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Brain Sciences
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Cognitive Functioning in Obesity: New Evidence from Neuropsychology
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Cognitive Functioning in Obesity: New Evidence from Neuropsychology

A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425). This special issue belongs to the section "Neuropsychology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2023) | Viewed by 7863

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Federica Scarpina

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Guest Editor
Department of Neurosciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
Interests: cognitive neuropsychology; cognitive neuroscience; rehabilitation; neuroimaging; clinical neuropsychology; neuropsychological assessment; executive function; memory; cognition disorders; eating disorders
Dr. Ada Ghiggia

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Guest Editor
Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
Interests: neuropsychological tests; neuropsychology; clinical neuropsychology; psycho-oncology; clinical psychology
Prof. Dr. Gianluca Castelnuovo

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Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Milan, 20123 Milan, Italy
Interests: clinical health psychology; psychotherapy; obesity; eating disorders; chronic care management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Silvia Serino

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Guest Editor
MySpace Lab, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University Hospital Lausanne (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland
Interests: behavioral psychology; psychological assessment; counseling; psychopathology; psychotherapeutic processes; mental illness; treatment; personality assessment; clinical assessment; psychoeducation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the prevalence of obesity has reached epidemic proportions. Obesity and its associated medical sequelae have a number of severe consequences on the individual's overall health status, including cognition. Accumulating evidence suggests impaired functioning across almost all the traditional cognitive domains (e.g., complex attention, verbal and visual memory, decision making), although some other domains are generally neglected. However, further studies are necessary to support the development of appropriate approaches to the identification, prevention, and treatment of cognitive alteration in obesity. This Special Issue of Brain Sciences aims to present a collection of studies detailing the most recent advancements in the field of cognitive functioning in obesity. Authors are invited to submit cutting-edge neuropsychological research, including focused review, neuropsychological assessment, interventions (e.g., cognitive training, environmental modifications), and behavioral studies. The role of comorbidities on cognitive functioning may be also explored. We also encourage the submission of studies using neuroimaging and neurophysiological approaches.

With this in mind, the aim of this Special Issue is to promote a renewed interest in the description of neuropsychology and cognitive neuropsychology in obesity, arising from both laboratory and clinical settings, and which display strong methodologies and analyses. 

Dr. Federica Scarpina
Dr. Ada Ghiggia
Prof. Dr. Gianluca Castelnuovo
Dr. Silvia Serino
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Brain Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • obesity
  • neuropsychology
  • cognition

