Psychophysiological Studies Research Articles

Quality in Question: Assessing the Accuracy of Four Heart Rate Wearables and the Implications for Psychophysiological Research.

Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) are two key measures with significant relevance in psychophysiological studies, and their measurement has become more convenient due to advances in wearable technology. However, photoplethysmography (PPG)-based wearables pose critical validity concerns. In this study, we validated four PPG wearables: three consumer-grade devices (Kyto2935, Schone Rhythm 24, and HeartMath Inner Balance Bluetooth) and one research-grade device (Empatica EmbracePlus, successor to the widely-used but discontinued Empatica E4). All devices were worn simultaneously by 40 healthy participants who underwent conditions commonly used in laboratory research (seated rest, arithmetic task, recovery, slow-paced breathing, a neuropsychological task, posture manipulation by standing up) and encountered in ambulatory-like settings (slow walking and stationary biking), compared against a criterion electrocardiography device, the Vrije Universiteit Ambulatory Monitoring System (VU-AMS). We determined the signal quality, the linear strength through regression analysis, the bias through Bland-Altman analysis, and the measurement error through mean arctangent absolute percentage error for each condition against the criterion device. We found that the research-grade device did not outperform the consumer-grade devices in laboratory conditions. It also showed low agreement with the ECG in ambulatory-like conditions. In general, devices captured HR more accurately than HRV. Finally, conditions that deviated from baseline settings and involved slight to high movement, negatively impacted the agreement between PPG devices and the criterion. We conclude that PPG devices, even those advertised and designed for research purposes, may pose validity concerns for HRV measurement in conditions other than those similar to resting states.

Психотехнологии в тактике проведении специальных психофизиологических исследований с применением полиграфа, рассчитанные на акцентуации характера кандидатов на службу в органы внутренних дел Российской Федерации

The relevance of the chosen topic is due to the need for a polygraph examiner to take into account the individual typological characteristics of candidates for service in the process of conducting special psychophysiological studies (SPFI) using a polygraph. The subject of the study: psychological technologies in the tactics of conducting SPFI in relation to the examined persons with character accentuations. The purpose of the study: to develop and experimentally implement psychotechnologies in the conduct of SPFI, designed for the characteristics of accentuated candidates for service in the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation. The methodological basis of the study was used: theoretical and applied approaches in the field of strategies and tactics, the phased conduct of psychophysiological research using a polygraph (V.V. Korovin, Yu.I. Kholodny, V.A. Varlamov, A.N. Obukhova, I.P. Obukhova, etc.); the concept of the operational psychological structure of the actions of law enforcement officers (N.R. Bityanova, V.A. Danilov, M.G. Debolsky, A.I. Papkin, I.B. Ponomarev, A.M. Stolyarenko, V.P. Trubochkin, V.I. Chernenilov, etc.); typology of character accentuations (K. Leonhard, A.E. Lichko). Research methods: deductive and inductive methods for generalizing psychological theories, concepts on scientific and applied problems of the research topic; questionnaires of polygraph examiners; psychological analysis of characterizing materials for candidates for service in the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation; observation of the examined persons; stimulus-adaptive test (SAT); psychological analysis of polygrams. Psychophysiological studies of candidates for service (20 people) were conducted using a computer polygraph "Diana-04". The sample of the study included 20 candidates for service in the GU of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the Stavropol Territory. The results of the experimental study: the use of psychotechnologies in the tactics of conducting a pre-test conversation, designed to accentuate the examined persons, contributes to the optimization of the psycho-emotional state and adaptation of these persons to the SPFI, ensure the effectiveness of the study. The novelty of the research lies in the theoretical development of psychological methods, techniques and means for conducting a pre-test conversation with candidates with character accents, experimental testing of their effectiveness and ensuring the achievement of the goals of socio-psychophysiological research using a polygraph.

Emotional and Cognitive Processes Underlying Persuasion, Moderating Factors, and Physiological Reactions: A Systematic Review.

