Mindfulness Effects on Mind Wandering and Autonomic Balance.

The natural tendency of the mind to wander (i.e., mind wandering), is often connected to negative thoughts and emotional states. On the other hand, mindfulness (i.e., the ability to focus one's attention on the present moment in a non-judgmental way) has acquired a growing interest in recent years given its beneficial role in improving awareness and self-regulation. Starting from previous evidence, this study aims to clarify the psychological, physiological, and affective impact of a mindfulness exercise on mind wandering. Twenty-eight non-expert female meditators were recruited for this study. Heart rate variability (HRV), state mindfulness, mind wandering manifestations, and affective states, were recorded during a baseline condition, a mindfulness breathing observation exercise, and a final rest condition. Subjects reported significant decreases in mind wandering comparing baseline and mindfulness. Changes in mind wandering were mirrored by changes in HRV, with higher HRV during the breathing observation exercise. Significant associations were found between scores of mindfulness, mind wandering, and affective states measured during the task. Our findings confirmed the role of mindfulness in reducing mind wandering and increasing HRV. Results are discussed considering mindfulness associations with self-regulation and well-being.

Negative bias and reduced visual information processing of socio-emotional context in borderline Personality Disorder: A support for the hypersensitivity hypothesis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Current studies on emotional dysregulation in BPD suggest that it might be manifested by altered appraisal and biased attentional mechanisms, rather than by hyperreactivity. The aim of this study was to acquire more evidence on this topic by testing the hypothesis that BPD patients are characterized by a negative evaluation bias and reduced visual exploration in response to socio-emotional content. Moreover, the association between the previous conceptualizations and typical dysfunctional processes in BPD were evaluated. METHODS: Fifty-four socio-emotional pictures were administered to 20 female BPD patients and 20 healthy controls (HCs) divided into three blocks characterized by different stimulus durations (500 ms, 3s, 18s). Self-reported and eye-tracking data were collected during the experiment. RESULTS: BPD patients showed lower valence ratings and reduced visual exploration of socio-emotional pictures compared to HCs. Visual exploration in BPD was affected by exposure time with reduced exploration in response to prolonged stimuli presentation. Dysfunctional features and pre-task negative affectivity level in BPD were correlated with self-reported evaluations and eye-tracking data. LIMITATIONS: Possible effects of gender on emotional responsivity could not be addressed given the female composition of our sample. Moreover, the role of psychiatric symptoms and medications should be addressed in future research. CONCLUSIONS: This study presented evidence on dysfunctional mechanisms sustaining emotional dysregulation in BPD. This construct seemed supported by a well-established negative bias towards emotional stimuli together with a reduced processing of social information as manifestations of emotional hypersensitivity.

Emotional Reactivity in Borderline Personality Disorder: Theoretical Considerations Based on a Meta-Analytic Review of Laboratory Studies.

Emotional hyperreactivity (Linehan, 1993) is the most investigated construct in borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, experimental studies revealed mixed results on the topic. Our main objective is to comprehensively summarize the results on emotional reactivity in BPD compared to healthy controls (HCs), using a meta-analytic approach, considering different emotional response systems (physiology, behavior, self-report). We included 31 experimental studies (1,675 subjects). We observed null to small effect sizes for several physiological and behavioral outcomes. Conversely, BPD subjects revealed a moderate to large difference in valence attributed to emotional stimuli and a small difference in self-reported arousal. Significant differences in pooled effect sizes were found between self-report and physiological outcomes. Several sources of heterogeneity were explored. In general, the hyperreactivity hypothesis was not supported. Additional dysfunctional processes should be taken into consideration to understand BPD emotional responsiveness.

A comprehensive evaluation of emotional responsiveness in borderline personality disorder: a support for hypersensitivity hypothesis.

BACKGROUND: Many experimental studies have evaluated Linehan's biological emotional vulnerability in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). However, some inconsistencies were observed in operationalizing and supporting its components. This study aims at clarifying which aspects of Linehan's model are altered in BPD, considering a multimodal evaluation of processes concerned with emotional responsiveness (self-report, psychophysiology and eye-tracking). METHODS: Forty-eight socio-emotional pictures were administered to 28 participants (14 BPD, 14 Healthy Controls, HCs), gender- and age-matched, by employing two different lengths of stimuli exposure (5 s and 15 s). RESULTS: Our results supported the hypersensitivity hypothesis in terms of faster physiological responses and altered visual processing. Furthermore, hypersensitivity was associated with detailed socio-emotional contents. Hyperreactivity assumption was not experimentally sustained by physiological and self-report data. Ultimately, the slow return to emotional baseline was demonstrated as an impaired emotional modulation. CONCLUSIONS: Our data alternatively supported the hypersensitivity and the slow return to emotional baseline hypotheses, postulated by Linehan's Biosocial model, rather than the hyperreactivity assumption. Results have been discussed in light of other BPD core psychopathological processes.

Emotional Responsiveness in Borderline Personality Disorder: The Role of Basal Hyperarousal and Self-Reported Emotional Regulation.

The present study aims to test the hypothesis of biological hyperarousal and hyperreactivity underpinning the dysfunctional emotional processes of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Self-reported (quality and intensity of emotions) and physiological (respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA] and heart rate) data were collected in 14 clinical subjects with BPD and in 14 control subjects (healthy controls [HCs]), during the administration of six video clips with different emotional contents. Our findings showed a constant hyperarousal state (lower RSA) in the clinical group, supporting the hypothesis of a biological vulnerability to emotional dysregulation. BPD patients showed lower self-reported happiness in positive stimuli compared with HCs and a significant association between emotional dysregulation and physiological hyperreactivity to neutral stimuli. Our data support the hypothesis of a constant condition of physiological preparedness to threat and danger in BPD subjects. Moreover, our results highlight the influence of self-reported ability in regulating emotions in explaining BPD responses to specific emotional situations.

The Italian version of Perfectionistic Self-Presentation Scale: psychometric proprieties and its associations with pathological narcissism and adult attachment in an adult non clinical sample.

The present study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Perfectionistic Self-Presentation Scale (PSPS) in 447 nonclinical adult volunteers (63.5% female; mean age = 36.89 years). In our sample the PSPS total score and PSPS scales showed adequate internal consistency reliability estimates, and both the dimensionality analyses and WLSMV exploratory structural model supported the original three factors structure for PSPS items. We found a significant correlation between perfectionistic self-presentation and pathological narcissism and a significant role of attachment patterns in explaining the differences between these two constructs. Perfectionistic participants were characterized by avoidant and anxiety attachment styles, while narcissistic participants reported an anxiety style only. As a whole, our findings support the hypothesis that the Italian version of the PSPS is a reliable measure of perfectionist self-presentation in an adult community sample. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.