Giulia Marselli

Trauma is a condition that overwhelms an individual’s capacity to cope, disrupting emotional regulation, cognitive functioning, and the sense of safety. Complex trauma, characterized by prolonged and interpersonal adverse experiences, is associated with significant psychological distress, including anxiety, dissociation, and difficulties in self-regulation. Neurobiological research highlights how trauma is encoded not only cognitively but also within the body, through autonomic nervous system dysregulation and procedural memory processes, often resulting in states of hyperarousal or hypoarousal and a narrowed window of tolerance. The aim of this narrative review is to synthesize and critically examine the current literature on somatic-based interventions for the treatment of trauma, with a particular focus on Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Somatic Experiencing, and related body-oriented approaches. In this context, somatic-based interventions offer a bottom–up approach that directly targets physiological and sensorimotor processes. Modalities such as Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and Somatic Experiencing aim to restore autonomic balance, enhance body awareness, and support the integration of traumatic experiences. This narrative review synthesizes current evidence, suggesting that these approaches can improve emotional regulation, dissociation, and overall trauma-related symptoms, particularly in individuals with complex trauma. Despite promising findings, the literature is limited by methodological variability and a lack of rigorous trials. Further research is needed to strengthen the evidence base and clarify mechanisms of change. Overall, somatic interventions represent a valuable complement to traditional trauma therapies, supporting a more integrated and embodied approach to treatment.

Introduction: Aging is accompanied by a range of cognitive and emotional changes. Among these, difficulty in identifying and describing feelings and a tendency toward externally oriented thinking have been associated with frank cognitive decline. This pattern is known as alexithymia and reflects emotional dysregulation. Research Questions– This study aimed to investigate the largely unexplored relationship between alexithymia and cognitive functioning in older adults within the context of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods: Three hundred and twenty adults aged 50–80 years classified as healthy controls, amnestic MCI (aMCI), or non-amnestic MCI (naMCI), completed a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment and the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Results and discussion: Participants with aMCI showed significantly higher levels of alexithymia, compared to healthy controls. This pattern suggests that emotional dysregulation is more pronounced in individuals with memory-related cognitive decline. In both the aMCI and naMCI groups, correlations between alexithymia scores and cognitive measures were negative, indicating that higher alexithymia was associated with poorer cognitive performance. In contrast, these associations were weak in healthy controls, implying that the link between emotional processing difficulties and cognitive inefficiency emerges primarily in MCI. Taken together, these findings point to a specific interplay between emotional and cognitive domains in the early stages of neurodegenerative decline. Accordingly, elevated alexithymia in aMCI individuals might represent a socio-emotional marker of prodromal Alzheimer’s disease, highlighting the importance of considering emotional regulation in the assessment of cognitive aging.

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.

The global population has been significantly affected by the pandemic in terms of physical and mental health. According to transactional theory, individuals have undergone an adaptation process influenced by cognitive control abilities. Emotional responses to COVID-19-related stimuli may interfere with top-down attentional processes, thereby hindering adaptation. This study aimed to investigate the impact of COVID-19-related stimuli on attentional processing and to determine whether psychological factors could modulate these effects. A sample of 96 healthy undergraduate students participated in an emotional Stroop task in which they were presented with a series of stimuli, including both neutral and negative COVID-19-related as well as non-COVID-19 stimuli. COVID-19-related PTSD, as an index of distress (PTSS), and trait anxiety were evaluated. Results showed that participants were more accurate in identifying COVID-19-related stimuli compared to non-COVID-19 stimuli. Being female and having higher retrospective PTSS scores related to COVID-19 were predictive of faster reaction times for both neutral and negative COVID-19-related stimuli. This heightened attentional bias toward COVID-19-related stimuli suggests that individuals may be more sensitive to stimuli associated with the pandemic. The results suggest that the association between COVID-19 stimuli and attentional biases extends beyond emotional valence, being retrospectively influenced by mental health, suggesting potential pathways to future mental health challenges.

Introduction: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a syndrome defined as a decline in cognitive performance greater than expected for an individual according to age and education level, not interfering notably with daily life activities. Many studies have focused on the memory domain in the analysis of MCI and more severe cases of dementia. One specific memory system is represented by autobiographical memory (AM), which has been largely studied in Alzheimer’s disease and its effect on AM; however, the impairment of AM in moderate forms of decline, such as MCI, is still controversial. Objective: The main aim of this systematic review is to analyze the functioning of autobiographical memory in patients with MCI, considering both the semantic and the episodic components. Materials: The review process was conducted according to the PRISMA statement. The search was conducted until 20 February 2023 in the following bibliographical databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and PsycInfo, and twenty-one articles were included. Results: The results highlight controversial findings concerning the semantic component of AM since only seven studies have found a worse semantic AM performance in patients with MCI compared to the HC group. The results of impaired episodic AM in individuals with MCI are more consistent than those concerning semantic AM. Conclusions: Starting from the evidence of this systematic review, further studies should detect and investigate the cognitive and emotional mechanisms that undermine AM performance, allowing the development of specific interventions targeting these mechanisms.

Cognitive reserve (CR) represents the ability to optimize performance and functioning to cope with brain damage or disease. CR reflects the capability to adaptively and flexibly use cognitive processes and brain networks to compensate for the deterioration typical of aging. Several studies have investigated the potential role of CR in aging, especially from the perspective of preventing and protecting against dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). This systematic literature review aimed to investigate the role of CR as a protective factor against MCI and associated cognitive decline. The review process was conducted according to the PRISMA statement. For this purpose, ten studies were analyzed. The results of this review show that high CR is significantly associated with a reduced risk of MCI. In addition, a significant positive relationship between CR and cognitive functioning is observed when comparing subjects with MCI and healthy subjects and within people with MCI. Thus, the results confirm the positive role of cognitive reserve in mitigating cognitive impairment. The evidence from this systematic review is consistent with the theoretical models of CR. Indeed, previous research hypothesized that specific individual experiences (such as leisure activities) allow a person to acquire successful neural resources over the years to cope with cognitive decline.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a syndrome characterized by a decline in cognitive performance greater than expected for an individual's age and education level, but that does not interfere much with daily life activities. Establishing the prevalence of MCI is very important for both clinical and research fields. In fact, in a certain percentage of cases, MCI represents a prodromal condition for the development of dementia. Accordingly, it is important to identify the characteristics of MCI that allow us to predict the development of dementia. Also, initial detection of cognitive decline can allow the early implementation of prevention programs aimed at counteracting or slowing it down. To this end, it is important to have a clear picture of the prevalence of MCI and, consequently, of the diagnostic criteria used. According to these issues, this systematic review aims to analyze MCI prevalence, exploring the methods for diagnosing MCI that determine its prevalence. The review process was conducted according to the PRISMA statement. Three thousand one hundred twenty-one international articles were screened, and sixty-six were retained. In these studies, which involved 157,035 subjects, the prevalence of MCI ranged from 1.2 to 87%. The review results showed a large heterogeneity among studies due to differences in the subjects' recruitment, the diagnostic criteria, the assessed cognitive domains, and other methodological aspects that account for a higher range of MCI prevalence. This large heterogeneity prevents drawing any firm conclusion about the prevalence of MCI.