Tania Moretta

• Clinical Psychophysiology
• Professor (Assistant) at University of Padua

Over the past two decades, there has been increasing interest in the impact of internet use and growing concern about whether problematic use of the internet (PUI) constitutes an addiction. Despite the growing number of studies investigating PUI and PUI subtypes, its conceptualization and inclusion in a classification system have not been possible...

Purpose The Internet has become embedded into the life of billions of people worldwide. In some individuals, excessive Internet use impacts negatively on psychological and social functioning. Several studies over the last decades have focused on the relationship between Problematic Internet Use (PIU) and loneliness. The present review aims to provi...

Empirical studies and theoretical models highlight that problematic use of social media can lead to significant functional impairments in several domains, such as social, relational, occupational, and psychological functioning, as well as physical health. However, social media use disorder is not currently recognized as an official disorder in majo...

Gambling disorder is the only behavioral addiction recognized as a clinical disorder in DSM-5, and Internet gaming disorder is included as a condition requiring further research. ICD-11 categorizes gambling and gaming disorders as disorders due to addictive behaviors. Additional behavioral addictions may include compulsive sexual behavior disorder,...

Purpose of Review The psychobiological mechanisms underlying the development and maintenance of problematic use of social media (PUSM) and their similarities and differences with mechanisms of addictive behaviors are not well understood. A synthetic review of recent literature is necessary to improve our understanding of the psychobiology of PUSM a...

Background The present study aimed to investigate personality characteristics and psychopathological symptoms in patients with Fabry disease (FD) vs a group of individuals with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Methods A total of 36 patients, equally divided into patients with FD and patients with ESRD (control group), were administered the followin...

Maladaptive Daydreaming (MD) is an excessive absorption in vivid fantasies interfering with individuals’ daily functioning, which has been associated with adverse psychological outcomes and adult attachment insecurities. However, no study to date has addressed the relationships between MD, parental care, unresolved attachment, and psychological sym...

Gambling disorder is the only behavioral addiction recognized as a clinical disorder in DSM-5, and Internet gaming disorder is included as a condition requiring further research. ICD-11 categorizes gambling and gaming disorders as disorders due to addictive behaviors. Additional behavioral addictions may include compulsive sexual behavior disorder,...

Despite the promising role of alpha and delta power in reflecting reduced approach disposition in depression, to date, it is unclear whether these measures can be employed to identify at-risk individuals. Hence, the present study investigated affective disposition in 32 unaffected individuals with a family history of depression (23 F) and 30 indivi...

Background: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with manifestations that go beyond the visual manifestation, and include psychological aspects. Some mental disorders or personality traits in psoriasis patients have also been highlighted, such as a negative or problematic attitude towards life, impulsive or avoidant behavior, and lower...

Background The relationships between problematic smartphone use and psychological factors have been extensively investigated. However, previous studies generally used variable-centered approaches, which hinder an examination of the heterogeneity of smartphone impact on everyday lives. Objective In the present study, we capitalized on latent profil...

Despite evidence of abnormal affective processing as a key correlate of depression, specific attentional mechanisms underlying processing of emotions in familial risk for depression have yet to be investigated in a single study. To this end, the amplitude of the P300 and late positive potential (LPP) complex and cardiac deceleration were assessed d...

Despite the evidence of a relationship between loneliness, problematic social networking sites use (PSNSU), and sleep quality, associations between specific PSNSU symptoms and loneliness in individuals with poor vs. good sleep quality and possible gender differences have yet to be understood. We examined the relationships between loneliness and PSN...

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction, characterized by decreased parasympathetic (PNS) and increased sympathetic (SNS) activity. Although findings on reduced PNS activity in adult MDD have been replicated in adolescents, comprehensive studies assessing PNS and SNS proxies in underage patients...

Previous research reported inconsistent results on the relationship between social media (SM) use and psychological well-being, suggesting the importance of assessing possible moderators, e.g., motives for SM use. However, no longitudinal study has yet investigated whether, among people who use SM, specific motives for using SM may represent protec...

