@article{PauliStrianLautenbacheretal.1989, author = {Pauli, Paul and Strian, F. and Lautenbacher, S. and Karlbauer, G. and H{\"o}lzl, R.}, title = {Emotionale Auswirkungen der autonomen Deafferentierung bei Diabetes-Neuropathie}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-55283}, year = {1989}, abstract = {Bei 46 Typ-I-Diabetikern im Alter zwischen 15 und 44 Jahren wurden die Auswirkungen der viszeralen Deafferentierung bei autonomer Diabetesneuropathie auf k{\"o}rperliche Befindlichkeit und Emotionalit{\"a}t untersucht. Die Erfassung des Auspr{\"a}gungsgrad der autonomen Neuropathie erfolgte mit vegetativen Funktionstest. Diabetiker ohne Neuropathie (N = 14), mit leichter Neuropathie (N = 23) und mit schwerer Neuropathie (N = 9) wurden miteinander verglichen. Gering ausgepr{\"a}gte autonome Neuropathie f{\"u}hrt zu vegetativen Funktionsst{\"o}rungen, ist aber gleichzeitig mit einer verminderten Wahrnehmung k{\"o}rperlicher Beschwerden - erfaßt mit der Freiburger Beschwerdenliste - verbunden. Im Streß- und Copingverhalten (SCOPE) und in bestimmten Pers{\"o}nlichkeitsdimensionen (FPI) finden sich dabei Hinweise auf eine verminderte emotionale Reaktivit{\"a}t. Patienten mit fortgeschrittener autonomer Neuropathie haben zumeist ausgepr{\"a}gte diabetische Folgekrankheiten (diabetische Retinopathie, Makro- und Mikroangiopathie etc.), scheinen aber die damit verbundenen k{\"o}rperlichen Beeintr{\"a}chtigungen und emotionalen Belastungen nicht st{\"a}rker als Diabetiker ohne Neuropathie wahrzunehmen. Die autonome Deafferentierung bei Diabetikern scheint somit sowohl zu einer gest{\"o}rten Wahrnehmung k{\"o}rperlicher Beschwerden wie auch zu einer beeintr{\"a}chtigten emotionalen Reaktionsf{\"a}higkeit zu f{\"u}hren.}, subject = {Psychologie}, language = {de} } @book{Pauli1990, author = {Pauli, Paul}, title = {Ein psychophysiologisches Modell der Herzphobie : Empirische Best{\"a}tigung f{\"u}r einen Circulus-vitiosus-Prozeß zwischen kardialer Wahrnehmung, Angst und kardialer Aktivit{\"a}t}, isbn = {3-89073-491-X}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-46177}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {1990}, abstract = {No abstract available}, subject = {Herzneurose}, language = {de} } @article{PauliHartlMarquardtetal.1991, author = {Pauli, Paul and Hartl, Lydia and Marquardt, Christian and Stalmann, Henrica and Strian, Friedrich}, title = {Heartbeat and arrhythmia perception in diabetic autonomic neuropathy}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-73599}, year = {1991}, abstract = {A comparative study of diabetics with autonomic neuropathy (N = 13) as against nonneuropathic diabetics (N = 16) and healthy control persons (N = 20) was carried out with respect 10 heart rate both at rest and under stress, frequency of cardiac arrhythmias in a 24-h ECG and accuracy of heartbeat and arrhythmia perception. In the subjects with diabetic autonomic neuropathy, the spontaneaus variability and stress-induced reactivity of the heart rate as weil as the number of tachycardic episodes were reduced, whereas the frequency of ventricular extrasystoles was somewhat increased. Impaired heartbeat perception and a complete Ioss of perception of arrhythmias as a consequence of neuropathic deafferentation could be demonstrated. Cardiac perception disordersalso playavital roJe in other clinical problems, e.g. silent myocardial infarction and Iack of awareness of hypoglycaemia in diabetes mellitus.}, subject = {Psychologie}, language = {en} } @article{PauliMarquardtHartletal.1991, author = {Pauli, Paul and Marquardt, Christian and Hartl, Lydia and Nutzinger, Detlef O. and H{\"o}lzl, Rupert and Strian, Friedrich}, title = {Anxiety induced by cardiac perceptions in patients with panic attack: a field study}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-61334}, year = {1991}, abstract = {In panic disorder bodily sensations appear to play an important role as a trigger for anxiety. In our psychophysiological model of panic attacks we postulate the following vicious circle: individuals with panic attacks perceive even quite small increases in heart rate and interpret these changes as being catastrophic. This elicits anxiety and a further increase in heart rate. To evaluate this model we conducted a field study of 28 subjects with panic attacks and 20 healthy controls. A 24 hr ambulatory ECG was recorded and the subjects were instructed to report any cardiac perceptions during this period and to rate the anxiety elicited by these perceptions. The incidence of cardiac perceptions was about the same in both groups, but only subjects with panic attacks reported anxiety associated with such perceptions. Analysis of the ECGs revealed that in both groups heart rate accelerations preceded cardiac perceptions. Following cardiac perceptions, the healthy controls showed a heart rate deceleration, whereas the subjects with panic attacks had a further acceleration. This heart rate increase after cardiac perceptions was positively related to the level of anxiety elicited by the perceptions. These results provide clear evidence in support of the vicious circle model of panic attacks.