Persuasion is a type of social influence aiming to produce changes in others' attitudes or behaviors. This study explores the relationship between emotions and persuasion, principal moderating factors, and physiological reactions during persuasive attempts. Following PRISMA guidelines, 28 empirical articles were analyzed, addressing emotions, affective/cognitive orientations, framing effects, and psychophysiological reactions. Mixed findings emerged regarding emotions, with fear appeals being effective in health education, while more recent studies favor the use of positive persuasive messages to increase behavior intention. Principal moderating factors included personal relevance, need for cognition (NFC) and need for affect (NFA), thought confidence, vulnerability, and efficacy beliefs. Psychophysiological studies revealed distinct physiological arousal during persuasion processing compared to a rest state. In addition, a greater misalignment between current behavior and the persuasive attempt led to perceived freedom threat and psychological reactance. These insights enhance persuasive effectiveness and deepen understanding of persuasion processes, guiding future research directions.

Study of physiological reactions in healthy individuals in different microclimate: a pilot study

Introduction. Studying the influence of meteorological and heliophysical factors on the human body is an urgent problem in restorative medicine. Aim. To study the characteristics of the microclimatic zones of the territory of the village of Arkhipo-Osipovka, the Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar Territory and the physiological parameters of healthy volunteers before and after the terrainkur in order to assess the effectiveness of its individual routes. Materials and methods. Bioclimatic zoning of the territory of the SKK “Vulan” was carried out, the village of Arkhipo-Osipovka, the Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar Territory, according to standard methods in October 2023. In October 2023, a clinical study was conducted with the participation of 12 healthy volunteers, using a cross-sectional study design. All study participants went through a standard health path route every day in different microclimatic zones, before and after which a psychophysiological study was carried out, heart rate variability (HRV) was assessed, microcirculation and composition body weight using the bioimpedance method. Results and discussion. It was revealed that the psychophysiological state of the volunteers was characterized by overstrain of regulatory systems (the median indicator of activity of regulatory systems in all zones was 7.0); after the health path, statistically significant changes in HRV, hemodynamic parameters, microcirculation and body composition were noted (p 0.05). However, the rate of increase or decrease in indicators was heterogeneous in different microclimates (p 0.05). According to the results of the cluster analysis, the circulation regime was associated with indicators of HRV and microcirculation, and ambient temperature with HRV and body composition. When analyzing the body’s adaptive response to the influence of climatic factors and identified microclimatic zones, the same type of nonspecific response of the body of healthy volunteers to physical activity was recorded, but the degree of severity of this response was different. Conclusion. The introduction of bioclimatic zoning in sanatorium-resort organizations will allow optimizing health path techniques, due to the possibility of dosing the climatic load, by determining the optimal location, time of year and microclimate for conducting sanatorium-resort treatment.

The role of mood in shaping reactions to smoking cessation messages among adults who smoke: a multimodal investigation

IntroductionMood-tailored communications may help increase the effectiveness of smoking cessation messaging interventions. We used both self-report and psychophysiological measures to test the impact of mood on responses to cessation messages in adults who smoke.MethodsIn a two-part (crowdsourcing and psychophysiological studies) study, the impact of 30 smoking cessation messages comprised of five themes (i.e., financial, health, quality-of-life, challenges in quitting, motivation to quit) were tested. In a crowdsourcing study, participants (N = 600) were randomly placed into one of three mood induction tasks (i.e., positive, negative, neutral), and then viewed the smoking cessation messages. After each message, they were asked to self-report their motivation to quit, message receptivity, and the perceived relevance of the messages. In an in-lab, psychophysiological study, participants (N = 42) completed the same tasks as the crowdsourcing participants but were monitored for heart rate, skin conductance, and eye-tracking while viewing the cessation messages. Using a multi-attribute decision-making model (MADM) using outcomes from both studies, messages were ranked for each mood state.ResultsThe top messages for participants in the positive mood condition included the challenges in quitting, financial costs/rewards, and motivations to quit themes. The top messages for participants assigned to the negative mood condition included the challenges in quitting, quality-of-life, and financial costs/rewards themes. For participants in the neutral mood condition, messages in the challenges in quitting and quality of life themes performed best.ConclusionsVariations in the preferences of messages and themes by mood condition suggest that mood-tailored communication may increase the effectiveness of smoking cessation messages.

