Mind-body technologies
Key words:
Psychophysiology – Interoception – Embodied Cognition – Virtual Reality – Electroencephalography (EEG) – Heart Rate Variability (HRV) – Skin Conductance Response (SCR) – Emotion and Cognition – Translational Psychology
Director:
Collaborations:
Research area and primary aims:
Our research has as a theoretical reference the model “Connectome” and has as its aim the study of the integration between biological systems innervated by the autonomic nervous system and communication between these and the central nervous system. The research we are carrying out and that we have already designed, is aimed at the effects of enteroception on behaviors related to eating disorders, To the treatment of phobias through exposure through virtual reality, to the use of virtual reality for the evaluation of Snarc Effect in space, to the linguistic evaluation of the characteristics of emotions in relation to autonomic activation , the analysis of the brain-gut axis and its effects on anxiety and depression, the measurement of the flexibility of sexual behavior in conditions of behavioural discomfort, the measurement of the responses of heart variability and cutaneous conductance in Report to the shift attentives recorded through eye movements of virtual visual scenes. Finally to the statistical-mathematical analysis of the validity and reliability of psychometric tests and psychological scales of behavioral evaluation.
Running projects:
| Title | Sfu Staff (Head) | Timeline | Status and Fund |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interoception and eating disorders vulnerability. | Rosita Borlimi - Riccardo Dalle Grave - Mattia Nese - Irene Brianzoni | 2017- | Completed in 2025 (SFU Milan) and Casa di cura Villa Garda Verona |
| Phobia and virtual reality: examining new treatment protocols for the most common types of phobia. | Rosita Borlimi - Mark Van de Korput - Mattia Nese - Irene Brianzoni | 2017- | Completed in 2025 (SFU Milan) |
| Where are your numbers?: Numerical quantity mapping in a virtual reality setting. | Mark Van de Korput - Mattia Nese | 2017- | Running project (SFU Milan) |
| Experimental studies in both laboratory and field settings, using emotion induction and sampling of naturalistic emotions, as well as computer-simulation approaches | Gianni Brighetti - Klaus Scherer - Greta Riboli - Mattia Nese | 2017- | Running project (SFU Milan) and Geneva Swiss |
| Olfaction and Taste. | Rosita Borlimi - Mattia Nese | 2018- | Planned |
| Gut–brain axis: how the microbiome influences anxiety and depression | Gianni Brighetti - Mattia Nese | 2018- | Planned SFU Milan |
| The SexFlex Scale: A Measure of Sexual Script Flexibility When Approaching Sexual Problems in a Relationship | Gianni Brighetti - Greta Riboli - Mattia Nese | 2017- | Running project (SFU Milan) |
| Reliability as a Necessary Condition for Validity? Standardization and the Reliability/Validity Paradox | Gianni Brighetti - Mattia Nese | 2018- | Running project (SFU Milan) |
| Autonomic responses (HRV, SCR) and visual Scanpath in virtual environment | Rosita Borlimi - Mark Van de Korput - Mattia Nese | 2018- | Running project (SFU Milan) |
| Isolation and quarantine in Italy at the time of Covid-19 | Rosita Borlimi - Gianni Brighetti - Greta Riboli - Mattia Nese | 2019- | Running project (SFU Milan) |
| A group heart rate variability biofeedback intervention for outpatients with substance use disorders: a pilot study | Rosita Borlimi - Mattia Nese - Gianni Brighetti - Greta Riboli | 2022-2024 | Running project |
| Don't Worry, Write It Down: Psychophysiological Arousal During Written Exposure vs. Worry Induction | Rosita Borlimi - Mattia Nese - Gianni Brighetti - Greta Riboli | 2025- | Running project |
| An online group intervention for menstrual pain based on slow diaphragmatic breathing (periodo: 2025-) | Rosita Borlimi - Mattia Nese - Gianni Brighetti - Greta Riboli | 2022-2024 | Running project |
Research Cooperation Partners:
- Klaus Scherer – Geneva Emotion Research Group. Group leader
- Alessandra Chiara Mansueto – Centre for Urban Mental Health, Departments of Communication Science and Psychology, University of Amsterdam
- Mark Van de Korput. New media developer
- Caroline Pukall – Psychology Department Queen’s University Kingston. Canada
- Armando Cotugno – Psychiatrist Cognitive behavioral psychotherapist
- Christiane Eichenberg – Sigmund Freud PrivatUniversitat Wien
- Università Politecnica delle Marche (Italy), EIT Climate-Kic (Italy), Athena Research and Innovation Center (Greece), Cleantech (Bulgaria), Climate Media Factory (Germany), ENEA (Italy) and AESS (Italy)
- Prof.ssa Eliana Tossani Alma Mater Studiorum, Departments of Psychology, University of Bologna
Clinical Cooperation Partners:
- Villa Garda Verona
- Centro Clinico De Sanctis (ROMA)
- GULLIVER Cooperativa Sociale Modena
- Centro di Terapia Metacognitiva Interpersonale, Roma
- IRCSS Maugeri, Milano – Montescano – Bari
Contacts:
Rosita Borlimi
e-mail: r.borlimi@milano-sfu.it
phone: +39 02 83241854
