@article{MeuleBeckTeranBerkeretal.2014,
  author    = {Meule, Adrian and Beck Teran, Carina and Berker, Jasmin and Gr{\"u}ndel, Tilman and Mayerhofer, Martina and Platte, Petra},
  title     = {"On the differentiation between trait and state food craving: Half-year retest-reliability of the Food Cravings Questionnaire-Trait-reduced (FCQ-T-r) and the Food Cravings Questionnaire-State (FCQ-S)"},
  doi       = {10.1186/s40337-014-0025-z},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-110585},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Background: Food craving refers to an intense desire to consume a specific food. The Food Cravings Questionnaires (FCQs) assess food cravings on a trait and a state level. Method: The current study examined half-year retest-reliability of the Food Cravings Questionnaire-Trait-reduced (FCQ-T-r) and the Food Cravings Questionnaire-State (FCQ-S) and reports associations with current food deprivation in female students. Results: The FCQ-T-r had higher retest-reliability (rtt = .74) than the FCQ-S (rtt = .39). Although trait food craving was correlated with state food craving, it was unaffected by current food deprivation. Conclusions: Although state and trait food craving are interdependent, the FCQs are able to differentiate between the two. As scores of the FCQ-T-r represent a stable trait, but are also sensitive to changes in eating behavior, they may be useful for the investigation of the course of eating disorders and obesity.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{MeuleHermannKuebler2014,
  author    = {Meule, Adrian and Hermann, Tina and K{\"u}bler, Andrea},
  title     = {A short version of the Food Cravings Questionnaire—Trait: the FCQ-T-reduced},
  doi       = {10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00190},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-112748},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {One of the most often used instruments for the assessment of food cravings is the Food Cravings Questionnaire (FCQ), which consists of a trait (FCQ-T; 39 items) and state (FCQ-S; 15 items) version. Scores on the FCQ-T have been found to be positively associated with eating pathology, body mass index (BMI), low dieting success and increases in state food craving during cognitive tasks involving appealing food stimuli. The current studies evaluated reliability and validity of a reduced version of the FCQ-T consisting of 15 items only (FCQ-T-r). Study 1 was a questionnaire study conducted online among students (N = 323). In study 2, female students (N = 70) performed a working memory task involving food and neutral pictures. Study 1 indicated a one-factorial structure and high internal consistency (α = 0.94) of the FCQ-T-r. Scores of the FCQ-T-r were positively correlated with BMI and negatively correlated with dieting success. In study 2, participants reported higher state food craving after the task compared to before. This increase was positively correlated with the FCQ-T-r. Hours since the last meal positively predicted food craving before the task when controlling for FCQ-T-r scores and the interaction of both variables. Contrarily, FCQ-T-r scores positively predicted food craving after the task when controlling for food deprivation and the interaction term. Thus, trait food craving was specifically associated with state food craving triggered by palatable food-cues, but not with state food craving related to plain hunger. Results indicate high reliability of the FCQ-T-r. Replicating studies that used the long version, small-to-medium correlations with BMI and dieting success could be found. Finally, scores on the FCQ-T-r predicted cue-elicited food craving, providing further support of its validity. The FCQ-T-r constitutes a succinct, valid and reliable self-report measure to efficiently assess experiences of food craving as a trait.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{PfisterObhiRiegeretal.2014,
  author    = {Pfister, Roland and Obhi, Sukhvinder S. and Rieger, Martina and Wenke, Dorit},
  title     = {Action and perception in social contexts: intentional binding for social action effects},
  doi       = {10.3389/fnhum.2014.00667},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-112828},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {The subjective experience of controlling events in the environment alters the perception of these events. For instance, the interval between one's own actions and their consequences is subjectively compressed—a phenomenon known as intentional binding. In two experiments, we studied intentional binding in a social setting in which actions of one agent prompted a second agent to perform another action. Participants worked in pairs and were assigned to a "leader" and a "follower" role, respectively. The leader's key presses triggered (after a variable interval) a tone and this tone served as go signal for the follower to perform a keypress as well. Leaders and followers estimated the interval between the leader's keypress and the following tone, or the interval between the tone and the follower's keypress. The leader showed reliable intentional binding for both intervals relative to the follower's estimates. These results indicate that human agents experience a pre-reflective sense of agency for genuinely social consequences of their actions.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KirschKoenigsteinKunde2014,
  author    = {Kirsch, Wladimir and K{\"o}nigstein, Elisabeth and Kunde, Wilfried},
  title     = {Action feedback affects the perception of action-related objects beyond actual action success},
  doi       = {10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00017},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-112670},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Successful object-oriented action typically increases the perceived size of aimed target objects. This phenomenon has been assumed to reflect an impact of an actor's current action ability on visual perception. The actual action ability and the explicit knowledge of action outcome, however, were confounded in previous studies. The present experiments aimed at disentangling these two factors. Participants repeatedly tried to hit a circular target varying in size with a stylus movement under restricted feedback conditions. After each movement they were explicitly informed about the success in hitting the target and were then asked to judge target size. The explicit feedback regarding movement success was manipulated orthogonally to actual movement success. The results of three experiments indicated the participants' bias to judge relatively small targets as larger and relatively large targets as smaller after explicit feedback of failure than after explicit feedback of success. This pattern was independent of the actual motor performance, suggesting that the actors' evaluations of motor actions may bias perception of target objects in itself.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{Meule2014,
