Papers by Raffaella Ida Rumiati
Brain communications, 2023
The aim of the paper is to determine the effects of the cognitive reserve on brain tumor patients... more The aim of the paper is to determine the effects of the cognitive reserve on brain tumor patients' cognitive functions and, specifically, if cognitive reserve helps patients cope with the negative effects of brain tumors on their cognitive functions. We retrospectively studied a large sample of around 700 patients, diagnosed with a brain tumor. Each received an MRI brain examination, and performed a battery of tests measuring their cognitive abilities before they underwent neurosurgery. To account for the complexity of cognitive reserve, we construct our cognitive reserve proxy by combining three predictors of
PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2007
In the context of a dual route model for action imitation, we investigated the strategic selectio... more In the context of a dual route model for action imitation, we investigated the strategic selection of imitation routes in meaningful and meaningless actions. Four experiments were carried out: predictable switches between meaningful and meaningless actions and pseudorandom unpredictable switches between those actions. Two experiments used cues, whereas two did not contain cues. A significant switch cost emerged only in the predictable switch condition without cues, that is when subjects had to observe the action to decide which route to choose and/or base their selection of routes on working memory; in the remaining experiments we found no costs. This suggests that when subjects were presented with cued switches the selection of the appropriate route can be prepared. With regard to pseudorandom, uncued sequences, subjects may decide to rely only on the direct route to decrease cognitive effort. These results confirm that we strategically select the most suitable route for action imitation
Experimental Brain Research, Feb 23, 2002
In Fig. 1 the letters "a" and "b" should be reversed. The correct figure is shown below: Fig. 1 T... more In Fig. 1 the letters "a" and "b" should be reversed. The correct figure is shown below: Fig. 1 The model represents the two processes involved in the imitation of meaningful (MF) and meaningless (ML) actions. After the visual analysis, if the action to be imitated is ML, the process a is selected, whereas if imitation involves a MF action, both the semantic and nonsemantic processes may be selected (route b and route a, respectively). (ST/WM short-term/working memory
Neuropsychologia, 2021
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
Aktuelle Neurologie, 2004
Behavioural Neurology, 2005
We present a Chinese-speaking patient, SJ, who makes phonological errors across all tasks involvi... more We present a Chinese-speaking patient, SJ, who makes phonological errors across all tasks involving oral production. Detailed analyses of the errors across different tasks reveal that the patterns are very similar for reading, oral picture naming, and repetition tasks, which are also comparable to the error patterns of the phonological buffer deficit cases reported in the literature. The nature of the errors invites us to conclude that the patient's phonological output buffer is selectively impaired. Different from previously reported cases, SJ's deficits in oral production tasks are not accompanied by a similar impairment of writing performance. We argue that this dissociation is evidence that the phonological output buffer is not involved in writing Chinese words. Furthermore, the majority of SJ's errors occur at the onset of a syllable, indicating that the buffer has a structure that makes the onset more prone to impairment.
Cognitive Neuroscience, Mar 26, 2019
We investigated the contribution of the pars opercularis of the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG... more We investigated the contribution of the pars opercularis of the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFGop) in representing knowledge about social groups. We asked healthy individuals to categorize words preceded by semantically congruent or incongruent primes while stimulating the LIFGop. Previous studies showing an involvement of the LIFGop both in processing social stimuli and negative valence words led us to predict that its stimulation would affect responses to negative social category words. Compared to the Vertex as control site, the stimulation of the LIFGop increased the speed of categorization of negative social groups, and disrupted the semantic priming effect for negative words overall. Within the framework of recent theories of semantic memory, we argue that the present results provide initial evidence of the representation of social groups being characterized by affective properties, whose processing is supported by the LIFGop.