МЕЗО-ФОРТЕ ТЕРАПИЯ В НЕЙРОРЕАБИЛИТАЦИИ ДЕТЕЙ С МИОПИЕЙ — ПИЛОТНОЕ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЕ

This article presents the results of a pilot clinical and experimental study of the prospects for neurorehabilitation of children with myopia using Meso-Forte Therapy (MFT), an innovative hardware method of restorative treatment using digital music therapy programs. For the first time, data from complex psycho physiological and ophthalmological studies is published, revealing the mechanisms of corrective regulation of the psycho emotional status, the autonomic nervous system, and the tone of the accommodating muscles of the eye using the main algorithms of musical and acoustic effects.

Психологические и психобиологические подходы к изучению поведения подростков в цифровой среде

Introduction. The volume of the Internet audience is rapidly growing, which encourages psychologists and medicals to study Internet addiction, psychology and psychobiology of overly Internet-addicted individuals. Internet addiction has a number of specific properties, but it has common features with chemical addictions. The question of the differential diagnosis of Internet addiction and the validity of its inclusion in the glossary of neuropsychiatric diseases remains open. The aim of the study is a theoretical analysis of the similarities and differences of dependence on digital media in comparison with chemical forms of addiction, the development of methods for differential diagnosis of Internet addiction. Theoretical justification. Neuroplasticity and interactions of genes with the environment, identified in patients with mental and neuropsychiatric disorders of an affective nature, are considered as mechanisms for the transition of excessive Internet involvement into Internet addiction. Neuroplasticity and genetic control of dopamine synthesis and metabolism in cyber-gaming have been founded to be important. Dopamine regulates emotional experiences and cognitive functions characteristic of Internet addicts. In previous studies, we experimentally confirmeda high correlation the R-R-intervals fluctuations as a marks of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) function, which is involved in the formation of negative emotions and reactions to stress, and the behavior of adolescents on the Internet. Discussion. The main directions of the development of differential diagnosis of Internet addiction are psychodiagnostics of adolescents' behavior on the Internet and their individual and personal characteristics, psychophysiological study of the characteristics of ANS in relation with the behavior of adolescents on the Internet.

The Problem of Establishment of a Special Psychophysiological Study with the Use of a Polygraph as a Separate Criminal Intelligence and Surveillance Activity Within the Framework of Relevant Problems of Polygraph Use in Internal Affairs Agencies

The Problem of Establishment of a Special Psychophysiological Study with the Use of a Polygraph as a Separate Criminal Intelligence and Surveillance Activity Within the Framework of Relevant Problems of Polygraph Use in Internal Affairs Agencies

Advancing the treatment of anxiety disorders in transition-age youth: a review of the therapeutic effects of unconscious exposure.

The real-world effectiveness of exposure-based therapies for youth depends on the willingness and ability of young people to tolerate confronting their fears, which can be experienced as highly aversive and create problems with treatment engagement and acceptance. Recently, neuroscientific research on the nonconscious basis of fear has been translated into novel exposure interventions that bypass conscious processing of feared stimuli and that thus do not cause phobic youth to experience distress. We present a review of these unconscious exposure interventions. A PRISMA-based search yielded 20 controlled experiments based on three paradigms that tested if fear-related responses could be reduced without conscious awareness in highly phobic, transition-age youth: 14 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 5 fMRI studies (1 was also an RCT), 4 psychophysiological studies (3 were also RCTs), and 1 ERP study. We conducted meta-analyses of outcomes where feasible. Unconscious exposure interventions significantly (1) reduced avoidance behavior (range of Cohen's d = 0.51-0.95) and self-reported fear (d = 0.45-1.25) during in vivo exposure to the feared situation; (2) reduced neurobiological indicators of fear (d = 0.54-0.62) and concomitant physiological arousal (d = 0.55-0.64); (3) activated neural systems supporting fear regulation more strongly than visible exposure to the same stimuli (d = 1.2-1.5); (4) activated regions supporting fear regulation that mediated the reduction of avoidance behavior (d = 0.70); (5) evoked ERPs suggesting encoding of extinction memories (d = 2.13); and (6) had these effects without inducing autonomic arousal or subjective fear. Unconscious exposure interventions significantly reduce a variety of symptomatic behaviors with mostly moderate effect sizes in transition-age youth with specific phobias. fMRI and physiological findings establish a neurophysiological basis for this efficacy, and suggest it occurs through extinction learning. Unconscious exposure was well tolerated, entirely unassociated with drop out, and is highly scalable for clinical practice. However, a number of limitations must be addressed to assess potential clinical impacts, including combining unconscious exposure with exposure therapy to boost treatment acceptance and efficacy.

