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IntroductionThe sense of agency (SoA) indicates a person’s ability to feel 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.ObjectivesThis is the first article to systematically review studies that investigated intentional binding (IB), a quantitative proxy for SoA measurement, in neurological and psychiatric patients.MethodsEligible were studies of IB involving patients with neurological and/or psychiatric disorders. The research adhered to the guidelines outlined in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA).ResultsWe included 15 studies involving 692 individuals. Risk of bias was low throughout studies. Eligible studies dealt with data from 357 patients with neuropsychiatric disorders matched with 335 HCs. Of included patients, 95 were with schizophrenia (SCZ), 30 with a putative prodromal psychosis (PP), 21 with borderline personality disorder (BPD), 66 with Parkinson’s disease (PD), 38 with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), 29 with functional movement disorders (FMDs), 25 with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS), 52 with anorexia nervosa (AN; 22 with active disorder and 30 after they had recovered), and 10 with Cortico-Basal syndrome (CBS).Temporal binding was calculated in eleven studies using variations of the experimental procedure introduced by Haggard et al. (Haggard et al. Nat Neurosci 2002;5 382-385)(Figure 1, A), while four studies utilized a different paradigm named interval estimation (IE)(Figure 1, B).Image:ConclusionsAbnormally 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 increased action-outcome binding was found in patients with cortico-basal syndrome. The extent of IB deviation from healthy control values correlated with the severity of symptoms in several disorders. Inconsistent effects were found for autism spectrum disorders, anorexia nervosa, and borderline personality disorder. Findings pave the way for treatments specifically targeting SoA in neuropsychiatric disorders where IB is altered.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

IntroductionIn schizophrenia, there is evidence for anomalies in the extension and plasticity of the peripersonal space (PPS), the portion of space surrounding our body, plastically shaped through motor experiences. An impaired multisensory integration at the PPS level would underpin the disembodiment, a core feature of the disorder linked to subjective perturbations of the sense of self (“Self-disorders”) and of the intersubjective dimension (“schizophrenic autism”).ObjectivesThe present study was aimed at: 1) exploring possible associations between PPS data, psychopathological dimensions, and subjective experiences in schizophrenia; 2) identifying a specific PPS profile in patients with early-onset schizophrenia.MethodsA motor training with a tool was used to assess the PPS size and boundaries demarcation in twenty-seven schizophrenia outpatients. Moreover, they underwent a thorough psychopathological evaluation with the Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Examination of Anomalous Self Experience scale (EASE) and the Autism Rating Scale (ARS). Subsequently, the sample was divided into early (EOS) and adult-onset (AOS) subgroups, that were compared with respect to their PPS and psychopathological profiles.ResultsPPS features (size and boundaries demarcation) were associated with PANSS negative score, subjective experiences of existential reorientation (EASE Domain 5 scores) and traits of schizophrenic autism (ARS scores; Fig. 1). PPS parameters (Fig. 2) and ARS scores, but not PANSS and EASE differentiated between early and adult-onset subgroups.Image:Image 2:ConclusionsOur results suggest a link between PPS patterns, negative symptoms, and disturbances of the subjective experience, particularly in the intersubjective domain, in schizophrenia. Moreover, they candidate specific PPS profiles and schizophrenic autism traits as EOS markers.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

