Papers by Marianna Ambrosecchia
PLOS ONE, Oct 1, 2013
Humans' ability to represent their body state from within through interoception has been proposed... more Humans' ability to represent their body state from within through interoception has been proposed to predict different aspects of human cognition and behaviour. We focused on the possible contribution of interoceptive sensitivity to social behaviour as mediated by adaptive modulation of autonomic response. We, thus, investigated whether interoceptive sensitivity to one's heartbeat predicts participants' autonomic response at different social distances. We measured respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) during either a Social or a Non-social task. In the Social task each participant viewed an experimenter performing a caress-like movement at different distances from their hand. In the Non-social task a metal stick was moved at the same distances from the participant's hand. We found a positive association between interoceptive sensitivity and autonomic response only for the social setting. Moreover, only good heartbeat perceivers showed higher autonomic response 1) in the social compared to the non-social setting, 2) specifically, when the experimenter's hand was moving at boundary of their peripersonal space (20 cm from the participant's hand). Our findings suggest that interoceptive sensitivity might contribute to interindividual differences concerning social attitudes and interpersonal space representation via recruitment of different adaptive autonomic response strategies.
Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences
ABSTRACTSense of agency (SoA) indicates a person's ability to perceive her/his own motor acts... more ABSTRACTSense of agency (SoA) indicates a person's ability to perceive her/his own motor acts as actually being her/his and, through them, to exert control over the course of external events. Disruptions in SoA may profoundly affect the individual's functioning, as observed in several neuropsychiatric disorders. This is the first article to systematically review studies that investigated intentional binding (IB), a quantitative proxy for SoA measurement, in neurological and psychiatric patients. Eligible were studies of IB involving patients with neurological and/or psychiatric disorders. We included 15 studies involving 692 individuals. Risk of bias was low throughout studies. Abnormally increased action‐outcome binding was found in schizophrenia and in patients with Parkinson's disease taking dopaminergic medications or reporting impulsive‐compulsive behaviours. A decreased IB effect was observed in Tourette's disorder and functional movement disorders, whereas inc...
Alzheimers & Dementia, Jul 1, 2013
Parkville, Australia; Mental Health Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; Edith Cowan Univers... more Parkville, Australia; Mental Health Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; Edith Cowan University, Perth, New York, Australia; CogState Ltd, Melbourne, Australia; University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Austin Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; National Ageing Research Institute Inc. (NARI), Melbourne, Australia; Austin Health, Melbourne, Australia; Austin Hospital, Heidelberg, VIC, Australia; St Georges Hospital, Kew, Australia; Mental Health Research Institute, Perth, Australia. Contact e-mail: [email protected]
Frontiers in Psychology
It is widely known that among others, a pervasive symptom characterizing anorexia nervosa (AN) co... more It is widely known that among others, a pervasive symptom characterizing anorexia nervosa (AN) concerns body image overestimation, which largely contributes to the onset and maintenance of eating disorders. In the present study, we investigated the nature of the body image distortion by recording accuracy and reaction times in both a group of healthy controls and AN patients during two validated tasks requiring an implicit or explicit recognition of self/other hand stimuli, in which the perceived size of the stimuli was manipulated. Our results showed that (1) the perceived size of hand stimuli modulated both the implicit and explicit processing of body parts in both groups; (2) the implicit self-advantage emerged in both groups, but the bodily self, at an explicit level (perceptual, psycho-affective, cognitive) together with the integration and the distinction between self and other, was altered only in restrictive anorexia patients. Although further investigations will be necessar...
Frontiers in Psychology, 2023
It is widely known that among others, a pervasive symptom characterizing anorexia nervosa (AN) co... more It is widely known that among others, a pervasive symptom characterizing anorexia nervosa (AN) concerns body image overestimation, which largely contributes to the onset and maintenance of eating disorders. In the present study, we investigated the nature of the body image distortion by recording accuracy and reaction times in both a group of healthy controls and AN patients during two validated tasks requiring an implicit or explicit recognition of self/other hand stimuli, in which the perceived size of the stimuli was manipulated. Our results showed that (1) the perceived size of hand stimuli modulated both the implicit and explicit processing of body parts in both groups; (2) the implicit self-advantage emerged in both groups, but the bodily self, at an explicit level (perceptual, psycho-affective, cognitive) together with the integration and the distinction between self and other, was altered only in restrictive anorexia patients. Although further investigations will be necessary, these findings shed new light on the relationship between the different layers of self-experience and bodily self-disorders.