}, subject = {Psychologie}, language = {en} } @article{PauliHerschbachWeineretal.1992, author = {Pauli, Paul and Herschbach, P. and Weiner, H. and von Rad, M.}, title = {Psychologische Faktoren der Non-Ulcer Dyspepsia (NUD)}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-80202}, year = {1992}, abstract = {Given the absence of any demonstrable organic reason for non~ulcer dyspepsia. and the weil known fact, that the psyche inOuences stomach function, it is widely held, that psychological factors cause NUD. To now, studies are concerned with the psychopathology and personality of NUDpatients, their illness behaviour, and with the relation between stress and abdominal pain. A critical review of these studies revea1ed, that among the psycho1ogical variables majnly anxiety and illness behaviour seems to playa central role in NUD. However. future studjes should focus more on the distinction towards other func{\"u}onal disorders and on the djfferentation within the heterogeneous group of NUD~ patients (especially with regard to physiological variables). Besides this, it seems rewarding to examine the so far seienlifidy neglected group of subjects with abdomina] pain, who do not contact a physician.}, subject = {Psychologie}, language = {de} } @article{PauliSchwenzerBrodyetal.1993, author = {Pauli, Paul and Schwenzer, Michael and Brody, Stuart and Rau, Harald and Birbaumer, Niels}, title = {Hypochondriacal attitudes, pain sensitivity, and attentional bias}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-32617}, year = {1993}, abstract = {The relation between hypochondriacal attitudes, thermal pain threshold, and attentional bias toward pain was examined in a non-clinical population (N = 28). Attentional bias was operationalized with a concentration-performance test, which subjects performed while connected to a pain stimulator. Subjects were informed that they would receive a painful stimulus during the second part of the test, while the first part was introduced as pain-free. The pain stimulus was never applied during the test phase. The expectancy of a forthcoming pain stimulus reduced the performance of high hypochondriacal subjects in both parts of the test. Low hypochondriacal subjects, on the other hand, displayed significantly better performance in the first, pain-free compared to the second, pain-related part of the test. Thermal pain thresholds were assessed at four measuring sites (thenar, neck, collar-bone, abdomen), but no relations with hypochondriasis sum scores and locus of pain stimulation were found. A stepwise multiple regression of pain threshold by individual Illness Attitude Scales (IAS) led to 66\% of the variance being explained by the scales 'concern about pain', 'worry about illness', and 'disease phobia'. Results are discussed in terms of amplifying somatic style, preoccupation with or attentional bias toward bodily symptoms, and experimental induction of a hypochondriacal state.}, language = {en} } @article{PauliRauZhuangetal.1993, author = {Pauli, Paul and Rau, Harald and Zhuang, Ping and Brody, Stuart and Birbaumer, Niels}, title = {Effects of smoking on thermal pain threshold in deprived and minimally-deprived habitual smokers}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-32607}, year = {1993}, abstract = {This study examined the antinociceptive effects of smoking in nine habitual smokers under deprived (12 h) and minimally-deprived (< 30min) conditions. Pain threshold for thermal stimuli, heart rate, blood pressure and ratings of mood, arousal, dominance and well-being were assessed before and after smoking a cigarette. Overall, smoking affected all measured variables in the expected direction, leading to increased physiological activity, elevated pain threshold and improved mood. However, most of these effects depended on the deprivation status of the subjects, such that smoking after deprivation increased pain threshold whereas smoking after minimal deprivation did not. Pain threshold before smoking was the same for both groups. Deprived subjects had lower pre-smoke diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and arousal levels, which rose to equal minimally-deprived subjects scores after smoking.}, language = {en} } @article{PauliLutzenbergerRauetal.1994, author = {Pauli, Paul and Lutzenberger, W. and Rau, H. and Birbaumer, N. and Rickard, T. C. and Yaroush, R. A. and Bourne, L. E. J.