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Research paper thumbnail of Theory of mind in patients with mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review

Frontiers in Psychology, Oct 18, 2022

The focus of this systematic review was to collect and align studies which analyze the functional... more The focus of this systematic review was to collect and align studies which analyze the functionality of theory of mind (TOM) in patients with mild cognitive impairments (MCI). Specifically, we identified papers published between and which met inclusion criteria. Papers search, selection, and extraction followed the PRISMA guidelines. In order to summarize data from the papers, we used a narrative synthesis approach. Results in of these papers show that theory of mind (TOM) is impaired in all types of MCI patients-regardless of di erent etiology and diagnostic criteria. Only out of reported no significant di erences in TOM performance between MCI patients and healthy control subjects. The review additionally aimed to bundle the variety of the type of tasks used by the author to assess multiple domains of TOM. This heterogeneity does not allow us to make a comprehensive comparison between the results, so we suggest the need to align the results using the same type of tests and TOM assessment. In the end, our work highlights the neuropsychological studies which confirm more of our results; due to the objective approach adopted to investigate this topic, we suggest exploring this point of view more in future research.

Research paper thumbnail of Editorial: The diagnosis and the therapy of social cognition deficits in adults affected by ADHD and MCI

Frontiers in Neurology, Mar 2, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of Emotion recognition and processing in patients with mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review

Frontiers in Psychology, Oct 28, 2022

The purpose of this study was to investigate emotion recognition and processing in patients with ... more The purpose of this study was to investigate emotion recognition and processing in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in order to update the state of current literature on this important but undervalued topic. We identified 15 papers published between 2012 and 2022 that meet the inclusion criteria. Paper search, selection, and extraction followed the PRISMA guidelines. We used a narrative synthesis approach in order to report a summary of the main findings taken from all papers. The results collected are still ambiguous: some studies did not find any differences between MCI and healthy controls (HC) groups in emotion recognition and processing, and other results reported emotion-specific deficits in emotion recognition regarding MCI patients (both regarding negative and neutral emotions). It is essential to underline that these findings could not be generalized to the whole MCI population due to the heterogeneous use of measures and composition of the sample. This does not allow us to make a comprehensive comparison between the results. Our suggestion for future research is to align the results using the same type of tests and emotion recognition assessment.

Research paper thumbnail of Attentive-executive functioning and compensatory strategies in adult ADHD: A retrospective case series study

Frontiers in Psychology, Oct 13, 2022

Background: Adults with ADHD exhibit a neuropsychological profile that may present deficits in ma... more Background: Adults with ADHD exhibit a neuropsychological profile that may present deficits in many cognitive domains, particularly attention and executive functions (EFs). However, some authors do not consider executive disfunction as an important part of the clinical profile of the syndrome; this could be related to the use of inappropriate neuropsychological tests, probably not adapted and not sufficiently ecological. Moreover, new data are required on specific correlation of attentive-executive symptoms with socio-demographic factors. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyze the neuropsychological performance of a group of adults with ADHD, also evaluating the influence of gender, age and education level. Methods: We retrospectively collected health-related personal data of 40 adult ADHD patients, clinically diagnosed and evaluated via a battery of 4 neuropsychological tests and 1 self-administered questionnaire. Gender, age and years of education differences were assessed. Results: Attention and EFs deficits have been highlighted mainly on the d2-R and 5-point neuropsychological tests, which therefore seem to be more sensitive in measuring the attention-executive dysfunction in an adult ADHD population, than TAP Go/No-go and ROCFT. ADHD patients also manifested subjective behavioral impulsivity disorders on BIS-11. There were no statistically significant gender differences in cognitive performance. On the contrary, younger patients performed worse on subscales TAP Go/No-go errors and 5-points number of drawings, while participants with a higher education level performed better on subscales d2-R speed of execution and d2-R errors. This supports a reduction in the number of errors and the execution time as a function of older age and a higher level of education. Finally, patients with higher education also self-reported greater impulsivity in planning. Conclusion: Our preliminary findings suggest that adult ADHD is not a lifelong stable disorder, but it may change over time. Moreover, attention-executive deficits may be influenced and partially counterbalanced by experience TYPE

Research paper thumbnail of Sensory processing sensitivity and social pain: a hypothesis and theory

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

Sensory-processing sensitivity (SPS) defined, as a personality trait, seems to be characterized b... more Sensory-processing sensitivity (SPS) defined, as a personality trait, seems to be characterized by emotional sensitivity, and stronger reactivity to both external and internal stimuli. SPS can represent a risk factor for developing clinical conditions during childhood and adolescence. This personality trait is not to be considered a pathological clinical condition, however, can expose to greater environmental vulnerability. In particular, the recent studies about SPS can be contextualized to social situations that evoke traumatic and stressful emotional responses such as social exclusion. We hypothesize that highly sensitive people (HSP) are more vulnerable to social exclusion and social pain. This hypothesis could help structure new educational and intervention models designed to improve coping strategies and promote HSP’s psychophysical and social well-being.

