@phdthesis{Pieczykolan2016, author = {Pieczykolan, Aleksandra}, title = {Cross-Modal Action Control}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-142356}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Multitasking als allgegenw{\"a}rtiges Ph{\"a}nomen wird heutzutage in verschiedenen wissenschaftlichen Disziplinen diskutiert. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird Multitasking aus der Perspektive der kognitiven Verhaltenswissenschaften beleuchtet mit dem Fokus auf der Rolle von Konfliktl{\"o}sungs- prozessen bei der Verarbeitung von Mehrfacht{\"a}tigkeiten. Insbesondere liegt der Fokus auf kognitiven Mechanismen der crossmodalen Handlungskontrolle, d.h. der Kontrolle von zwei Handlungen in verschiedenen Effektorsystemen. Mit dem Ziel, den bisherigen Umfang derjenigen Handlungsmodalit{\"a}ten zu erweitern, die {\"u}blicherweise in Studien eingesetzt wurden, wurden okulomotorische Reaktionen (d.h. Sakkaden), die bisher als Handlungsmodalit{\"a}t in der Forschung vernachl{\"a}ssigt wurden, in Kombination mit Reaktionen in anderen Efffektorsystemen untersucht (d.h. mit manuellen und vokalen Reaktionen). Weiterhin wurde beabsichtigt, Mechanismen von Crosstalk zu spezifizieren, welches ein Erkl{\"a}rungskonzept darstellt, das sich auf den Aufgabeninhalt bezieht. Crosstalk erscheint besonders relevant f{\"u}r crossmodale Handlungen, da sich Handlungsmodalit{\"a}ten vor allem bez{\"u}glich ihrer Reaktionsmerkmale unterscheiden. In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden vier Studien berichtet, die auf jeweils zwei oder drei Experimenten beruhen. In Studie A wurden crossmodale Doppelreaktionen auf einen einzelnen Stimulus untersucht mit der Fragestellung, wie sich das Zusammenspiel des Vorhandenseins von Reaktionsalternativen und der Kompatibilit{\"a}t zwischen Reaktionen (also dem Crosstalkpotential) auswirkt. In drei Experimenten zeigte sich, dass Crosstalk in mehrere Komponenten dissoziiert werden kann, n{\"a}mlich eine Komponente, die auf der aktuellen Konfliktst{\"a}rke (Online-Crosstalk) basiert, und eine ged{\"a}chtnisbasierte Komponente, die entweder durch Restaktivit{\"a}t vergangener Handlungsanforderungen bestimmt wird (retrospektiver Crosstalk), oder durch Vorbereitung auf zuk{\"u}nftige Handlungsanforderungen (prospektiver Crosstalk). Studie B lieferte Evidenz daf{\"u}r, dass okulomotorische Reaktionen sowohl struktureller als auch inhaltsbasierte Interferenz unterliegen. In drei Experimenten wurde das Paradigma zeitlich {\"u}berlappender Aufgaben verwendet, bei dem zwei Stimuli mit zeitlichem Versatz pr{\"a}sentiert wurden, auf die jeweils mit einer okulomotorischen und einer manuellen Handlung reagiert werden musste. Dabei wurden sowohl Hinweise auf einen seriellen als auch auf einen parallelen Verarbeitungsmodus gefunden. Weiterhin deuteten die Ergebnisse darauf hin, dass abh{\"a}ngig von der Aufgabenkompatibilit{\"a}t zwischen diesen Verarbeitungsmodi gewechselt wurde, d.h. zu eher paralleler Verarbeitung bei kompatiblen Aufgabenanforderungen und zu eher serieller Verarbeitung bei inkompatiblen Aufgabenanforderungen. In Studie C wurden Verarbeitungspriorit{\"a}ten zwischen Effektorsystemen untersucht. In zwei Experimenten zeigte sich, dass das zuvor berichtete Verarbeitungsdominanzmuster repliziert werden konnte, bei der okulomotorische Reaktionen vokale Reaktionen dominieren und diese wiederum manuelle Reaktionen dominieren. Die relative St{\"a}rke der Dominanz konnte allerdings bei vorhandenem Reaktionskonflikt angepasst werden. Die Verarbeitungspriorit{\"a}ten wurden hierbei zum Teil in Richtung derjenigen Reaktion verschoben, in der bereits ein Konflikt im Bezug auf die Kompatibilit{\"a}t zwischen Stimulus und Reaktion gel{\"o}st werden musste. Dieses Ergebnis zeigt, dass Verarbeitungspriorit{\"a}ten flexibel an die spezifischen Handlungsanforderungen angepasst werden k{\"o}nnen. Studie D besch{\"a}ftigte sich mit einem bisher weitgehend vernachl{\"a}ssigten Bereich innerhalb der Doppelaufgabenforschung, n{\"a}mlich der Kontrolle der zeitlichen Reaktionsreihenfolge. In einer drei Experimente umfassenden Untersuchung wurden mehrere Faktoren variiert, die sich in fr{\"u}heren Studien bereits als relevant f{\"u}r Mechanismen der Doppelaufgabeninterferenz gezeigt haben. In der vorliegenden Studie wurde gezeigt, dass die finale Reaktionsreihenfolge in einem Handlungsdurchgang das Ergebnis eines kontinuierlichen Anpassungsprozesses ist, welcher auf dem Zusammenspiel mehrerer top-down-Faktoren, z.B. der Antizipation von Reaktionsmerkmalen, und mehrerer bottom-up-Faktoren, wie z.B. der Stimulusreihenfolge oder der Aufgabenkompatibilit{\"a}t, basiert. Die vorliegende Arbeit liefert somit einen wichtigen Beitrag zum Fortschritt des Verst{\"a}ndnisses der Verarbeitung komplexer Handlungsanforderungen aus der Perspektive crossmodaler Handlungen. Insbesondere wurden Spezifikationen f{\"u}r Mechanismen der Effektorpriorisierung und der Kontrolle der Reaktionsreihenfolge als auch eine neuartige Taxonomie von Crosstalk vorgestellt, welche als umfassende Rahmenvorstellung zur Erkl{\"a}rung von Interferenzmechanismen bei Kontrollprozessen von Mehrfachanforderungen dienlich sein kann.}, subject = {Kognition}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Kastner2015, author = {Kastner, Anna Katharina}, title = {Attention mechanisms in contextual anxiety and cued fear and their influence on processing of social cues}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-123747}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Anxiety is an affective state characterized by a sustained, long-lasting defensive response, induced by unpredictable, diffuse threat. In comparison, fear is a phasic response to predictable threat. Fear can be experimentally modeled with the help of cue conditioning. Context conditioning, in which the context serves as the best predictor of a threat due to the absence of any conditioned cues, is seen as an operationalization of sustained anxiety. This thesis used a differential context conditioning paradigm to examine sustained attention processes in a threat context compared to a safety context for the first time. In three studies, the attention mechanisms during the processing of contextual anxiety were examined by measuring heart rate responses and steady-state-visually evoked potentials (ssVEPs). An additional focus was set on the processing of social cues (i.e. faces) and the influence of contextual information on these cues. In a last step, the correlates of sustained anxiety were compared to evoked responses by phasic fear, which was realized in a previously established paradigm combining predictable and unpredictable threat. In the first study, a contextual stimulus was associated with an aversive loud noise, while a second context remained unpaired. This conditioning paradigm created an anxiety context (CTX+) and a safety context (CTX-). After acquisition, a social agent vs. an object was presented as a distractor in both contexts. Heart rate and cortical responses, with