Patrizio Paoletti’s research while affiliated with Rowe Neuroscience Institute and other places

The pandemic has implied a massive digitalization of psycho-pedagogical and educational interventions in different contexts, including the prison setting. Patrizio Paoletti Foundation (Assisi, Italy) has created Envisioning the Future (EF), a neuropsycho-pedagogical program aimed at increasing personal wellbeing, that was also remotely conducted among the inmates of the Padua (Italy) prison. The program was remotely implemented from May 2021 to June 2021, at the climax of the pandemic emergency, with the collaboration of the University of Padua (Italy) and of Padua prison (Italy). Through key neuroscientific findings and daily practices for wellbeing, EF aims at increasing inmates’ emotion regulation abilities. The responses of nine inmates to the Scales of Personal Self-efficacy in the Management of Negative and Positive Emotions, before and after EF, were paired and subjected to analysis of covariance, revealing an increase in the ability to manage positive emotions after EF. To date, EF is one of the first remote neuropsycho-pedagogical experiences in Italian prisons, able to positively impact on individual well-being.

The pandemic has implied a massive digitalization of psycho-pedagogical and educational interventions in different contexts, including the prison setting. Patrizio Paoletti Foundation (Assisi, Italy) has created Envisioning the Future (EF), a neuropsycho-pedagogical program aimed at increasing personal wellbeing, that was also remotely conducted among the inmates of the Padua (Italy) prison. The program was remotely implemented from May 2021 to June 2021, at the climax of the pandemic emergency, with the collaboration of the University of Padua (Italy) and of Padua prison (Italy). Through key neuroscientific findings and daily practices for wellbeing, EF aims at increasing inmates’ emotion regulation abilities. The responses of nine inmates to the Scales of Personal Self-efficacy in the Management of Negative and Positive Emotions, before and after EF, were paired and subjected to analysis of covariance, revealing an increase in the ability to manage positive emotions after EF. To date, EF is one of the first remote neuropsycho-pedagogical experiences in Italian prisons, able to positively impact on individual well-being.

Mental health and wellbeing are increasingly threatened in the current post-pandemic times, with stress, especially in students, reaching preoccupying levels. In addition, while many educational programs are unidimensional (i.e., lacking integration between physical, emotional and cognitive elements), there are ways to promote physical, social and mental health in children and adolescents. In this opinion paper, we will discuss the importance of an integrative approach for health development and examine relevant factors, such as awareness and emotional intelligence. We will highlight evidence ranging from behavioral to electrophysiological, structural and molecular, and report several recent studies supporting the effectiveness of a holistic approach in supporting wellbeing and creativity in children and adults, and detailing a specific paradigm named the Quadrato Motor Training (QMT). QMT is a specifically structured movement meditation, involving cognitive, motor and affective components. Finally, we will support a holistic view on education, integrating motion, emotion and cognition to develop a person-centered, or in this case student-centered, approach to wellbeing and health.

Since February 2022, 7.8 million people have left Ukraine. In total, 80% are women and children. The present quali-quantitative study is the first in Italy to (i) describe the adaptation challenges and the resources of refugee parents and, indirectly, of their children and (ii) investigate the impact of neuropsychopedagogical training on their wellbeing. The sample includes N = 15 Ukrainian parents (80% mothers, mean age = 34 years) who arrived in Italy in March and April 2022. The parents participated in neuropsychopedagogical training within the program Envisioning the Future (EF): the 10 Keys to Resilience. Before the training, participants completed an ad hoc checklist to detect adjustment difficulties. After the training, they responded to a three-item post-training questionnaire on the course and to a semi-structured interview deepening adaptation problems, personal resources, and the neuropsychopedagogical training effects. Participants report that since they departed from Ukraine, they have experienced sleep, mood, and concentration problems, and specific fears, which they also observed in their children. They report self-efficacy, self-esteem, social support, spirituality, and common humanity as their principal resources. As effects of the training, they report an increased sense of security, quality of sleep, and more frequent positive thoughts. The interviews also reveal a 3-fold positive effect of the training (e.g., behavioral, emotional-relational, and cognitive-narrative).