  author    = {Meule, Adrian},
  title     = {Are certain foods addictive?},
  series = {Frontiers in Psychiatry},
  volume    = {5},
  journal   = {Frontiers in Psychiatry},
  number    = {38},
  issn      = {1664-0640},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-120257},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {A commentary on Lifestyle medicine: the importance of firmgrounding on evidence by Rippe JM. Am J Lifestyle Med (2014) doi:10.1177/ 1559827613520527},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Herber2014,
  author    = {Herber, Kristina},
  title     = {Ausl{\"o}ser und Modifikation emotionalen Essverhaltens - Feldstudien zum emotionalen Essverhalten und seiner Ver{\"a}nderung durch ein achtsamkeitsbasiertes Training},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-112312},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Emotionale Esser neigen dazu, in emotional belastenden Situationen {\"u}berwiegend s{\"u}ße und fettreiche Nahrung h{\"a}ufig in Abwesenheit von Hunger zu essen, um negative Gef{\"u}hle zu bew{\"a}ltigen. In unangenehmen emotionalen Zust{\"a}nden setzen sie sich kaum mit den Emotionen auseinander und essen stattdessen. Es f{\"a}llt ihnen oft schwer, ihren Emotionen, aber auch ihren Hunger- und S{\"a}ttigungsgef{\"u}hlen Aufmerksamkeit zu schenken und diese zu erkennen. Emotionales Essverhalten kann Betroffene davon abhalten, einen konstruktiven Umgang mit den emotionalen Belastungen zu erlernen, und kann zu {\"U}bergewicht, den mit {\"U}bergewicht einhergehenden ern{\"a}hrungsbedingten Erkrankungen oder gar zu Essst{\"o}rungen f{\"u}hren. Um diese langfristigen Folgen gar nicht erst entstehen zu lassen, ist es von zentraler Bedeutung, problematischen Formen des emotionalen Essverhaltens vorzubeugen oder sie zu ver{\"a}ndern. Die vorliegende Dissertation umfasst 3 empirische Studien, in denen anhand von standardisierten und selbst entwickelten Frageb{\"o}gen sowie mithilfe der Experience-Sampling-Methode die Ausl{\"o}ser und die Modifikation emotionalen Essverhaltens untersucht wurden. Die Experience-Sampling-Methode basiert auf alltagsnahen, zeitlich pr{\"a}zisen, multiplen Messungen im Feld. In der 1. Studie wurde bei gesunden Personen die Wirkung der negativen Gef{\"u}hle als Ausl{\"o}ser des emotionalen Essverhaltens im Alltag beobachtet. Die Befunde deuten darauf hin, dass keine bestimmten negativen Emotionen zu existieren scheinen, die einen st{\"a}rkeren Einfluss auf das emotionale Essverhalten haben als andere, und dass alle negativen Gef{\"u}hle nahezu gleichermaßen das Potenzial bergen, emotionales Essverhalten hervorzurufen. Diese Erkenntnis ist in die Konzeption eines Trainingsprogramms zur Ver{\"a}nderung des emotionalen Essverhaltens f{\"u}r emotionale Esser eingeflossen, das achtsamkeitsbasierte Konzepte mit verhaltenstherapeutischen Behandlungsmethoden kombiniert. Die 2. und die 3. Studie {\"u}berpr{\"u}ften mit einem randomisierten, kontrollierten Design die Machbarkeit und die Wirksamkeit des Gruppentrainings im ambulanten und klinischen Setting. Das Training ließ sich ambulant und in einer Klinik sehr gut umsetzen und wurde von den Teilnehmern weitgehend positiv bewertet. Im Anschluss an das Training aßen emotionale Esser weniger emotional, indem sie durch die achtsame Selbstbeobachtung lernten, die Essausl{\"o}ser besser zu erkennen und sie von den k{\"o}rperlichen Hungerempfindungen zu unterscheiden. Vielmehr fingen sie bis zu einem gewissen Grad an, achtsamer zu essen und das Essen zu genießen. Die Emotionsregulation verbesserte sich ebenfalls in vielen Aspekten. Die Trainingsteilnehmer entwickelten die Kompetenzen oder tendierten dazu, ihre Gef{\"u}hle aufmerksamer wahrzunehmen, klarer zu erkennen und zu benennen, sie st{\"a}rker positiv zu beeinflussen und sie leichter zu akzeptieren, wenn sie im Augenblick nicht ver{\"a}ndert werden konnten. Somit konnten die Machbarkeit und die Wirksamkeit des entwickelten Trainingsprogramms sowohl im ambulanten Setting als auch in den bedeutendsten Aspekten im klinischen Kontext als Teil eines breiter angelegten Therapiekonzepts nachgewiesen werden. Die drei vorgelegten Arbeiten liefern einen Beitrag zum Verst{\"a}ndnis und zur Ver{\"a}nderung des emotionalen Essverhaltens. Weitergehende Untersuchungen sollten die Merkmale der {\"a}ußeren Situation als Risikofaktoren f{\"u}r das emotionale Essverhalten analysieren sowie die zeitliche Stabilit{\"a}t der Trainingseffekte testen, die außerhalb einer Katamnese von 3 Monaten liegt. Die Wirksamkeit des Trainingsprogramms k{\"o}nnte ferner gegen{\"u}ber anderen Therapieverfahren und multizentrisch in unterschiedlichen Kliniken unter zahlreichen Rahmenbedingungen gepr{\"u}ft werden.},
  subject      = {Essgewohnheit},
  language  = {de}
}
@phdthesis{Herber2014,
  author    = {Herber, Kristina},
  title     = {Ausl{\"o}ser und Modifikation emotionalen Essverhaltens - Feldstudien zum emotionalen Essverhalten und seiner Ver{\"a}nderung durch ein achtsamkeitsbasiertes Training},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-138799},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Emotionale Esser neigen dazu, in emotional belastenden Situationen {\"u}berwiegend s{\"u}ße und fettreiche Nahrung h{\"a}ufig in Abwesenheit von Hunger zu essen, um negative Gef{\"u}hle zu bew{\"a}ltigen. In unangenehmen emotionalen Zust{\"a}nden setzen sie sich kaum mit den Emotionen auseinander und essen stattdessen. Es f{\"a}llt ihnen oft schwer, ihren Emotionen, aber auch ihren Hunger- und S{\"a}ttigungsgef{\"u}hlen Aufmerksamkeit zu schenken und diese zu erkennen. Emotionales Essverhalten kann Betroffene davon abhalten, einen konstruktiven Umgang mit den emotionalen Belastungen zu erlernen, und kann zu {\"U}bergewicht, den mit {\"U}bergewicht einhergehenden ern{\"a}hrungsbedingten Erkrankungen oder gar zu Essst{\"o}rungen f{\"u}hren. Um diese langfristigen Folgen gar nicht erst entstehen zu lassen, ist es von zentraler Bedeutung, problematischen Formen des emotionalen Essverhaltens vorzubeugen oder sie zu ver{\"a}ndern. Die vorliegende Dissertation umfasst 3 empirische Studien, in denen anhand von standardisierten und selbst entwickelten Frageb{\"o}gen sowie mithilfe der Experience-Sampling-Methode die Ausl{\"o}ser und die Modifikation emotionalen Essverhaltens untersucht wurden. Die Experience-Sampling-Methode basiert auf alltagsnahen, zeitlich pr{\"a}zisen, multiplen Messungen im Feld. In der 1. Studie wurde bei gesunden Personen die Wirkung der negativen Gef{\"u}hle als Ausl{\"o}ser des emotionalen Essverhaltens im Alltag beobachtet. Die Befunde deuten darauf hin, dass keine bestimmten negativen Emotionen zu existieren scheinen, die einen st{\"a}rkeren Einfluss auf das emotionale Essverhalten haben als andere, und dass alle negativen Gef{\"u}hle nahezu gleichermaßen das Potenzial bergen, emotionales