}, title = {Brain potentials during mental arithmetic: effects of extensive practice and problem difficulty}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-61345}, year = {1994}, abstract = {Recent behavioral investigations indicate that the processes underlying mental arithmetic change systematically with practice from deliberate, conscious calculation to automatic, direct retrieval of answers from memory [Bourne, L.E.Jr. and Rickard, T.C., Mental calculation: The development of a cognitive skill, Paper presented at the Interamerican Congress of Psychology, San Jose, Costa Rica, 1991; Psychol. Rev., 95 (1988) 492-527]. Results reviewed by Moscovitch and Winocur [In: The handbook of aging and cognition, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, 1992, pp. 315-372] suggest that consciously controlled processes are more dependent on frontal lobe function than are automatic processes. It is appropriate, therefore to determine whether transitions in the locus of primary brain activity occur with practice on mental calculation. In this experiment, we examine the relationship between characteristics of event-related brain potentials (ERPs) and mental arithmetic. Single-digit mental multiplication problems varying in difficulty (problem size) were used, and subjects were trained on these problems for four sessions. Problem-size and practice effects were reliably found in behavioral measures (RT). The ERP was characterized by a pronounced late positivity after task presentation followed by a slow wave, and a negativity during response indication. These components responded differentially to the practice and problem-size manipulations. Practice mainly affected topography of the amplitude of positivity and offset latency of slow wave, and problem-size mainly offset latency of slow wave and pre-response negativity. Fronto-central positivity diminished from session to session, and the focus of positivity centered finally at centro-parietal regions. This finding suggests that frontal lobe processing is necessary as long as task performance is not automatized, while automatized arithmetic processing requires parietal brain activity only. The pre-response negativity observed in the first session and during more difficult tasks is assumed to reflect excitatory preparatory processes, which could be associated with activation of calculation strategies.}, subject = {Psychologie}, language = {en} } @article{GerdesWieserMuehlbergeretal.2010, author = {Gerdes, Antje B. M. and Wieser, Matthias J. and M{\"u}hlberger, Andreas and Weyers, Peter and Alpers, Georg W. and Plichta, Michael M. and Breuer, Felix and Pauli, Paul}, title = {Brain activations to emotional pictures are differentially associated with valence and arousal ratings}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-68153}, year = {2010}, abstract = {Several studies have investigated the neural responses triggered by emotional pictures, but the specificity of the involved structures such as the amygdala or the ventral striatum is still under debate. Furthermore, only few studies examined the association of stimuli's valence and arousal and the underlying brain responses. Therefore, we investigated brain responses with functional magnetic resonance imaging of 17 healthy participants to pleasant and unpleasant affective pictures and afterwards assessed ratings of valence and arousal. As expected, unpleasant pictures strongly activated the right and left amygdala, the right hippocampus, and the medial occipital lobe, whereas pleasant pictures elicited significant activations in left occipital regions, and in parts of the medial temporal lobe. The direct comparison of unpleasant and pleasant pictures, which were comparable in arousal clearly indicated stronger amygdala activation in response to the unpleasant pictures. Most important, correlational analyses revealed on the one hand that the arousal of unpleasant pictures was significantly associated with activations in the right amygdala and the left caudate body. On the other hand, valence of pleasant pictures was significantly correlated with activations in the right caudate head, extending to the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. These findings support the notion that the amygdala is primarily involved in processing of unpleasant stimuli, particularly to more arousing unpleasant stimuli. Reward-related structures like the caudate and NAcc primarily respond to pleasant stimuli, the stronger the more positive the valence of these stimuli is.