ssVEPs by using frequency tagging, to the contexts and the distractors were assessed. Results revealed enhanced ssVEP amplitudes for the CTX+ compared to the CTX- during acquisition and during presentation of distractor stimuli. Additionally, the heart rate was accelerated in the acquisition phase, followed by a heart rate deceleration as a psychophysiological marker of contextual anxiety. Study 2 used the same context conditioning paradigm as Study 1. In contrast to the first study, persons with different emotional facial expressions were presented in the anxiety and safety contexts in order to compare the differential processing of these cues within periods of threat and safety. A similar anxiety response was found in the second study, although only participants who Abstract VIII were aware of the contingency between contexts and aversive event showed a sensory amplification of the threat context, indicated by heart rate response and ssVEP activation. All faces irrespective of their emotional expression received increased attentional resources when presented within the anxiety context, which suggests a general hypervigilance in anxiety contexts. In the third study, the differentiation of predictable and unpredictable threat as an operationalization of fear and anxiety was examined on a cortical and physiological level. In the predictable condition, a social cue was paired with an aversive event, while in the unpredictable condition the aversive event remained unpaired with the respective cue. A fear response to the predictable cue was found, indicated by increased oscillatory response and accelerated heart rate. Both predictable and unpredictable threat yielded increased ssVEP amplitudes evoked by the context stimuli, while the response in the unpredictable context showed longer-lasting ssVEP activation to the threat context. To sum up, all three studies endorsed anxiety as a long-lasting defensive response. Due to the unpredictability of the aversive events, the individuals reacted with hypervigilance in the anxiety context, reflected in a facilitated processing of sensory information and an orienting response. This hypervigilance had an impact on the processing of novel cues, which appeared in the anxiety context. Considering the compared stimuli categories, the stimuli perceived in a state of anxiety received increased attentional resources, irrespective of the emotional arousal conveyed by the facial expression. Both predictable and unpredictable threat elicited sensory amplification of the contexts, while the response in the unpredictable context showed longer-lasting sensory facilitation of the threat context.}, subject = {Angst}, language = {en} } @article{HerbertMuthPollatosetal.2012, author = {Herbert, Beate M. and Muth, Eric R. and Pollatos, Olga and Herbert, Cornelia}, title = {Interoception across Modalities: On the Relationship between Cardiac Awareness and the Sensitivity for Gastric Functions}, series = {PLoS One}, volume = {7}, journal = {PLoS One}, number = {5}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0036646}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-130733}, pages = {e36646}, year = {2012}, abstract = {The individual sensitivity for ones internal bodily signals ("interoceptive awareness") has been shown to be of relevance for a broad range of cognitive and affective functions. Interoceptive awareness has been primarily assessed via measuring the sensitivity for ones cardiac signals ("cardiac awareness") which can be non-invasively measured by heartbeat perception tasks. It is an open question whether cardiac awareness is related to the sensitivity for other bodily, visceral functions. This study investigated the relationship between cardiac awareness and the sensitivity for gastric functions in healthy female persons by using non-invasive methods. Heartbeat perception as a measure for cardiac awareness was assessed by a heartbeat tracking task and gastric sensitivity was assessed by a water load test. Gastric myoelectrical activity was measured by electrogastrography (EGG) and subjective feelings of fullness, valence, arousal and nausea were assessed. The results show that cardiac awareness was inversely correlated with ingested water volume and with normogastric activity after water load. However, persons with good and poor cardiac awareness did not differ in their subjective ratings of fullness, nausea and affective feelings after drinking. This suggests that good heartbeat perceivers ingested less water because they subjectively felt more intense signals of fullness during this lower amount of water intake compared to poor heartbeat perceivers who ingested more water until feeling the same signs of fullness. These findings demonstrate that cardiac awareness is related to greater sensitivity for gastric functions, suggesting that there is a general sensitivity for interoceptive processes across the gastric and cardiac modality.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Ulrich2016, author = {Ulrich, Natalie}, title = {Processing of Near Outcomes and Outcome Sequences in Gambling: Implications for the Biopsychological Basis of Problem Gambling}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-139612}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Gambling is a popular activity in Germany, with 40\% of a representative sample reporting having gambled at least once in the past year (Bundeszentrale f{\"u}r gesundheitliche Aufkl{\"a}rung, 2014). While the majority of gamblers show harmless gambling behavior, a subset develops serious problems due to their gambling, affecting their psychological well-being, social life and work. According to recent estimates, up to 0.8\% of the German population are affected by such pathological gambling. People in general and pathological gamblers in particular show several cognitive distortions, that is, misconceptions about the chances of winning and skill involvement, in gambling. The current work aimed at elucidating the biopsychological basis of two such kinds of cognitive distortions, the illusion of control and the gambler's and hot hand fallacies, and their modulation by gambling problems. Therefore, four studies were conducted assessing the processing of near outcomes (used as a proxy for the illusion of control) and outcome sequences (used as a proxy for the gambler's and hot hand fallacies) in samples of varying degrees of gambling problems, using a multimethod approach. The first study analyzed the processing and evaluation of near outcomes as well as choice behavior in a wheel of fortune paradigm using electroencephalography (EEG). To assess the influence of gambling problems, a group of problem gamblers was compared to a group of controls. The results showed that there were no differences in the processing of near outcomes between the two groups. Near compared to full outcomes elicited smaller P300 amplitudes. Furthermore, at a trend level, the choice behavior of participants showed signs of a pattern opposite to the gambler's fallacy, with