Frontiers in Psychology, 2023
It is widely known that among others, a pervasive symptom characterizing
anorexia nervosa (AN) co... more It is widely known that among others, a pervasive symptom characterizing
anorexia nervosa (AN) concerns body image overestimation, which largely
contributes to the onset and maintenance of eating disorders. In the present
study, we investigated the nature of the body image distortion by recording
accuracy and reaction times in both a group of healthy controls and AN patients during two validated tasks requiring an implicit or explicit recognition of self/other hand stimuli, in which the perceived size of the stimuli was manipulated. Our
results showed that (1) the perceived size of hand stimuli modulated both the implicit and explicit processing of body parts in both groups; (2) the implicit self-advantage emerged in both groups, but the bodily self, at an explicit level
(perceptual, psycho-aective, cognitive) together with the integration and the
distinction between self and other, was altered only in restrictive anorexia
patients. Although further investigations will be necessary, these findings shed new light on the relationship between the dierent layers of self-experience and bodily self-disorders.
Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, 2021
Purpose Anorexia nervosa-restrictive subtype (AN-R) is a life-threatening disorder relying on beh... more Purpose Anorexia nervosa-restrictive subtype (AN-R) is a life-threatening disorder relying on behavioural abnormalities, such as excessive food restriction or exercise. Such abnormalities may be secondary to an “objectified” attitude toward body image and self. This is the first study exploring the impact of anomalous self-experience (ASEs) on abnormal body image attitude and eating disorder (ED) symptomatology in individuals with AN-R at onset. Methods We recruited Italian female participants, 40 with AN-R (mean age 18.3 ± 2.3) and 45 age and educational level-matched healthy controls (HCs) (mean age 18.2 ± 2.6). ASEs, body image attitude, and ED symptom severity were assessed through the examination of anomalous self-experience (EASE), the body uneasiness test (BUT), and the eating disorder examination questionnaire (EDE-Q), respectively. We conducted multivariate analysis of variance to investigate distribution patterns of variables of interest, and mediation analysis to test the...
Università degli studi di Parma
The involvement of the sensorimotor system in language understanding has been widely demonstrated... more The involvement of the sensorimotor system in language understanding has been widely demonstrated. However, the role of context in these studies has only recently started to be addressed. Though words are bearers of a semantic potential, meaning is the product of a pragmatic process. It needs to be situated in a context to be disambiguated. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that embodied simulation occurring during linguistic processing is contextually modulated to the extent that the same sentence, depending on the context of utterance, leads to the activation of different effector-specific brain motor areas. In order to test this hypothesis, we asked subjects to give a motor response with the hand or the foot to the presentation of ambiguous idioms containing action-related words when these are preceded by context sentences. The results directly support our hypothesis only in relation to the comprehension of hand-related action sentences.
compatibility and affordance effects are not ruled by the same mechanisms. Front. Hum. Neurosci. ... more compatibility and affordance effects are not ruled by the same mechanisms. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 9:283. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00283 Spatial stimulus-response compatibility and affordance effects are not ruled by the same mechanisms
Objective: Recent research suggests that early signs of schizophrenia can be detected several yea... more Objective: Recent research suggests that early signs of schizophrenia can be detected several years before its onset. Evidence suggests that the identification of at-risk individuals before the psychotic onset can significantly improve the course of the disorder. However, instruments employed for the detection of prodromal symptoms are far from being accurate in the prediction of a future transition to psychosis. The aim of the present review is to summarize literature on the early signs of schizophrenia and to identify physiological markers that may aid the identification of the disorder before psychotic transition. Method: This critical review includes studies published between 1979 and 2018 that were indexed in major databases with the following keywords: schizophrenia, prodromal phase, basic symptoms, autonomic nervous system, heart rate variability. Results: The examination of the relevant literature showed that, despite recent progress in the identification of atrisk states, t...
