Biophilic design integrates natural elements into indoor environments to mitigate the negative effects of urbanization on human well-being. However, its efficacy in reducing stress during demanding tasks and the extent to which virtual biophilic interventions replicate real-world benefits remain unclear. We investigated whether a small-scale biophilic intervention—a removable, medium-sized living wall (LW) containing plants—reduces stress during performance of a cognitively demanding working memory task and positively influences emotions and environmental judgment. Its effects were compared to those of a virtual simulation. Forty-one participants, assigned to either a real (N = 21) or virtual (N = 20) environment, completed two sessions: one with the LW, one with an object-filled shelf. Heart rate variability, self-reported emotions, and environmental evaluations were collected. The results show higher physiological relaxation during the task and more favorable environmental ratings when exposed to the LW, regardless of the type of environment. Positive emotions were higher only in the real environment, suggesting a stronger emotional impact of real biophilic elements. These findings are of practical relevance for places where managing stress during demanding activities is crucial (offices, schools) or where access to nature is limited (hospitals, confined spaces).

Background: Emerging evidence indicates an association between vestibular dysfunction and Depersonalization/Derealization (DD) symptoms. However, substantial heterogeneity in the studied populations, experimental paradigms, and assessment methodologies limits clear conclusions regarding the involvement of the vestibular system in the onset of DD symptoms. Objective: To clarify the contribution of the vestibular system to DD symptoms in vestibular patients and healthy individuals undergoing vestibular stimulation. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, we reviewed studies examining: (1) DD symptoms in vestibular patients, and (2) DD symptoms in healthy individuals during vestibular stimulation. Results: Twenty-three studies met the inclusion criteria. Among these, 86.9% reported DD symptoms either in patients with vestibular disorders (14/15) or in healthy individuals during vestibular stimulations (6/8). Additionally, 82.61% of the studies identified an association between DD symptoms and anxiety or spatial disorientation. Conclusions: Together, these findings indicate that vestibular alterations may contribute to the emergence of DD symptoms. Anxiety and spatial disorientation were found to frequently co-occur suggesting an interaction between vestibular processing, affective regulation, and spatial cognition. This association can be interpreted within a neurofunctional framework, which posits that vestibular alterations disrupt multisensory integration in parietotemporal, insular, and hippocampal regions, contributing to the core phenomenology of DD.

Somatosensory tactile experience is a key aspect of our interaction with the environment. It is involved in object manipulation, in the planning and control of actions and, in its affective components, in the relationships with other individuals. It is also a foundational component of body awareness. An intriguing aspect of sensory perception in general and tactile perception in particular is the way in which stimulation comes to consciousness. Indeed, although being aware of something seems a rather self-evident and monolithic aspect of our mental states, sensory awareness may be in fact modulated by many different processes that impact on the mere stimulation of the skin, including the way in which we perceive our bodies as belonging to us. In this review, we first took into consideration the pathological conditions of absence of phenomenal experience of touch, in the presence of implicit processing, as initial models for understanding the neural bases of conscious tactile experience. Subsequently, we discussed cases of tactile illusions both in normal subjects and in brain-damaged patients which help to understand which high-order processes impact tactile awareness. Finally, we discussed the observations reported in the review in light of some influential models of touch and body representation.

Background/Objectives: Museum fatigue decreases visitors’ interest due to environmental, social, and personal factors. However, it remains unclear whether physiological parameters can capture museum fatigue, and whether personal factors contribute to psychophysiological changes associated with museum fatigue. Methods: To fill these knowledge gaps, 61 participants visited the ETRU museum in Rome while their position and heart rate (HR) values were continuously recorded. Emotional state was rated after the visit. Time-series analyses assessed trends in viewing time and HR across the full sample and in three clusters defined by personal factors, with correlations examining associations among visit time, HR, and emotional states. Results: Overall, viewing time decreased, while HR increased during the visit. Emotional state correlated positively with visit time, but negatively with HR. The viewing time decrease was consistent across clusters, while HR trends and correlations differed. Conclusions: These findings confirmed that environmental characteristics induce museum fatigue in the visitors and showed that heart rate may be employed as an implicit measure of museum fatigue. In addition, this study revealed that personal factors can modulate the emergence of this phenomenon.

Somatosensory tactile experience is a key aspect of our interaction with the environment. It is involved in object manipulation, in the planning and control of actions and, in its affective components, in the relationships with other individuals. It is also a foundational component of body awareness. An intriguing aspect of sensory perception in general and tactile perception in particular is the way in which stimulation comes to consciousness. Indeed, although being aware of something seems a rather self-evident and monolithic aspect of our mental states, sensory awareness may be in fact modulated by many different processes that impact on the mere stimulation of the skin, including the way in which we perceive our bodies as belonging to us. In this review, we first took into consideration the pathological conditions of absence of phenomenal experience of touch, in the presence of implicit processing, as initial models for understanding the neural bases of conscious tactile experience. Subsequently, we discussed cases of tactile illusions both in normal subjects and in brain-damaged patients which help to understand which high order processes impact tactile awareness. Finally, we discussed the observations reported in the review in light of some influential models of touch and body representation.

The vestibular system contributes to cardiovascular regulation during changes in gravitational load (e.g., postural transitions, microgravity), in vestibular disorders, and during vestibular stimulations. Studies employing sinusoidal galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) reported conflicting autonomic responses, and recent evidence suggests that vestibular afferents encode GVS in a non-linear fashion. Whether this non-linear encoding results in polarity-dependent autonomic responses and whether such responses interact with concurrent cognitive demand remains unknown. To investigate these issues, we used sinusoidal GVS to modulate vestibular input in 35 healthy individuals while physiological signals were recorded using a wearable device. Participants completed a working memory task, preceded and followed by rest periods, under three counterbalanced conditions: right-anodal/left-cathodal GVS (RGVS), left-anodal/right-cathodal GVS (LGVS), and Sham GVS. Perceived stress was repeatedly assessed. During task performance, heart rate increased with RGVS and decreased with LGVS relative to Sham (p = 0.001) and perceived stress increased across all conditions (p < 0.001). Post-task, heart rate remained elevated in RGVS compared to LGVS (p = 0.006), and stress ratings decreased in LGVS compared to the other conditions (p < 0.01). These findings indicate that sinusoidal GVS induces polarity-dependent autonomic effects, primarily during concurrent cognitive demand. This pattern may reflect non-linear vestibular encoding, with its emergence being potentially modulated by attentional shifts.