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Over the past decade, researchers have focused on studying the functional context of perceiving painful stimuli, particularly concerning the posturographic correlates of emotional processing. The aim of this study was to investigate the differential modulation of non-linear measures characterizing postural control in the context of perceiving painful stimuli. The study involved 36 healthy young participants who, while standing, viewed images depicting feet and hands in painful or non-painful situations, both actively (by imagining themselves affected by the situation) and passively. For Center of Pressure (COP) displacement, three non-linear measures (Sample Entropy, Fractal Dimension, and Lyapunov exponent) were calculated. The results suggest lower values of FD and LyE in response to active stimulation compared to those recorded for passive stimulation. Above all, our results pledge for the usefulness of the Lyapunov exponent for assessing postural modulation dynamics in response to painful stimuli perception. The feasibility of this calculation could provide an interesting insight in the collection of biomarkers related to postural correlates of emotional processes and their modulation in neurological disease where socio-affective functions can be often impaired before cognitive ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our contemporary societies, environmental issues are more and more important. An increasing number of studies explore the biological processes involved in environment perception and in particular try to highlight the mechanisms underlying the perception of environmental scenes by our brain. The main objective of the present study was to establish whether the visualization of clean and polluted environmental scenes would lead to differential postural reactions. Our hypothesis was based on a differential postural modulation that could be recorded when the subject is confronted with images representing a "polluted" environment, differential modulation which has been reported in previous studies in response to painful-scenes compared to non-painful scenes visualization.Thirty-one subjects participated in this study. Physiological measurements [heart rate variability (HRV) and electrodermal activity] and postural responses (Center Of Pression—COP—displacements) were recorded in response to perception of polluted or clean environmental scenes. We show, for the first time, that images representing polluted scenes evoke a weaker approach movement than images representing clean scenes. The displacement of the COP in the anteroposterior axis reflects an avoidance when subjects visualize "polluted" scenes. Our results demonstrate a clear distinction between "clean" and "polluted" environments according to the postural change they induce, correlated with the ratings of pleasure and approach evoked by images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last two decades, affective and social neurosciences converged on the study of motor correlates of emotional and motivational information processing. Posturography appeared as a good experimental method to address this question. The use of this method to explore emotional and motivation processing remains recent. Here, we summarize several important arguments showing the importance to explore the temporal aspects of these responses regarding the complexity of the link between emotional information's parameters (such as arousal) and the corresponding neural processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Emotional context may play a crucial role in movement production. According to simulation theories, emotional states affect motor systems. The aim of this study was to compare postural responses assessed by posturography and electromyography when subjects were instructed to imagine themselves in a painful or a non-painful situation. Methods: Twenty-nine subjects (22.3 ± 3.7 years) participated in this study. While standing quietly on a posturographic platform, they were instructed to imagine themselves in a painful or non-painful situation. Displacement of the center of pressure (COP), leg muscle electromyographic activity, heart rate, and electrodermal activity were assessed in response to painful and non-painful situations. Results: The anteroposterior path was shorter (p < 0.05) when subjects imagined themselves in a painful situation (M = 148.0 ± 33.4 mm) compared to a non-painful situation (158.2 ± 38.7 mm). Higher tibialis anterior (TA) activity (RMS-TA = 3.38 ± 1.95% vs. 3.24 ± 1.85%; p < 0.001) and higher variability of soleus (SO) activity (variation coefficient of RMS-SO = 13.5 ± 16.2% vs. M = 9.0 ± 7.2%; p < 0.05) were also observed in painful compared to non-painful situations. No significant changes were observed for other physiological data. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that simulation of painful situations induces changes in postural control and leg muscle activation compared to non-painful situations, as increased stiffness was demonstrated in response to aversive pictures in accordance with previous results [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interrelation between motor and emotional processes has been a recurrent question since several decades in the scientific literature. An interesting experimental technique to explore this question is posturography which assess the modulation of human postural control. In an emerging scientific field, this technique has been used to explore the reaction of the body in different emotional conditions. However, among available studies, some inconsistencies appear. In this brief report, we want to show how a widely used experimental model, i.e., empathy for pain, allowed in several study to provide comprehensive understanding elements on the postural correlates of socioemotional information processing. In particular, the role of mental simulation is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Embodiment of motivated social interactions. [•] Social neuroscience. [•] Affective neuroscience. [•] Peripheral physiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]