Research paper thumbnail of Editorial: The diagnosis and the therapy of social cognition deficits in adults affected by ADHD and MCI

Research paper thumbnail of Emotion recognition and processing in patients with mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review

Frontiers in Psychology

The purpose of this study was to investigate emotion recognition and processing in patients with ... more The purpose of this study was to investigate emotion recognition and processing in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in order to update the state of current literature on this important but undervalued topic. We identified 15 papers published between 2012 and 2022 that meet the inclusion criteria. Paper search, selection, and extraction followed the PRISMA guidelines. We used a narrative synthesis approach in order to report a summary of the main findings taken from all papers. The results collected are still ambiguous: some studies did not find any differences between MCI and healthy controls (HC) groups in emotion recognition and processing, and other results reported emotion-specific deficits in emotion recognition regarding MCI patients (both regarding negative and neutral emotions). It is essential to underline that these findings could not be generalized to the whole MCI population due to the heterogeneous use of measures and composition of the sample. This does no...

Research paper thumbnail of Attentive-executive functioning and compensatory strategies in adult ADHD: A retrospective case series study

Frontiers in Psychology

BackgroundAdults with ADHD exhibit a neuropsychological profile that may present deficits in many... more BackgroundAdults with ADHD exhibit a neuropsychological profile that may present deficits in many cognitive domains, particularly attention and executive functions (EFs). However, some authors do not consider executive disfunction as an important part of the clinical profile of the syndrome; this could be related to the use of inappropriate neuropsychological tests, probably not adapted and not sufficiently ecological. Moreover, new data are required on specific correlation of attentive-executive symptoms with socio-demographic factors. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyze the neuropsychological performance of a group of adults with ADHD, also evaluating the influence of gender, age and education level.MethodsWe retrospectively collected health-related personal data of 40 adult ADHD patients, clinically diagnosed and evaluated via a battery of 4 neuropsychological tests and 1 self-administered questionnaire. Gender, age and years of education differences were assessed.Resu...

Research paper thumbnail of Theory of mind in patients with mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review

Frontiers in Psychology

The focus of this systematic review was to collect and align studies which analyze the functional... more The focus of this systematic review was to collect and align studies which analyze the functionality of theory of mind (TOM) in patients with mild cognitive impairments (MCI). Specifically, we identified 20 papers published between 2012 and 2022 which met inclusion criteria. Papers search, selection, and extraction followed the PRISMA guidelines. In order to summarize data from the papers, we used a narrative synthesis approach. Results in 18 of these 20 papers show that theory of mind (TOM) is impaired in all types of MCI patients—regardless of different etiology and diagnostic criteria. Only 2 out of 20 reported no significant differences in TOM performance between MCI patients and healthy control subjects. The review additionally aimed to bundle the variety of the type of tasks used by the author to assess multiple domains of TOM. This heterogeneity does not allow us to make a comprehensive comparison between the results, so we suggest the need to align the results using the same...

Research paper thumbnail of Social Cognition in Adult ADHD: A Systematic Review

Frontiers in Psychology

The aim of this systematic review was to collect and align the research on social cognition impai... more The aim of this systematic review was to collect and align the research on social cognition impairments in adults with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In particular, we selected and analyzed papers on emotion recognition and processing, Theory of Mind (TOM), empathy, and other facets of social cognition as decision making. We identified 16 papers published between 2012 and 2022 which meet inclusion criteria. Papers search, selection, and extraction followed the PRISMA guidelines. In order to summarize data from papers, we used a narrative synthesis approach. Results show different evidence of impairment in social cognition domains in adults with ADHD. Our systematic review suggests the importance of promoting more research on this topic because it is essential to keep in mind that social cognition plays a central role in socialization and social relationships.