longer runs of an outcome color leading to increased probabilities of choosing this color again on the subsequent trial. Finally, problem gamblers showed smaller feedback-related negativity (FRN) amplitudes relative to controls. The second study also targeted the processing of near outcomes in a wheel of fortune paradigm, this time using functional magnetic resonance imaging and a group of participants with varying degrees of gambling problems. The results showed increased activity in the bilateral superior parietal cortex following near compared to full outcomes. The third study examined the peripheral physiology reactions to near outcomes in the wheel of fortune. Heart period and skin conductance were measured while participants with varying degrees of gambling problems played on the wheel of fortune. Near compared to full outcomes led to increased heart period duration shortly after the outcome. Furthermore, heart period reactions and skin conductance responses (SCRs) were modulated by gambling problems. Participants with high relative to low levels of gambling problems showed increased SCRs to near outcomes and similar heart period reactions to near outcomes and full wins. The fourth study analyzed choice behavior and sequence effects in the processing of outcomes in a coin toss paradigm using EEG in a group of problem gamblers and controls. Again, problem gamblers showed generally smaller FRN amplitudes compared to controls. There were no differences between groups in the processing of outcome sequences. The break of an outcome streak led to increased power in the theta frequency band. Furthermore, the P300 amplitude was increased after a sequence of previous wins. Finally, problem gamblers compared to controls showed a trend of switching the outcome symbol relative to the previous outcome symbol more often. In sum, the results point towards differences in the processing of near compared to full outcomes in brain areas and measures implicated in attentional and salience processes. The processing of outcome sequences involves processes of salience attribution and violation of expectations. Furthermore, problem gamblers seem to process near outcomes as more win-like compared to controls. The results and their implications for problem gambling as well as further possible lines of research are discussed.}, subject = {Spielsucht}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Winkler2014, author = {Winkler, Markus Heinrich}, title = {Motivational properties of reward associated stimuli - Conditioning studies with smoke and monetary reinforcement}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-121794}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Abstract Tobacco addiction is considered as a chronic relapsing disorder, characterized by compul-sive drug seeking and intake. Learning processes are stressed to account for the situational-specific expression of core features of the disorder, e.g., craving for drug, tolerance and ex-cessive consumption. According to incentive theories, smoke conditioned stimuli are hy-pothesized to be appetitive in nature, promoting craving, approach and consummatory be-havior. Commonly, smoking cues are treated as simple excitatory conditioned stimuli formed by a close and reliable overlap with the drug effect. However, the smoking ritual comprises a multitude of stimuli which may give rise to different forms of learning and con-ditioned responses partially opposing each other. Previous research suggests the predictive content and the temporal proximity of smoking stimuli to the drug effect as important de-terminants of cue reactivity. In contrast to stimuli related to the preparatory stage of smok-ing and the start of consumption (BEGIN stimuli), stimuli from the terminal stage of smok-ing (END stimuli) apparently lack high cue reactivity. Several lines of evidence suggest the poor cue properties of terminal stimuli to be related to their signaling of poor smoke availa-bility. Indeed, cue reactivity is commonly decreased when smoking appears to be unavaila-ble. Moreover, the learning literature suggests that stimuli predictive for the non-availability of reward may acquire the capacity to modulate or oppose the responses of ex-citatory conditioned stimuli. Therefore, the aim of the present thesis was to enhance our knowledge of stimulus control in human drug addiction and incentive motivation by running a series of conditioning studies with smoke intake and monetary reward as reinforcer. Sub-jective report and physiological measures of motivational valence and consummatory re-sponse tendencies were used as dependent variables. The first experiment of this thesis used a differential conditioning paradigm to reveal evi-dence for the conditioning of preparatory and consummatory responses to a CS+ for smok-ing. Neutral pictograms served as CSs and single puffs on a cigarette as US. In line with the predictions of incentive theories, the excitatory CS+ for smoking acquired the ability to evoke an appetitive conditioned response, as indicated by enhanced activity of the M. zy-gomaticus major. Moreover, anticipation of puffing on the cigarette increased the activity of the M. orbicularis oris (lip muscle), indicating the activation of consummatory response tendencies. Finally, the CS+ evoked stronger skin conductance responses, indicative of in-creased autonomic arousal and orienting in preparation for action. In contrast, the rating data were apparently unaffected by the experimental contingency. In sum, the physiological data provide support for the notion that excitatory smoke conditioning gives rise to appeti-tive and consummatory conditioned responses, which may at least partially contribute to the maintenance of tobacco addiction. The second experiment of this thesis adapted the conditioning protocol of the first study to probe the functional significance of terminal stimuli in the control of addictive behavior. This study manipulated the predictive relationship of BEGIN and END stimuli to smoke rein-forcement to provide further support for the differential reactivity to both stimuli and the retarded (i.e., delayed) conditioning of END stimuli. Overall, the results of the first study of this thesis were conceptually replicated as the association of a BEGIN stimulus with smoke intake resulted in the acquisition of appetitive and consummatory physiological responses. Importantly, the results revealed evidence for a retarded excitatory conditioning of END stimuli. Thus, pairing of an END stimulus with smoke intake failed to produce a conditioned discrimination in terms of motivational valence and autonomic arousal, as indicated by the activity of the M. corrugator supercilii and the skin conductance data. These results provide further support for the notion that END stimuli may be weak cues for smoking. Moreover, in light of the results of the first study of this thesis, the retarded excitatory conditioning of terminal stimuli may be suggestive of an inhibitory response component, which may be re-lated