This study reports how placebo analgesia was produced by conditioning whereby the intensity of electric stimulation was surreptitiously reduced in order to examine the contribution of psychological factors of suggestibility and expectancy on placebo analgesia. This strategy was used in order to manipulate expectancy for pain reduction. The magnitudes of the placebo effects were estimated after a manipulation procedure and during experimental trials in which stimulus intensities were reset to original baseline levels. Individual differences in suggestibility, verbal expectancy for drug efficacy and manipulation procedure for pain reduction were tested as possible mediators of placebo analgesia. The following dependent variables were measured: (a) subjective expectancy for drug efficacy in pain relief, (b) expected pain intensity and unpleasantness, (c) concurrent pain intensity and unpleasantness and (d) remembered pain intensity and unpleasantness. Statistically significant placebo effects on sensory and affective measures of pain were obtained independently of the extent of the surreptitious lowering of stimulus strength during manipulation trials. The pairing of placebo administration with painful stimulation was sufficient to produce a generalized placebo analgesic effect. However, verbal expectancy for drug efficacy and individual differences in suggestibility were found to contribute significantly to the magnitude of placebo analgesia. The highest placebo effect was shown by the most pronounced reductions in pain ratings in highly suggestible subjects who received suggestions presumed to elicit high expectancy for drug efficacy. The results also demonstrated that placebo effects established on remembered pain were at least twice as great as those obtained on concurrent placebo effects. This was mainly because baseline pain was remembered as being much more intense than it really was. Moreover, remembered placebo effects, like the concurrent placebo effects, were highly correlated with expected pain scores obtained just after manipulation trials. These results indicate that multiple factors contribute to the placebo effect, including suggestibility, expectancy and conditioning, and that the judgement of placebo analgesia is critically determined by whether pain relief is assessed concurrently or after treatment.

In the present study the psychometric properties of the Stanford Time Perspective Inventory (STPI - short version) are assessed in an Italian sample. Factorial analysis of STPI items was performed on 1507 respondents (965 women and 542 men). Results showed a clear correspondence between factorial components and a priori hypothesized dimensions by evidencing three factors (Future, Hedonistic Present, Fatalistic Present). Italian translation of the STPI indicates a fair degree of internal consistency and good metrological characteristics. The present results parallel those previously reported for an American sample. The present study, however, failed in evidencing the ‘Past’ as a factor in the factor structure. The results are discussed in terms of individual differences with respect to the relationships between demographic variables and temporal dimensions.

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Background: High blood pressure has been associated with an increased risk of developing cognitive impairment. However, this relationship is unclear. This study aims to systematically review the effects of blood pressure on executive functioning, language, memory, attention and processing speed. Methods: The review process was conducted according to the PRISMA-Statement, using the PubMed, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES and MEDLINE databases. Restrictions were made by selecting studies, which included one or more cognitive measures and reported blood pressure recordings. Studies that included participants with medical conditions or people diagnosed with dementia, psychiatric disorders, stroke and head trauma were excluded. The review allows selecting fifty studies that included 107,405 participants. The results were reported considering different cognitive domains separately: global cognitive functioning, attention, processing speed, executive functions, memory and visuospatial abilities. Results: Higher blood pressure appears to influence cognitive performance in different domains in the absence of dementia and severe cardiovascular diseases, such as strokes. This relationship seems to be independent of demographic factors (gender and education), medical co-morbidity (diabetes), and psychiatric disorders (depression). Furthermore, it presents different patterns considering ageing. In the elderly, a sort of "cardiovascular paradox" is highlighted, which allows considering higher blood pressure as a protective factor for cognitive functioning. Conclusions: The results underline that higher blood pressure is associated with a higher risk of cognitive decline in people without dementia or stroke. These findings highlight the need to introduce early management of blood pressure, even in the absence of clinical hypertension, to prevent the risk of a decline of cognitive functioning typically associated with ageing. into dementia. Given the progressive ageing of the world population, the challenge of modern science is highlighted the factors associated with the evolution of cognitive impairment.Cognitive impairment appears to be amplified by several factors as the habit of smoking cigarettes [13,14], chronic use of alcohol [15], poor eating habits and obesity [16,17], inadequate exercise [18], chronic stress [19] or by some pathologies such as diabetes mellitus [20] or depression [21]. Moreover, the risk of cognitive impairment appears to increase in the presence of cardiovascular disorders, such as high blood pressure, cardiomyopathies, arteriosclerosis, cerebral infarcts and strokes [22]. Many studies have shown an association between vascular ageing indices, such as stiffness of the arteries and dysfunction of small vessels and cognitive decline [23]. The exposure to high blood pressure would damage the cerebral microcirculation, causing cognitive impairments [23].The mechanisms that can explain the relationship between high blood pressure and cognitive impairment are not wholly known. Some studies have shown associations be...

This article summarizes key advances in hypnosis research during the past two decades, including (i) clinical research supporting the efficacy of hypnosis for managing a number of clinical symptoms and conditions, (ii) research supporting the role of various divisions in the anterior cingulate and prefrontal cortices in hypnotic responding, and (iii) an emerging finding that high hypnotic suggestibility is associated with atypical brain connectivity profiles. Key recommendations for a research agenda for the next decade include the recommendations that (i) laboratory hypnosis researchers should strongly consider how they assess hypnotic suggestibility in their studies, (ii) inclusion of study participants who score in the middle range of hypnotic suggestibility, and (iii) use of expanding research designs that more clearly delineate the roles of inductions and specific suggestions. Finally, we make two specific suggestions for helping to move the field forward including (i) the use of data sharing and (ii) redirecting resources away from contrasting state and nonstate positions toward studying (a) the efficacy of hypnotic treatments for clinical conditions influenced by central nervous system processes and (b) the neurophysiological underpinnings of hypnotic phenomena. As we learn more about the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying hypnosis and suggestion, we will strengthen our knowledge of both basic brain functions and a host of different psychological functions.

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The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between circadian preference and sensation seeking. To this aim 1041 university students (408 males and 633 females), ranging in age between 18 and 30 years, filled the reduced version of the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQr) and the Sensation Seeking Scale-Form V (SSS-V). Males scored higher than females in SSS-V total score and all subscales, except experience seeking (ES). As regards circadian preference, evening types scored higher than morning types in SSS-V total score and all subscales, except boredom susceptibility (BS) where they significantly differed only from intermediate types. On the whole our results highlight a significant relationship between circadian preference and sensation seeking.