IntroductionA primary disruption of the bodily self is considered a core feature of schizophrenia patients (SCZ). The “disembodied” self would be underpinned by an inefficient body-related multisensory integration mechanism occurring in the Peripersonal Space (PPS). PPS is a plastic sector of space surrounding our body, whose extent is altered in SCZ. Although PPS represents a malleable interface marking the perceptual border between self and others, no study has investigated the potential alteration of its plasticity in SCZ.ObjectivesWe investigated the PPS extension and its plasticity in SCZ and their potential correlations with the clinical scales.MethodsThirty SCZ and thirty healthy controls (HC) underwent a multisensory task to estimate PPS boundary before and after a motor training. Patients were also administered the Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Examination of Anomalous Self-Experience (EASE).ResultsData confirm a narrower PPS extent in SCZ than in HC, whereas no differences in PPS expansion was found in the two groups after the motor training (Figure 1). Positive symptoms were associated directly with PPS extent and inversely with PPS plasticity. No associations were found between PPS and EASE domains. Figure1: Graphical representation of PPS expansion in SCZ and HC. Both panels show individual normalized sigmoid fitsConclusionsThe present study suggests a narrower PPS extent and a preserved PPS plasticity in SCZ with respect to HC. Both PPS extent and plasticity are related to the severity of positive symptoms. These results highlight the potential role of rehabilitation interventions in order to improve patients’ weakened body boundary.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Costly investments in storage and transport of onion bulbs makes it increasingly important to identify cultivars with the best chance of long-term storage. This paper discusses our own and other researchers’ results and laboratory procedures on onion’s pungency, soluble solids, dry matter, respiration rate, carbohydrates and catabolism-related enzymes under different storage conditions. The variability in parameters such as carbohydrate composition, pungency, soluble solids and soluble uronic acid concentration in water is growth dependent, and defines the quality of onion bulbs at harvest time. During storage, these parameters can be modified by environmental conditions, presence of pathogens or termination of dormancy. Under postharvest conditions, indicators of dormancy are usually measured as percentage of either root emergence or sprouting. Biochemical and physiological parameters such as decreases in sucrose levels and increases in (1) respiration rates, (2) exo hydrolase activity, and (3) bulb-softening enzyme rates (polygalacturonase poly methyl esterase) signal the end of dormancy. However, more research is needed on environmental and chemical factors that reduce the rate of bulb sprouting.

Costly investments in storage and transport of onion bulbs makes it increasingly important to identify cultivars with the best chance of long-term storage. This paper discusses our own and other researchers' results and laboratory procedures on onion's pungency, soluble solids, dry matter, respiration rate, carbohydrates and catabolism-related enzymes under different storage conditions. The variability in parameters such as carbohydrate composition, pungency, soluble solids and soluble uronic acid concentration in water is growth dependent, and defines the quality of onion bulbs at harvest time. During storage, these parameters can be modified by environmental conditions, presence of pathogens or termination of dormancy. Under postharvest conditions, indicators of dormancy are usually measured as percentage of either root emergence or sprouting. Biochemical and physiological parameters such as decreases in sucrose levels and increases in (1) respiration rates, (2) exo hydrolase activity, and (3) bulb-softening enzyme rates (polygalacturonase poly methyl esterase) signal the end of dormancy. However, more research is needed on environmental and chemical factors that reduce the rate of bulb sprouting.

The present study addresses a novel issue by investigating whether beholders’ sensorimotor engagement with the emotional content of works of art contributes to the formation of their objective aesthetic judgment of beauty. To this purpose, participants’ sensorimotor engagement was modulated by asking them to overtly contract the Corrugator Supercilii facial muscles or to refrain from any voluntary facial movement while judging the aesthetic value of painful and neutral facial expressions in select examples of Renaissance and Baroque paintings. Results demonstrated a specific increase in the aesthetic rating of paintings showing painful facial expressions during the congruent activation of the Corrugator Supercilii muscles. Furthermore, participants’ empathetic traits and expertise in art were found to correlate directly with the amplitude of the motor enactment effect on aesthetic judgments. For the first time, we show the role of bottom–up bodily driven sensorimotor processes in the objective aesthetic evaluation of works of art.

This study compares the performance of two groups of dogs with different levels of social interaction with humans, shelter and pet dogs, in two inhibitory control tasks. (1) In the A-not-B task, dogs were required to resist searching for food in a previously rewarded location, and (2) in the cylinder task, dogs were required to resist approaching visible food directly in favor of a detour reaching response. Our first aim was to evaluate the importance of learning and ontogeny in performing inhibitory tasks. Also, we assessed whether there is a correlation between the two tasks by comparing performance in the same subjects. Results showed significant differences between shelter and pet dogs in the A-not-B task, with poorer performance in shelter dogs. However, no differences were found in the cylinder task. The poorer performance of shelter dogs might be related to their infrequent interaction with humans, which reduces the chances to learn to inhibit certain behaviors. This result would highlight the importance of ontogeny in developing that ability. On the other hand, no correlations were found between the two tasks, which contributes information to the debate about the context specificity of inhibitory control in dogs.