Giuseppe Forte

Sleep quality commonly declines with advancing age and is closely linked to psychological distress through intricate and bidirectional mechanisms. Although this relationship is well established, less is known about whether psychopathological symptoms differentially affect specific dimensions of sleep among individuals with varying levels of sleep impairment. The present study aims to investigate the role of psychopathological distress on multiple components of sleep quality in good and poor sleepers. Two hundred and seventy-three participants (aged 50-91) were divided into good sleepers (n = 145) and poor sleepers (n = 128) using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) cutoff. Psychological distress was evaluated using the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90). ANOVAs revealed that poor sleepers reported significantly higher distress across all clinical subscales and global indices of SCL-90 (p < 0.001). Correlation analyses revealed different patterns between groups. Among good sleepers, psychological distress was mainly associated with sleep latency, suggesting a circumscribed impact on sleep onset. Conversely, among poor sleepers, psychological distress showed broader correlations with sleep disturbance, daytime dysfunction, and global PSQI scores. Linear regressions confirmed that the psychopathological model significantly explained sleep quality in both groups, accounting for a greater proportion of variance in poor sleepers (R² = 0.19, p < 0.001) than in good sleepers (R² = 0.06, p = 0.025). Furthermore, the Global Severity Index, Positive Symptom Total, and Positive Symptom Distress Index were significant predictors only in the poor sleepers group. These findings suggest that psychological distress may act as a pervasive perpetuating factor when sleep is already compromised. These findings highlight the importance of considering psychopathological burden when addressing sleep problems in later life and support the development of tailored interventions targeting both emotional distress and sleep dysfunction.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a heterogeneous condition that lies between healthy and pathological aging. While it was traditionally defined by memory deficits, current conceptual models recognize MCI as a syndrome involving multiple domains. However, methodological variability in neuropsychological assessments and an excessive focus on amnestic subtypes in research have obscured the neurocognitive architecture of MCI. The aim of this umbrella meta-analysis is threefold: 1) map the most studied cognitive domains in MCI; 2) compare the extent of reported impairments across domains; and 3) assess the strength of evidence supporting each domain. Following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, thirteen papers were selected, encompassing thirty-nine unique meta-analyses. The cognitive domains included executive functions (61.5%), memory (20.5%), processing speed (7.7%), attention (5.1%), and language (5.1%). The largest mean effect size was exhibited by memory (g= 0.81), followed by language (g= 0.75), executive functions (g= 0.73), attention (g= 0.64), and processing speed (g= 0.41). This meta-analysis redefines MCI as a multidimensional, hierarchically organized pattern of cognitive vulnerabilities rather than a purely amnestic condition. Although memory impairment shows the most pronounced mean effect size, executive dysfunction is an equally consistent phenomenon, suggesting that early cognitive decline may reflect an alteration in executive systems as much as in mnemonic systems. The resulting cognitive map shows gradual differences in magnitude and stability across different cognitive domains. At the same time, the absence of a meta-analytic synthesis for visuoconstructive abilities reveals a significant gap in the literature.

Sleep quality commonly declines with advancing age and is closely linked to psychological distress through intricate and bidirectional mechanisms. Although this relationship is well established, less is known about whether psychopathological symptoms differentially affect specific dimensions of sleep among individuals with varying levels of sleep impairment. The present study aims to investigate the role of psychopathological distress on multiple components of sleep quality in good and poor sleepers. Two hundred and seventy-three participants (aged 50-91) were divided into good sleepers (n = 145) and poor sleepers (n = 128) using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) cutoff. Psychological distress was evaluated using the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90). ANOVAs revealed that poor sleepers reported significantly higher distress across all clinical subscales and global indices of SCL-90 (p < 0.001). Correlation analyses revealed different patterns between groups. Among good sleepers, psychological distress was mainly associated with sleep latency, suggesting a circumscribed impact on sleep onset. Conversely, among poor sleepers, psychological distress showed broader correlations with sleep disturbance, daytime dysfunction, and global PSQI scores. Linear regressions confirmed that the psychopathological model significantly explained sleep quality in both groups, accounting for a greater proportion of variance in poor sleepers (R² = 0.19, p < 0.001) than in good sleepers (R² = 0.06, p = 0.025). Furthermore, the Global Severity Index, Positive Symptom Total, and Positive Symptom Distress Index were significant predictors only in the poor sleepers group. These findings suggest that psychological distress may act as a pervasive perpetuating factor when sleep is already compromised. These findings highlight the importance of considering psychopathological burden when addressing sleep problems in later life and support the development of tailored interventions targeting both emotional distress and sleep dysfunction.

Personality research has traditionally focused on stable trait differences, but increasing attention has been devoted to the internal organization of personality traits within individuals. The present study examined whether intraindividual variability in the Big Five traits, operationalized as the within-person standard deviation across trait scores (iSD_BFI), is associated with problematic digital engagement in young adults. A sample of 316 participants completed the Big Five Inventory and selected subscales of the Behavioral Addiction Questionnaire assessing smartphone use, internet use and video gaming. Pearson correlations, hierarchical regression and independent samples t-tests were conducted to evaluate associations between personality trait-profile dispersion and digital behaviors. Results showed that higher iSD_BFI was weakly but significantly associated with greater problematic smartphone use (r = 0.115, p = 0.044) and internet use (r = 0.141, p = 0.012), whereas no significant association emerged with video gaming (r = 0.029, p = 0.764). Hierarchical regression analyses further indicated that iSD_BFI explained a small but statistically significant additional proportion of variance in smartphone use (ΔR² = 0.014, p = 0.023) and internet use (ΔR² = 0.019, p = 0.008) beyond age, sex, and the five Big Five traits, but not in video gaming. Participants in the problematic smartphone use group exhibited significantly higher iSD_BFI than those in the moderate risk group. Rather than representing a direct measure of self-coherence or identity fragmentation, iSD_BFI was considered an exploratory structural indicator of personality profile dispersion. Accordingly, a more heterogeneous personality profile may be associated with a greater approach to digitally mediated environments, possibly because these environments provide predictability, feedback, and reinforcement. Overall, the study highlights the importance of exploring intraindividual personality configuration as a complementary dimension to traditional trait-based approaches.

