Further to the Left: Stress-Induced Increase of Spatial Pseudoneglect During the COVID-19 Lockdown

Frontiers in Psychology

article

Federica Somma¹  Paolo Bartolomeo²  Federica Vallone³  Antonietta Argiuolo¹  Antonio Cerrato¹  Orazio Miglino¹  Laura Mandolesi¹  Maria Clelia Zurlo³  Onofrio Gigliotta¹ 

[1] Natural and Artificial Cognition Laboratory, Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II;Sorbonne Université, Paris Brain Institute, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière;Dynamic Psychology Laboratory, Department of Political Sciences, University of Naples Federico II;Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council

关键词: cognition;    psychology;    stress;    pseudoneglect;    coronavirus;    quarantine;    pandemic;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2021.573846

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Background The measures taken to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, such as the lockdown in Italy, do impact psychological health; yet, less is known about their effect on cognitive functioning. The transactional theory of stress predicts reciprocal influences between perceived stress and cognitive performance. However, the effects of a period of stress due to social isolation on spatial cognition and exploration have been little examined. The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible effects and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on spatial cognition tasks, particularly those concerning spatial exploration, and the physiological leftward bias known as pseudoneglect. A right-hemisphere asymmetry for spatial attention processes crucially contributes to pseudoneglect. Other evidence indicates a predominantly right-hemisphere activity in stressful situations. We also analyzed the effects of lockdown on coping strategies, which typically show an opposite pattern of hemispheric asymmetry, favoring the left hemisphere. If so, then pseudoneglect should increase during the lockdown and be negatively correlated with the efficacy of coping strategies.

【 授权许可】

CC BY