to their signaling of poor smoke availability. In sum, these results add to a growing body of data, which suggest that the expression of cue reactivity may be modulated by the temporal proximity and the availability of the drug effect. The aim of the third study of this thesis was to provide "proof of concept" for an inhibi-tory conditioning notion of terminal stimuli. In this analog study BEGIN and END stimuli were emulated as discriminative SD and S for monetary reward. During an acquisition phase conditioned inhibition was established to the S predictive of the non-availability of re-ward. Subsequently a retardation test was used to substantiate conditioned inhibition. In this test, excitatory conditioning of the previous S was compared to the excitatory condi-tioning of a novel control stimulus. Importantly, the results revealed evidence for reward conditioned inhibition as indicated by the retarded acquisition of subjective (pleasure and reward expectancy) and physiological (skin conductance and activity of the M. orbicularis oculi) responses. In sum, these results provide support for the notion that stimuli predictive for the non-availability of reward may acquire the capacity to oppose the responses of ex-citatory conditioned stimuli. Thus, future research may benefit from the consideration of inhibitory conditioning processes in drug addiction, which may be of theoretical, methodo-logical and clinical importance. In sum, the present thesis revealed evidence for 1) an appetitive nature of excitatory condi-tioned smoking cues, 2) the dependency of this learning process on the temporal position of the conditioned stimuli in the intake ritual and 3) the acquisition of conditioned inhibition by a stimulus predictive for the non-availability of reward, as evident in retarded excitatory conditioning. Overall, these studies made a novel contribution to the field of human drug addiction and incentive motivation and provided valuable suggestions for further research.}, subject = {Rauchen}, language = {en} } @article{ConzelmannReifJacobetal.2012, author = {Conzelmann, Annette and Reif, Andreas and Jacob, Christian and Weyers, Peter and Lesch, Klaus-Peter and Lutz, Beat and Pauli, Paul}, title = {A polymorphism in the gene of the endocannabinoid-degrading enzyme FAAH (FAAH C385A) is associated with emotional-motivational reactivity}, series = {Psychopharmacology}, volume = {224}, journal = {Psychopharmacology}, number = {4}, doi = {10.1007/s00213-012-2785-y}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-126845}, pages = {573-579}, year = {2012}, abstract = {RATIONALE: The endocannabinoid (eCB) system is implicated in several psychiatric disorders. Investigating emotional-motivational dysfunctions as underlying mechanisms, a study in humans revealed that in the C385A polymorphism of the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), the degrading enzyme of the eCB anandamide (AEA), A carriers, who are characterized by increased signaling of AEA as compared to C/C carriers, exhibited reduced brain reactivity towards unpleasant faces and enhanced reactivity towards reward. However, the association of eCB system with emotional-motivational reactivity is complex and bidirectional due to upcoming compensatory processes. OBJECTIVES: Therefore, we further investigated the relationship of the FAAH polymorphism and emotional-motivational reactivity in humans. METHODS: We assessed the affect-modulated startle, and ratings of valence and arousal in response to higher arousing pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant pictures in 67 FAAH C385A C/C carriers and 45 A carriers. RESULTS: Contrarily to the previous functional MRI study, A carriers compared to C/C carriers exhibited an increased startle potentiation and therefore emotional responsiveness towards unpleasant picture stimuli and reduced startle inhibition indicating reduced emotional reactivity in response to pleasant pictures, while both groups did not differ in ratings of arousal and valence. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings emphasize the bidirectionality and thorough examination of the eCB system's impact on emotional reactivity as a central endophenotype underlying various psychiatric disorders.}, language = {en} } @article{HalderHammerKleihetal.2013, author = {Halder, Sebastian and Hammer, Eva Maria and Kleih, Sonja Claudia and Bogdan, Martin and Rosenstiel, Wolfgang and Birbaumer, Niels and K{\"u}bler, Andrea}, title = {Prediction of Auditory and Visual P300 Brain-Computer Interface Aptitude}, series = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {8}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, number = {2}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-130327}, pages = {e53513}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Objective Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) provide a non-muscular communication channel for patients with late-stage motoneuron disease (e.g., amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)) or otherwise motor impaired people and are also used for motor rehabilitation in chronic stroke. Differences in the ability to use a BCI vary from person to person and from session to session. A reliable predictor of aptitude would allow for the selection of suitable BCI paradigms. For this reason, we investigated whether P300 BCI aptitude could be predicted from a short experiment with a standard auditory oddball. Methods Forty healthy participants performed an electroencephalography (EEG) based visual and auditory P300-BCI spelling task in a single session. In addition, prior to each session an auditory oddball was presented. Features extracted from the auditory oddball were analyzed with respect to predictive power for BCI aptitude. Results Correlation between auditory oddball response and P300 BCI accuracy revealed a strong relationship between accuracy and N2 amplitude and the amplitude of a late ERP component between 400 and 600 ms. Interestingly, the P3 amplitude of the auditory oddball response was not correlated with accuracy. Conclusions Event-related potentials recorded during a standard auditory oddball session moderately predict aptitude in an audiory and highly in a visual P300 BCI. The predictor will allow for faster paradigm selection. Significance Our method will reduce strain on patients because unsuccessful training may be avoided, provided the results can be generalized to the patient population.