Frontiers in Psychology

BackgroundPhysical activity has been associated with better reading comprehension and reduces cognitive load (CL), but the role of brain volume in modulating this relationship remains unclear. Therefore, this study aims to determine whether the gray matter volume in key regions modulates the effects of different physical activity modalities on reading comprehension and associated CL. MethodsThirteen male adolescents (12-13 years). Adolescents with MRI data participated in a randomized cross-over trial comparing three conditions: 1) sedentary behavior (SC, emulating a school class), 2) moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT), and 3) cooperative high-intensity interval training (C-HIIT), with physical activity conditions duration adjusted to match SC energy expenditure. Gray matter volumes were measured in the bilateral hippocampus, left pars opercularis, and the brainstem. CL was assessed via pupil dilation during reading using eye-tracking. Reading comprehension was measured through seven-question multiple-choice tests with expert-validated items. ResultsC-HIIT demonstrated superior effects on both CL and reading comprehension compared to MICT and SC, with significant brain volume modulation effects across all examined regions. Brain volume interactions with physical activity modalities systematically modified the pattern of cognitive responses, with C-HIIT consistently benefiting from these modulations, whereas the effects of MICT were generally attenuated. ConclusionThis study suggests that selecting the appropriate physical activity modality may be relevant for cognitive outcomes during reading in adolescents. C-HIIT yielded lower CL and better reading comprehension, and these effects were not explained by brain volume alone but by its interaction with exercise modality.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the effects of formative and summative assessments on college students tennis performance and basic psychological needs. Methods: A total of 128 undergraduate students (64 males, 64 females; Mage = 19.22, SD = 0.91) participated in this study. Participants were cluster-randomized to either a formative assessment group (n = 64) or a summative assessment group (n = 64). The formative assessment intervention involved setting personalized learning goals and success criteria, administering periodic tests, and providing process-oriented and individualized feedback. The summative assessment intervention involved setting uniform goals for all students, offering instructor feedback only on common problems, and requiring students to practice independently after class without personalized guidance. Both interventions were implemented over 10 weeks, with one 90-minute session each week. Tennis skills and basic psychological needs (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness) were assessed before and after the intervention. Tennis skills were reassessed 1 week after the intervention. Two-way mixed-effects analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to examine the impact of group, time, and their interaction on tennis skills and basic psychological needs. Results: The results showed that the interaction between group and time was significant for all of the outcome variables. Simple effects analyses indicated that, at pre-test, the two groups did not differ significantly in tennis performance or in satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness (p > 0.05). At post-intervention, the formative assessment group demonstrated significantly better performance than the summative assessment group in tennis skills (MD = 3.50, 95% CI = [1.303, 5.697], p = 0.002), autonomy (MD = 2.44, 95% CI = [1.816, 3.059], p < 0.001), relatedness (MD = 1.33, 95% CI = [0.679, 1.977], p < 0.001), and competence (MD = 1.75, 95% CI = [1.046, 2.454], p < 0.001). At the 1-week follow-up session, the formative assessment group also showed significantly better tennis performance than the summative assessment group (MD = 6.81, 95% CI = [4.667, 8.958], p < 0.001). Conclusion: Formative assessment was more effective than summative assessment in improving college students tennis performance and satisfying their basic psychological needs. These findings suggest that incorporating personalized goals, process-oriented evaluation, and individualized feedback into tennis instruction could promote both skill development and psychological outcomes in college physical education.

The study of contemplative practices has evolved into a mature field, yet current taxonomies tend to classify all mantra-based meditation approaches as a single category, overlooking potentially different neural states induced by different mantras or different instructions. To address this gap, we conducted a study of 50 novice subjects practicing two types of mantra-based meditation over a six week period to evaluate changes in Electroencephalography (EEG) during and after meditation. Participants were randomly assigned to meditating with the Hare Krishna (HK) and Sa-Ta-Na-Ma (SA) mantras. Using spectral parameterization, we assessed the effects of each type of meditation on individual alpha power (IAP), individual alpha frequency (IAF) and center of gravity (CoG). The results revealed marked differences in alpha dynamics between the two practices. On the one hand, the HK group exhibited widespread IAP decrease and an IAF/CoG increase during mantra meditation that was maintained during rest after the meditation, which became more pronounced after training in the HK meditation. On the other hand, the SA group showed a localized IAP reduction during meditation and significant reduction of IAF during meditation after training. We suggest that the higher cognitive demands of HK induce a more activating, attentionally focused state, whereas SA promotes a more relaxed state. Additional psychological data show that both meditation groups had reduction in stress. Thus, these findings challenge the monolithic classification of mantra meditation and highlight the importance of differentiating practices according to their mechanisms, particularly for their targeted application in mental health contexts.