Essverhalten hervorzurufen. Diese Erkenntnis ist in die Konzeption eines Trainingsprogramms zur Ver{\"a}nderung des emotionalen Essverhaltens f{\"u}r emotionale Esser eingeflossen, das achtsamkeitsbasierte Konzepte mit verhaltenstherapeutischen Behandlungsmethoden kombiniert. Die 2. und die 3. Studie {\"u}berpr{\"u}ften mit einem randomisierten, kontrollierten Design die Machbarkeit und die Wirksamkeit des Gruppentrainings im ambulanten und klinischen Setting. Das Training ließ sich ambulant und in einer Klinik sehr gut umsetzen und wurde von den Teilnehmern weitgehend positiv bewertet. Im Anschluss an das Training aßen emotionale Esser weniger emotional, indem sie durch die achtsame Selbstbeobachtung lernten, die Essausl{\"o}ser besser zu erkennen und sie von den k{\"o}rperlichen Hungerempfindungen zu unterscheiden. Vielmehr fingen sie bis zu einem gewissen Grad an, achtsamer zu essen und das Essen zu genießen. Die Emotionsregulation verbesserte sich ebenfalls in vielen Aspekten. Die Trainingsteilnehmer entwickelten die Kompetenzen oder tendierten dazu, ihre Gef{\"u}hle aufmerksamer wahrzunehmen, klarer zu erkennen und zu benennen, sie st{\"a}rker positiv zu beeinflussen und sie leichter zu akzeptieren, wenn sie im Augenblick nicht ver{\"a}ndert werden konnten. Somit konnten die Machbarkeit und die Wirksamkeit des entwickelten Trainingsprogramms sowohl im ambulanten Setting als auch in den bedeutendsten Aspekten im klinischen Kontext als Teil eines breiter angelegten Therapiekonzepts nachgewiesen werden. Die drei vorgelegten Arbeiten liefern einen Beitrag zum Verst{\"a}ndnis und zur Ver{\"a}nderung des emotionalen Essverhaltens. Weitergehende Untersuchungen sollten die Merkmale der {\"a}ußeren Situation als Risikofaktoren f{\"u}r das emotionale Essverhalten analysieren sowie die zeitliche Stabilit{\"a}t der Trainingseffekte testen, die außerhalb einer Katamnese von 3 Monaten liegt. Die Wirksamkeit des Trainingsprogramms k{\"o}nnte ferner gegen{\"u}ber anderen Therapieverfahren und multizentrisch in unterschiedlichen Kliniken unter zahlreichen Rahmenbedingungen gepr{\"u}ft werden.},
  subject      = {Essgewohnheit},
  language  = {de}
}
@phdthesis{Dignath2014,
  author    = {Dignath, David},
  title     = {Conflict Management},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-103586},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Menschen haben die beeindruckende F{\"a}higkeit zu planen, sich Ziele zu setzen und entsprechend zu handeln. Dies ist aber nicht immer der Fall. Jeder kennt Situationen, in denen Impulse, wie zum Beispiel der Drang noch ein weiteres Bier zu trinken oder stark {\"u}berlernte Verhaltensgewohnheiten, wie zum Beispiel automatisch auf der rechten Straßenseite zu fahren unseren eigentlichen Zielen im Weg stehen. Dieser ´Wettstreit´ zwischen impulsiven oder habituellen Verhaltenstendenzen und zielgerichteten Handlungen wird auch als Konflikt bezeichnet. Solch ein Konflikt tritt st{\"a}ndig in Erscheinung und kann viele Formen annehmen. Daher {\"u}berrascht es nicht weiter, dass die Art und Weise wie Konflikt kontrolliert wird, auch sehr unterschiedlich sein kann. Es scheint offensichtlich, dass Menschen Konflikte ganz verschieden handhaben k{\"o}nnen: Wenn wir eine Konfliktsituation erwarten, k{\"o}nnen wir bereits vorausschauend zus{\"a}tzliche Anstrengungen unternehmen um den Konflikt dann in der Situation ad{\"a}quat zu l{\"o}sen. Alternativ k{\"o}nnen wir solche Situationen auch bereits im Vorfeld vermeiden und umgehen damit die Gefahr, unseren Impulsen nachzugeben. Auch wenn wir mit einer Konfliktsituation bereits konfrontiert sind, k{\"o}nnen wir versuchen durch besondere Anstrengungen diesen Konflikt aufzul{\"o}sen. Schließlich haben wir auch die M{\"o}glichkeit, uns aus der Situation zur{\"u}ckziehen wodurch wir das Risiko minimieren, entgegen unserer eigentlichen Ziele zu handeln. Um diese Variabilit{\"a}t von Konfliktbew{\"a}ltigung besser zu verstehen, versucht die vorliegende Arbeit eine genauere Beschreibung dieser Kontrollprozesse zu geben. Zwei Dimensionen von Kontrollfunktionen werden identifiziert. Diese ergeben sich aus teilweise antagonistischen Erfordernissen an erfolgreiche Handlungskontrolle und beschreiben zum einen die Abw{\"a}gung zwischen Flexibilit{\"a}t und Stabilit{\"a}t, zum Anderen die Abw{\"a}gung zwischen antizipativer Selektion und reaktiver Korrektur. Um zu erkl{\"a}ren, wie diese beiden Dimensionen von Kontrollfunktionen interagieren und wie daraus ein ad{\"a}quater Umgang mit Konflikten entstehen kann, wird das „Conflict Management Framework" eingef{\"u}hrt. Eine Hypothese, die aus diesem Rahmenmodel hervorgeht, beschreibt eine spezifische Strategie mit Konflikt umzugehen, die in dieser Art noch nicht untersucht wurde: Wenn Konflikt erlebt wird, ziehen sich Personen aus dieser Situation zur{\"u}ck und versuchen dadurch dem Konflikt zu entgehen. Der empirische Teil der Arbeit untersucht diese Verhaltensstrategie in Bezug auf Konflikterleben und testet, ob Personen unter bestimmten Bedingungen sich aus Konfliktsituationen zur{\"u}ckziehen. Im Rahmen dieser Untersuchung werden drei Reihen an Experimenten vorgestellt die sowohl Freie-Wahl Paradigmen, Klassifikationsaufgaben unter Zeitdruck, als auch die Aufzeichnung kontinuierlicher Bewegungen umfassen. Es zeigte sich, dass Konflikt motivationale Vermeidungstendenzen hervorruft (Experimente 1 und 2), Entscheidungsverhalten verzerrt, so dass kurzfristig mit Konflikt assoziierte Aufgaben vermieden werden (Experimente 3 und 5), und die Ausf{\"u}hrung von komplexen Handlungen beeinflusst (Experimente 6 und 7). Diese Ergebnisse unterst{\"u}tzen das vorgeschlagene Rahmenmodell und erm{\"o}glichen eine vertiefte Auseinandersetzung mit der Frage, wie unterschiedliche Konfliktbew{\"a}ltigungsstrategien integriert werden k{\"o}nnen. Dazu wird ein konnektionistisches Modell vorgestellt, dass die parallele Anwendung von zwei unterschiedlichen Strategien zur Konfliktbew{\"a}ltigung erm{\"o}glicht und damit die empirischen Befunde der Experimente 3, 4 und 5 erkl{\"a}ren kann. Im verbleibenden Teil der vorliegenden Arbeit werden Fehler einer solchen Integration von Konfliktbew{\"a}ltigungsstrategien analysiert. Es wird diskutiert, in wie fern das vorgeschlagene Rahmenmodell mit spezifischen klinischen St{\"o}rungen vereinbar ist. Außerdem wird darauf eingegangen, wie interindividuelle Unterschiede hinsichtlich der Art und Weise Konflikte zu meistern, mit Hilfe eines solches Modells besser erkl{\"a}rt werden k{\"o}nnten. Schließlich wird ein Versuch unternommen, so genannte Selbstkontroll-Fehler durch eine mangelhafte Dynamik unterschiedlicher Konfliktbew{\"a}ltigungsstrategien zu erkl{\"a}ren.},
  subject      = {Konflikt},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{EwaldGlotzbachSchoonGerdesetal.2014,
  author    = {Ewald, Heike and Glotzbach-Schoon, Evelyn and Gerdes, Antje B. M. and Andreatta, Marta and M{\"u}ller, Mathias and M{\"u}hlberger, Andreas and Pauli, Paul},
