In this volume, the communicative and neuropsychological correlates of daily interactions are discussed. The predominant account on explaining the construction of meaning by humans is the inter-relational perspective, that postulates an intentional convergence of meaning arising as a consequence of the active exchanges between people. The neural correlates of communication were illustrated in the light of new empirical results, considering the main topics of: a) language and language development; b) pragmatics and neuropragmatics of communication; c) neurocognition and the cognitive bases of intentions; d) nonverbal communication and emotion contribution to the communicative systems.

New methodological approaches are considered, with particular attention to neuroimaging (such as PET and fMRI) and brain stimulation techniques (as MEG and TMS), as well as their application to the clinical field.

This book deals with recent perspectives on the panel of addiction behavior in a vast amount of population (young and adult). Thanks to the contribution of experts of the topic of addiction the volume will furnish new perspectives to formulate assessment, diagnosis and intervention in response to the increasing variety of addictions. It focuses the assessment of executive functions in substance and behavioral addictions. More specifically, this assessment consists of a new approach not only inherent to the diagnosis, but also to the treatment and prevention of addictions. In fact, there is a strict relationship between executive functions (EF) and addictive behavior: EF plays a remarkable role in significant phenomena for the treatment of addictions, such as craving, relapse and compliance to treatment.

Out of the broad arena of sport science and sport psychology, Roland A. Carlstedt presents a comprehensive collection on the neuroscience and associated psychophysiology that underlies and drives sport performance. Featuring sections ranging from the basics and foundations (anatomy and physiology) to the applied (assessment during competition, training, and mental training), Handbook of Sport Neuroscience and Psychophysiology is the first volume to provide students, researchers, practitioners, and coaches the latest knowledge on the brain, mind-body processes, and psychophysiological responding in the context of sport performance.

Out of the broad arena of sport science and sport psychology, Roland A. Carlstedt presents a comprehensive collection on the neuroscience and associated psychophysiology that underlies and drives sport performance. Featuring sections ranging from the basics and foundations (anatomy and physiology) to the applied (assessment during competition, training, and mental training), Handbook of Sport Neuroscience and Psychophysiology is the first volume to provide students, researchers, practitioners, and coaches the latest knowledge on the brain, mind-body processes, and psychophysiological responding in the context of sport performance.

Not nothing without you but not the same Erich Fried (1979) How do I know that I am the person who is moving? The neuroscience of action has identified specific cognitive processes that allow the organism to refer the cause or origin of an action to its agent. This sense of agency has been defined as the sense that I am the one who is causing or generating an action or a certain thought in my stream of consciousness. As such, one can distinguish actions that are self-generated from those generated by others, giving rise to the experience of a self-other disti- tion in the domain of action. A tentative list of the features distinguishing the concept of agency includes awareness of a goal, of an intention to act, and of initiation of action; awareness of movements; a sense of activity, of mental effort, and of control; and the concept of authorship. However, it remains unclear how these various aspects of action and agency are related, to what extent they are dissociable, and whether some are more basic than others. Their sources remain to be specified and their relationship to action specification and action control mechanism is as yet unknown.

This book deals with recent perspectives on the panel of addiction behavior in a vast amount of population (young and adult). Thanks to the contribution of experts of the topic of addiction the volume will furnish new perspectives to formulate assessment, diagnosis and intervention in response to the increasing variety of addictions. It focuses the assessment of executive functions in substance and behavioral addictions. More specifically, this assessment consists of a new approach not only inherent to the diagnosis, but also to the treatment and prevention of addictions. In fact, there is a strict relationship between executive functions (EF) and addictive behavior: EF plays a remarkable role in significant phenomena for the treatment of addictions, such as craving, relapse and compliance to treatment.