Arousal, interindividual differences and temporal binding a psychophysiological study

The sense of agency varies as a function of arousal in negative emotional contexts. As yet, it is unknown whether the same is true for positive affect, and how inter-individual characteristics might predict these effects. Temporal binding, an implicit measure of the sense of agency, was measured in 59 participants before and after watching either an emotionally neutral film clip or a positive film clip with high or low arousal. Analyses included participants’ individual differences in subjective affective ratings, physiological arousal (pupillometry, skin conductance, heart rate), striatal dopamine levels via eye blink rates, and psychopathy. Linear mixed models showed that sexual arousal decreased temporal binding whereas calm pleasure had no facilitation effect on binding. Striatal dopamine levels were positively linked whereas subjective and physiological arousal may be negatively associated with binding towards actions. Psychopathic traits reduced the effect of high arousal on binding towards actions. These results provide evidence that individual differences influence the extent to which the temporal binding is affected by high arousing states with positive valence.

Genital arousal and responsive desire among women with and without sexual interest/arousal disorder symptoms.

Models depicting sexual desire as responsive to sexual arousal may be particularly apt for women experiencing arousal or desire difficulties, and the degree to which arousal triggers desire may depend on the relationship context and desire target and timing-yet, these associations have not been directly tested among women with and without sexual interest/arousal disorder (SIAD). To assess the role of SIAD status and relationship satisfaction in the associations between genital arousal and 4 types of responsive desire. One hundred women (n = 27 meeting diagnostic criteria for SIAD) in romantic relationships with men viewed a sexual film (pleasurable intimate depiction of oral sex and penile-vaginal intercourse) while their genital arousal was recorded via vaginal photoplethysmography (n = 63) or thermal imaging of the labia (n = 37). Partner and solitary desire was assessed immediately before and after the film (immediate desire) and 3days later (delayed desire). Outcomes consisted of genital response (z scored by method) and associations between genital response and responsive sexual desire. The key difference between women with and without SIAD was not in their ability to experience genital arousal but in how their genital responses translated to responsive sexual desire. Women with SIAD actually exhibited greater genital arousal than unaffected women. Associations between genital arousal and desire were significant only for women with SIAD and depended on relationship satisfaction and desire type. For women with SIAD with low relationship satisfaction, higher arousal predicted lower immediate desire for a partner; for those with high relationship satisfaction, arousal was either positively related (vaginal photoplethysmography) or unrelated (thermal imaging of the labia) to immediate desire for a partner. Associations with other desire types were not significant. Patterns of genital arousal and partner-specific responsive desire among women affected with SIAD were indicative of an avoidance model in response to heightened genital arousal, unless relationship satisfaction was high; attending to genital arousal sensations could be a means of triggering sexual desire for women with SIAD who are satisfied in their relationships. This is one of the first sexual psychophysiologic studies to connect relationship factors to patterns of sexual response. The differing arousal assessment procedures and lack of official diagnosis may have attenuated results. The homogeneous sample and in-person session requirement limit generalizability. When compared with unaffected women, women affected by SIAD may exhibit stronger arousal responses with sufficiently incentivized sexual stimuli, and the connection between their genital arousal and responsive desire for their partners may be stronger and more dependent on relationship context.

The influence of acute stress exposure on cognitive reappraisal: a psychophysiological study

Successful and efficient emotion regulation (ER) is a key mechanism for mental health. However, acute stress may impact the ability to cognitively regulate negative emotions due to its immediate effects on executive functioning. Based on previous studies, we expected that the time at which ER is tested after a stressor might have a decisive influence, with impairments in ER being more pronounced immediately after stress as compared to a later post-stress phase. To investigate such a time-dependent effect of stress on ER, we investigated 50 healthy adults (26 female) who were exposed to either the Trier Social Stress Test (n = 25) or a control condition (n = 25). Afterwards subjects conducted a cognitive ER task during which they were instructed to either regulate (cognitive reappraisal) or passively view neutral and negative visual stimuli. The ER task was divided into an early (0–20 minutes) and a late post-stress phase (20–40 minutes). Salivary cortisol and α-amylase were assessed as markers of the neuroendocrine stress response. Self-reported emotional state, the mean activity of the late positive potential measured via electroencephalogram (EEG), and corrugator electromyographic activity (EMG) were used as indices of ER. While the groups did not differ in the early post-stress phase, our results suggest a stress-related impairment in ER in the late post-stress phase. This effect was evident in all ER outcome variables (subjective rating, EEG, and EMG data). These results suggest a time-specific stress effect on cognitive reappraisal, which would have implications for reappraisal as a possible stress management technique.