It is important to understand the relationship between stress and problematic use of social media (PUSM). However, no study to our knowledge has yet investigated the longitudinal relationship between perceived stress and PUSM via positive and negative reinforcement processes. The present study investigated relationships between COVID-19-pandemic-re...

The present study investigated the patterns of mutual associations between maladaptive daydreaming-related variables (MD, i.e., interference with life and somatosensory retreat), psychopathological symptoms (i.e., depression, anxiety, somatization, obsessive–compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, psychoticism), emotion regulation strategies (i.e.,...

Gender differences in the relations between sleep quality, loneliness, and problematic social networking sites use (PSNSU) have yet to be understood. We examined relations between loneliness and PSNSU domains (i.e., preference for online social interaction – POSI, mood regulation, deficient self-regulation, and negative outcomes), and possible mode...

Background Despite the evidence of increased levels of rumination and reduced heart rate variability (HRV) in depression, whether these measures can be considered early indicators of vulnerability to depression has yet to be investigated. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate both levels of rumination and resting HRV in individuals wit...

To date, affective and cognitive processing of emotional information in individuals with depressive symptoms have been examined through peripheral psychophysiological measures, event-related potentials, and time–frequency analysis of oscillatory activity. However, electrocortical correlates of emotional and cognitive processing of affective content...

Background Considering that the elevated distress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, in some cases, led to post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), it has been proposed as a specific traumatic event. The present longitudinal study investigated pre-pandemic motivated attention to emotional stimuli, as indexed by Late Positive Potential (LPP) amplitude,...

To date, affective disposition and cognitive processing of emotional stimuli in individuals with depressive symptoms have not been fully explored within the same framework. Time-frequency analysis of electroencephalographic activity allows to disentangle the brain's parallel processing of information. The present study employed a time-frequency app...

The present study aimed to investigate emotional processing in dysphoria. To this end, the amplitude of the Late Positive Potential (LPP) and cardiac deceleration were assessed during the passive viewing of affective (pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant) pictures in 26 individuals with dysphoria and in 25 non-depressed controls. The group with dyspho...

We investigated the relationships and diagnostic power of symptoms associated with affective disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and drug addictions on Internet use disorder. Moreover, we tested whether Internet use disorder is characterized by a specific network of symptoms. One-hundred-and-four young adults (78 women) were assessed in labor...

Background and aims It has been argued that similar to addictive behaviors, problematic Social Network sites use (PSNSU) is characterized by sensitized reward processing and cue-reactivity. However, no study to our knowledge has yet investigated cue-reactivity in PSNSU. The present study aims at investigating cue-reactivity to Social Network sites...

Given the current literature debate on whether or not Problematic Social Network Sites Use (PSNSU) can be considered a behavioral addiction, the present study was designed to test whether, similarly to addictive behaviors, PSNSU is characterized by a deficit in inhibitory control in emotional and addiction-related contexts. Twenty-two problematic F...

Background and aims: Problematic smartphone use (PSU) has been described as a growing public health issue. In the current study, we aimed to provide a unique and comprehensive test of the pathway model of PSU. This model posits three distinct developmental pathways leading to PSU: (1) the excessive reassurance pathway, (2) the impulsive pathway and...

Although age-related differences have been reported in gambling disorder, prior studies have not examined how age may influence recovery in gambling disorder. Recovery may be influenced by positive factors (e.g., spirituality and recovery capital) and negative factors (e.g., depression, anxiety, and stressful life events). The current study examine...

This commentary addresses a recent article by Montag et al. (2019) about the relevance of distinguishing between mobile and non-mobile Internet Use Disorder (IUD). In response to the review, we reflect on the clinical relevance of this distinction and, in parallel, we propose some Pavlovian conditioning processes as possible mechanisms underlying d...