  title     = {Delay and trace fear conditioning in a complex virtual learning environment - neural substrates of extinction},
  series = {Frontiers in Human Neuroscience},
  volume    = {8},
  journal   = {Frontiers in Human Neuroscience},
  number    = {323},
  issn      = {1662-5161},
  doi       = {10.3389/fnhum.2014.00323},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-116230},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Extinction is an important mechanism to inhibit initially acquired fear responses. There is growing evidence that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) inhibits the amygdala and therefore plays an important role in the extinction of delay fear conditioning. To our knowledge, there is no evidence on the role of the prefrontal cortex in the extinction of trace conditioning up to now. Thus, we compared brain structures involved in the extinction of human delay and trace fear conditioning in a between-subjects-design in an fMRI study. Participants were passively guided through a virtual environment during learning and extinction of conditioned fear. Two different lights served as conditioned stimuli (CS); as unconditioned stimulus (US) a mildly painful electric stimulus was delivered. In the delay conditioning group (DCG) the US was administered with offset of one light (CS+), whereas in the trace conditioning group (TCG) the US was presented 4s after CS+ offset. Both groups showed insular and striatal activation during early extinction, but differed in their prefrontal activation. The vmPFC was mainly activated in the DCG, whereas the TCG showed activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) during extinction. These results point to different extinction processes in delay and trace conditioning. VmPFC activation during extinction of delay conditioning might reflect the inhibition of the fear response. In contrast, dlPFC activation during extinction of trace conditioning may reflect modulation of working memory processes which are involved in bridging the trace interval and hold information in short term memory.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{HuesteggeRohrssenvanErmingenMarbachetal.2014,
  author    = {Huestegge, Lynn and Rohrßen, Julia and van Ermingen-Marbach, Muna and Pape-Neumann, Julia and Heim, Stefan},
  title     = {Devil in the details ? Developmental dyslexia and visual long-term memory for details},
  series = {Frontiers in Psychology},
  volume    = {5},
  journal   = {Frontiers in Psychology},
  number    = {686},
  issn      = {1664-1078},
  doi       = {10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00686},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-115887},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Cognitive theories on causes of developmental dyslexia can be divided into language-specific and general accounts. While the former assume that words are special in that associated processing problems are rooted in language-related cognition (e.g., phonology) deficits, the latter propose that dyslexia is rather rooted in a general impairment of cognitive (e.g., visual and/or auditory) processing streams. In the present study, we examined to what extent dyslexia (typically characterized by poor orthographic representations) may be associated with a general deficit in visual long-term memory (LTM) for details. We compared object- and detail-related visual LTM performance (and phonological skills) between dyslexic primary school children and IQ-, age-, and gender-matched controls. The results revealed that while the overall amount of LTM errors was comparable between groups, dyslexic children exhibited a greater portion of detail-related errors. The results suggest that not only phonological, but also general visual resolution deficits in LTM may play an important role in developmental dyslexia.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Reichert2014,
  author    = {Reichert, Andreas},
  title     = {Eltern stark machen! Eine randomisiert-kontrollierte Studie zur Evaluation des modularen Elterntrainings „Plan E" im kinder- und jugendpsychiatrischen Setting},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-98337},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Die Arbeit legt bei den Ausf{\"u}hrungen zum theoretischen Hintergrund dar, dass sich hinsichtlich der Rahmenbedingungen f{\"u}r erzieherisches Handeln in den letzten Jahrzehnten viele gesellschaftliche und famili{\"a}re Ver{\"a}nderungen ergaben. Befragungen von Eltern zeigten teilweise eine Verunsicherung in Bezug auf die Erziehung ihrer Kinder. Gleichzeitig stellen psychische St{\"o}rungen und Verhaltensauff{\"a}lligkeiten im Kindes- und Jugendalter ein gesellschaftlich relevantes Problem dar. Nahezu jedes f{\"u}nfte Kind weist nach epidemiologischen Studien psychische Probleme auf. Aus Studien zu Risiko- und Schutzfaktoren hinsichtlich der Entstehung solcher St{\"o}rungen lassen sich verschiedene pr{\"a}ventive oder therapeutische Interventionen ableiten. H{\"a}ufig werden dabei biologische, psychosoziale und famili{\"a}re Risikofaktoren unterschieden. Aspekte der Erziehung oder des famili{\"a}ren Umfelds k{\"o}nnen sowohl f{\"o}rderlich als auch dysfunktional bez{\"u}glich der Entwicklung eines Kindes sein. Famili{\"a}re Risikofaktoren sind im Vergleich zu vielen biologischen oder psychosozialen Einfl{\"u}ssen potentiell ver{\"a}nderbare Faktoren und sollten unbedingt bei der Behandlung von psychisch kranken Kindern und Jugendlichen mit ber{\"u}cksichtigt werden. Generell erweist sich die Psychotherapie im Kindes- und Jugendalter als {\"a}hnlich effektiv wie bei Erwachsenen. Verschiedene Original-, {\"U}bersichtsarbeiten und Metaanalysen belegen die Wirksamkeit von Elterntrainings hinsichtlich der Verbesserung von Erziehungsverhalten und Verhaltensauff{\"a}lligkeiten der Kinder. Wirksamkeitsnachweise finden sich mehrheitlich zu kognitiv-behavioralen Elterntrainings. Sie legen meistens den Schwerpunkt auf konkretes Erziehungsverhalten und versuchen im Sinne des Selbstmanagementansatzes eine Hilfe zu Selbsthilfe bzw. eine St{\"a}rkung der elterlichen Ressourcen zu erreichen. W{\"a}hrend vor allem randomisiert-kontrollierte Studien aus dem angloamerikanischen und australischen Raum vorliegen, bestanden in Deutschland - im Vergleich zu der Vielzahl der Elterntrainings und der H{\"a}ufigkeit der Angebote - bis vor einigen Jahren nur relativ wenige Evaluationsstudien. Mit „Plan E" stellte sich ein neues Elterntraining in der vorliegenden Studie der Frage nach seinem Wirksamkeitsnachweis. Nach Kenntnis des Autors handelt es sich dabei um das bisher einzige Elterntraining, welches st{\"o}rungsunspezifisch, altersunabh{\"a}ngig, als offene Gruppe und f{\"u}r den Einsatz sowohl im ambulanten als auch im (teil-)station{\"a}ren Bereich konzipiert wurde. Nachdem in dieser Studie zun{\"a}chst das Ausmaß der psychischen Belastung der