}, language = {en} } @article{EderRothermundDeHouwer2013, author = {Eder, Andreas B. and Rothermund, Klaus and De Houwer, Jan}, title = {Affective Compatibility between Stimuli and Response Goals: A Primer for a New Implicit Measure of Attitudes}, series = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {8}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, number = {11}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0079210}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-129872}, pages = {e79210}, year = {2013}, abstract = {We examined whether a voluntary response becomes associated with the (affective) meaning of intended response effects. Four experiments revealed that coupling a keypress with positive or negative consequences produces affective compatibility effects when the keypress has to be executed in response to positively or negatively evaluated stimulus categories. In Experiment 1, positive words were evaluated faster with a keypress that turned the words ON (versus OFF), whereas negative words were evaluated faster with a keypress that turned the words OFF (versus ON). Experiment 2 showed that this compatibility effect is reversed if an aversive tone is turned ON and OFF with keypresses. Experiment 3 revealed that keypresses acquire an affective meaning even when the association between the responses and their effects is variable and intentionally reconfigured before each trial. Experiment 4 used affective response effects to assess implicit ingroup favoritism, showing that the measure is sensitive to the valence of categories and not to the valence of exemplars. Results support the hypothesis that behavioral reactions become associated with the affective meaning of the intended response goal, which has important implications for the understanding and construction of implicit attitude measures.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Kaethner2015, author = {K{\"a}thner, Ivo R. J.}, title = {Auditory and visual brain-computer interfaces as communication aids for persons with severe paralysis}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-135477}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) could provide a muscle-independent communication channel to persons with severe paralysis by translating brain activity into device commands. As a means of communication, in particular BCIs based on event-related potentials (ERPs) as control signal have been researched. Most of these BCIs rely on visual stimulation and have been investigated with healthy participants in controlled laboratory environments. In proof-of-principle studies targeted end users gained control over BCI systems; however, these systems are not yet established as an assistive technology for persons who would most benefit from them. The main aim of this thesis is to advance the usability of ERP-BCIs for target users. To this end, five studies with BCIs have been conducted that enabled users to communicate by focusing their attention on external stimuli. Two studies were conducted in order to demonstrate the advantages and to further improve the practical application of visual BCIs. In the first study, mental workload was experimentally manipulated during prolonged BCI operation. The study showed the robustness of the visual ERP-BCI since users maintained a satisfactory level of control despite constant distraction in the form of background noise. Moreover, neurophysiological markers that could potentially serve as indicators of high mental workload or fatigue were revealed. This is a first step towards future applications in which the BCI could adapt to the mental state of the user (e.g. pauses if high mental workload is detected to prevent false selections). In the second study, a head-mounted display (HMD), which assures that stimuli are presented in the field of view of the user, was evaluated. High accuracies and information transfer rates, similar to a conventional display, were achieved by healthy participants during a spelling task. Furthermore, a person in the locked-in state (LIS) gained control over the BCI using the HMD. The HMD might be particularly suited for initial communication attempts with persons in the LIS in situations, where mounting a conventional monitor is difficult or not feasible. Visual ERP-BCIs could prove valuable for persons with residual control over eye muscles and sufficient vision. However, since a substantial number of target users have limited control over eye movements and/or visual impairments, BCIs based on non-visual modalities are required. Therefore, a main aspect of this thesis was to improve an auditory paradigm that should enable motor impaired users to spell by focusing attention on different tones. The two conducted studies revealed that healthy participants were able to achieve high spelling performance with the BCI already in the first session and stress the importance of the choice of the stimulus material. The employed natural tones resulted in an increase in performance compared to a previous study that used artificial tones as stimuli. Furthermore, three out of five users with a varying degree of motor impairments could gain control over the system within the five conducted sessions. Their performance increased significantly from the first to the fifth session - an effect not previously observed for visual ERP-BCIs. Hence, training is particularly important when testing auditory multiclass BCIs with potential users. A prerequisite for user satisfaction is that the BCI technology matches user requirements. In this context, it is important to compare BCIs with already established assistive technology. Thus, the fifth study of this dissertation evaluated gaze dependent methods (EOG, eye tracking) as possible control signals for assistive technology and a binary auditory BCI with a person in the locked-in state. The study participant gained control over all tested systems and rated the ease of use of the BCI as the highest among the tested alternatives, but also rated it as the most tiring due to the high amount of attention that was needed for a simple selection. Further efforts are necessary to simplify operation of the BCI. The involvement of end users in all steps of the design and development process of BCIs will increase the likelihood that they can eventually be used as assistive technology in daily life. The work presented in this thesis is a substantial contribution towards the goal of re-enabling communication to users who cannot rely on motor activity to convey their thoughts.}, subject = {Gehirn-Computer Schnittstelle}, language = {en} } @article{MusselGoeritzHewig2013, author = {Mussel, Patrick and G{\"o}ritz, Anja S. and Hewig, Johannes}, title = {The value of a smile: Facial expression affects ultimatum-game responses}, series = {Judgment and Decision Making}, volume = {8}, journal = {Judgment and Decision Making}, number = {3}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-129639}, pages = {381-385}, year = {2013}, abstract = {In social interaction, the facial expression of an opponent contains information that may influence the interaction. We asked whether facial expression affects decision-making in the ultimatum game. In this two-person game, the proposer divides a sum of money into two parts, one for each player, and then the responder decides whether to accept the offer or reject it. Rejection means that neither player gets any money. Results of a large-sample study support our hypothesis that offers from proposers with a smiling facial expression are more often accepted, compared to a neutral facial expression. Moreover, we found lower acceptance rates for offers from proposers with an angry facial expression.