Virtual Reality (VR) applications depend on eliciting spatial presence, the subjective experience of being physically located within a virtual environment. Although individual differences have long been theorised to contribute to this experience, their role in highly immersive VR systems remains contested. The present study investigated whether trait absorption predicts spatial presence and whether this relationship is mediated by attention allocation. Seventy participants (44 female, 26 male; M age = 22.90, SD = 4.88) completed a 6-minute VR session using a Meta Quest 3 Head-Mounted Display and validated self-report measures of trait absorption (Tellegen Absorption Scale), attention allocation, and spatial presence (MEC-Spatial Presence Questionnaire). Path analysis confirmed a significant, complete mediation pathway: trait absorption positively predicted attention allocation ({beta} = 0.27, p = .013), which in turn strongly predicted spatial presence ({beta} = 0.54, p < .001). The direct path from absorption to spatial presence was non-significant ({beta} = 0.11, p = .325), indicating complete mediation. The indirect effect was significant ({beta} = 0.15; 95% BCa CI [0.025, 0.291]). The model explained a sizeable 33.8% of the variance in spatial presence (Cohens f{superscript 2} = 0.51). Post-hoc dose-response analysis revealed that trait absorption acts as a cognitive amplifier: the strength of the attention-presence relationship tripled from low-absorption ({beta} = 0.33, R{superscript 2} = .15) to high-absorption individuals ({beta} = 1.00, R{superscript 2} = .56). These findings demonstrate that individual differences remain important in highly immersive VR by modulating the effectiveness of attentional focus, offering promising directions for tailoring VR interventions.

This pre-post-test study investigated 1) pre-post changes in psychosocial domains with a single virtual salsa class; 2) effect sizes relative to an in-person class, and 3) individual factors, including personality, perceived performance, and enjoyment. An experimental group (n=33) of novice dancers 18-30 years old, participated in a single virtual salsa class. Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PAS, NAS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and the Inclusion in Community and Self-Scale (ICS) were administered before and after class. Participants completed the Big Five Inventory-10 (BFI-10) before, and rated their performance and enjoyment (ordinal scale 1-5) after class. Effect sizes were calculated, and pre-post changes were analyzed with Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Relationships between pre-post changes and individual factors were analyzed with Spearmans rank correlations. PAS, NAS, PSS, and ICS significantly improved and effect sizes were larger than those for an in-person salsa class except for ICS. Change in NAS was negatively correlated with neuroticism. These results suggest that a virtual salsa class may improve mood, stress, and social connection similar to in-person classes and change in mood may be influenced by personality traits such as neuroticism. Understanding the psychosocial effects of virtual dance and the influence of individual factors will facilitate implementation of dance as an accessible rehabilitation intervention to improve psychosocial well-being.

BackgroundThe brains glymphatic system plays a vital role in maintaining neural health. However, little is known about whether second language (L2) immersion can influence this clearance pathway. Methods50 high-proficiency L2 English speakers (mean age: 32.6 years; 78% female) were assessed for glymphatic function using three multimodal MRI markers: BOLD-CSF coupling strength (fMRI), choroid plexus ratio (structural MRI), and DTI-ALPS index (diffusion MRI). Analyses examined relationships between glymphatic markers and L2 immersion duration, age of acquisition (AOA), and active use environment, controlling for age, education, and sex. ResultsL2 immersion duration correlated significantly with better glymphatic function. Longer immersion related to better BOLD-CSF coupling strength (r = -0.315, p < 0.05) and decreased choroid plexus ratios (r = -0.39, p < 0.05), suggesting enhanced brain-CSF coordination and fewer pathological CSF production structures. Mediation analyses demonstrated that immersion influenced ALPS indirectly through effects on choroid plexus morphology and BOLD-CSF coupling. L2 AOA moderated the immersion-coupling relationship: individuals who began learning after age 9.53 showed stronger associations between immersion and BOLD-CSF coupling, though AOA did not moderate choroid plexus effects. As for L2 immersive active is associated with better glymphatic function, while L2 immersive passive and L2 non-immersive active are both unrelated. ConclusionsL2 immersion associates with better glymphatic system function through multiple pathways, including improved brain-CSF coordination, optimized choroid plexus structure, and increased perivascular flow. These findings provide novel neurobiological evidence that bilingual experience may confer neuroprotective benefits through brain waste clearance mechanisms.