teilnehmenden Kinder, Jugendlichen und deren Eltern ausf{\"u}hrlich dargestellt und entsprechende Zusammenhangsmaße berechnet und pr{\"a}sentiert werden, besteht der Hauptfokus der Arbeit auf der Evaluation des Trainings „Plan E". Die Untersuchung erfolgte anhand einer klinischen Inanspruchnahmepopulation in einem randomisiert-kontrollierten Design. Diesbez{\"u}glich kamen verschiedene Fragebogen- sowie ein standardisiertes Beobachtungsverfahren zum Einsatz. Durch „Plan E" ließ sich eine Reduktion dysfunktionaler Erziehungspraktiken sowie eine Verbesserung der emotionalen Befindlichkeit der Eltern erreichen. Auf das elterliche Kompetenzerleben zeigte das Programm keinen Einfluss. Hinsichtlich der Verhaltensauff{\"a}lligkeiten der Kinder fanden sich bei varianzanalytischen Auswertungen keine Hinweise f{\"u}r einen zus{\"a}tzlichen Effekt durch die Teilnahme an „Plan E"; dagegen wurde bei Analysen durch non-parametrische Verfahren deutliche Hinweise daf{\"u}r gefunden, dass durch die Teilnahme am Elterntraining der Anteil von auff{\"a}llig klassifizierten Kindern deutlicher abnahm. {\"U}berpr{\"u}fungen der Wirksamkeit des Elterntrainings auf die Eltern-Kind-Interaktion anhand einer Beobachtungsskala lieferten keine eindeutigen Befunde. Die Ergebnisse sowie die Untersuchungsmethodik werden abschließend kritisch diskutiert. Schlussfolgerungen f{\"u}r m{\"o}gliche weitere Forschungsvorhaben werden dargestellt.},
  subject      = {Elternbildung},
  language  = {de}
}
@article{GerdesWieserAlpers2014,
  author    = {Gerdes, Antje B. M. and Wieser, Matthias J. and Alpers, Georg W.},
  title     = {Emotional pictures and sounds: a review of multimodal interactions of emotion cues in multiple domains},
  series = {Frontiers in Psychology},
  volume    = {5},
  journal   = {Frontiers in Psychology},
  issn      = {1664-1078},
  doi       = {10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01351},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-114548},
  pages     = {1351},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {In everyday life, multiple sensory channels jointly trigger emotional experiences and one channel may alter processing in another channel. For example, seeing an emotional facial expression and hearing the voice's emotional tone will jointly create the emotional experience. This example, where auditory and visual input is related to social communication, has gained considerable attention by researchers. However, interactions of visual and auditory emotional information are not limited to social communication but can extend to much broader contexts including human, animal, and environmental cues. In this article, we review current research on audiovisual emotion processing beyond face-voice stimuli to develop a broader perspective on multimodal interactions in emotion processing. We argue that current concepts of multimodality should be extended in considering an ecologically valid variety of stimuli in audiovisual emotion processing. Therefore, we provide an overview of studies in which emotional sounds and interactions with complex pictures of scenes were investigated. In addition to behavioral studies, we focus on neuroimaging, electro- and peripher-physiological findings. Furthermore, we integrate these findings and identify similarities or differences. We conclude with suggestions for future research.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{WoelkSuetterlinKochetal.2014,
  author    = {W{\"o}lk, Julian and S{\"u}tterlin, Stefan and Koch, Stefan and V{\"o}gele, Claus and Schulz, Stefan M.},
  title     = {Enhanced cardiac perception predicts impaired performance in the Iowa Gambling Task in patients with panic disorder},
  series = {Brain and Behavior},
  volume    = {4},
  journal   = {Brain and Behavior},
  number    = {2},
  issn      = {2162-3279},
  doi       = {10.1002/brb3.206},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-119865},
  pages     = {238-46},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {OBJECTIVE: Somatic marker theory predicts that somatic cues serve intuitive decision making; however, cardiovascular symptoms are threat cues for patients with panic disorder (PD). Therefore, enhanced cardiac perception may aid intuitive decision making only in healthy individuals, but impair intuitive decision making in PD patients. METHODS: PD patients and age-and sex-matched volunteers without a psychiatric diagnosis (n=17, respectively) completed the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) as a measure of intuitive decision making. Interindividual differences in cardiac perception were assessed with a common mental-tracking task. RESULTS: In line with our hypothesis, we found a pattern of opposing associations (Fisher's Z=1.78, P=0.04) of high cardiac perception with improved IGT-performance in matched control-participants (r=0.36, n=14) but impaired IGT-performance in PD patients (r=-0.38, n=13). CONCLUSION: Interoceptive skills, typically assumed to aid intuitive decision making, can have the opposite effect in PD patients who experience interoceptive cues as threatening, and tend to avoid them. This may explain why PD patients frequently have problems with decision making in everyday life. Screening of cardiac perception may help identifying patients who benefit from specifically tailored interventions.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{MartensBenschHalderetal.2014,
  author    = {Martens, Suzanne and Bensch, Michael and Halder, Sebastian and Hill, Jeremy and Nijboer, Femke and Ramos-Murguialday, Ander and Schoelkopf, Bernhard and Birbaumer, Niels and Gharabaghi, Alireza},
  title     = {Epidural electrocorticography for monitoring of arousal in locked-in state},
  series = {Frontiers in Human Neuroscience},
  volume    = {8},
  journal   = {Frontiers in Human Neuroscience},
  doi       = {10.3389/fnhum.2014.00861},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-114863},
