Monticello SPA&FIT, the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan and the International Research Centre for Cognitive Applied Neuroscience (IrcCAN, directed by Prof. Michela Balconi), are pleased to announce the collaboration for the development of the research project entitled "Development of knowledge and good practices for wellness and individual empowerment", which will involve students enrolled in the Master's degree course in Psychology of Wellbeing.

The joint project between the two excellences of the Lombardy region, one a reference point for wellness and the other a prestigious academic pole, is aimed at promoting and enhancing collaboration between the two facilities in the field of the study of psychological aspects that can facilitate wellness and empowerment in their various aspects.

In particular, the collaboration will have the twofold objective of encouraging, on the one hand, the possibility for the university's students to carry out research and guided practical experience, and to have support in the realisation of theses, projects and papers in the field of wellness; on the other hand, the opportunity for Monticello SPA&FIT to receive support for know-how, research and innovative ideas in the field of psychology for the constant enhancement and enrichment of its activities.

Among the many fields of collaboration, an experiment was conducted with neuroscientific devices, which detected certain autonomic (heartbeat, respiration, skin conductance) and cerebral (electroencephalographic activity) physiological correlates before and after the SPA experience in order to scientifically detect the effect induced by positive mental and bodily engagement:

"The SPA wellness experience would appear to have induced a state of generalised neurophysiological relaxation in the mind-body system of the subjects examined, as demonstrated by the increase in the alpha band. This state of relaxation appears to be associated with a state of greater cognitive 'alertness', as demonstrated by the increase in the beta and theta bands. The system is therefore relaxed, but also more 'responsive' and 'ready'''.