Schizophrenia Research, 2020
Gallese, Peciccia, Ferri and Ardizzi developed the study concept and contributed to the study des... more Gallese, Peciccia, Ferri and Ardizzi developed the study concept and contributed to the study design. Testing and data collection were performed by Ardizzi, Ambrosecchia, Buratta, Volpe-Gaudelli and Palladini. Ardizzi and Ferroni performed the data analyses. Results interpretation was conducted by Ardizzi, Ferri, Mazzeschi, Peciccia and Gallese. Ardizzi and Ferroni drafted the manuscript, while all the other authors provided critical revisions. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript for submission. Role of the funding source The funding source had no role in the design of this study and will not have any role during its execution, analyses, interpretation of the data, or decision to submit results.
Psychosis, 2019
Some people diagnosed with "schizophrenia" showed a fundamental alteration of the sense of self. ... more Some people diagnosed with "schizophrenia" showed a fundamental alteration of the sense of self. From a psychodynamic perspective, it has been hypothesized that patients diagnosed as schizophrenic have disorders of the embodied self and its boundaries. Phenomenologically, it has been observed a self-disorder, at an implicit and pre-reflective level of bodily awareness. Neuroscientific evidence seems to confirm the aforementioned aspects. The mean levels of Interoceptive Accuracy (IA), which is an objective empirical measure of interoception, namely a measure of basic awareness distinct from subjective measures, are significantly lower in patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia than among healthy controls. Affiliative touch is crucial for constructing a basic sense of self and its boundaries, and it affects interoception. In order to reduce the disturbance of the sense of self, Angelo participated for three years in an experimental intervention plan including Amniotic Therapy (AT) and individual psychodynamic psychotherapy. AT is a group-therapy based on sensory-motor interactions, especially affiliative touch, similar to those involved in "holding". Results showed an increase in the Angelo's IA and global functioning, as well as a significant decrease in positive symptoms. In Angelo, AT seems to strengthen a basic sense of self, reducing self-disorder.
Frontiers in psychology, 2018
Facial expressions of pain are able to elicit empathy and adaptive behavioral responses in the ob... more Facial expressions of pain are able to elicit empathy and adaptive behavioral responses in the observer. An influential theory posits that empathy relies on an affective mirror mechanism, according to which emotion recognition relies upon the internal simulation of motor and interoceptive states triggered by emotional stimuli. We tested this hypothesis comparing representations of self or others' expressions of pain in nineteen young healthy female volunteers by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We hypothesized that one's own facial expressions are more likely to elicit the internal simulation of emotions, being more strictly related to self. Video-clips of the facial expressions of each volunteer receiving either painful or non-painful mechanical stimulations to their right hand dorsum were recorded and used as stimuli in a 2 × 2 (Self/Other; Pain/No-Pain) within-subject design. During each trial, a 2 s video clip was presented, displaying either the su...
Frontiers in human neuroscience, 2017
The aim of this study is to investigate the bodily-self in Restrictive Anorexia, focusing on two ... more The aim of this study is to investigate the bodily-self in Restrictive Anorexia, focusing on two basic aspects related to the bodily self: autonomic strategies in social behavior, in which others' social desirability features, and social cues (e.g., gaze) are modulated, and interoception (i.e., the sensitivity to stimuli originating inside the body). Furthermore, since previous studies carried out on healthy individuals found that interoception seems to contribute to the autonomic regulation of social behavior, as measured by Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA), we aimed to explore this link in anorexia patients, whose ability to perceive their bodily signal seems to be impaired. To this purpose, we compared a group of anorexia patients (ANg; restrictive type) with a group of Healthy Controls (HCg) for RSA responses during both a resting state and a social proxemics task, for their explicit judgments of comfort in social distances during a behavioral proxemics task, and for their...