Most syntactic approaches converge on the fact that Tense and Agreement are two different functional categories, although there is less agreement on their exact representation and relative hierarchical order. Cross-linguistic agrammatic data seems to support the difference between Tense and Agreement, with patterns of dissociation reported from agrammatism between them, in which Tense is generally more impaired than Agreement. To examine whether there is evidence for such a dissociation of tense and agreement processing in neurotypical individuals, the present study employed Event-Related brain Potentials (ERPs) to study the real-time comprehension of Modern Standard Arabic sentences. Critical stimulus sentences were of the form Temporal Adverb-Subject-Verb-PP, in which the intransitive verb was in either the past or future tense, and was preceded by a singular or plural subject and an adverb indicating past or future tense. The subject nouns were all human and either masculine or feminine. The verbs either agreed with the subject noun or presented a person, number or gender agreement violation. They also either agreed or showed a mismatch with the temporal frame of the adverb, the latter being a tense violation. Results at the verb showed that both tense and agreement violations yielded a biphasic N400 - P600 effect. We discuss these results in light of previous ERP findings and conclude that despite the putative configurational differences between Tense and Agreement, the processing of the two categories in Arabic may deploy the same underlying cognitive mechanisms.

Prolonged esports play induces cognitive fatigue that is not fully captured by subjective awareness, motivating practical, non-stimulant nutritional strategies supported by objective physiological markers. We here tested whether acute milk protein intake attenuates fatigue-related physiological responses during prolonged esports play and supports subjective state, executive control, and in-game performance. In a randomized, single-blind (assessor-blind), energy-matched controlled crossover study, 15 healthy young adults with esports experience completed two sessions in which they consumed either a milk protein drink or an energy-matched apple juice control before a 3-h virtual soccer task. Physiological measures included pupillometry during gameplay, salivary cortisol, continuous interstitial glucose monitoring, and heart rate. Subjective ratings (VAS) and executive function (flanker task) were assessed across post-ingestion time points, and in-game performance metrics were aggregated within hourly gameplay blocks. Milk protein intake was associated with a coherent pattern of physiological advantages, including larger pupil diameter during gameplay, smoother interstitial glucose dynamics, and lower salivary cortisol, while heart rate showed time-dependent changes without a clear condition effect. These physiological changes co-occurred with higher enjoyment and lower hunger, improved flanker performance, and condition-dependent improvements in in-game performance, most notably higher shot success rate. Additionally, pupil diameter during gameplay was associated with inhibitory-control efficiency on the flanker task. These findings suggest that acute milk protein intake may serve as a practical, non-stimulant nutritional strategy to sustain physiological state and cognitive-behavioral performance during prolonged esports (virtual soccer) play. Highlights- Prolonged esports play models modern digital cognitive activity and cognitive fatigue. - Acute milk protein intake increases pupil diameter during prolonged esports play. - Interstitial glucose dynamics are smoother and salivary cortisol is lower with milk protein. - Enjoyment increases and hunger decreases during 3 h of virtual soccer play. - Executive function and in-game performance improve, most notably shot success rate.

