2024. vol. 21. No. 3

Though the mirror neuron system (MNS) is studied in the scientific community, the influence of the body posture on the functioning of the MNS, as well as on the excitatory and inhibitory system of the brain, has not been revealed yet. In our study, we investigated the functioning of the MNS in case of head rotation. Participants underwent a session of the mirror task, while they were observing movements of the little finger and the index finger of a static hand in three head positions (left, straight and right), combined with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) that was applied at various time intervals. Results showed significant interactions between the movement type and the targeted muscle (F[1,113–16,688] = 9.47, MSE = 56296.14, p = .006, partial η² = .39). This indicates a robust increase in the activation of the First Dorsal Interosseous (FDI) muscle during the index finger movement (p = .01) and the neutral movement (p .001) observation compared to the little finger movement. Conversely, a significant inhibition of the Abductor Digiti Minimi (ADM) muscle activity was observed during the index finger movement compared to neutral (p = .026). A reversed effect emerged during the little finger movement observation, with higher activation for the ADM muscle and inhibition of the FDI muscle (p = .037). These findings suggest an intricate interplay between MNS activation and muscle activation, indicating an increase in muscle activity corresponding to the observed finger movement and simultaneous inhibition of the muscle not involved in the observed movement.

Working memory (WM) is a cognitive function essential for short-term maintenance of information in a highly accessible state to support goal-directed behavior. The classical behavioral model of WM includes a visuospatial sketchpad, a phonological loop and the central executive. Neuroimaging studies selectively targeted the activity associated with maintenance and processing of modality specific information. However, an experimental design is still missing that would enable the assessment of all components of WM drawing a holistic neuroimaging model. In this study, we propose a modified paradigm based on the classical retro-cue task, which allows disentangling the activity of all WM components, and in particular of the central executive. This paradigm consists of five conditions: passive perception, simple verbal storage, simple visual storage, alphabetical reordering (complex verbal) and mental rotation (complex visual). Testing on a cohort of 35 healthy adults, we obtained a similar workload for simple storage conditions with a low engagement of the central executive. A different workload was verified between the simple and complex conditions in both verbal and visual modalities. This experimental design provides the framework to assess the neural activity associated with the central executive components in different modalities and to address the question of a unitary or modality-specific central executive nature. Therefore, the paradigm is suitable for utilization in neuroimaging to potentially advance our comprehension of the WM organization.

In reading, eye movements are typically influenced by both higher-level and lower-level cognitive processes that are affected by individual differences such as working memory capacity. However, the extent to which working memory impacts reading under increasing task demands remains uncertain. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the influence of working memory capacity, assessed via the n-back task, on peak saccade velocity during reading when an additional memory task is introduced. Thirty-one healthy participants with normal or corrected-to-normal vision read sentences performing either comprehension task or dual task on comprehension and working memory span. The results of the comprehension task were used as a baseline to track the differences in eye movement measures in the dual task with the increasing task demand. Participants who performed well in the n-back task exhibited higher peak saccade velocity during both single and dual reading tasks, particularly as the task demands increased: reading for comprehension while simultaneously maintaining six items in working memory was associated with the highest peak saccade velocity. Conversely, those with n-back lower performance did not display significant changes in peak saccade velocity. This discrepancy is attributed to task-induced variations in arousal among high-performing individuals. The study underscores the importance of individual differences in working memory and suggests a potential link between arousal and cognitive processes involved in reading comprehension.

Experimental studies in psychology and cognitive neuroscience often employ images of everyday objects as experimental stimuli. To ensure consistency and reliability across such studies, stimulus sets need to be subjected to rigorous standardization procedures leading to the creation of extensive databases that contain a wide range of detailed information regarding various properties of the depicted materials. However, while existing databases are highly effective at capturing many object attributes, they often fail to account for the aesthetic qualities that are intrinsic to human-designed objects. There is an increasing body of evidence that suggests compelling links between aesthetic perception and a range of cognitive function encompassing, for instance, motor skills, decision-making processes and even consumer behavior. Therefore, the lack of standardized visual stimuli with controlled aesthetic properties represents a significant challenge for research. To address this gap, the present study introduces a novel set of 126 images of everyday objects (based on the BOSS database) that were evaluated by healthy adult participants (N=53) in terms of their visual appeal as well as other key standardization parameters (e.g., familiarity, visual complexity, and naming consistency). Each object is presented in three distinct conditions: neat/tidy, neutral, and untidy. As the rating data demonstrate, these three conditions closely correspond to varying levels of aesthetic visual attractiveness, ranging from highly appealing (neat) to moderately appealing (neutral) to objects with minimal aesthetic appeal (untidy). This set is designed to serve as a valuable tool for researchers investigating the intricate relationship between aesthetics and human-object interaction.