}, language = {en} } @article{KleihKuebler2013, author = {Kleih, Sonja C. and K{\"u}bler, Andrea}, title = {Empathy, motivation, and P300-BCI performance}, series = {Frontiers in Human Neuroscience}, volume = {7}, journal = {Frontiers in Human Neuroscience}, number = {642}, doi = {10.3389/fnhum.2013.00642}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-130559}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Motivation moderately influences brain-computer interface (BCI) performance in healthy subjects when monetary reward is used to manipulate extrinsic motivation. However, the motivation of severely paralyzed patients, who are potentially in need for BCI, could mainly be internal and thus, an intrinsic motivator may be more powerful. Also healthy subjects who participate in BCI studies could be internally motivated as they may wish to contribute to research and thus extrinsic motivation by monetary reward would be less important than the content of the study. In this respect, motivation could be defined as "motivation-to-help." The aim of this study was to investigate, whether subjects with high motivation for helping and who are highly empathic would perform better with a BCI controlled by event-related potentials (P300-BCI). We included N = 20 healthy young participants na{\"i}ve to BCI and grouped them according to their motivation for participating in a BCI study in a low and highly motivated group. Motivation was further manipulated with interesting or boring presentations about BCI and the possibility to help patients. Motivation for helping did neither influence BCI performance nor the P300 amplitude. Post hoc, subjects were re-grouped according to their ability for perspective taking. We found significantly higher P300 amplitudes on parietal electrodes in participants with a low ability for perspective taking and therefore, lower empathy, as compared to participants with higher empathy. The lack of an effect of motivation on BCI performance contradicts previous findings and thus, requires further investigation. We speculate that subjects with higher empathy who are good perspective takers with regards to patients in potential need of BCI, may be more emotionally involved and therefore, less able to allocate attention on the BCI task at hand.}, language = {en} } @article{AndreattaMuehlbergerGlotzbachSchoonetal.2013, author = {Andreatta, Marta and M{\"u}hlberger, Andreas and Glotzbach-Schoon, Evelyn and Pauli, Paul}, title = {Pain predictability reverses valence ratings of a relief-associated stimulus}, series = {Front in Systems Neuroscience}, volume = {7}, journal = {Front in Systems Neuroscience}, number = {53}, doi = {10.3389/fnsys.2013.00053}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-129275}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Relief from pain is positively valenced and entails reward-like properties. Notably, stimuli that became associated with pain relief elicit reward-like implicit responses too, but are explicitly evaluated by humans as aversive. Since the unpredictability of pain makes pain more aversive, this study examined the hypotheses that the predictability of pain also modulates the valence of relief-associated stimuli. In two studies, we presented one conditioned stimulus \((_{FORWARD}CS+)\) before a painful unconditioned stimulus (US), another stimulus \((_{BACKWARD}CS+)\) after the painful US, and a third stimulus (CS-) was never associated with the US. In Study 1, \(_{FORWARD}CS+\) predicted half of the USs while the other half was delivered unwarned and followed by \(_{BACKWARD}CS+\). In Study 2, all USs were predicted by \(_{FORWARD}CS+\) and followed by \(_{BACKWARD}CS+\). In Study 1 both \(_{FORWARD}CS+\) and \(_{BACKWARD}CS+\) were rated as negatively valenced and high arousing after conditioning, while \(_{BACKWARD}CS+\) in Study 2 acquired positive valence and low arousal. Startle amplitude was significantly attenuated to \(_{BACKWARD}CS+\) compared to \(_{FORWARD}CS+\) in Study 2, but did not differ among CSs in Study 1. In summary, predictability of aversive events reverses the explicit valence of a relief-associated stimulus.}, language = {en} } @article{SchwarzWieserGerdesetal.2013, author = {Schwarz, Katharina A. and Wieser, Matthias J. and Gerdes, Antje B. M. and M{\"u}hlberger, Andreas and Pauli, Paul}, title = {Why are you looking like that? How the context influences evaluation and processing of human faces}, series = {Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience}, volume = {8}, journal = {Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience}, number = {4}, doi = {10.1093/scan/nss013}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-132126}, pages = {438-445}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Perception and evaluation of facial expressions are known to be heavily modulated by emotional features of contextual information. Such contextual effects, however, might also be driven by non-emotional aspects of contextual information, an interaction of emotional and non-emotional factors, and by the observers' inherent traits. Therefore, we sought to assess whether contextual information about self-reference in addition to information about valence influences the evaluation and neural processing of neutral faces. Furthermore, we investigated whether social anxiety moderates these effects. In the present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, participants viewed neutral facial expressions preceded by a contextual sentence conveying either positive or negative evaluations about the participant or about somebody else. Contextual influences were reflected in rating and fMRI measures, with strong effects of self-reference on brain activity in the medial prefrontal cortex and right fusiform gyrus. Additionally, social anxiety strongly affected the response to faces conveying negative, self-related evaluations as revealed by the participants' rating patterns and brain activity in cortical midline structures and regions of interest in the left and right middle frontal gyrus. These results suggest that face perception and processing are highly individual processes influenced by emotional and non-emotional aspects of contextual information and further modulated by individual personality traits.