The transition to higher education is characterized by increased academic demands and psychosocial stress, which may negatively affect cognitive functioning and student well-being. Executive functions (working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility) are critical for academic adaptation and can be enhanced through structured interventions. Physical exercise, mind-body practices, and cognitive training have demonstrated potential benefits for executive functioning and stress reduction; however, few randomized controlled trials have directly compared interventions with different physical and cognitive demands in university students, particularly in Latin America. In addition, most studies have relied on self-report measures and physiological stress biomarkers such as salivary cortisol. This protocol describes a three-arm, parallel-group randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate the effects of a 12-week intervention on executive functions and stress in first-year university students. The study will recruit 120 first-year health-science students aged 18-25 years. Participants will be randomly assigned (1:1:1), using block randomization stratified by sex, to one of three interventions delivered twice weekly (24 sessions of 60 minutes): (1) moderate-to-vigorous motor-cognitive dual-task exercise (DT); (2) low-to-moderate intensity Tai Chi (TC); or (3) supervised digital cognitive stimulation (CS) using structured graphomotor tasks. Primary outcomes include executive functions assessed through standardized neuropsychological measures. Secondary outcomes include stress will be evaluated using the Academic Stress Inventory, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales and salivary cortisol collected in the morning using passive drool and analyzed by competitive ELISA.Other outcomes include physical activity levels, anthropometric and body composition measures, and handgrip strength. Data will be analyzed following an intention-to-treat approach using repeated-measures models, with multiple imputation for missing data. The study has received institutional ethics and biosafety approval. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT07443904.

Background and AimsAvoidance of symptom-related situations is common in chronic gastrointestinal (GI) conditions, contributing to greater symptom severity, psychological distress, and reduced quality of life. However, no validated measure exists to comprehensively assess GI-specific avoidance. We developed and validated the GI-specific Avoidance Scale (GIAS), a self-report instrument measuring behavioral and cognitive avoidance specific to GI symptoms. MethodsFollowing literature review and multidisciplinary input, an initial pool of 58 items was generated and refined through expert and patient ratings, yielding 37 items. A sample of 102 adults (mean age 40.8 years) with medically diagnosed GI conditions completed the GIAS and validated measures of avoidance, psychological flexibility, illness shame, GI symptoms, distress, and quality of life. Exploratory factor analysis was used to determine factor structure. Internal consistency, convergent validity, incremental validity, and mediation analyses were conducted. ResultsFactor analysis supported a 20-item, three-factor solution: General Avoidance, Food Avoidance, and Intimacy/Body Exposure Avoidance. Internal consistency was excellent for the total scale ( = .94) and good-to-excellent for subscales ( = .82-.94). GIAS scores correlated positively with illness shame, GI symptoms, and distress, and negatively with psychological flexibility, self-compassion, and quality of life. GIAS showed incremental validity over a general illness avoidance measure (IBAS) in predicting GI symptoms and anxiety. Moreover, mediation models suggested that GI-specific avoidance partially mediates bidirectional associations between GI symptoms and psychological distress. ConclusionsThe GIAS is a novel, psychometrically robust, and multidimensional self-report questionnaire of GI-specific avoidance. It holds potential for clinical assessment, treatment planning, and evaluation of intervention mechanisms in GI populations.

BackgroundFood-related gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are highly prevalent in patients with IBS. Although dietary components may trigger symptoms through luminal mechanisms, cognitive expectations may also shape symptom perception within the gut-brain axis. No validated instrument currently exists to measure food-related symptom expectations. Hence, we developed and validated the Food Expectation Questionnaire (FEX-Q). MethodsThe FEX-Q was developed using a stepwise process including focus group interviews and face-to-face validation to ensure content validity. The finalized digital questionnaire presents 44 food images with six items rated on a visual analogue scale (VAS; 0-100), including the core item assessing food-related symptom expectation ("How severe GI symptoms do you expect after eating this food?"). Additional domains assess taste preference, willingness to eat, perceived healthiness, and perceived fat and carbohydrate content. The finalized FEX-Q was administered in a nationwide online validation survey of adults with IBS and non-IBS controls in Sweden. Participants also completed validated questionnaires including GI symptom severity (combined GSRS), psychological distress (HADS), food-related quality of life (FR-QOL), and a screening tool for food avoidance (NIAS). ResultsTwenty adults with IBS and non-IBS controls participated in the face-to-face validation, resulting in a final version of the FEX-Q comprising 44 food images, which were properly identified and provided a range of macronutrient distributions and trigger foods. In the nationwide online study including 134 patients with IBS and 126 non-IBS controls, the FEX-Q demonstrated strong known-groups validity (mean symptom expectation 18.4 in controls vs 50.1 in IBS), strong construct validity (perceived vs actual fat content r=0.78, p<0.001 and carbohydrate content r=0.59, p<0.001), significant convergent validity with GI symptom severity and food-related quality of life, and high internal consistency (split-half reliability Spearman-Brown corrected r=0.88). ConclusionThe FEX-Q can capture individual food-related symptom expectations to distinct food images. This reliable measurement can be useful to reveal the mechanism of food-related symptom expectations and provide clinically relevant insights for personalized dietary management