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Jul 13, 2016
International audienceIn an editorial commentary accompanying a recent study on the prevalence of... more International audienceIn an editorial commentary accompanying a recent study on the prevalence of apraxia in dementia patients [1], Bak emphasizes two facts: 1) research in cognitive neuroscience is contributing to increase the awareness of a close relationship between cognitive and motor functions and, by extension, cognitive and motor disorders in clinical populations; 2) despite so, the examination of motor functions in patients with cognitive disorders is not part of the routine clinical evaluation. Apraxia is a disorder in executing voluntary motor programming, in the absence of deficits in primary motor or sensory processes, comprehension of task instructions, object recognition or frontal inertia. Bak identifies apraxia as the critical disorder to address in routine clinical evaluation of patients with cognitive symptoms, as "it is exactly at the intersection between both [movement and cognition]". In Bak's view, a major obstacle to the improvement of clinical practice in this direction, is the absolute lack of tests for apraxia, practical and fast to use as part of routine evaluation. The Edinburgh Motor Assessment, in preparation by Bak and colleagues, is thus introduced as the first tool to respond to this urge. We could not agree more with the importance of considering apraxia in the routine clinical evaluation of cognitive functions in neurological patients, including those with dementia. Apraxia is indeed a cognitive deficit, affecting the higher-order mechanisms that govern purposeful motor production. However, if poverty or absence of tools is the problem, then we might not have a problem. Researchers have long since recognized apraxia as a cognitive disorder (with consequences on motor production). Moreover, efforts have been made to offer handy, standardized tests of praxis functions (e.g., the test TULIA [2]), based on models of apraxia, whose anatomo-functional correlates have been extensively studied in brain- damaged patients and in healthy individuals, with neuroimaging research. A problem with most previous tests, evaluating gesture recognition, identification and production in great detail, is the administration time, usually so long as to advise their use in a post-screening phase (i.e., after the patient received a diagnosis of apraxia). Addressing this problem, Tessari et al. [3] have developed STIMA (short test for ideomotor apraxia), a standardized test for an accurate but quick diagnosis of apraxia. The test, also usable for bedside screening, requires the patient to imitate 36 gestures that form eight subscales. The test and each individual subscale are accompanied by tables to correct raw-scores for age and education, and convert raw-scores into equivalent scores (useful for clinicians to estimate deficit severity) and percentiles (more often used for diagnosis in research). Different subscales test for different praxic impairments. In particular, STIMA emphasizes the distinctions between: 1) imitation errors indicative of cortical damage (e.g., sequence errors or unrecognizable gestures) versus subcortical damage (e.g., postural or timing errors); 2) producing distal (fingers/hand) versus proximal (arm) components of gesture; 3) producing known gestures, which recruits semantic structures in the left temporo-parietal cortex, versus producing novel gestures, which relies on a bilateral cortical network, to transform the visual input (the seen gesture) in a motor act. The evaluation of novel gestures is also crucial to detect praxis deficits in patients who can properly use objects and tools in their domestic context. Evaluation of praxis solely based on execution or reports of daily activities may leave those cases unnoticed. STIMA has been used and proven sensitive to apraxic deficits in patients with stroke [4], as well as neurodegenerative pathologies [5]. Our short (and non-exhaustive) overview of available standardized tests of apraxia shows a scenario brighter than the total absence of suitable tools depicted by Bak, and does justice to the numerous research teams in cognitive neuropsychology and neuroscience, who have paid more attention than Bak fears, to the clinical scopes of their activity and the constraints of the clinical setting (i.e., time pressure). Since the Edinburgh Motor Assessment by Bak et al. comes after recent and less recent attempts to provide clinicians with a fast and accurate test of apraxia, one may ask: do we really need this new tool? Perhaps, the Edinburgh Motor Assessment introduces features that make it more suitable to dementia patients, than other tests; or it relates to a model of apraxia, not represented in the other tests. Presenting the Edinburgh Motor Assessment as the first step toward an apraxia test for clinical practice precludes the possibility to clarify those or other potentially important aspects of that test. Considering its relation to extant tools rather appears as a good method to provide clear indications about which…
Journal of cognitive enhancement, Jun 16, 2022
Executive functions include functions such as planning, working memory, inhibition, mental flexib... more Executive functions include functions such as planning, working memory, inhibition, mental flexibility, and action monitoring and initiation, and are essential to carry out an independent everyday life. Individuals suffering from brain injury, such as a stroke, very commonly experience executive deficits that reduce the capacity to regain functional independence. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in developing tablet computer-based cognitive training programs for stroke patients and healthy aging adults since such programs can be included in non-supervised environments. In this respect, we described and evaluated the usability of a novel tablet application (app) for executive function training, developed in the context of the MEMORI-net project, a cross-border Italy-Slovenia program for the rehabilitation of stroke patients. We conducted a pilot study with a non-clinical sample of 16 participants to obtain information about the usability of the sFEra APP. Our descriptive analyses suggest that most users were satisfied with the overall experience and the app was highly usable, and instructions were clear, even with little previous experience with tablet applications. Acceptability and effectiveness will need to be evaluated in a clinical randomized controlled study.
Self-conscious emotions, such as shame and guilt, play a fundamental role in regulating moral beh... more Self-conscious emotions, such as shame and guilt, play a fundamental role in regulating moral behavior and in promoting the welfare of the society. Despite their relevance, the neural bases of these emotions are uncertain. In the present meta-analysis, we performed a systematic literature review in order to single out functional neuroimaging studies on healthy individuals specifically investigating the neural substrates of shame, embarrassment and guilt. Seventeen studies investigating the neural correlates of shame/embarrassment, and seventeen studies investigating guilt brain representation met our inclusion criteria. The analyses revealed that both guilt and shame/embarrassment were associated with the activation of the left anterior insula, involved in emotional awareness processing, and arousal. Guilt specific areas were located within the left temporo-parietal junction, which is thought to be involved in social cognitive processes. Moreover, specific activations for shame/emba...
Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 2021
Several neuroimaging studies have shown that a distributed network of brain regions is involved i... more Several neuroimaging studies have shown that a distributed network of brain regions is involved in our ability to appraise the emotions we experience in daily life. In particular, scholars suggested that the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) may play a role in the appraisal of emotional stimuli together with subcortical regions, especially when stimuli are negatively valenced, and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) may play a role in regulating emotions. However, proofs of the causal role of these regions are lacking. In the present study, we aim at testing this model by stimulating both the dACC and the left dlPFC via cathodal tDCS. Twenty-four participants were asked to attend and rate the arousal and valence of negative and neutral emotional stimuli (pictures and words) in three different experimental sessions: cathodal stimulation of dACC, left dlPFC, or sham. In addition to the experimental task, the baseline affective state was measured before and after the stimulation to further assess the effect of stimulation over the baseline affective state after the experimental session. Results showed that cathodal stimulation of dACC, but not the left dlPFC, was associated with reduced arousal ratings of emotional stimuli, both compared with the sham condition. Moreover, cathodal stimulation of left dlPFC decreased participant's positive affective state after the session. These findings suggest for the first time, a dissociation between the dACC and dlPFC, with the former more involved in emotion appraisal, and the latter more involved in mood modulation.
NeuroImage, 2021
Previous studies have shown that individuals with overweight and obesity may experience attention... more Previous studies have shown that individuals with overweight and obesity may experience attentional biases and reduced inhibition toward food stimuli. However, evidence is scarce as to whether the attentional bias is present even before stimuli are consciously recognized. Moreover, it is not known whether or not differences in the underlying brain morphometry and connectivity may co-occur with attentional bias and impulsivity towards food in individuals with different BMIs. To address these questions, we asked fifty-three participants (age M = 23.2, SD = 2.9, 13 males) to perform a breaking Continuous Flash Suppression (bCFS) task to measure the speed of subliminal processing, and a Go/No-Go task to measure inhibition, using food and nonfood stimuli. We collected whole-brain structural magnetic resonance images and functional resting-state activity. A higher BMI predicted slower subliminal processing of images independently of the type of stimulus (food or nonfood, p = 0.001, p 2 = 0.17). This higher threshold of awareness is linked to lower grey matter (GM) density of key areas involved in awareness, high-level sensory integration, and reward, such as the orbitofrontal cortex [ t = 4.55, p = 0.003], the right temporal areas [ t = 4.18, p = 0.002], the operculum and insula [ t = 4.14, p = 0.005] only in individuals with a higher BMI. In addition, individuals with a higher BMI exhibit a specific reduced inhibition to food in the Go/No-Go task [ p = 0.02, p 2 = 0.02], which is associated with lower GM density in reward brain regions [orbital gyrus, t = 4.97, p = 0.005, and parietal operculum, t = 5.14, p < 0.001] and lower resting-state connectivity of the orbital gyrus to visual areas [fusiform gyrus, t =-4.64, p < 0.001 and bilateral occipital cortex, t =-4.51, p < 0.001 and t =-4.34, p < 0.001]. Therefore, a higher BMI is predictive of non food-specific slower visual subliminal processing, which is linked to morphological alterations of key areas involved in awareness, high-level sensory integration, and reward. At a late, conscious stage of visual processing a higher BMI is associated with a specific bias towards food and with lower GM density in reward brain regions. Finally, independently of BMI, volumetric variations and connectivity patterns in different brain regions are associated with variability in bCFS and Go/No-Go performances.
Behavioural Brain Research, 2021
Bipolar disorder is an affective disorder characterized by rapid fluctuations in mood ranging fro... more Bipolar disorder is an affective disorder characterized by rapid fluctuations in mood ranging from episodes of depression to mania, as well as by increased impulsivity. Previous studies investigated the neural substrates of bipolar disorder mainly using univariate methods, with a particular focus on the neural circuitry underlying emotion regulation difficulties. In the present study, capitalizing on an innovative whole-brain multivariate method to structural analysis known as Source-based Morphometry, we investigated the neural substrates of bipolar disorder and their relation with impulsivity, assessed with both self-report measures and performance-based tasks. Structural images from 46 patients with diagnosis of bipolar disorder and 60 healthy controls were analysed. Compared to healthy controls, patients showed decreased gray matter concentration in a parietal-occipital-cerebellar network. Notably, the lower the gray matter concentration in this circuit, the higher the self-reported impulsivity. In conclusion, we provided new evidence of an altered brain network in bipolar disorder patients related to their abnormal impulsivity. Taken together, these findings extend our understanding of the neural and symptomatic characterization of bipolar disorder.
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Papers by Raffaella Ida Rumiati
The ability to categorize food requires integration of multisensory information and semantic memory with varying contextual information and is modulated by numerous factors. On the one hand, food features (e.g., energy content, level of transformation) modulate our perceptual and categorization processes; on the other hand, categorization processes are also modulated by the perceiver’s temporary states (e.g., internal states such as hunger) and more lasting characteristics (e.g., body mass index, gender). Thus, food categorization provides a very rich test-case for any model of categorization.