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2016
The present study focuses on the multifaceted concept of self-disturbance in schizophrenia, addin... more The present study focuses on the multifaceted concept of self-disturbance in schizophrenia, adding knowledge about a not yet investigated aspect, which is the interoceptive accuracy. Starting from the assumption that interoceptive accuracy requires an intact sense of self, which otherwise was proved to be altered in schizophrenia, the aim of the present study was to explore interoceptive accuracy in a group of schizophrenia patients, compared to healthy controls. Furthermore, the possible association between interoceptive accuracy and patients' positive and negative symptomatology was assessed. To pursue these goals, a group of 23 schizophrenia patients and a group of 23 healthy controls performed a heartbeat perception task. Patients' symptomatology was assessed by means of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Results demonstrated significantly lower interoceptive accuracy in schizophrenia patients compared to healthy controls. This difference was not accounted for participants' age, BMI, anxiety levels, and heart rate. Furthermore, patients' illness severity, attention and pharmacological treatment did not influence their interoceptive accuracy levels. Interestingly, a strong positive relation between interoceptive accuracy and positive symptoms severity, especially Grandiosity, was found. The present results demonstrate for the first time that interoceptive accuracy is altered in schizophrenia. Furthermore, they prove a specific association between interoceptive accuracy and positive symptomatology, suggesting that the symptom Grandiosity might be protective against an altered basic sense of self in patients characterized by higher sensibility to their inner bodily sensations.
European Psychiatry, 2015
Introduction Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is characterized by body-size overestimation that reflects a d... more Introduction Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is characterized by body-size overestimation that reflects a distortion of body-representation. Self-body recognition can be both implicit and explicit. The former is based on cognitive and perceptual mechanisms, the latter relies on motor simulation. Previous studies showed that participants, when submitted to a hand laterality judgment task (Implicit task) that required mental rotation showed better performances when the stimuli consisted of their own rather than other's hand (self-advantage). By contrast, the self-advantage was absent when self-recognition (Explicit task) was explicitly required. Objectives This study aimed to investigate whether the overestimation of anorexic's own body size extended to the motor representation of the bodily-self influencing the implicit self-advantage. Furthermore, we assessed the possible relationship between the implicitly recognition of one's own body part and Interoceptive Sensitivity (IS; sensitivity to stimuli originating inside of the body). Methods Healthy Controls (HC) and restrictive AN patients were submitted both to Implicit and Explicit tasks with self and other's hands presented in the original size or modified to look fatter or thinner. We also assessed participants’ IS by means of a heartbeat perception task. Results As previously reported, HC showed specific self-advantage effect only when a motor simulation is required. Furthermore higher IS is related to faster performances only in the implicit task in which a mental motor rotation. The differences between AN patients and HC concerning IS and bodily-self recognition will be also discussed.
European Psychiatry, 2015
Introduction The awareness of one's body constitutes a basic experience of Self which modulat... more Introduction The awareness of one's body constitutes a basic experience of Self which modulates the individual engagement in social interactions. Indeed, Interoception Sensitivity (IS), an index of individual ability to represent one’s own internal body states, is implicated in the autonomic regulation in interpersonal context. Schizophrenia deficits in Self-experience and awareness, which frequently entail anomalies in self-other relationship, capture the ever-growing attention of researchers. Nevertheless, IS and autonomic regulation of schizophrenic patients in social context are completely new and not yet investigated aspects of Schizophrenia. Aim To investigate whether Schizophrenia could be associated with lower IS and with a dysfunctional autonomic regulation during social interaction. Methods 24 chronic schizophrenia patients, and a matched group of healthy controls, performed a Social and a Non-social task while respiratory sinus arrhythmia (an index of autonomic regulation) was measured. In the Social task participants viewed an experimenter performing a caress-like movement at different distances from their hand. In the Non-social task a metal stick was moved at the same distances from the participants’ hand. As measure of IS, a cardiac Mental Tacking Task was performed. Results Comparing to controls, Schizophrenia patients presented lower IS, absence of relation between IS and autonomic regulation, and an anomalous autonomic regulation in social and non-social contexts. Conclusions Deficits in Self-experience, associated with Schizophrenia, could be extended to patients’ sensitivity to internal bodily signals. Moreover, the observed altered autonomic regulation will be part of interpersonal interaction deficit frequently associated to Schizophrenia.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2015
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Papers by Marianna Ambrosecchia
anorexia nervosa (AN) concerns body image overestimation, which largely
contributes to the onset and maintenance of eating disorders. In the present
study, we investigated the nature of the body image distortion by recording
accuracy and reaction times in both a group of healthy controls and AN patients during two validated tasks requiring an implicit or explicit recognition of self/other hand stimuli, in which the perceived size of the stimuli was manipulated. Our
results showed that (1) the perceived size of hand stimuli modulated both the implicit and explicit processing of body parts in both groups; (2) the implicit self-advantage emerged in both groups, but the bodily self, at an explicit level
(perceptual, psycho-aective, cognitive) together with the integration and the
distinction between self and other, was altered only in restrictive anorexia
patients. Although further investigations will be necessary, these findings shed new light on the relationship between the dierent layers of self-experience and bodily self-disorders.