  pages     = {861},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Electroencephalography (EEG) often fails to assess both the level (i.e., arousal) and the content (i.e., awareness) of pathologically altered consciousness in patients without motor responsiveness. This might be related to a decline of awareness, to episodes of low arousal and disturbed sleep patterns, and/or to distorting and attenuating effects of the skull and intermediate tissue on the recorded brain signals. Novel approaches are required to overcome these limitations. We introduced epidural electrocorticography (ECoG) for monitoring of cortical physiology in a late-stage amytrophic lateral sclerosis patient in completely locked-in state (CLIS) Despite long-term application for a period of six months, no implant related complications occurred. Recordings from the left frontal cortex were sufficient to identify three arousal states. Spectral analysis of the intrinsic oscillatory activity enabled us to extract state-dependent dominant frequencies at <4, similar to 7 and similar to 20 Hz, representing sleep-like periods, and phases of low and elevated arousal, respectively. In the absence of other biomarkers, ECoG proved to be a reliable tool for monitoring circadian rhythmicity, i.e., avoiding interference with the patient when he was sleeping and exploiting time windows of responsiveness. Moreover, the effects of interventions addressing the patient's arousal, e.g., amantadine medication, could be evaluated objectively on the basis of physiological markers, even in the absence of behavioral parameters. Epidural ECoG constitutes a feasible trade-off between surgical risk and quality of recorded brain signals to gain information on the patient's present level of arousal. This approach enables us to optimize the timing of interactions and medical interventions, all of which should take place when the patient is in a phase of high arousal. Furthermore, avoiding low responsiveness periods will facilitate measures to implement alternative communication pathways involving brain-computer interfaces (BCI).},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{MeuleGearhard2014,
  author    = {Meule, Adrian and Gearhard, Ashley N.},
  title     = {Food Addiction in the Light of DSM-5},
  series = {Nutrients},
  volume    = {6},
  journal   = {Nutrients},
  number    = {9},
  issn      = {2072-6643},
  doi       = {10.3390/nu6093653},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-119279},
  pages     = {3653-71},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {The idea that specific kind of foods may have an addiction potential and that some forms of overeating may represent an addicted behavior has been discussed for decades. In recent years, the interest in food addiction is growing and research on this topic lead to more precise definitions and assessment methods. For example, the Yale Food Addiction Scale has been developed for the measurement of addiction-like eating behavior based on the diagnostic criteria for substance dependence of the fourth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). In 2013, diagnostic criteria for substance abuse and-dependence were merged, thereby increasing the number of symptoms for substance use disorders (SUDs) in the DSM-5. Moreover, gambling disorder is now included along SUDs as a behavioral addiction. Although a plethora of review articles exist that discuss the applicability of the DSM-IV substance dependence criteria to eating behavior, the transferability of the newly added criteria to eating is unknown. Thus, the current article discusses if and how these new criteria may be translated to overeating. Furthermore, it is examined if the new SUD criteria will impact future research on food addiction, for example, if "diagnosing" food addiction should also be adapted by considering all of the new symptoms. Given the critical response to the revisions in DSM-5, we also discuss if the recent approach of Research Domain Criteria can be helpful in evaluating the concept of food addiction.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Meule2014,
  author    = {Meule, Adrian},
  title     = {Food craving as a central construct in the self-regulation of eating behavior},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-104597},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Background: Food craving refers to an intense desire to consume a specific kind of food of which chocolate is the most often craved one. It is this intensity and specificity that differentiates food craving from feelings of hunger. Although food craving and hunger often co-occur, an energy deficit is not a prerequisite for experiencing food craving, that is, it can also occur without being hungry. Food craving often precedes and predicts over- or binge eating which makes it a reasonable target in the treatment of eating disorders or obesity. One of the arguably most extensively validated measures for the assessment of food craving are the Food Cravings Questionnaires (FCQs), which measure food craving on a state (FCQ-S) and trait (FCQ-T) level. Specifically, the FCQ-S measures the intensity of current food craving whereas the FCQ-T measures the frequency of food craving experiences in general. The aims of the present thesis were to provide a German measure for the assessment of food craving and to investigate cognitive, behavioral, and physiological correlates of food craving. For this purpose, a German version of the FCQs was presented and its reliability and validity was evaluated. Using self-reports, relationships between trait food craving and dieting were examined. Cognitive-behavioral correlates of food craving were investigated using food-related tasks assessing executive functions. Psychophysiological correlates of food craving were investigated using event-related potentials (ERPs) in the electroencephalogram and heart rate variability (HRV). Possible intervention approaches to reduce food craving were derived from results of those studies. Methods: The FCQs were translated into German and their psychometric properties and correlates were investigated in a questionnaire-based study (articles \#1 \& \#2). The relationship between state and trait food craving with executive functioning was examined with behavioral tasks measuring working memory performance and behavioral inhibition which involved highly palatable food-cues (articles \#3 \& \#4). Electrophysiological correlates of food craving were tested with ERPs during a craving regulation task (article \#5). Finally, a pilot study on the effects of HRV-biofeedback for reducing food craving was conducted (article \#6). Results: The FCQs demonstrated high internal consistency while their factorial structure could only partially be replicated. The FCQ-T also had high retest-reliability which, expectedly, was lower for the FCQ-S. Validity of the FCQ-S was shown by positive relationships with current food deprivation and negative affect. Validity of the FCQ-T was shown by positive correlations with related constructs. Importantly, scores on the subscales of the FCQ-T were able to discriminate between non-dieters and successful and unsuccessful dieters (article \#1). Furthermore, scores on the FCQ-T mediated the relationship between rigid dietary control strategies and low dieting success (article \#2). With regard to executive functioning, high-calorie food-cues impaired working memory performance, yet this was independent of trait food craving and rarely related to state food craving (article \#3). Behavioral disinhibition in response to high-calorie food-cues was predicted by trait food craving, particularly when participants were also impulsive (article \#4). Downregulation of food craving by cognitive strategies in response to high-calorie food-cues increased early, but not later, segments of the Late Positive Potential (LPP) (article \#5). Few sessions of HRV-biofeedback