Ricerc@Sapienza

In the wake of multiple observations arising from diverse corners of physiological and molecular genetics, the onslaught of
epigenetic changes, gene x environment interaction, under current appearances requires rendition for purposes of displaying
both performance augmentation, amelioration of structural-functional impairment and the promotion of resilience manifested
by the lasting health benefits that arise from regular and consistent physical exercise. The notion that individuals, who

We used structural equation modeling to study individual age-related differences in working memory, processing speed, and the general ability of intelligence. The study took advantage of the Italian Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale 4th edition (WAIS-IV) standardization sample (N=2174) to obtain separate measures of working memory, processing speed, and general ability. Core and supplemental subtests were administered to 16–90 years old participants to ensure breadth of cognitive assessment and broad age coverage.

Little is known about epistemic motivations affecting political ideology when people make environmental decisions. In two studies, we examined the key role that political ideology played in the relationship between need for cognitive closure (NCC) and self-reported ecofriendly behavior. Study 1: 279 participants completed the NCC, pro-environmental, and political ideology measures. Mediation analyses showed that NCC was related to less pro-environmental behavior through more right-wing political ideology.

Sleep has a crucial role in brain functioning and cognition, and several sleep electroencephalography (EEG) hallmarks are associated with intellectual abilities, neural plasticity, and learning processes. Starting from this evidence, a growing interest has been raised regarding the involvement of the sleep EEG in brain maturation and cognitive functioning during typical development (TD). The aim of this review is to provide a general framework about the maturational changes and the functional role of the human sleep EEG during TD from birth to late adolescence (22 years).

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease involving the cerebellum and characterized by a typical motor syndrome. In addition, the presence of cognitive impairment is now widely acknowledged as a feature of SCA2. Given the extensive connections between the cerebellum and associative cerebral areas, it is reasonable to hypothesize that cerebellar neurodegeneration associated with SCA2 may impact on the cerebellar modulation of the cerebral cortex, thus resulting in functional impairment.

Spastic paraplegia type 7 (SPG7), which represents one of the most common forms of autosomal recessive spastic paraplegia (MIM#607259), often manifests with a complicated phenotype, characterized by progressive spastic ataxia with evidence of cerebellar atrophy on brain MRI. Recent studies have documented the presence of peculiar dentate nucleus hyperintensities on T2-weighted images and frontal executive dysfunction in neuropsychological tests in SPG7 patients.

Background and objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of a partial sleep depri- vation night on executive functions in participants reporting chronic insomnia and good sleepers using a Task Switching paradigm. Methods: Sixteen participants reporting symptoms of chronic insomnia and sixteen good sleepers were tested after a night of habitual sleep and after a night of partial sleep deprivation (5 h of sleep allowed). The Switch Cost (SC) and the Backward Inhibition (BI) were computed as measures of switching attention and response inhibition, respectively.

Both scholars and practitioners acknowledge that the major factors explaining behavior are cognition, emotion, and context. However, existing theories tend to only focus on a combination of two. Furthermore, not all models are rooted in a specific theory of mind. Finally, there is no consistent definition of ‘mind.’ To address these issues, we review the major models explaining behavior.

Background: Executive functions (EFs) are involved in the control of basic psychological processes such as attention and memory and also contribute to emotion regulation. Research on the presence of EFs impairments in insomnia yielded inconsistent results. Therefore, we performed a systematic review of the literature on three EFs: inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility in adults with insomnia in order to investigate the presence and magnitude of insomnia-related EFs impairments.

Sporadically advocated over the last two centuries, a cerebellar role in cognition and affect has been rigorously established in the past few decades. In the clinical domain, such progress is epitomized by the ‘cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome’ (‘CCAS’) or ‘Schmahmann syndrome’. Introduced in the late 1990s, CCAS reflects a constellation of cerebellar-induced sequelae, comprising deficits in executive function, visuospatial cognition, emotion-affect, and language, over and above speech.