Objectives: Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and self-harming sexual behaviours share functional and behavioural overlaps. However, the relationship between NSSI and problematic sexual behaviour (PSB) remains underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the association between NSSI and PSB in two cohorts - a non-clinical university cohort and a clinical PSB patient cohort. Methods: Data were collected from 2,189 university participants and 477 clinical PSB patients. NSSI was assessed via self-report, and PSB was measured with the Sexual Addiction Screening Test-Revised (SAST-R) Core. The four core addictive dimensions of PSB: relationship disturbance, loss of control, preoccupation, and affect disturbance, were also evaluated. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between PSB (presence/absence and severity) and NSSI, looking at effects of gender and contributions of addictive dimensions of PSB. Results: Rates of NSSI were similar in the university (7.1%) and patient (5.7%) cohorts; stratified by gender, a higher proportion of women PSB patients had NSSI compared to in the university cohort (29.3% vs 9.3%). In the university group, who had milder PSB than patients, PSB was associated with NSSI (OR=2.11, p<0.001); a significant gender by PSB interaction was found showing that women with PSB were over four times more likely to have NSSI than men without PSB (OR=4.44, p=0.037). In contrast, PSB severity was not associated with NSSI in PSB patients (OR=1.10, p=0.25). Associations of the addictive dimensions of PSB with NSSI were observed only in the subgroup of university women, in the 'preoccupation' dimension (p<0.001). Conclusions: Our findings highlight gender-specific patterns in the association between PSB and NSSI, suggesting the need for further research and possibly targeted prevention and intervention strategies in women.

BackgroundOur study aimed to investigate the relationship between phenotypic age acceleration (PAA), bowel dysfunction (constipation, diarrhea), and depression severity, and examine whether phenotypic age acceleration can play a mediating role in bowel dysfunction and depression severity. MethodsThe data analysis of our study was conducted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2005-2010). Participants with bowel dysfunction were identified on the questionnaire of bowel health. Depression was determined based on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). The calculation of PAA is based on 9 test indicators and actual age; a higher PAA means accelerated aging. In this study, a weighted linear regression model was used to analyze the associations among defecation disorders, PAA, and depression. Restricted Cubic Spline (RCS) curves were applied to explore the potential non-linear relationships between the aforementioned variables. Additionally, a mediation effect model was employed to verify whether PAA could function as a mediating variable in the relationship between defecation disorders and depression. ResultA total of 11,808 participants were included in this study. Linear regression analysis showed that both diarrhea ({beta}=3.73, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.69-8.22, P=1.60x10-3) and depression severity ({beta}=1.08, 95%CI: 1.06-1.09, P=4.61x10-16) were positively correlated with PAA. In addition, both constipation ({beta}=2.76, 95%CI: 1.89-4.04, P=2.28x10-6) and diarrhea ({beta}=4.29, 95%CI: 2.65-6.95, P=2.11x10-7) were positively correlated with depression severity. Further mediation effect analysis revealed that PAA may play a mediating role in the association between diarrhea and depression severity (the proportion of mediation effect in the total population was 7.2285%). When exploring whether PAA exerts a mediating role in the association between constipation and depression severity, it was found that PAA played a mediating role in female participants and participants aged <60 years, except for male participants and those aged [&ge;]60 years (the proportion of mediation effect was 9.8417% in females and 8.4512% in the population aged <60 years, with all relevant P-values <0.005)