anorexia nervosa (AN) concerns body image overestimation, which largely
contributes to the onset and maintenance of eating disorders. In the present
study, we investigated the nature of the body image distortion by recording
accuracy and reaction times in both a group of healthy controls and AN patients during two validated tasks requiring an implicit or explicit recognition of self/other hand stimuli, in which the perceived size of the stimuli was manipulated. Our
results showed that (1) the perceived size of hand stimuli modulated both the implicit and explicit processing of body parts in both groups; (2) the implicit self-advantage emerged in both groups, but the bodily self, at an explicit level
(perceptual, psycho-aective, cognitive) together with the integration and the
distinction between self and other, was altered only in restrictive anorexia
patients. Although further investigations will be necessary, these findings shed new light on the relationship between the dierent layers of self-experience and bodily self-disorders.
completely aware formulations. The most basic concept of Self is
the Bodily Self, which corresponds to the feeling of inhabiting
one’s body. Such “minimal” sense of self, besides shaping the
primary awareness of ourselves, also leads to both a proficient
identification with others and, at the same time, a distinction
from others as other bodily selves.
According to the “embodied simulation” hypothesis, such mechanism
is possible thanks to the human ability to understand others’
thoughts, behaviors and emotions through a mental simulation
which, reflecting the activation of shared neural circuits, gives
rise to the same internal experience.
This perspective has recently been adopted for the study of
schizophrenia since it is characterized by an altered bodily sense
of self also called "disembodiment".
In this paper the state of the art on the relationship between
embodiment and schizophrenia will be presented in the light of the
most recent neuroscientific evidence. In addition, an outline of
the possible physiological correlates of such a psychopathology
will be described, in order to assess appropriate prevention and
treatment strategies.
Il concetto di sé è difficile da definire data la sua complessità
e molteplicità. Alla base dell’esperienza del proprio sé c’è la
sensazione di abitare entro i confini del proprio corpo. Tale
senso di sé minimale, oltre a plasmare la consapevolezza primaria
di noi stessi, ci permette anche di riconoscere gli altri in
quanto altri sè corporei e distinguerci da essi. Secondo una
visione “embodied” ciò è possibile grazie a meccanismi di
“simulazione incarnata” ovvero grazie all’abilità umana di capire
pensieri, comportamenti ed emozioni altrui attraverso una
simulazione mentale che dà origine alla stessa esperienza interna
e riflette l’attivazione di circuiti neurali condivisi.
Tale prospettiva è stata recentemente adottata per lo studio della
psicosi schizofrenica individuando come nucleo psicopatologico
un’alterazione del senso del sé corporeo definito anche
“disembodiment”.
In questo intervento sarà presentato lo stato dell’arte sul legame
tra embodiment e schizofrenia alla luce degli studi
neuroscientifici, con cenni sui possibili correlati fisiologici
del disturbo al fine di attuare appropriate strategie di
prevenzione e trattamento.