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 283 KiB  
Article
Executive Attentional Dyscontrol as a Core Cognitive and Behavioral Feature of Individuals with Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease: A Cross-Sectional Investigation
by Giada Pietrabissa, Davide Maria Cammisuli, Federica Scarpina, Clarissa Volpi, Lia Crotti, Alessandro Mauro, Luca Alessandro Gondoni and Gianluca Castelnuovo
Brain Sci. 2023, 13(8), 1182; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13081182 - 10 Aug 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1174
Abstract
Executive attention as a frontal domain ability that is effective in potentially blocking distracting information, reconciling conflicts among simultaneous attentional demands, and regulating impulsive behavior may be impaired in individuals with obesity and cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study aimed (i) to explore the [...] Read more.
Executive attention as a frontal domain ability that is effective in potentially blocking distracting information, reconciling conflicts among simultaneous attentional demands, and regulating impulsive behavior may be impaired in individuals with obesity and cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study aimed (i) to explore the presence of selected cognitive (global cognitive impairment, sensitivity to interference, and attention) and psychological (quality of life, depression, anxiety, and impulsivity) dimensions and (ii) to examine the interactive relationship between attentional dyscontrol—both as a psychological and as a cognitive measure—and the above-mentioned variables in a sample of patients with CVD attending a cardiac rehabilitation program across different body mass index (BMI) levels. Clinical information of 104 patients with CVD was retrospectively collected. Participants were classified into three groups according to their BMI as follows: normal weight (NW = 30), overweight (OW = 19), and obese (OB = 55). Individuals with CVD and a higher BMI showed problems in controlling executive attention—through both neuropsychological and behavioral measures. Specifically, OB patients demonstrated reduced sensitivity to cognitive interference, lower capabilities in divided attention during visual-tracking tasks, and greater impulsivity compared to NW patients. This behavioral characteristic was also found to be correlated with higher levels of anxiety and depression and a lower quality of life. Implications for cognitive rehabilitation were discussed to offer directions for better management of patients with CVD and obesity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognitive Functioning in Obesity: New Evidence from Neuropsychology)
17 pages, 318 KiB  
Article
Short-Term Benefits of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Treatment on Cognition in the Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome: A Retrospective Study
by Giulia Vaioli, Sofia Tagini, Federica Scarpina, Riccardo Cremascoli, Lorenzo Priano, Mauro Cornacchia, Paolo Fanari and Alessandro Mauro
Brain Sci. 2023, 13(1), 124; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13010124 - 10 Jan 2023
Viewed by 2419
Abstract
The Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) significantly impacts cognitive functioning. The prolonged use (more than 3 months) of ventilotherapy with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) seems to have positive effects in restoring cognitive difficulties. However, there is poor evidence about its possible short-term [...] Read more.
The Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) significantly impacts cognitive functioning. The prolonged use (more than 3 months) of ventilotherapy with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) seems to have positive effects in restoring cognitive difficulties. However, there is poor evidence about its possible short-term effect. We investigated whether the short use (less than 15 days at testing) of CPAP improved the cognitive functioning in fifty individuals with OSAS by collecting retrospective neuropsychological measures about verbal memory and learning, information processing speed, attention (i.e., alerting, orienting, and executive system), and executive functions (i.e., strategic reasoning, problem-solving, and mental planning). The predictive role of days of CPAP use on the neuropsychological scores was assessed by hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses, over and above the possible role of demographics, body mass index, level of OSAS severity, and the level of anxiety and depression. The average number of days since CPAP adaptation was 4.70 (SD = 3.90; range = 0–15). As the days of CPAP adaptation increased, verbal learning and long-term memory significantly improved, contrary to the other assessed domains. Our results show a significant improvement in some cognitive functions even after a short treatment with CPAP, pointing to the importance of the early use of ventilotherapy to rapidly improve cognitive functioning. Identifying which cognitive functions can or cannot be restored with CPAP use may enable the design of complementary neuropsychological interventions focused on those residual difficulties, possibly enhancing patients’ compliance to the treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognitive Functioning in Obesity: New Evidence from Neuropsychology)
16 pages, 374 KiB  
Article
Functional Relationship between Inhibitory Control, Cognitive Flexibility, Psychomotor Speed and Obesity
by Marco La Marra, Ciro Rosario Ilardi, Ines Villano, Mario Carosella, Maria Staiano, Alessandro Iavarone, Sergio Chieffi, Giovanni Messina, Rita Polito, Alessia Scarinci, Vincenzo Monda, Girolamo Di Maio and Antonietta Messina
Brain Sci. 2022, 12(8), 1080; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12081080 - 15 Aug 2022
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3298
Abstract
In the last decades, it has been proposed that executive functions may be particularly vulnerable to weight-related issues. However, evidence on the matter is mixed, especially when the effects of sociodemographic variables are weighted. Thus, the current study aimed at further examining the [...] Read more.
In the last decades, it has been proposed that executive functions may be particularly vulnerable to weight-related issues. However, evidence on the matter is mixed, especially when the effects of sociodemographic variables are weighted. Thus, the current study aimed at further examining the relationship between executive functions and obesity. To this aim, we compared treatment-seeking overweight, obese, and morbidly obese patients with normal-weight control participants. We examined general executive functioning (Frontal Assessment Battery–15) and different executive subdomains (e.g., inhibitory control, verbal fluency, and psychomotor speed) in a clinical sample including 208 outpatients with different degrees of BMI (52 overweight, BMI 25–30, M age = 34.38; 76 obese, BMI 30–40, M age = 38.00; 80 morbidly obese, BMI > 40, M age = 36.20). Ninety-six normal-weight subjects served as controls. No difference on executive scores was detected when obese patients were compared with over- or normal-weight subjects. Morbidly obese patients reported lower performance on executive scores than obese, overweight, and normal-weight subjects. Between-group difference emerged also when relevant covariates were taken into account. Our results support the view that morbid obesity is associated with lower executive performance, also considering the critical role exerted by sociodemographic (i.e., sex, age, and education) variables. Our results support the view that executive functioning should be accounted into the management of the obese patient because of non-negligible clinical relevance in diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic terms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognitive Functioning in Obesity: New Evidence from Neuropsychology)
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