EEG signature in psychiatrist's subjective experience: a pilot study.
6 affiliations
- 1Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy.
- 2Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
- 3Rome 1 Local Health Unit, Community Service for Prevention and Early Intervention in Mental Health, Rome, Italy.
- 4Reverie Psychiatric Residential Facility, Rome, Italy.
- 5Department of Electronics Information and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy.
- 6Centre for Behavioural Sciences and Mental Health, Italian National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy.
Abstract
Introduction
The Assessment of Clinician's Subjective Experience (ACSE) is a self-report questionnaire developed to evaluate clinicians' subjective experiences during patient interactions. While its psychometric properties and clinical validity have been supported, its neurobiological correlates have not yet been investigated.Methods
In this pilot study, two clinicians and ten patients participated in a three-phase protocol comprising: (1) a first clinical interview, (2) ACSE administration, and (3) listening to the audio recording of the first clinical interview. EEG activity was recorded from clinicians during both the first clinical interview and questionnaire administration. Neural data were analyzed in terms of relative power spectral density, node strength, and global efficiency computed from imaginary coherence.Results
Clinicians were psychiatrists, one male and one female. Seven patients were diagnosed with mixed anxiety and depressive disorder, and three with unspecified anxiety disorders. ACSE scores were highest for the Difficulty in attunement and Engagement dimensions, consistent with previous literature. EEG findings revealed dimension-specific and topographically distinct oscillatory patterns for only two ACSE dimensions: Difficulty in Attunement and Engagement. More limited evidence emerged for Disconfirmation. Functional connectivity analyses indicated different network profiles, characterized by differences in global efficiency patterns. Correlational analyses further identified significant associations between ACSE dimensions and EEG-derived features.Discussion
These preliminary findings provide initial evidence that clinicians' subjective experiences during clinical encounters could be associated with measurable neural signatures, offering a novel perspective on the neurobiological basis of intersubjective processes in clinical settings.
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BibTeX
@article{videtta2026signature,
title = {{EEG signature in psychiatrist's subjective experience: a pilot study.}},
author = {Giovanni Videtta and Elena Bondi and Chiara Colli and Gabriele Enrico and Luca Sperti and Mauro Pallagrosi and Laura Fonzi and Ylenia Barone and Giandomenico Schiena and Eleonora Maggioni and Angelo Picardi and Paolo Brambilla},
journal = {Frontiers in psychiatry},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1933800},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42898664},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - EEG signature in psychiatrist's subjective experience: a pilot study.
AU - Giovanni Videtta
AU - Elena Bondi
AU - Chiara Colli
AU - Gabriele Enrico
AU - Luca Sperti
AU - Mauro Pallagrosi
AU - Laura Fonzi
AU - Ylenia Barone
AU - Giandomenico Schiena
AU - Eleonora Maggioni
AU - Angelo Picardi
AU - Paolo Brambilla
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - Frontiers in psychiatry
DO - 10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1933800
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42898664
AB - Introduction The Assessment of Clinician's Subjective Experience (ACSE) is a self-report questionnaire developed to evaluate clinicians' subjective experiences during patient interactions. While its psychometric properties and clinical validity have been supported, its neurobiological correlates have not yet been investigated.Methods In this pilot study, two clinicians and ten patients participated in a three-phase protocol comprising: (1) a first clinical interview, (2) ACSE administration, and (3) listening to the audio recording of the first clinical interview. EEG activity was recorded from clinicians during both the first clinical interview and questionnaire administration. Neural data were analyzed in terms of relative power spectral density, node strength, and global efficiency computed from imaginary coherence.Results Clinicians were psychiatrists, one male and one female. Seven patients were diagnosed with mixed anxiety and depressive disorder, and three with unspecified anxiety disorders. ACSE scores were highest for the Difficulty in attunement and Engagement dimensions, consistent with previous literature. EEG findings revealed dimension-specific and topographically distinct oscillatory patterns for only two ACSE dimensions: Difficulty in Attunement and Engagement. More limited evidence emerged for Disconfirmation. Functional connectivity analyses indicated different network profiles, characterized by differences in global efficiency patterns. Correlational analyses further identified significant associations between ACSE dimensions and EEG-derived features.Discussion These preliminary findings provide initial evidence that clinicians' subjective experiences during clinical encounters could be associated with measurable neural signatures, offering a novel perspective on the neurobiological basis of intersubjective processes in clinical settings.
SN - 1664-0640
ER -