Machine Learning-Based Interpretable Modeling for Subjective Emotional Dynamics Sensing Using Facial EMG.

Understanding the association between subjective emotional experiences and physiological signals is of practical and theoretical significance. Previous psychophysiological studies have shown a linear relationship between dynamic emotional valence experiences and facial electromyography (EMG) activities. However, whether and how subjective emotional valence dynamics relate to facial EMG changes nonlinearly remains unknown. To investigate this issue, we re-analyzed the data of two previous studies that measured dynamic valence ratings and facial EMG of the corrugator supercilii and zygomatic major muscles from 50 participants who viewed emotional film clips. We employed multilinear regression analyses and two nonlinear machine learning (ML) models: random forest and long short-term memory. In cross-validation, these ML models outperformed linear regression in terms of the mean squared error and correlation coefficient. Interpretation of the random forest model using the SHapley Additive exPlanation tool revealed nonlinear and interactive associations between several EMG features and subjective valence dynamics. These findings suggest that nonlinear ML models can better fit the relationship between subjective emotional valence dynamics and facial EMG than conventional linear models and highlight a nonlinear and complex relationship. The findings encourage emotion sensing using facial EMG and offer insight into the subjective-physiological association.

Topographic mapping of the sensorimotor qualities of empathic reactivity: A psychophysiological study in people with spinal cord injuries.

The experience of empathy for pain is underpinned by sensorimotor and affective dimensions which, although interconnected, are at least in part behaviorally and neurally distinct. Spinal cord injuries (SCI) induce a massive, below-lesion level, sensorimotor body-brain disconnection. This condition may make it possible to test whether sensorimotor deprivation alters specific dimensions of empathic reactivity to observed pain. To explore this issue, we asked SCI people with paraplegia and healthy controls to observe videos of painful or neutral stimuli administered to a hand (intact) or a foot (deafferented). The stimuli were displayed by means of a virtual reality set-up and seen from a first person (1PP) or third person (3PP) visual perspective. A number of measures were recorded ranging from explicit behaviors like explicit verbal reports on the videos, to implicit measures of muscular activity (like EMG from the corrugator and zygomatic muscles that may represent a proxy of sensorimotor empathy) and of autonomic reactivity (like the electrodermal response and Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia that may represent a general proxy of affective empathy). While no across group differences in explicit verbal reports about the pain stimuli were found, SCI people exhibited reduced facial muscle reactivity to the stimuli applied to the foot (but not the hand) seen from the 1PP. Tellingly, the corrugator activity correlated with SCI participants' neuropathic pain. There were no across group differences in autonomic reactivity suggesting that SCI lesions may affect sensorimotor dimensions connected to empathy for pain.

Impaired motor inhibition during perceptual inhibition in older, but not younger adults: a psychophysiological study

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) governs the ability to rapidly cancel planned movements when no longer appropriate (motor inhibition) and ignore distracting stimuli (perceptual inhibition). It is unclear to what extent these processes interact, and how they are impacted by age. The interplay between perceptual and motor inhibition was investigated using a Flanker Task, a Stop Signal Task and a combined Stop Signal Flanker Task in healthy young (n = 33, Mean = 24 years) and older adults (n = 32, Mean = 71 years). PFC activity was measured with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), while electromyography (EMG) measured muscle activity in the fingers used to respond to the visual cues. Perceptual inhibition (the degree to which incongruent flankers slowed response time to a central cue) and motor inhibition (the speed of cancellation of EMG activation following stop cues) independently declined with age. When both processes were engaged together, PFC activity increased for both age groups, however only older adults exhibited slower motor inhibition. The results indicate that cortical upregulation was sufficient to compensate for the increased task demands in younger but not older adults, suggesting potential resource sharing and neural limitations particularly in older adults.