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Sollfrank2015, author = {Sollfrank, Teresa}, title = {Feedback efficiency and training effects during alpha band modulation over the sensorimotor cortex}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-131769}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Neural oscillations can be measured by electroencephalography (EEG) and these oscillations can be characterized by their frequency, amplitude and phase. The mechanistic properties of neural oscillations and their synchronization are able to explain various aspects of many cognitive functions such as motor control, memory, attention, information transfer across brain regions, segmentation of the sensory input and perception (Arnal and Giraud, 2012). The alpha band frequency is the dominant oscillation in the human brain. This oscillatory activity is found in the scalp EEG at frequencies around 8-13 Hz in all healthy adults (Makeig et al., 2002) and considerable interest has been generated in exploring EEG alpha oscillations with regard to their role in cognitive (Klimesch et al., 1993; Hanselmayr et al., 2005), sensorimotor (Birbaumer, 2006; Sauseng et al., 2009) and physiological (Lehmann, 1971; Niedermeyer, 1997; Kiyatkin, 2010) aspects of human life. The ability to voluntarily regulate the alpha amplitude can be learned with neurofeedback training and offers the possibility to control a brain-computer interface (BCI), a muscle independent interaction channel. BCI research is predominantly focused on the signal processing, the classification and the algorithms necessary to translate brain signals into control commands than on the person interacting with the technical system. The end-user must be properly trained to be able to successfully use the BCI and factors such as task instructions, training, and especially feedback can therefore play an important role in learning to control a BCI (Neumann and K{\"u}bler, 2003; Pfurtscheller et al., 2006, 2007; Allison and Neuper, 2010; Friedrich et al., 2012; Kaufmann et al., 2013; Lotte et al., 2013). The main purpose of this thesis was to investigate how end-users can efficiently be trained to perform alpha band modulation recorded over their sensorimotor cortex. The herein presented work comprises three studies with healthy participants and participants with schizophrenia focusing on the effects of feedback and training time on cortical activation patterns and performance. In the first study, the application of a realistic visual feedback to support end-users in developing a concrete feeling of kinesthetic motor imagery was tested in 2D and 3D visualization modality during a single training session. Participants were able to elicit the typical event-related desynchronisation responses over sensorimotor cortex in both conditions but the most significant decrease in the alpha band power was obtained following the three-dimensional realistic visualization. The second study strengthen the hypothesis that an enriched visual feedback with information about the quality of the input signal supports an easier approach for motor imagery based BCI control and can help to enhance performance. Significantly better performance levels were measurable during five online training sessions in the groups with enriched feedback as compared to a conventional simple visual feedback group, without significant differences in performance between the unimodal (visual) and multimodal (auditory-visual) feedback modality. Furthermore, the last study, in which people with schizophrenia participated in multiple sessions with simple feedback, demonstrated that these patients can learn to voluntarily regulate their alpha band. Compared to the healthy group they required longer training times and could not achieve performance levels as high as the control group. Nonetheless, alpha neurofeedback training lead to a constant increase of the alpha resting power across all 20 training session. To date only little is known about the effects of feedback and training time on BCI performance and cortical activation patterns. The presented work contributes to the evidence that healthy individuals can benefit from enriched feedback: A realistic presentation can support participants in getting a concrete feeling of motor imagery and enriched feedback, which instructs participants about the quality of their input signal can give support while learning to control the BCI. This thesis demonstrates that people with schizophrenia can learn to gain control of their alpha oscillations recorded over the sensorimotor cortex when participating in sufficient training sessions. In conclusion, this thesis improved current motor imagery BCI feedback protocols and enhanced our understanding of the interplay between feedback and BCI performance.}, subject = {Neurofeedback}, language = {en} } @article{FischerPlessowKiesel2013, author = {Fischer, Rico and Plessow, Franziska and Kiesel, Andrea}, title = {The effects of alerting signals in masked priming}, series = {Frontiers in Psychology}, volume = {4}, journal = {Frontiers in Psychology}, number = {448}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00448}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-122581}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Alerting signals often serve to reduce temporal uncertainty by predicting the time of stimulus onset. The resulting response time benefits have often been explained by facilitated translation of stimulus codes into response codes on the basis of established stimulus-response (S-R) links. In paradigms of masked S-R priming alerting signals also modulate response activation processes triggered by subliminally presented prime stimuli. In the present study we tested whether facilitation of visuo-motor translation processes due to alerting signals critically depends on established S-R links. Alerting signals resulted in significantly enhanced masked priming effects for masked prime stimuli that included and that did not include established S-R links fi.e., target vs. novel primes). Yet, the alerting-priming interaction was more pronounced for target than for novel primes. These results suggest that effects of alerting signals on masked priming are especially evident when S-R links between prime and target exist. At the same time, an alerting-priming interaction also for novel primes suggests that alerting signals also facilitate stimulus-response translation processes when masked prime stimuli provide action-trigger conditions in terms of programmed S-R links.}, language = {en} } @article{MeuleKueblerBlechert2013, author = {Meule, Adrian and K{\"u}bler, Andrea and Blechert, Jens}, title = {Time course of electrocortical food-cue responses during cognitive regulation of craving}, series = {Frontiers in Psychology}, volume = {4}, journal = {Frontiers in Psychology}, number = {669}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00669}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-122566}, year = {2013}, abstract = {In our current obesogenic environment, exposure to visual food-cues can easily lead to craving and overeating because short-term, pleasurable effects of food intake dominate over the anticipated long-term adverse effects such as weight gain and associated health problems. Here we contrasted these two conditions during food-cue presentation while acquiring event-related potentials (ERPs) and subjective craving ratings. Female participants (n = 25) were presented with either high-calorie (HC) or low-calorie (LC) food images under instructions to imagine either immediate (NOW) or long-term effects (LATER) of consumption. On subjective ratings for HC foods, the LATER perspective reduced cravings as compared to the NOW perspective. For LC foods, by contrast, craving increased under the LATER perspective. Early ERPs (occipital N1, 150-200 ms) were sensitive to food type but not to perspective. Late ERPs (late positive potential, LPP, 350-550 ms) were larger in the HC-LATER condition than in all other conditions, possibly indicating that a cognitive focus on negative long-term consequences induced negative arousal. This enhancement for HC-LATER attenuated to the level of the LC conditions during the later slow wave (550-3000 ms), but amplitude in the HC-NOW condition was larger than in all other conditions, possibly due to a delayed appetitive response. Across all conditions, LPP amplitudes were positively correlated with self-reported emotional eating. In sum, results reveal that regulation effects are secondary to an early attentional analysis of food type and dynamically evolve over time. Adopting a long-term perspective on eating might promote a healthier food choice across a range of food types.