Increasing evidence links cultural influences on brain activity to various cognitive and affective processes, necessitating an integrative framework to account for the dynamic interplay between culture, behavior, and neural function. The mechanisms of cooperation and social conformity within culture exhibit variable interdependence across contexts, manifested by distinct neural patterns. To address the isolated examination of these mechanisms, we propose a NeuroCultural Interdependence Model delineating four modes (competitive interdependence, conditional interdependence, selective interdependence, communal interdependence) characterized by specific neural signatures and behavioral tendencies within cultural contexts. These modes represent varying degrees of interdependence, elucidating how individuals interact and rely upon others in their cultural milieu. The framework posits a direct linkage between cultural orientations and neural activity, offering a novel perspective on culture’s internalization and manifestation at the individual level, underscoring its embeddedness within neural processes influencing cognitive, affective, and behavioral inclinations in relation to others. Crucially, our proposed model highlights an isomorphic relationship between cultural orientations and their corresponding neural structures. It demonstrates that the mechanisms of cooperation and social conformity function concurrently at both the cultural and neural levels, revealing a direct parallel in how these elements operate. We conclude by providing recommendations for future elaboration and empirical validation of our model to be conducted using advanced neuroimaging techniques.

The article analyzes the basic definitions of psychological security, the approaches to this phenomenon, and reviews the concepts of security psychology. It also provides a brief overview of how this concept emerged. Psychological security is examined in the context of environmental and urban settings, linking psychological security to individual characteristics of urban dwellers. The study shows that psychological security is considered in a variety of contexts, and the semantic field of psychological security has changed over time, psychological security of urban dwellers has mainly been studied in relation to overcoming fear of crime. A series of narrative interviews was performed to analyze the semantic field of the concept “psychological security of urban residents” in the individual consciousness of the respondents and to identify the indicators of psychological security. The respondents (n = 28) participating in the study represent Yekaterinburg residents with different levels of education, income, and length of residence in the city. The interviews collected information on the characteristics of the respondents (gender, age, education, income level, city residence time). It did not follow a standardized interview schedule, but included questions such as: “What do you think about the city you are living in now?”, “What is it like to live here?”, “Do you ever feel scared, worried, panicked or afraid in your daily life in this city?”, “Can you describe you sensations when you feel safe in your daily life?” The analysis of the interviews enabled us to obtain a representation of the state of psychological security of city dwellers and to identify universals that constitute the indicators of psychological security of city dwellers: “freedom”, “comfort”, “self-efficacy”, “trustworthy relationships”, “control over the environment” and “reliability”, which cover three different forms of experiences and reactions of individuals with regard to the city: affective, cognitive and behavioral. The definition of psychological security of the individual in the urban environment is formulated. This can serve as a basis for the development of recommendations for designing a safe urban environment.

This work is dedicated to the subjective value of money as a factor in the buyer's freedom to choose from a range of available products and services. It is suggested that the value of money goes beyond the product that could potentially been purchased with that money, it has an "added value" – the value of the freedom to choose between many products. This research is based on a previous study conducted in collaboration with V.A. Petrovsky, where this phenomenon was shown empirically. The purpose of this work is to compare the subjective value (attractiveness) of money and, accordingly, the goods purchased with this money, in conditions of free and limited choice. The conducted experiment allows to analyze this difference quantitatively and explore its causes qualitatively. Four groups of respondents were identified, differing in their resolution of the attractiveness of products or money, based on the number of available options. It was recorded that for the majority of participants, money, in a situation of free choice, is more attractive than goods potentially purchased with this money. It has been shown that the available range of choices affects the subjective value of money. The maximum attractiveness of money belongs to the average range of product selection – from 5 to 10 options. The attractiveness of money decreases, although it remains positive, in all other cases when the freedom of choice of goods is either limited ("there is nothing to choose from!") or too great ("immensity" and, consequently, the "burden" of choice). The phenomenon of non-economic (psychological) asymmetry of the value (attractiveness) of money and the value of goods was established. Three phenomena have been found in relation to different groups of people: the phenomenon of the predominant value of money regardless of the measure of freedom of choice; the phenomenon of the predominant value of things regardless of the measure of freedom of choice; the phenomenon of the predominant value of money in conditions of working and unlimited freedom of choice.