INFLUENCE OF THE SEROLOGICAL MARKETS OF BLOOD GROUPS OF THE ABO SYSTEM ON A DEVELOPMENT OF THE MAIN MENTAL FUNCTIONS IN YOUNG ATHLETES (FROM AUTHOR"S EXPERIENCE OF MANY YEARS)

Introduction. From the available literature sources, we find the fact of identifying associative relationships between serological markers of blood groups of the ABO system and the possibilities of developing certain motor skills and mental properties of highly trained athletes. The article discusses the results of the author's long-term research on the influence of blood groups on the development of these functions of young athletes aged 13-16 years. The aim of the study is to analyze and summarize the data of the scientific research of the author of this article, which relate to the possibilities of using serological markers of blood groups of the ABO system in genetic prediction of the development of the main mental functions of school youth who specialize in various sports. Material and methods: 1) analysis of scientific and scientific-methodological literature on the problems of researching the possibilities of using blood groups in genetic prediction of the development of the main mental functions of a person; 2) pedagogical experiment: psychophysiological studies of main mental processes (logical thinking, attention, perception of time, visual memory); 3) pedagogical observation of pupils and student youth, 4) statistical methods. Results. it was established that young athletes of adolescent age (boys, girls) of a certain blood group can show different associative relationships with different properties of a specific mental function, namely, some of them are the best, while others are the worst. There were also no gender differences in the features of the development of mental traits in adolescent athletes and their peers who do not play sports. Conclusions. the use of serological markers of blood groups is possible in the genetic prediction of the development of basic mental functions (attention, logical thinking, time perception, visual memory) of young athletes .

Review of Tatyana Nikolaevna Ushakova’s Book “The Nature of the Meaningfulness of the Word”

The review of the book by T.N. Ushakova “The nature of the meaningfulness of the word” considered the main idea of the book — the ratio of subjective and objective components of speech, the external form of the word and its subjective content, their mutual complementarity and the irreducibility of the sum to a single whole. Its evidences based on the author’s analysis of a large volume of literary and experimental data, including the work of the author of the book, T.N. Ushakova, were analyzed. It is emphasized that the book is a fundamental work that summarizes experimental data and their deep understanding, allowing the author to formulate a new psychophysiological concept of speech formation and language acquisition. This is an interdisciplinary study covering different aspects of speech behavior from the positions of psychology, physiology, linguistics, psychophysiology and philosophy, starting from the early vocalizations of infants and their motor activity, and ending with the processes of language creativity in adult. Review noted that expanding the problem of studying language and speech, T.N. Ushakova turns to neuropsychological and psychophysiological studies of verbal phenomena, describing approaches aimed at studying their mechanisms; offers a behavioral scheme for the formation of meaningful behavior - from its origin in infancy to its implementation in older age. The book contains three logically connected parts – Background on psychological and psycholinguistic studies of words; The origin and development of the phenomenon of meaningfulness; Language and word creation. The content of each part leads to the perception of increasingly information presented in the next chapter. The logical conclusion of the author’s many years of research is the concept of language, which is new in linguistics, outlined in the book. The book is interesting for specialists in various fields of knowledge - philologists, linguists, psychologists, psychophysiologists, philosophers.

Sleep and fine motor skills: the influence of sex and level of physical activity

To examine the influence of sleep quality on psychophysiological testing results and autonomic state in university students of both sexes with different habitual physical activity level. One hundred and twenty-four 6th year medical students (88 women and 36 men) and 80 sport science students (42 women and 38 men) underwent a comprehensive psychophysiological study, including 7 tests: simple motor reaction, choice reaction, reaction under conditions of interference, reaction to a moving object, critical fusion frequency, as well as static and dynamic (by profile) dexterity tests. Autonomic status was assessed using heart rate variability, sleep quality and alertness were assessed based on self-report, and in athletes, using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Questionnaire (PSQI). In the male athletes' group with morning chronotype the sleep quality was better than in medical students. Only female medical students demonstrated a deterioration in praxis with an increase in the severity of evening features in the chronotype and a decrease in self-assessment of sleep quality. Increased sleepiness in the first half hour after awakening significantly reduced the quality of performance of psychometric tests in all subjects. The most informative was critical fusion frequency, which was lower in girls with «poor» sleep, as well as the reaction to a moving object. In addition, sympathetic drive was increased in female medical students with poor self-rated sleep quality. A decrease in the quality of sleep in students causes fine motor impairment, mediated by sex, the level of habitual physical activity and circadian chronotype.