Sleep paralysis (SP) is a REM sleep parasomnia characterized by transient motor paralysis during sleep onset or awakening. It is a terrifying experience often accompanied by vivid hallucinations. Although it is classically linked to narcolepsy, isolated SP in healthy individuals offers a valuable model to investigate the interaction between REM sleep physiology and conscious awareness. In a sample of 210 adults from the Italian population, we examined the prevalence, phenomenology and cognitive–emotional landscape of SP. Importantly, this study provides preliminary evidence to integrate measures of interoception to investigate how body awareness might influence this experience. One out of four participants reported at least one episode of SP. The most common sensations echoed REM physiology, including the inability to move or speak, tingling and sealed eyelids. However, despite this paralysis, the mind conjured up vivid cognitive scenes and the felt presence of another being, as well as an overpowering fear of death. Contrary to earlier findings, SP was not tied to poorer sleep quality or chronic anxiety. Instead, it was associated with insomnia symptoms and hyper‐attuned body awareness. Individuals experiencing SP showed greater interoceptive sensitivity, noticing subtle bodily cues and regulating attention and emotion through them. This convergence between sleep physiology and interoceptive awareness suggests that SP may emerge where the boundaries among body, sleep and consciousness become blurred, a dissociated state in which REM‐related atonia coexists with preserved or re‐emerging conscious awareness. These findings suggest potential avenues of interoception as a target for future investigations into parasomnias.

Personality research has traditionally focused on stable trait differences, but emerging perspectives suggest that personality coherence, as the degree of integration versus heterogeneity across trait dimensions, may represent a critical aspect of self-functioning, with implications for behavioral regulation. The present study examined whether intraindividual variability in Big Five traits, operationalized as the within-person standard deviation across trait scores (iSD), is associated with problematic digital engagement in young adults. A sample of 316 completed the Big Five Inventory and selected subscales of the Behavioral Addiction Questionnaire assessing smartphone and internet use. Pearson correlations and independent samples t-tests were conducted to evaluate associations between personality structure and digital behaviors. Results showed that higher iSD, reflecting lower personality coherence, was significantly associated with greater problematic smartphone (r = .335, p = .021) and internet use (r = .383, p = .006). Participants in the problematic smartphone use group exhibited significantly higher iSD than those in the moderate-risk group. Accordingly, a less coherent personality structure may reflect increased internal instability, leading individuals to rely more on digitally mediated environments such as external regulatory systems providing predictability and reinforcement. Overall, the study highlights the importance of considering intraindividual personality configuration as a complementary dimension to traditional trait-based approaches.

Recent advances in neurodegenerative disease research increasingly support the existence of multiple trajectory signatures underlying the heterogeneity of cognitive decline syndromes. Originally proposed in Parkinson’s disease, the brain-first and body-first models have emerged as conceptual frameworks to explain variability in disease onset, prodromal features, and progression across dementia-related disorders. Brain-first phenotypes are defined by the early emergence of central nervous system pathology and cognitive symptoms, whereas body-first phenotypes are characterized by prominent peripheral or autonomic dysfunctions that precede central involvement. Within this perspective, neurodegeneration is not viewed as a uniform, brain-restricted process, but a dynamic interaction between central, peripheral, and network-level mechanisms. Integrating central and peripheral biomarkers, autonomic physiology, and alterations in functional connectivity provides a coherent framework for interpreting phenotypic heterogeneity and prodromal dysregulation across dementia syndromes. Current evidence supporting brain-first and body-first trajectories is largely associative, and their clinical translation requires rigorous validation. Accordingly, this narrative perspective review aims to provide a critical and integrative conceptual framework that synthesizes existing evidence, identifies unresolved questions, and outlines research priorities for trajectory-based stratification, rather than offering a definitive diagnostic classification or pharmacological evaluation. The present work adopts a conceptual and mechanistic perspective rather than a clinically prescriptive or trial-oriented one. Its aim is to articulate a generative framework capable of producing testable hypotheses about disease trajectories and biomarker constellations across neurodegenerative syndromes.

Aesthetic experience, as rooted in cognition and perception, is naturally subject to Gestalt laws. This study investigated how modifying three Gestalt laws - symmetry, figure-ground organization, and common fate - affected the aesthetic appreciation of an ancient mosaic. One hundred twenty-seven subjects rated original and altered mosaics with standardized questionnaires. Results showed that the original mosaic was highest on aesthetics, while modifications yielded lower appreciation. Additionally, participants who were familiar with the mosaic and had greater art experience rated higher on aesthetics. These findings reflect the role of Gestalt principles in aesthetic appreciation and suggest the preference for visually structured coherence. The study also reveals how art know-how and acquaintance interact with cognitive and perceptual variables to shape aesthetic judgment. However, limitations such as the cultural context and the unchanging nature of stimuli warn against the generalizability of results and require follow-up research in a wide variety of art.