@article{HoehneHolzStaigerSaelzeretal.2014,
  author    = {H{\"o}hne, Johannes and Holz, Elisa and Staiger-S{\"a}lzer, Pit and M{\"u}ller, Klaus-Robert and K{\"u}bler, Andrea and Tangermann, Michael},
  title     = {Motor Imagery for Severely Motor-Impaired Patients: Evidence for Brain-Computer Interfacing as Superior Control Solution},
  series = {PLoS ONE},
  volume    = {9},
  journal   = {PLoS ONE},
  number    = {8},
  doi       = {10.1371/journal.pone.0104854},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-119331},
  pages     = {e104854},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) strive to decode brain signals into control commands for severely handicapped people with no means of muscular control. These potential users of noninvasive BCIs display a large range of physical and mental conditions. Prior studies have shown the general applicability of BCI with patients, with the conflict of either using many training sessions or studying only moderately restricted patients. We present a BCI system designed to establish external control for severely motor-impaired patients within a very short time. Within only six experimental sessions, three out of four patients were able to gain significant control over the BCI, which was based on motor imagery or attempted execution. For the most affected patient, we found evidence that the BCI could outperform the best assistive technology (AT) of the patient in terms of control accuracy, reaction time and information transfer rate. We credit this success to the applied user-centered design approach and to a highly flexible technical setup. State-of-the art machine learning methods allowed the exploitation and combination of multiple relevant features contained in the EEG, which rapidly enabled the patients to gain substantial BCI control. Thus, we could show the feasibility of a flexible and tailorable BCI application in severely disabled users. This can be considered a significant success for two reasons: Firstly, the results were obtained within a short period of time, matching the tight clinical requirements. Secondly, the participating patients showed, compared to most other studies, very severe communication deficits. They were dependent on everyday use of AT and two patients were in a locked-in state. For the most affected patient a reliable communication was rarely possible with existing AT.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KopfDreslerReichertsetal.2013,
  author    = {Kopf, Juliane and Dresler, Thomas and Reicherts, Philipp and Herrmann, Martin J. and Reif, Andreas},
  title     = {The Effect of Emotional Content on Brain Activation and the Late Positive Potential in a Word n-back Task},
  series = {PLoS ONE},
  journal   = {PLoS ONE},
  doi       = {10.1371/journal.pone.0075598},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-96687},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {Introduction There is mounting evidence for the influence of emotional content on working memory performance. This is particularly important in light of the emotion processing that needs to take place when emotional content interferes with executive functions. In this study, we used emotional words of different valence but with similar arousal levels in an n-back task. Methods We examined the effects on activation in the prefrontal cortex by means of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and on the late positive potential (LPP). FNIRS and LPP data were examined in 30 healthy subjects. Results Behavioral results show an influence of valence on the error rate depending on the difficulty of the task: more errors were made when the valence was negative and the task difficult. Brain activation was dependent both on the difficulty of the task and on the valence: negative valence of a word diminished the increase in activation, whereas positive valence did not influence the increase in activation, while difficulty levels increased. The LPP also differentiated between the different valences, and in addition was influenced by the task difficulty, the more difficult the task, the less differentiation could be observed. Conclusions Summarized, this study shows the influence of valence on a verbal working memory task. When a word contained a negative valence, the emotional content seemed to take precedence in contrast to words containing a positive valence. Working memory and emotion processing sites seemed to overlap and compete for resources even when words are carriers of the emotional content.},
  language  = {en}
}