Neurophysiological Mechanisms of Symbolic Quantity Representation

The study of the symbolic quantity representation is currently an important topic in modern neuroscience. This area is related to the problems of teaching mathematics, as well as the mechanisms of symbolic processing of language systems in humans, which makes it relevant in the field of education and pedagogy. The purpose of the study was to analyze the state of the art in neurophysiological mechanisms of the symbolic quantity representation using different psychophysiological methods. The article presents the main issues relevant to modern psychophysiological studies of number sense. The main neuroimaging methods used in these studies, their advantages and disadvantages are considered. The review describes various approaches to the study of the symbolic quantity representation. The problems of number representation development, the relationship between the non-symbolic number sense and the symbolic quantity representation from the point of view of the triple code model, mapping, effect of numerical distance are considered. A critique of the triple code model and the idea of the symbolic representation development in the brain, particularly the transition from the right areas of the brain to the left hemisphere are presented. The hypothesis of a frontoparietal shift of the symbolic quantity representation is described, as well as the relationship between symbolic representations of quantity and exact calculations. The currently available data on the psychophysiological mechanisms of the symbolic number sense are analyzed separately. The analysis showed that the symbolic quantity representation is provided by a brain system that includes different structures. The review outlines future directions for possible research.

Emotion regulation: a study of electroencephalographic correlates

Effective emotion regulation is associated with improved subjective well-being, mental health, and social goal attainment. Poor psychosocial well-being, depression, and psychiatric disorders are often associated with the inability to regulate emotions. Cognitive reappraisal, which focuses on events, and expressive suppression, which is reaction-oriented, have both garnered significant attention in psychophysiological studies as effective strategies for emotion regulation. Cognitive reappraisal focuses on changing the meaning of a situation, while suppression occurs later in the emotional experience, when efforts are made to suppress the behavioral and physiological responses associated with ongoing emotions [1]. Suppression regulates emotions for a shorter period, while reappraisal has a long-term effect on emotion regulation. While somatovegetative markers of emotion regulation have been thoroughly investigated [2, 3], further research is needed to explore the brain correlates of this process. Our aim was to examine the electroencephalographic (EEG) correlates of emotion regulation. For this study, we computed correlations between subjects or inter-subject correlation (ISC; an indicator of attention, engagement, and tension [4]) and EEG valence and arousal indices [5] (64 leads in total). Sixty participants (average age=26.0) either suppressed their emotional responses, employed reappraisal, or viewed neutral 1-minute videos with negative content (36 trials in total). Both suppression and reappraisal elicited higher levels of ISC compared to viewing negative or neutral videos (F(3, 168)=25.23, p 0.001, η²=0.10). The pairwise comparisons revealed that viewing neutral videos resulted in lower ISC than viewing negative videos (t(56)=4.26, p 0.001, d=0.47), suppression (t(56)=9.04, p 0.001, d=0.78), and reappraisal (t(56)=11.0, p 0.0001, d=0.77). Both suppression and reappraisal resulted in higher ISC compared to watching negative videos (t(56)=3.38, p=0.002, d=0.40 and t(56)=2.96, p=0.005, d=0.39, 1-β=0.83, respectively). It suggests a need for task engagement and feedback processing to manage emotion. Additionally, the arousal index was greater in all negative conditions, suggesting that regulation necessitated a specific level of arousal (χ2(3)=12.8, p=0.005, W=0.075). Wilcoxon’s tests revealed a significant decrease in arousal index when viewing neutral videos compared to negative ones (V=465, p=0.012, r=0.053). Conversely, suppressing (V=499, p=0.019, r=0.057) and reappraisal (V=395, p=0.004, r=0.096) elicited higher levels of arousal. Thirdly, the EEG valence index exhibited elevated levels in both emotions regulation states compared to the neutral state (χ2(3)=10.5, p=0.015, W=0.061). Furthermore, the Wilcoxon tests revealed that the valence index was reduced when watching neutral videos in comparison to suppression (V=525, p=0.048, r=0.136) and reappraisal (V=500, p=0.048, r=0.165). This suggests an upsurge in the positive emotional aspect when regulating emotions. Overall, various EEG measurements reflect distinct aspects of emotion regulation, although both suppression and cognitive reassessment induced greater brain resource allocation than passive viewing.