reduced self-reported food cravings and eating and weight concerns in high trait food cravers (article \#6). Conclusions: The German FCQs represent sound measures with good psychometric properties for the assessment of state and trait food craving. Although state food craving increases during cognitive tasks involving highly palatable food-cues, impairment of task performance does not appear to be mediated by current food craving experiences. Instead, trait food craving is associated with low behavioral inhibition in response to high-calorie food-cues, but not with impaired working memory performance. Future studies need to examine if trait food craving and, subsequently, food-cue affected behavioral inhibition can be reduced by using food-related inhibition tasks as a training. Current food craving and ERPs in response to food-cues can easily be modulated by cognitive strategies, yet the LPP probably does not represent a direct index of food craving. Finally, HRV-biofeedback may be a useful add-on element in the treatment of disorders in which food cravings are elevated. To conclude, the current thesis provided measures for the assessment of food craving in German and showed differential relationships between state and trait food craving with self-reported dieting behavior, food-cue affected executive functioning, ERPs and HRV-biofeedback. These results provide promising starting points for interventions to reduce food craving based on (1) food-cue-related behavioral trainings of executive functions, (2) cognitive craving regulation strategies, and (3) physiological parameters such as HRV-biofeedback.},
  subject      = {Craving},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{MeuleLutzKrawietzetal.2014,
  author    = {Meule, Adrian and Lutz, Annika P. C. and Krawietz, Vera and St{\"u}tzer, Judith and V{\"o}gele, Claus and K{\"u}bler, Andrea},
  title     = {Food-cue affected motor response inhibition and self-reported dieting success: a pictorial affective shifting task},
  series = {Frontiers in Psychology},
  volume    = {5},
  journal   = {Frontiers in Psychology},
  issn      = {1664-1078},
  doi       = {10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00216},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-119840},
  pages     = {216},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Behavioral inhibition is one of the basic facets of executive functioning and is closely related to self-regulation. Impulsive reactions, that is, low inhibitory control, have been associated with higher body mass index (BMI), binge eating, and other problem behaviors (e.g., substance abuse, pathological gambling, etc.). Nevertheless, studies which investigated the direct influence of food-cues on behavioral inhibition have been fairly inconsistent. In the current studies, we investigated food-cue affected behavioral inhibition in young women. For this purpose, we used a go/no-go task with pictorial food and neutral stimuli in which stimulus-response mapping is reversed after every other block (affective shifting task). In study 1, hungry participants showed faster reaction times to and omitted fewer food than neutral targets. Low dieting success and higher BMI were associated with behavioral disinhibition in food relative to neutral blocks. In study 2, both hungry and satiated individuals were investigated. Satiation did not influence overall task performance, but modulated associations of task performance with dieting success and self-reported impulsivity. When satiated, increased food craving during the task was associated with low dieting success, possibly indicating a preload-disinhibition effect following food intake. Food-cues elicited automatic action and approach tendencies regardless of dieting success, self-reported impulsivity, or current hunger levels. Yet, associations between dieting success, impulsivity, and behavioral food-cue responses were modulated by hunger and satiation. Future research investigating clinical samples and including other salient non-food stimuli as control category is warranted.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{BlechertMeuleBuschetal.2014,
  author    = {Blechert, Jens and Meule, Adrian and Busch, Niko A. and Ohla, Kathrin},
  title     = {Food-pics: an image database for experimental research on eating and appetite},
  series = {Frontiers in Psychology},
  volume    = {5},
  journal   = {Frontiers in Psychology},
  issn      = {1664-1078},
  doi       = {10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00617},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-115987},
  pages     = {617},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Our current environment is characterized by the omnipresence of food cues. The sight and smell of real foods, but also graphically depictions of appetizing foods, can guide our eating behavior, for example, by eliciting food craving and influencing food choice. The relevance of visual food cues on human information processing has been demonstrated by a growing body of studies employing food images across the disciplines of psychology, medicine, and neuroscience. However, currently used food image sets vary considerably across laboratories and image characteristics (contrast, brightness, etc.) and food composition (calories, macronutrients, etc.) are often unspecified. These factors might have contributed to some of the inconsistencies of this research. To remedy this, we developed food-pics, a picture database comprising 568 food images and 315 non-food images along with detailed meta-data. A total of N = 1988 individuals with large variance in age and weight from German speaking countries and North America provided normative ratings of valence, arousal, palatability, desire to eat, recognizability and visual complexity. Furthermore, data on macronutrients (g), energy density (kcal), and physical image characteristics (color composition, contrast, brightness, size, complexity) are provided. The food-pics image database is freely available under the creative commons license with the hope that the set will facilitate standardization and comparability across studies and advance experimental research on the determinants of eating behavior. Read F},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{PohlKundeGanzetal.2014,
  author    = {Pohl, Carsten and Kunde, Wilfried and Ganz, Thomas and Conzelmann, Annette and Pauli, Paul and Kiesel, Andrea},
  title     = {Gaming to see: action video gaming is associated with enhanced processing of masked stimuli},