Interoception is a perceptual process of gathering information on the physiological and functional state of the body. It is thought to underlie different affective and social processes such as emotional regulation, self-other distinction, understanding of others' emotions and, more generally, to support psychophysiological wellbeing. Recent studies have suggested that interoception plays an important role in the embodiment of abstract concepts as well, thus providing a link between perception of bodily signals and conceptual representations. Considering that contemplative practices such as meditation and mindfulness-based practices usually engage the practitioner in a focus on bodily sensations, contemplative practices are thought to foster enhanced bodily awareness and empathic behaviors through modulation of interoceptive functions, leading practitioners to have a more embodied experience of the world. In the current study, we compared a group of practitioners (N = 66) with a matched control group of non-practitioners, adopting self-report questionnaires examining interoceptive sensibility, empathy, and perceptual components of conceptual representations. Differences between the two groups were found, with practitioners showing greater interoceptive sensibility, greater empathy and overall greater perceptual experiences for both abstract and concrete concepts. However, a mediation analysis showed that interoceptive sensibility was observed to affect empathy through mediation of interoceptive components of conceptual representations only in the non-practitioners group. Considering that practitioners are trained to “ground” their experience in bodily sensations, this study suggests that embodying experiences in interoceptive sensations may be a crucial gateway to reach higher states of consciousness characterized by greater bodily sensibility and enhanced empathy.

Developmental dyslexia is a common complex neurodevelopmental disorder. Many theories and models tried to explain its symptomatology and find ways to improve poor reading abilities. The aim of this scoping review is to summarize current findings and several approaches and theories, focusing on the interconnectedness between motion, emotion and cognition and their connection to dyslexia. Consequently, we present first a brief overview of the main theories and models regarding dyslexia and its proposed neural correlates, with a particular focus on cerebellar regions and their involvement in this disorder. After examining different types of intervention programs and remedial training, we highlight the effects of a specific structured sensorimotor intervention named Quadrato Motor Training (QMT). QMT utilizes several cognitive and motor functions known to be relevant in developmental dyslexia. We introduce its potential beneficial effects on reading skills, including working memory, coordination and attention. We sum its effects ranging from behavioral to functional, structural and neuroplastic, especially in relation to dyslexia. We report several recent studies that employed this training technique with dyslexic participants, discussing the specific features that distinguish it from other training within the specific framework of the Sphere Model of Consciousness. Finally, we advocate for a new perspective on developmental dyslexia integrating motion, emotion and cognition to fully encompass this complex disorder.

This paper presents the results of a study investigating both predictors of resilience on a group of educators of the juvenile justice system and effects of group training on this construct. Results showed that (a) self-efficacy in managing positive and negative emotions and positive attitude are predictors of resilience and (b) the comparison of pre-post values revealed an impact of training affecting the balance between self-efficacy in managing positive and negative emotions and positive attitude. Ultimately, this study seems to indicate the need to promote targeted training experiences on emotion management for supporting the educators in the juvenile justice system.

Research about the predictors of resilience in the inmate population needs further explorations. This study examines the predictors of resilience in male inmates from Padua prison, before and after a 9-session neuropsychopedagogical intervention, entitled Envisioning the Future (EF), which took part in remote during Covid-19 pandemic. Using two linear regression models, a change in the factors determining inmatesʼ resilience was found from before to after the intervention. In the pre-course group (n = 24), only low avoidance emerged as a statistically significant predictor of the level of resilience. In the post-course group (n = 24) low avoidance, flexibility, high levels of social support, and self-efficacy in managing positive emotions emerged as significant predictors of inmates' resilience. The results show that the constellation of factors predicting resilience in prisoners can be enriched by participating to neuropsychopedagogical interventions like EF, that increases individuals' resources in a challenging context such as prison. 1 Tania di Giuseppe et al.