This study compared the effects of a 25-min nap opportunity and a 10-min non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) condition on perceptual, cognitive, and physical performance in physically active young adults. Sixty participants (26 female, 34 male; 22 {+/-} 4 years) were randomly assigned to one of three groups (nap, NSDR, control; n = 20 each). All groups completed identical assessments immediately, 20 min, and 40 min post-intervention. Mixed-effects models, adjusted for sex, prior-night sleep, and weekly physical activity, revealed a significant Group x Time interaction for sleepiness, fatigue, readiness to perform, and handgrip strength (p < 0.05). At 40 min post-intervention, the nap group reported lower fatigue than control and higher readiness to perform than both control and NSDR (p < 0.05). No significant effects were observed for the NSDR condition on perceptual, cognitive, or physical outcomes (p > 0.05). These findings indicate that a short nap can enhance perceived readiness and reduce fatigue after a brief latency period, whereas NSDR did not elicit significant effects under the present conditions.

Objective: To develop the first inventory to measure psychosocial concerns about use of the non-preferred hand, toward the long-term goal of identifying the casual factors of left-right hand choices ("hand usage"). Design: Cross-sectional Setting: Online question battery Participants: 181 healthy adults Interventions; Not applicable Main Outcome Measures: Self-reported concerns about emotional and physical consequences of using the non-preferred hand. Results: Emotional and physical consequences reflected internally consistent categories (Cronbach's > 0.9) that were moderately correlated with each other ({rho} = 0.783 p = 0.002). Concerns were activity-dependent in each category ({rho} < 1x10-100). Reliability analysis and principal components analysis were used to reduce the battery to the 51-item Changed Hand Usage Concerns inventory, which encompasses everyday tasks and concerns about physical and emotional consequences of using the non-preferred hand in those tasks. Conclusions: Concerns about emotional vs. physical consequences of non-preferred hand use reflect coherent and internally consistent categories The Changed Hand Usage Concerns inventory allows assessment of psychosocial concerns about usage of the non-preferred hand for future attempts to manipulate hand usage via rehabilitation in patients with unilateral or asymmetric impairment.

Phasic increase of frontal midline theta (Fm theta) has been described as a key indicator of cognitive processing, while relatively lower task-related Fm theta is associated with reduced cognitive strain, reflecting less intensive cognitive processing. In a previous investigation, reduced task-related Fm theta in relation to higher expertise, as well as higher setting anticipation performance in the domain of volleyball was identified. In the present study a single-session sham-controlled neurofeedback training (NFT) intervention was conducted to investigate the feasibility of Fm theta downregulation for the improvement of volleyball setting anticipation. A total of 24 volleyball novices was allocated to "Real" (n = 12) and "Sham" (n = 12) Fm theta downregulation NFT groups. NFT-related Fm theta, pre-/post-NFT setting anticipation task performance and task-related Fm theta, as well as resting EEG activity were analyzed. Incongruous with our expectations, the Real NFT group showed a tendency toward stronger Fm theta synchronization compared with the Sham group during NFT. Anticipation task performance did not change significantly from before to after NFT in both groups, yet a significant reduction of task-related Fm theta was observed in the Real NFT group following NFT. A post-NFT rebound of Fm theta could be responsible for this result. With our findings we provide further evidence for the existence of an apparent paradox of Fm theta downregulation, in which cognitive control mechanisms, associated with oscillatory Fm theta activity, appear to hinder explicit downregulation of Fm theta through classical neurofeedback learning mechanisms.

PurposeThis study examined the association between traditional physical practice participation and vision-related quality of life among junior secondary school students and tested the mediating roles of exercise self-efficacy and visual function anomalies within a serial mediation framework. MethodsA four-wave time-lagged survey was conducted among 1,579 students in Grades 7-9 from schools implementing traditional physical practice activities. Variables were assessed at two-week intervals. Mediation effects were tested using the bias-corrected percentile bootstrap method with 5,000 resamples. ResultsThe total effect of traditional physical practice participation on vision-related quality of life was significant ({beta} = 0.591, p < .001). After including the mediators, the direct effect remained significant ({beta} = 0.404, 95% CI [0.348, 0.457]), accounting for 68.36% of the total effect. The total indirect effect was significant ({beta} = 0.187, 95% CI [0.160, 0.218]), representing 31.64% of the total effect. The indirect effect via exercise self-efficacy was significant ({beta} = 0.088, 95% CI [0.068, 0.112], 14.89%), as was the indirect effect via visual function anomalies ({beta} = 0.065, 95% CI [0.048, 0.086], 11.00%). The serial mediation pathway through exercise self-efficacy and visual function anomalies was also significant ({beta} = 0.034, 95% CI [0.025, 0.045], 5.75%). All confidence intervals excluded zero, supporting partial mediation. ConclusionTraditional physical practice participation was associated with vision-related quality of life both directly and indirectly through exercise self-efficacy and visual function anomalies, including a significant serial mediation pathway. The findings highlight the combined psychological and functional mechanisms underlying adolescents vision-related quality of life.

