Frontiers in Psychology

Pusher syndrome is a disorder of postural control, characterized by an altered perception of upright body orientation. While visual verticality perception remains intact, patients incorrectly perceive their tilted body posture as upright, resulting in active resistance to posture correction. This perceptual mismatch offers a potential target for therapeutic interventions. We evaluated a newly developed Tilted Reality Device (TRD) designed to recalibrate body verticality perception by subtly tilt...

BackgroundThe cognitive demands of medical education require optimal learning environments. While the influence of background music on cognition has been widely studied, existing research exhibits a significant Eurocentric bias, predominantly focusing on Western classical music like the "Mozart Effect." This leaves a critical gap in understanding the impact of culturally salient, non-Western musical traditions on learning within their native contexts. MethodsA single-blind, randomized controlle...

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 p...

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 mul...

IntroductionThe wellbeing of university undergraduates is a pressing area of concern, with one in five students reporting serious psychological distress. In previous semesters of a course on mental wellbeing, we asked undergraduates to engage with a standardized wellness program for the general population and provide feedback through weekly surveys and a final reflection paper. Based on these responses, we developed the 30-day, course-embedded Spaces program to more specifically address college ...

BackgroundEmerging research indicates that light exposure may influence sleep quality. Identifying key light-exposure behaviours associated with poor sleep quality in athletes may allow practitioners to efficiently screen for sleep difficulties and prioritise athletes for further assessment. Translating these findings into a practical screening tool could enhance willingness of high-performance professionals to monitor sleep and light exposure in athletes. HypothesisKey predictor variables iden...

Motor rehabilitation requiring sustained physical exercise faces poor adherence in neurological populations due to insufficient supervision and monotony. While virtual reality and musical biofeedback independently improve engagement and motivation, their comparative and combined impact on intensity control strategies during high-intensity interval training (HIIT) remains unexplored. Thirty healthy adults (16 males, 14 females; mean age 27.5 {+/-} 7.2 years) were sequentially assigned to three f...

BackgroundNomophobia, characterised by the dread or anxiety of being without access to a mobile phone, has become an increasing behavioural issue among young adults, especially university students. Excessive reliance on smartphones has been linked to psychological suffering, impaired everyday functioning, and negative academic results. Nonetheless, information about the prevalence and determinants of nomophobia among university students in Bangladesh is scarce. This study aimed to evaluate the p...

In 2021, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory to address the youth mental health crisis that included actions media organizations could take regarding their coverage of mental illness and traumatic events including natural disasters, pandemics, and mass violence. Although research indicates that both news and social media are associated with worse adolescent mental health outcomes, it is unknown whether news outlets adhere to the U.S. Surgeon Generals recommendations on social media. This...

BackgroundMental well-being encompasses positive psychological functioning, life satisfaction, and engagement with daily activities. It is influenced by multiple interrelated factors, including symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression, and psychological inflexibility. Network analysis provides a data-driven framework for examining the complex interconnections between these components and for identifying elements that may play a central role in the mental well-being system. The present study aimed...

BackgroundGastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are prevalent, persistent, and frequently disabling among autistic individuals. Existing research has focused predominantly on children, with comparatively little attention to GI experiences in adulthood. Qualitative studies in pediatric populations document substantial unmet GI-related healthcare needs, including negative healthcare encounters and limited access to autism-informed services. MethodsUsing a community-based participatory research (CBPR) fr...

BackgroundThoracic spine mobilization (TSM) has been proposed to influence autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity, yet evidence remains inconsistent and feasibility of standardised protocols is unclear. This study aimed to evaluate whether a randomized TSM protocol can be implemented successfully in healthy participants and to provide preliminary estimates of its effects on heart rate variability (HRV) and heart rate (HR). MethodsA randomized feasibility trial was conducted with healthy young ...

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of cognitive dual-tasking on low-frequency oscillations during quiet standing in older adults. Thirty-two older adults (age 71{+/-}8 yrs) were categorized into high- and low-risk fall groups. Both groups performed three trials each of the following tasks: 1) quiet standing with eyes open - on a force plate; 2) quiet standing with eyes open and verbal memory encoding task - on a force plate; and 3) quiet sitting with eyes open and verbal memory...

Gait variability is a critical functional indicator of dynamic balance and neurocognitive decline in health. Its translation into clinical practice is, however, challenged by a lack of age-related normative trajectories and reference values under real-world ecological settings. Furthermore, the conventional metrics used to estimate gait variability (Coefficient of Variation, CV; Standard Deviation, SD) have a fundamental methodological flaw: the inherent sensitivity of conventional metrics to th...

BackgroundWith the global focus on task-sharing initiatives to bridge the treatment gap, the assessment of competencies of non-specialists is essential. The ENhancing Assessment of Common Therapeutic factors (ENACT) was developed to assess the competence of non-specialists to deliver psychosocial interventions, but the evidence regarding its application, implementation and adaptation process is limited. The present study aims to fill this gap by adapting and pilot testing the ENACT tool for reso...

BackgroundAdverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are widespread and have detrimental long-term effects in many aspects including physical and mental health, education and employment. Medical students are presumed to have had high rates of exposure and suffer consequences that might hinder their progression in undergraduate or postgraduate level. ObjectiveThe study aimed to determine the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences among different sociodemographic groups of medical students and eli...

Background: Quadriceps weakness may reduce sagittal plane shock absorption during landing, shifting load toward the frontal plane and increasing knee abduction moment (KAM), a biomechanical risk factor for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between isokinetic quadriceps strength and peak KAM during drop vertical jump landing in adolescent athletes. Study Design: Secondary analysis of previously collected data. Methods: He...

AimSocial functioning is a crucial aspect of psychosocial adaptation following forced displacement. Yet, it has received far less attention than understanding and addressing mental health problems among refugees and asylum-seekers. This study aimed to extend the ecological model of distress - one of the most widely used frameworks in refugee mental health - to social functioning, and to identify direct and indirect pathways from established conflict- and displacement-related factors to social fu...

ContextACL injury prevention in young athletes has traditionally relied on a dichotomous classification of contact versus noncontact mechanisms; however, this framework may not adequately capture the movement processes underlying many injuries. ObjectiveTo classify ACL injury mechanisms in athletes aged [≤]22 years with a specific focus on landing-related movements and to examine their associations with sport contact characteristics and age. DesignRetrospective observational study. Setting...

BackgroundDespite cardiovascular disease being a leading cause of death globally, secondary prevention strategies following myocardial infarction are under-researched compared to primary prevention. ObjectivesTo explore relationships between indicators of sleep quality, inflammation, and myocardial infarction recurrence and the conditional role of psychological stress in these pathways to assess evidence for reducing MI recurrence by improving sleep quality and implementing stress management te...