Research paper thumbnail of Theory of mind in patients with mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review

Frontiers in Psychology, Oct 18, 2022

The focus of this systematic review was to collect and align studies which analyze the functional... more The focus of this systematic review was to collect and align studies which analyze the functionality of theory of mind (TOM) in patients with mild cognitive impairments (MCI). Specifically, we identified papers published between and which met inclusion criteria. Papers search, selection, and extraction followed the PRISMA guidelines. In order to summarize data from the papers, we used a narrative synthesis approach. Results in of these papers show that theory of mind (TOM) is impaired in all types of MCI patients-regardless of di erent etiology and diagnostic criteria. Only out of reported no significant di erences in TOM performance between MCI patients and healthy control subjects. The review additionally aimed to bundle the variety of the type of tasks used by the author to assess multiple domains of TOM. This heterogeneity does not allow us to make a comprehensive comparison between the results, so we suggest the need to align the results using the same type of tests and TOM assessment. In the end, our work highlights the neuropsychological studies which confirm more of our results; due to the objective approach adopted to investigate this topic, we suggest exploring this point of view more in future research.

Research paper thumbnail of Editorial: The diagnosis and the therapy of social cognition deficits in adults affected by ADHD and MCI

Frontiers in Neurology, Mar 2, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of Emotion recognition and processing in patients with mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review

Frontiers in Psychology, Oct 28, 2022

The purpose of this study was to investigate emotion recognition and processing in patients with ... more The purpose of this study was to investigate emotion recognition and processing in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in order to update the state of current literature on this important but undervalued topic. We identified 15 papers published between 2012 and 2022 that meet the inclusion criteria. Paper search, selection, and extraction followed the PRISMA guidelines. We used a narrative synthesis approach in order to report a summary of the main findings taken from all papers. The results collected are still ambiguous: some studies did not find any differences between MCI and healthy controls (HC) groups in emotion recognition and processing, and other results reported emotion-specific deficits in emotion recognition regarding MCI patients (both regarding negative and neutral emotions). It is essential to underline that these findings could not be generalized to the whole MCI population due to the heterogeneous use of measures and composition of the sample. This does not allow us to make a comprehensive comparison between the results. Our suggestion for future research is to align the results using the same type of tests and emotion recognition assessment.

Research paper thumbnail of Attentive-executive functioning and compensatory strategies in adult ADHD: A retrospective case series study

Frontiers in Psychology, Oct 13, 2022

Background: Adults with ADHD exhibit a neuropsychological profile that may present deficits in ma... more Background: Adults with ADHD exhibit a neuropsychological profile that may present deficits in many cognitive domains, particularly attention and executive functions (EFs). However, some authors do not consider executive disfunction as an important part of the clinical profile of the syndrome; this could be related to the use of inappropriate neuropsychological tests, probably not adapted and not sufficiently ecological. Moreover, new data are required on specific correlation of attentive-executive symptoms with socio-demographic factors. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyze the neuropsychological performance of a group of adults with ADHD, also evaluating the influence of gender, age and education level. Methods: We retrospectively collected health-related personal data of 40 adult ADHD patients, clinically diagnosed and evaluated via a battery of 4 neuropsychological tests and 1 self-administered questionnaire. Gender, age and years of education differences were assessed. Results: Attention and EFs deficits have been highlighted mainly on the d2-R and 5-point neuropsychological tests, which therefore seem to be more sensitive in measuring the attention-executive dysfunction in an adult ADHD population, than TAP Go/No-go and ROCFT. ADHD patients also manifested subjective behavioral impulsivity disorders on BIS-11. There were no statistically significant gender differences in cognitive performance. On the contrary, younger patients performed worse on subscales TAP Go/No-go errors and 5-points number of drawings, while participants with a higher education level performed better on subscales d2-R speed of execution and d2-R errors. This supports a reduction in the number of errors and the execution time as a function of older age and a higher level of education. Finally, patients with higher education also self-reported greater impulsivity in planning. Conclusion: Our preliminary findings suggest that adult ADHD is not a lifelong stable disorder, but it may change over time. Moreover, attention-executive deficits may be influenced and partially counterbalanced by experience TYPE

Research paper thumbnail of Sensory processing sensitivity and social pain: a hypothesis and theory

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

Sensory-processing sensitivity (SPS) defined, as a personality trait, seems to be characterized b... more Sensory-processing sensitivity (SPS) defined, as a personality trait, seems to be characterized by emotional sensitivity, and stronger reactivity to both external and internal stimuli. SPS can represent a risk factor for developing clinical conditions during childhood and adolescence. This personality trait is not to be considered a pathological clinical condition, however, can expose to greater environmental vulnerability. In particular, the recent studies about SPS can be contextualized to social situations that evoke traumatic and stressful emotional responses such as social exclusion. We hypothesize that highly sensitive people (HSP) are more vulnerable to social exclusion and social pain. This hypothesis could help structure new educational and intervention models designed to improve coping strategies and promote HSP’s psychophysical and social well-being.

