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Introduction: Functional Motor Disorder (FMD) is characterized by motor neurological symptoms that cannot be explained by typical neurological diseases or other medical conditions. The role of psychological factors in the development, severity, and persistence of FMD remains unclear. We investigated the Attachment State of Mind (SoM) in FMD patients using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and retrospectively examined the quality of their traumatic experiences, if any. Methods: Thirty FMD patients and thirty healthy controls (HC) underwent the AAI and were classified according to both the three-way classification (Free/Secure, Dismissing or Entangled SoM) and the four-way classification (Unresolved SoM, indicating unelaborated traumatic events). Frequency and quality of adverse childhood experiences before the age of 14 were assessed via the Complex Trauma Questionnaire (ComplexTQ). Results: Among HC, 53.3% exhibited a Free/Secure SoM, while 73.3% of FMD patients displayed an Insecure SoM (Entangled or, primarily, Dismissing). Individuals with Insecure SoM were three times more likely to manifest FMD. Unresolved Trauma was present in 26.7% of HC and 46.7% of FMD patients, with Unresolved Trauma leading to a fourfold increase in the likelihood of manifesting FMD. FMD patients reported significantly higher neglect from both parents, physical abuse from the mother, and parental loss compared to HC. Discussion: Using a gold-standard instrument for evaluating Attachment SoM, we found that FMD patients had a significantly higher prevalence of Insecure SoM and childhood traumatic unresolved events compared to HC, supporting previous literature assessing FMD Attachment Styles through self-report questionnaires. We discuss the potential pathophysiological, neurobiological, and therapeutic implications of our findings.

Background: Attachment theory represents one of the most important references for the study of the development of an individual throughout their life cycle and provides the clinician with a profound key for the purposes of understanding the suffering that underlies severe psychopathologies such as eating disorders. As such, we conducted a cross-sectional study with a mixed-methods analysis on a sample of 32 young women with anorexia nervosa (AN); this study was embedded in the utilized theoretical framework with the following aims: 1. to evaluate the state of mind (SoM) in relation to adult attachment, assuming a prevalence of the dismissing (DS) SoM and 2. to analyze the linguistic attachment profile emerging from the transcripts of the AAIs. Methods: Interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed using the linguistic inquiry and word count (LIWC) method. Results: The results were observed to be consistent with the referenced literature. The prevalence of a DS SoM (68.75%) is observed in the study sample, whereas the results of the lexical analysis of the stories deviate from expectations. Notably, the lexical results indicate the coexistence of the dismissing and entangled aspects at the representational level. Conclusions: The study results suggest a high level of specificity in the emotional functioning of patients with AN, with a focusing on a pervasive control of emotions that is well illustrated by the avoidant/ambivalent (A/C) strategy described in Crittenden’s dynamic–maturational model. These findings and considerations have important implications for clinical work and treatment, which we believe must be structured on the basis of starting from a reappraisal of emotional content.

The Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is a tragic and difficult experience for families. It involves not only the death of the baby but also the loss of a future as a parent, sibling or grandparent. The subsequent grief is multifaceted and each family member has different needs and resources. Through a systematic review of literature, we identified 24 studies between 1982 and 2021: they dealt with individual, family and couple experience when a SIDS occurs; in addition, some studies compared perinatal loss and neonatal loss with SIDS loss. Our results point out the need for an intervention that focuses on the needs of each family member and tailored around the specifics of SIDS loss rather than general grief.

Backgrounds: PTSD occurs as a result of an extreme event in which the person perceived a threat of death or physical integrity or suffered a serious injury. The traumatic aspect of such events is the dimension of the unexpected and unpredictable, which triggers intense anxiety and feelings of helplessness with symptoms such as fear, depression, and hypochondriacal anxiety. Physical trauma causes a breakdown of the boundaries of the self and the connection between the body ego and the psychological ego is severely tested. Trauma abruptly breaks through para-excitatory barriers, confronts suffering and depressive experiences, and often brings narcissistic and loss wounds into contact. Sometimes the effects of physical trauma reactivate earlier psychological trauma, and the inability to make sense of what has happened represents a traumatic overlap. Methods: This study uses Rorschach on 15 subjects who have suffered a severe physical accident with disabling but not permanent consequences. Protocols were administered scored and interpretated according to the method of the French school and compared with the Italian norm sample. The aims are to examine the effects of trauma on body image, self-image, and intrapsychic and interpersonal dynamics. Results: Qualitative analysis of the response process in the protocols reveals a general sensitivity and reactivity to color, both in its chromatic and achromatic components, accompanied by a strong internal imbalance. The anxious-depressive dimension seems difficult to process and is accompanied by a thinking incapable of introspection. The representations of relationships are colored by elements of infantilism or drive neutralization. The centrality of the theme of the body and the presence of body anxiety seem to emerge in the protocols, as does the theme of self-boundary. Conclusions: The study did not find a significant relationship between a specific personality function and the traumatic experience. However, recurrent personality traits were found. In addition to the trauma itself, the inability to make sense of what has happened and the inability to recognize their psychological wounds represent another traumatic overlap in these individuals. From this perspective, it can be hypothesized that the "crying" consequences of physical trauma serve multiple functions.

This article summarizes the results of studies in which functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed to investigate the neurofunctional activations involved in processing visual stimuli from food in individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge eating disorder (BED). A systematic review approach based on the PRISMA guidelines was used. Three databases—Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science (WoS)—were searched for brain correlates of each eating disorder. From an original pool of 688 articles, 30 articles were included and discussed. The selected studies did not always overlap in terms of research design and observed outcomes, but it was possible to identify some regularities that characterized each eating disorder. As if there were two complementary regulatory strategies, AN seems to be associated with general hyperactivity in brain regions involved in top-down control and emotional areas, such as the amygdala, insula and hypothalamus. The insula and striatum are hyperactive in BN patients and likely involved in abnormalities of impulsivity and emotion regulation. Finally, the temporal cortex and striatum appear to be involved in the neural correlates of BED, linking this condition to use of dissociative strategies and addictive aspects. Although further studies are needed, this review shows that there are specific activation pathways. Therefore, it is necessary to pay special attention to triggers, targets and maintenance processes in order to plan effective therapeutic interventions. Clinical implications are discussed.

Psychopathology is a field not much explored by the systemic-relational theory and, in particular, scientific works on Personality Disorders are lacking. The aim of this work is to understand whether and how many scientific works have treated the narcissistic personality through the theoretical premises of systemic-relational approach. We carried out a systematic review of the scientific literature to identify and discuss existing studies, with the intent to define a starting point for the analysis of the system that onsets and maintains the narcissistic personality. Few articles were selected. Despite they describe differently the narcissistic personality and the system within which the symptomatology develops, there are some similarities. They concern the diffusion of family boundaries and the rejection of individual characteristics within the system, the childhood parentification and the need to maintain the external appearance.