}, subject = {Psychologie}, language = {en} } @article{GlotzbachMuehlbergerGschwendtneretal.2011, author = {Glotzbach, Evelyn and M{\"u}hlberger, Andreas and Gschwendtner, Kathrin and Fallgatter, Andreas J and Pauli, Paul and Herrmann, Martin J}, title = {Prefrontal Brain Activation During Emotional Processing: A Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy Study (fNIRS)}, series = {The Open Neuroimaging Journal}, volume = {5}, journal = {The Open Neuroimaging Journal}, doi = {10.2174/1874440001105010033}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-141714}, pages = {33-39}, year = {2011}, abstract = {The limbic system and especially the amygdala have been identified as key structures in emotion induction and regulation. Recently research has additionally focused on the influence of prefrontal areas on emotion processing in the limbic system and the amygdala. Results from fMRI studies indicate that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is involved not only in emotion induction but also in emotion regulation. However, studies using fNIRS only report prefrontal brain activation during emotion induction. So far it lacks the attempt to compare emotion induction and emotion regulation with regard to prefrontal activation measured with fNIRS, to exclude the possibility that the reported prefrontal brain activation in fNIRS studies are mainly caused by automatic emotion regulation processes. Therefore this work tried to distinguish emotion induction from regulation via fNIRS of the prefrontal cortex. 20 healthy women viewed neutral pictures as a baseline condition, fearful pictures as induction condition and reappraised fearful pictures as regulation condition in randomized order. As predicted, the view-fearful condition led to higher arousal ratings than the view-neutral condition with the reappraise-fearful condition in between. For the fNIRS results the induction condition showed an activation of the bilateral PFC compared to the baseline condition (viewing neutral). The regulation condition showed an activation only of the left PFC compared to the baseline condition, although the direct comparison between induction and regulation condition revealed no significant difference in brain activation. Therefore our study underscores the results of previous fNIRS studies showing prefrontal brain activation during emotion induction and rejects the hypothesis that this prefrontal brain activation might only be a result of automatic emotion regulation processes.}, language = {en} } @article{HerrmannGlotzbachMuehlbergeretal.2011, author = {Herrmann, Martin J. and Glotzbach, Evelyn and M{\"u}hlberger, Andreas and Gschwendtner, Kathrin and Fallgatter, Andreas J. and Pauli, Paul}, title = {Prefrontal Brain Activation During Emotional Processing: A Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy Study (fNIRS)}, series = {The Open Neuroimaging Journal}, journal = {The Open Neuroimaging Journal}, doi = {10.2174/1874440001105010033}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-97437}, year = {2011}, abstract = {The limbic system and especially the amygdala have been identified as key structures in emotion induction and regulation. Recently research has additionally focused on the influence of prefrontal areas on emotion processing in the limbic system and the amygdala. Results from fMRI studies indicate that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is involved not only in emotion induction but also in emotion regulation. However, studies using fNIRS only report prefrontal brain activation during emotion induction. So far it lacks the attempt to compare emotion induction and emotion regulation with regard to prefrontal activation measured with fNIRS, to exclude the possibility that the reported prefrontal brain activation in fNIRS studies are mainly caused by automatic emotion regulation processes. Therefore this work tried to distinguish emotion induction from regulation via fNIRS of the prefrontal cortex. 20 healthy women viewed neutral pictures as a baseline condition, fearful pictures as induction condition and reappraised fearful pictures as regulation condition in randomized order. As predicted, the view-fearful condition led to higher arousal ratings than the view-neutral condition with the reappraise-fearful condition in between. For the fNIRS results the induction condition showed an activation of the bilateral PFC compared to the baseline condition (viewing neutral). The regulation condition showed an activation only of the left PFC compared to the baseline condition, although the direct comparison between induction and regulation condition revealed no significant difference in brain activation. Therefore our study underscores the results of previous fNIRS studies showing prefrontal brain activation during emotion induction and rejects the hypothesis that this prefrontal brain activation might only be a result of automatic emotion regulation processes.