+me is an experimental interactive soft toy, looking like a panda, developed for young children. When touched on the paws or head (inputs), the toy can emit attractive responses such as colored lights and amusing sounds (outputs). +me is wirelessly connected to a control tablet through which an adult caregiver can modify its input-output contingenc...

Background: Understanding gender-related differences is important in recovery processes. Previous studies have investigated gender-related differences in factors associated with gambling disorder (GD), but none to date have considered both positive and negative resources related to recovery. Using a recovery capital (RC) framework that considers m...

Understanding how factors promoting recovery from gambling disorder operate is important in gambling studies and treatment programs. The recovery experience may involve multiple positive resources and may be hindered by negative experiences or states. Most prior studies have focused on the latter, generating a gap in understanding the role for posi...

A growing literature suggests that problematic Internet use (PIU) is associated with defective inhibitory control. In this study, we sought to investigate the ability to inhibit prepotent motor responses in an emotional context in individuals with PIU, and to examine the relationship between inhibitory control and resting heart rate variability (HR...

Background: Spirituality is related to an individual’s relationship with a Transcendent Being or Ultimate Reality, which may contribute to salutary human experience and serve as a motive for attitudes and behaviors. In contrast to studies in the field of substance addictions showing that spirituality may protect against substance-use problems and d...

This work presents the results of the first experimentation of +me-the first prototype of Transitional Wearable Companion–run on 15 typically developed (TD) children with ages between 8 and 34 months. +me is an interactive device that looks like a teddy bear that can be worn around the neck, has touch sensors, can emit appealing lights and sounds,...

A validated theoretical model of Problematic Facebook Use (PFU) is currently lacking in the literature. The cognitive-behavioral model of generalized Problematic Internet Use (PIU) proposed by Caplan (2010) may provide a conceptual basis for understanding the problematic use of Social Networking Sites. The present study aimed at contributing to the...

The emotions of guilt and disgust play a pivotal role in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The present study hypothesized the existence of a distinctive relation between deontological (but not altruistic) guilt and subjective and physiological correlates of disgust. Moreover, we aimed at testing whether the evoked emotion of disgust may activate...

The link between autonomic stress reactivity and subjective urge/craving has been less systematically examined in behavioral addictions (i.e. problematic Internet use) than in substance use disorders. The present study investigated whether problematic Internet users (PU) show enhanced autonomic stress reactivity than non-PU, indexed by lower Heart...

Formulae A. Mixed-effects models. Legend: Index = HRV indices (i.e., SDNN; rMSSD; LF(ms2); HF(ms2)) and SCL; Phase = the Phase predictor (i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 phases of the TSST); Group = the Group predictor (non-PU and PU); Individual = participants; AUDIT = the AUDIT ratings; DASS.D, DASS.A, and DASS.S = depression, anxiety, and stress sub...

The link between autonomic stress reactivity and subjective urge/craving has been less systematically examined in behavioral addictions than in substance use disorders. The present study investigated whether problematic Internet users (PIU) show enhanced autonomic stress reactivity than non-PIU, indexed by lower Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and hig...

Studies on Problematic Internet Use (PIU) report significant correlations between PIU severity and emotion regulation problems. One of the key factors contributing to emotional regulation is the inability to control impulsive behavior. Heart rate variability (HRV) is thought to represent a psychophysiological index of inhibitory control and thus, i...

We present a novel concept of interactive devices, called “transitional wearable companions” (TWCs), usable to support therapy and foster social skill development in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). TWCs have two distinctive features. First, they are soft interactive devices, which look like tender animals, able to arise attachment emo...

Recent neuroimaging studies are uncovering the brain areas and networks that underly the beneficial effects that mindfulness training can have on stress management (Sharma and Rush 2014) and both mental and physical health (Keng et al. 2011, Gotink et al. 2015): in particular, both structural and functional changes have been shown following mindful...

Goal-directed behavior is influenced by environmental cues: in particular, cues associated with a reward can bias action choice toward actions directed to that same reward. This effect is studied experimentally as specific Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (specific PIT). We have investigated the hypothesis that cues associated to an outcome elicit s...