Mindfulness-based interventions are increasingly delivered online, yet evidence for short programs often relies on self-report outcomes. We tested whether a brief online mindfulness meditation training produces detectable changes in autonomic regulation during a standardized stress-to-meditation sequence. Healthy adults with no meditation experience were randomized to a four-week online mindfulness meditation program (MG) or an active health-management program (CG). Before and after training, participants completed a laboratory session consisting of rest, a mental arithmetic stress task, guided focused-attention breathing meditation, and post-rest while ECG was recorded. Across the training period, both groups showed reduced negative affective symptoms, but only the mindfulness group showed an increase in the Observing facet. Critically, frequency-domain HRV indices during the laboratory protocol showed a group-specific post-training pattern: MG exhibited lower LF/HF and higher normalized HF power (nHF) compared with pre-training, and MG differed from CG in the post-training session. Within MG, training-related improvement in FFMQ Non-reactivity was positively associated with nHF during the post-stress meditation period. These findings indicate that a brief online mindfulness program can modulate HRV during a stress-to-meditation context and that post-stress autonomic modulation during meditation covaries with acceptance-related skill acquisition.

The perception of God can be as a transcendent entity that is infinite and outside of human beings, typical for religious traditions, or as an immanent entity that is outside and inside of human beings, typical for mystical traditions. These different perceptions of God may be associated with different neural correlates depending on which God we pray to. To elucidate the neural correlates of these different perceptions of the divine, we compared fMRI activation during praying between 18 Christians and 16 practitioners of Sahaja Yoga Meditation, characterised by transcendent and immanent perceptions of God, respectively. The thalamus was deactivated during praying in Meditators relative to Christians. Due to the sensory relay function of thalamus, the thalamic deactivation in meditators presumably reflects a reduction in the perception of external stimuli in order to focus on the internal perception of an immanent God, while the activation of the thalamus in Christian prayers could be associated with the dialogue with an externally perceived transcendent God.

Background and ObjectiveIncreasing screening volumes, combined with global shortage of radiologists and a high proportion of normal mammograms, challenge the efficiency and sustainability of breast cancer screening. Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to improve resource allocation, workflow efficiency and diagnostic performance by supporting and partially replacing radiologists in the interpretation process. This randomized, controlled, parallel-group, non-inferiority, single-blinded trial evaluates whether an AI-supported reading strategy, involving one or two radiologists depending on AI risk stratification, is non-inferior to standard independent double reading. The primary outcome is the number of screen-detected breast cancer cases in each group. MethodsWomen invited to BreastScreen Norway in the Western, Central, and Northern Norway Regional Health Authorities are eligible for inclusion. Following written informed consent, participants are randomized 1:1 to the control group (standard independent double reading by two radiologists) or the intervention group. In the intervention group, mammograms are analyzed using Transpara. Examinations with AI scores of 1-7 are interpreted by a single radiologist, whereas examinations with scores of 8-10 undergo independent double reading. Radiologists are blinded to AI scores and AI image markings during the initial interpretation; this information is disclosed during consensus meetings. Non-inferiority will be assessed by estimating confidence interval for the difference in screen-detected cancer rates between groups. Non-inferiority will be concluded if the upper bound of the confidence interval does not exceed the predefined non-inferiority margin. ConclusionsThe trial addresses a critical challenge in breast cancer screening: maintaining diagnostic performance while improving efficiency in the context of workforce constraints and a high prevalence of normal examinations. By evaluating a risk-stratified AI-supported reading strategy within a population-based screening program, the study will provide important evidence on whether AI can be safely integrated to optimize workload distribution while preserving cancer detection rates. Trial registrationThe ClinicalTrials.gov registry (NCT06032390)