  doi       = {10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00070},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-112681},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Recent research revealed that action video game players outperform non-players in a wide range of attentional, perceptual and cognitive tasks. Here we tested if expertise in action video games is related to differences regarding the potential of shortly presented stimuli to bias behavior. In a response priming paradigm, participants classified four animal pictures functioning as targets as being smaller or larger than a reference frame. Before each target, one of the same four animal pictures was presented as a masked prime to influence participants' responses in a congruent or incongruent way. Masked primes induced congruence effects, that is, faster responses for congruent compared to incongruent conditions, indicating processing of hardly visible primes. Results also suggested that action video game players showed a larger congruence effect than non-players for 20 ms primes, whereas there was no group difference for 60 ms primes. In addition, there was a tendency for action video game players to detect masked primes for some prime durations better than non-players. Thus, action video game expertise may be accompanied by faster and more efficient processing of shortly presented visual stimuli.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Ewald2014,
  author    = {Ewald, Heike},
  title     = {Influence of context and contingency awareness on fear conditioning - an investigation in virtual reality},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-111226},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Fear conditioning is an efficient model of associative learning, which has greatly improved our knowledge of processes underlying the development and maintenance of pathological fear and anxiety. In a differential fear conditioning paradigm, one initially neutral stimulus (NS) is paired with an aversive event (unconditioned stimulus, US), whereas another stimulus does not have any consequences. After a few pairings the NS is associated with the US and consequently becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS+), which elicits a conditioned response (CR). The formation of explicit knowledge of the CS/US association during conditioning is referred to as contingency awareness. Findings about its role in fear conditioning are ambiguous. The development of a CR without contingency awareness has been shown in delay fear conditioning studies. One speaks of delay conditioning, when the US coterminates with or follows directly on the CS+. In trace conditioning, a temporal gap or "trace interval" lies between CS+ and US. According to existing evidence, trace conditioning is not possible on an implicit level and requires more cognitive resources than delay conditioning. The associations formed during fear conditioning are not exclusively associations between specific cues and aversive events. Contextual cues form the background milieu of the learning process and play an important role in both acquisition and the extinction of conditioned fear and anxiety. A common limitation in human fear conditioning studies is the lack of ecological validity, especially regarding contextual information. The use of Virtual Reality (VR) is a promising approach for creating a more complex environment which is close to a real life situation. I conducted three studies to examine cue and contextual fear conditioning with regard to the role of contingency awareness. For this purpose a VR paradigm was created, which allowed for exact manipulation of cues and contexts as well as timing of events. In all three experiments, participants were guided through one or more virtual rooms serving as contexts, in which two different lights served as CS and an electric stimulus as US. Fear potentiated startle (FPS) responses were measured as an indicator of implicit fear conditioning. To test whether participants had developed explicit awareness of the CS-US contingencies, subjective ratings were collected. The first study was designed as a pilot study to test the VR paradigm as well as the conditioning protocol. Additionally, I was interested in the effect of contingency awareness. Results provided evidence, that eye blink conditioning is possible in the virtual environment and that it does not depend on contingency awareness. Evaluative conditioning, as measured by subjective ratings, was only present in the group of participants who explicitly learned the association between CS and US. To examine acquisition and extinction of both fear associated cues and contexts, a novel cue-context generalization paradigm was applied in the second study. Besides the interplay of cues and contexts I was again interested in the effect of contingency awareness. Two different virtual offices served as fear and safety context, respectively. During acquisition, the CS+ was always followed by the US in the fear context. In the safety context, none of the lights had any consequences. During extinction, a additional (novel) context was introduced, no US was delivered in any of the contexts. Participants showed enhanced startle responses to the CS+ compared to the CS- in the fear context. Thus, discriminative learning took place regarding both cues and contexts during acquisition. This was confirmed by subjective ratings, although only for participants with explicit contingency awareness. Generalization of fear to the novel context after conditioning did not depend on awareness and was observable only on trend level. In a third experiment I looked at neuronal correlates involved in extinction of fear memory by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Of particular interest were differences between extinction of delay and trace fear conditioning. I applied the paradigm tested in the pilot study and additionally manipulated timing of the stimuli: In the delay conditioning group (DCG) the US was administered with offset of one light (CS+), in the trace conditioning group (TCG) the US was presented 4s after CS+ offset. Most importantly, prefrontal activation differed between the two groups. In line with existing evidence, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) was activated in the DCG. In the TCG I found activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), which might be associated with modulation of working memory processes necessary for bridging the trace interval and holding information in short term memory. Taken together, virtual reality proved to be an elegant tool for examining human fear conditioning in complex environments, and especially for manipulating contextual information. Results indicate that explicit knowledge of contingencies is necessary for attitude formation in fear conditioning, but not for a CR on an implicit level as measured by FPS responses. They provide evidence for a two level account of fear conditioning. Discriminative learning was successful regarding both cues and contexts. Imaging results speak for different extinction processes in delay and trace conditioning, hinting that higher working memory contribution is required for trace than for delay conditioning.},
  subject      = {Klassische Konditionierung},
  language  = {en}
}