacy of the first-line conventional combination therapy
ERAP1 promotes Hedgehog-dependent tumorigenesis by controlling USP47-mediated degradation of βTrCP.
The Hedgehog (Hh) pathway is essential for embryonic development and tissue homeostasis. Aberrant Hh signaling may occur in a wide range of human cancers, such as medulloblastoma, the most common brain malignancy in childhood. Here, we identify endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 1 (ERAP1), a key regulator of innate and adaptive antitumor immune responses, as a previously unknown player in the Hh signaling pathway. We demonstrate that ERAP1 binds the deubiquitylase enzyme USP47, displaces the USP47-associated βTrCP, the substrate-receptor subunit of the SCFβTrCP ubiquitin ligase, and promotes βTrCP degradation. These events result in the modulation of Gli transcription factors, the final effectors of the Hh pathway, and the enhancement of Hh activity. Remarkably, genetic or pharmacological inhibition of ERAP1 suppresses Hh-dependent tumor growth in vitro and in vivo. Our findings unveil an unexpected role for ERAP1 in cancer and indicate ERAP1 as a promising therapeutic target for Hh-driven tumors
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