School bullying has long been the subject of numerous empirical studies and applied interventions, due to its high prevalence and serious negative consequences. However, the theoretical understanding of this phenomenon, its predictors and dynamics, is not so rich. The paper examines the most established and influential theories developed by domestic and foreign scientists explaining the causes and dynamics of school bullying. The views on bullying as a result of social learning and a consequence of cognitive representations, a way to increase status and achieve popularity, a group process, the result of synergy of factors within the various social systems, as well as a form of adaptation are discussed. These theories are used to varying degrees to develop anti-bullying interventions, such as prevention programs, technologies to stop bullying, and educational activities. Based on the works on the effectiveness of various interventions, the paper problematizes the issues of the reasons for joining school bullying of children and adults, as well as the rapid return to bullying in schools after the end of anti-bullying activities. The author's concept of bullying is proposed as a communal coping strategy of the school community, where the rejection and displacement of one or more children who find themselves in the role of a victim to the periphery of a group of participants in the educational process, performs the functions of coping with stress and helps to reduce emotional stress to all other members of the community. It seems that this view of school bullying provides answers to the questions raised about the spread and stability of bullying and can be used as a basis for the development of programs addressed to the school community.

The article explores the development and current state of online psychotherapy, the variety of methods and platforms that provide access to psychological assistance via the Internet. It discusses a broad spectrum of terminology related to digital technologies in the field of mental health, emphasizing the importance of standardizing terms to improve the quality of scientific research and practical activities in this area. The use of online technologies in psychotherapy practice has sparked numerous discussions regarding their effectiveness and suitability for widespread application. The advantages of online psychotherapy include accessibility, barrier reduction, convenience, and anonymity. However, the implementation of online psychotherapy creates serious issues related to the lack of personal contact, confidentiality, organizational, and legal questions. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing problems, including vicarious traumatization and a lack of experience in remote formats, and has also reignited debates about the advisability and effectiveness of online psychotherapy. Contradictory and divergent opinions about online psychotherapy have set the goals for this article: to explicate the main issues arising from the use of the remote format in psychotherapeutic practice and to assess its effectiveness. The article discusses in detail the main issues of online psychotherapy at the current stage: disruption of non-verbal communication, the quality of the therapeutic alliance, ensuring confidentiality and security, vicarious traumatization, and low digital competencies. The results of a meta-analysis on the effectiveness of online psychotherapy are presented, showing a modest positive effect when compared to the traditional face-to-face format. The identified advantages and disadvantages of the online format reveal opportunities for its effective integration into practical activities.

This article features one of the main trends in the development of neuroaesthetics and cognitive psychology of art, a systematic description of the mechanisms of aesthetic perception expressed in the creation of models. The paper analyzes six models of varying specification and capacity of extrapolating to other types of art. These are the following models: the neural network model, the neuropsychological model, the model of aesthetic perception of painting, the model of the intentions of the artist, the combined model of visual aesthetic experience, the model of aesthetic assessment and aesthetic judgments, and the Vienna integrated model of the processes of perception of art “top-down” and “bottom-up”. The possibilities and limitations of each model are considered according to such parameters as: the dynamics of aesthetic perception, the description of complex intermodal art forms, the extrapolation to different types of art, the measurement of aesthetic experience, the consideration of the interaction between the characteristics of the stimulus and the viewer, the detail of the esthetic experience description, the suitability for mathematical modeling. The most promising according to these criteria are the model of aesthetic assessment and aesthetic judgments, and the Vienna integrated model of the processes of perception of art “top-down” and “bottom-up”. In addition, the article provides an overview of existing approaches and research programs for modeling aesthetic experience. The paradigm of predictive processing (based on Bayesian inference) is considered as one of the most promising research programs. The key difficulties of modeling aesthetic experience are the lack of a unified research paradigm that includes a common understanding of the process of aesthetic perception and tools for its fixation, difficulties in formalizing and quantifying high-level components of aesthetic experience (expectations, schemes, experience, the viewer's “self”, etc.) and its continuity.