}, language = {en} } @article{EhrenfeldHerbortButz2013, author = {Ehrenfeld, Stephan and Herbort, Oliver and Butz, Martin V.}, title = {Modular neuron-based body estimation: maintaining consistency over different limbs, modalities, and frames of reference}, series = {Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience}, volume = {7}, journal = {Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience}, number = {148}, doi = {10.3389/fncom.2013.00148}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-122253}, year = {2013}, abstract = {This paper addresses the question of how the brain maintains a probabilistic body state estimate over time from a modeling perspective. The neural Modular Modality Frame (nMMF) model simulates such a body state estimation process by continuously integrating redundant, multimodal body state information sources. The body state estimate itself is distributed over separate, but bidirectionally interacting modules. nMMF compares the incoming sensory and present body state information across the interacting modules and fuses the information sources accordingly. At the same time, nMMF enforces body state estimation consistency across the modules. nMMF is able to detect conflicting sensory information and to consequently decrease the influence of implausible sensor sources on the fly. In contrast to the previously published Modular Modality Frame (MMF) model, nMMF offers a biologically plausible neural implementation based on distributed, probabilistic population codes. Besides its neural plausibility, the neural encoding has the advantage of enabling (a) additional probabilistic information flow across the separate body state estimation modules and (b) the representation of arbitrary probability distributions of a body state. The results show that the neural estimates can detect and decrease the impact of false sensory information, can propagate conflicting information across modules, and can improve overall estimation accuracy due to additional module interactions. Even bodily illusions, such as the rubber hand illusion, can be simulated with nMMF. We conclude with an outlook on the potential of modeling human data and of invoking goal-directed behavioral control.}, 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} } @article{SollfrankHartGoodselletal.2015, author = {Sollfrank, Teresa and Hart, Daniel and Goodsell, Rachel and Foster, Jonathan and Tan, Tele}, title = {3D visualization of movements can amplify motor cortex activation during subsequent motor imagery}, series = {Frontiers in Human Neuroscience}, volume = {9}, journal = {Frontiers in Human Neuroscience}, number = {463}, doi = {10.3389/fnhum.2015.00463}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-126058}, year = {2015}, abstract = {A repetitive movement practice by motor imagery (MI) can influence motor cortical excitability in the electroencephalogram (EEG). This study investigated if a realistic visualization in 3D of upper and lower limb movements can amplify motor related potentials during subsequent MI. We hypothesized that a richer sensory visualization might be more effective during instrumental conditioning, resulting in a more pronounced event related desynchronization (ERD) of the upper alpha band (10-12 Hz) over the sensorimotor cortices thereby potentially improving MI based brain-computer interface (BCI) protocols for motor rehabilitation. The results show a strong increase of the characteristic patterns of ERD of the upper alpha band components for left and right limb MI present over the sensorimotor areas in both visualization conditions. Overall, significant differences were observed as a function of visualization modality (VM; 2D vs. 3D). The largest upper alpha band power decrease was obtained during MI after a 3-dimensional visualization. In total in 12 out of 20 tasks the end-user of the 3D visualization group showed an enhanced upper alpha ERD relative to 2D VM group, with statistical significance in nine tasks.With a realistic visualization of the limb movements, we tried to increase motor cortex activation during subsequent MI. The feedback and the feedback environment should be inherently motivating and relevant for the learner and should have an appeal of novelty, real-world relevance or aesthetic value (Ryan and Deci, 2000; Merrill, 2007). Realistic visual feedback, consistent with the participant's MI, might be helpful for accomplishing successful MI and the use of such feedback may assist in making BCI a more natural interface for MI based BCI rehabilitation.}, language = {en} } @article{KoernerTopolinskiStrack2015, author = {K{\"o}rner, Anita and Topolinski, Sascha and Strack, Fritz}, title = {Routes to Embodiment}, series = {Frontiers of Psychology}, volume = {9}, journal = {Frontiers of Psychology}, number = {940}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00940}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-125960}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Research on embodiment is rich in impressive demonstrations but somewhat poor in comprehensive explanations. Although some moderators and driving mechanisms have been identified, a comprehensive conceptual account of how bodily states or dynamics influence behavior is still missing. Here, we attempt to integrate current knowledge by describing three basic psychological mechanisms: direct state induction, which influences how humans feel or process information, unmediated by any other cognitive mechanism; modal priming, which changes the accessibility of concepts associated with a bodily state; sensorimotor simulation, which affects the ease with which congruent and incongruent actions are performed. We argue that the joint impact of these mechanisms can account for most existing embodiment effects. Additionally, we summarize empirical tests for distinguishing these mechanisms and suggest a guideline for future research about the mechanisms underlying embodiment effects.}, language = {en} }