Research paper thumbnail of Editorial: The diagnosis and the therapy of social cognition deficits in adults affected by ADHD and MCI

Research paper thumbnail of Emotion recognition and processing in patients with mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review

Frontiers in Psychology

The purpose of this study was to investigate emotion recognition and processing in patients with ... more The purpose of this study was to investigate emotion recognition and processing in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in order to update the state of current literature on this important but undervalued topic. We identified 15 papers published between 2012 and 2022 that meet the inclusion criteria. Paper search, selection, and extraction followed the PRISMA guidelines. We used a narrative synthesis approach in order to report a summary of the main findings taken from all papers. The results collected are still ambiguous: some studies did not find any differences between MCI and healthy controls (HC) groups in emotion recognition and processing, and other results reported emotion-specific deficits in emotion recognition regarding MCI patients (both regarding negative and neutral emotions). It is essential to underline that these findings could not be generalized to the whole MCI population due to the heterogeneous use of measures and composition of the sample. This does no...

Research paper thumbnail of Attentive-executive functioning and compensatory strategies in adult ADHD: A retrospective case series study

Frontiers in Psychology

BackgroundAdults with ADHD exhibit a neuropsychological profile that may present deficits in many... more BackgroundAdults with ADHD exhibit a neuropsychological profile that may present deficits in many cognitive domains, particularly attention and executive functions (EFs). However, some authors do not consider executive disfunction as an important part of the clinical profile of the syndrome; this could be related to the use of inappropriate neuropsychological tests, probably not adapted and not sufficiently ecological. Moreover, new data are required on specific correlation of attentive-executive symptoms with socio-demographic factors. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyze the neuropsychological performance of a group of adults with ADHD, also evaluating the influence of gender, age and education level.MethodsWe retrospectively collected health-related personal data of 40 adult ADHD patients, clinically diagnosed and evaluated via a battery of 4 neuropsychological tests and 1 self-administered questionnaire. Gender, age and years of education differences were assessed.Resu...

Research paper thumbnail of Theory of mind in patients with mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review

Frontiers in Psychology

The focus of this systematic review was to collect and align studies which analyze the functional... more The focus of this systematic review was to collect and align studies which analyze the functionality of theory of mind (TOM) in patients with mild cognitive impairments (MCI). Specifically, we identified 20 papers published between 2012 and 2022 which met inclusion criteria. Papers search, selection, and extraction followed the PRISMA guidelines. In order to summarize data from the papers, we used a narrative synthesis approach. Results in 18 of these 20 papers show that theory of mind (TOM) is impaired in all types of MCI patients—regardless of different etiology and diagnostic criteria. Only 2 out of 20 reported no significant differences in TOM performance between MCI patients and healthy control subjects. The review additionally aimed to bundle the variety of the type of tasks used by the author to assess multiple domains of TOM. This heterogeneity does not allow us to make a comprehensive comparison between the results, so we suggest the need to align the results using the same...

Research paper thumbnail of Social Cognition in Adult ADHD: A Systematic Review

Frontiers in Psychology

The aim of this systematic review was to collect and align the research on social cognition impai... more The aim of this systematic review was to collect and align the research on social cognition impairments in adults with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In particular, we selected and analyzed papers on emotion recognition and processing, Theory of Mind (TOM), empathy, and other facets of social cognition as decision making. We identified 16 papers published between 2012 and 2022 which meet inclusion criteria. Papers search, selection, and extraction followed the PRISMA guidelines. In order to summarize data from papers, we used a narrative synthesis approach. Results show different evidence of impairment in social cognition domains in adults with ADHD. Our systematic review suggests the importance of promoting more research on this topic because it is essential to keep in mind that social cognition plays a central role in socialization and social relationships.