Anche il marketing, come tanti ambiti professionali, vive oggi l'opportunita di aggiornare i paradigmi e le metodologie tradizionali grazie a contributi provenienti da altre discipline, soprattutto da quelle di piu recente sviluppo. Tra queste, si segnalano oggi la psicologia cognitiva e le neuroscienze. Il libro intende offrire al lettore uno spaccato di quanto questi due settori possono offrire alla comprensione delle dinamiche di acquisto, mostrando come la conoscenza dei meccanismi di pensiero e dei processi cerebrali aiuti a identificare cio che accade nella mente del destinatario della comunicazione pubblicitaria e di colui che si trova a dover valutare e scegliere se e che cosa comprare. Psicologia e neuroscienze mettono oggi a disposizione di chi studia i comportamenti di acquisto sia nuovi modelli concettuali, sia nuovi strumenti e procedure di analisi. I contributi raccolti nel volume offrono al lettore da un lato delle rassegne circa i piu recenti contributi di queste discipline al marketing, dall'altro esempi di ricerche da cui e possibile ricavare spunti applicativi. Nel complesso risulta un quadro generale di alcune delle piu promettenti tendenze e linee di indagine che si stanno affermando nel settore."

Le piu recenti acquisizioni della neuropsicologia cognitiva hanno consentito di focalizzare la natura dei processi linguistici e comunicativi, individuando i correlati fisiologici ed anatomici sottostanti alla produzione (encoding) e alla comprensione (decoding) del linguaggio. La prima sezione intende esplorare i paradigmi, i metodi e gli strumenti della neuropsicologia "per" la comunicazione. In particolare viene fornita una sintesi dei piu recenti approcci di ricerca e degli strumenti empirici applicati allo studio del processo comunicativo, tra i quali la rilevazione dei correlati fisiologici (indici periferici), cognitivi (indici centrali, tra cui i potenziali evento-correlati), e le rilevazioni mediante neuroimaging (come la risonanza magnetica funzionale). Nella seconda sezione del contributo vengono prese in considerazione le componenti pragmatiche della comunicazione. Recenti modelli hanno focalizzato la propria attenzione su alcuni fenomeni peculiari dello scambio comunicativo che evidenziano il ruolo prioritario del "voler dire" nella comunicazione ordinaria. Specificamente facciamo riferimento ai fenomeni dell'ironia e della comunicazione idiomatica, della metafora e, piu in generale, del linguaggio iconico o figurato. Particolare attenzione sara riservata alle recenti acquisizioni empiriche che hanno sottolineato l'indipendenza delle componenti pragmatiche rispetto al piano prettamente "linguistico." La terza sezione del contributo intende analizzare il piano comunicativo non-verbale, con particolare attenzione alla comunicazione delle emozioni. Piu specificamente vengono prese in considerazione le componenti mimiche (volto) e vocali (voce) nell'encoding e nel decoding delle emozioni."

Reward mechanisms are recently debated and explored by different perspectives. Psychology, neuroscience and clinical domain pointed out the main relevance of reward behaviour for subjective and social contexts. The present book highlights the role that reward plays in our life, taking into account the more recent contributions in the research field. Summarising the most relevant and intriguing scientific contributions on the topic of reward and punishment dichotomy, this book offers an ample overview of the psychological and neurobiological keys to comprehend the complex human mind and its behaviour, correlated in response to opposite reward-punishment situations. Topics discussed include the contribution of reward mechanisms in facial expression processing as in the case of supraliminal/subliminal stimulation; new measures of generalised expectancies about reward and punishment; addictive behaviour is analysed taking into account the intervention of dysfunctional mechanisms; the emotional stimulus processing (aversive versus appetitive) in relationship with BIS/BAS behavioural systems and ERP (electrophysiological) measures; and the feedback elaboration (mismatching feedback) as a function of reward-punishment contribution.

All living system self-regulates, or, within any living system, there needs to be communication between parts of that system. This can include a unit as small as a cell, a plant, or animal, or even more complex organism. For example, my systems are regulating my temperature: regulation is a property of the living system. Secondly, in order to act it is necessary for organisms to be able to distinguish between self and other, whatever this ability is learned or as part of the process of action. The predominant account on explaining the sense of agency of our own actions is the ''central monitoring theory" or ''comparator model" that postulate a monitoring of central and peripheral signals arising as a consequence of the execution of an action. Moreover, the simulation theory was considered in alternative to the comparator perspective. Secondly, the contribution of body representation for agency was explored, taking into account the significance of proprioceptive feedback for self-agent attribution. Finally, the neural correlates of action and agent representation were considered in the light of new empirical results.