}, language = {en} } @article{WuPuAllenetal.2012, author = {Wu, Lingdan and Pu, Jie and Allen, John J. B. and Pauli, Paul}, title = {Recognition of facial expressions in individuals with elevated levels of depressive symptoms: an eye-movement study}, series = {Depression Research and Treatment}, volume = {2012}, journal = {Depression Research and Treatment}, number = {249030}, doi = {10.1155/2012/249030}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-123153}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Previous studies consistently reported abnormal recognition of facial expressions in depression. However, it is still not clear whether this abnormality is due to an enhanced or impaired ability to recognize facial expressions, and what underlying cognitive systems are involved. The present study aimed to examine how individuals with elevated levels of depressive symptoms differ from controls on facial expression recognition and to assess attention and information processing using eye tracking. Forty participants (18 with elevated depressive symptoms) were instructed to label facial expressions depicting one of seven emotions. Results showed that the high-depression group, in comparison with the low-depression group, recognized facial expressions faster and with comparable accuracy. Furthermore, the high-depression group demonstrated greater leftwards attention bias which has been argued to be an indicator of hyperactivation of right hemisphere during facial expression recognition.}, 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{StippekohlWinklerWalteretal.2012, author = {Stippekohl, Bastian and Winkler, Markus H. and Walter, Bertram and Kagerer, Sabine and Mucha, Ronald F. and Pauli, Paul and Vaitl, Dieter and Stark, Rudolf}, title = {Neural Responses to Smoking Stimuli Are Influenced by Smokers' Attitudes towards Their Own Smoking Behaviour}, series = {PLoS One}, volume = {7}, journal = {PLoS One}, number = {11}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0046782}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-124393}, year = {2012}, abstract = {An important feature of addiction is the high drug craving that may promote the continuation of consumption. Environmental stimuli classically conditioned to drug-intake have a strong motivational power for addicts and can elicit craving. However, addicts differ in the attitudes towards their own consumption behavior: some are content with drug taking (consonant users) whereas others are discontent (dissonant users). Such differences may be important for clinical practice because the experience of dissonance might enhance the likelihood to consider treatment. This fMRI study investigated in smokers whether these different attitudes influence subjective and neural responses to smoking stimuli. Based on self-characterization, smokers were divided into consonant and dissonant smokers. These two groups were presented smoking stimuli and neutral stimuli. Former studies have suggested differences in the impact of smoking stimuli depending on the temporal stage of the smoking ritual they are associated with. Therefore, we used stimuli associated with the beginning (BEGIN-smoking-stimuli) and stimuli associated with the terminal stage (END-smoking-stimuli) of the smoking ritual as distinct stimulus categories. Stimulus ratings did not differ between both groups. Brain data showed that BEGIN-smoking-stimuli led to enhanced mesolimbic responses (amygdala, hippocampus, insula) in dissonant compared to consonant smokers. In response to END-smoking-stimuli, dissonant smokers showed reduced mesocortical responses (orbitofrontal cortex, subcallosal cortex) compared to consonant smokers. These results suggest that smoking stimuli with a high incentive value (BEGIN-smoking-stimuli) are more appetitive for dissonant than consonant smokers at least on the neural level. To the contrary, smoking stimuli with low incentive value (END-smoking-stimuli) seem to be less appetitive for dissonant smokers than consonant smokers. These differences might be one reason why dissonant smokers experience difficulties in translating their attitudes into an actual behavior change.}, language = {en} } @article{KlaukeWinterGajewskaetal.2012, author = {Klauke, Benedikt and Winter, Bernward and Gajewska, Agnes and Zwanzger, Peter and Reif, Andreas and Herrmann, Martin J. and Dlugos, Andrea and Warrings, Bodo and Jacob, Christian and M{\"u}hlberger, Andreas and Arolt, Volker and Pauli, Paul and Deckert, J{\"u}rgen and Domschke, Katharina}, title = {Affect-Modulated Startle: Interactive Influence of Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Val158Met Genotype and Childhood Trauma}, series = {PLoS One}, volume = {7}, journal = {PLoS One}, number = {6}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0039709}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-132184}, pages = {e39709}, year = {2012}, abstract = {The etiology of emotion-related disorders such as anxiety or affective disorders is considered to be complex with an interaction of biological and environmental factors. Particular evidence has accumulated for alterations in the dopaminergic and noradrenergic system - partly conferred by catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene variation - for the adenosinergic system as well as for early life trauma to constitute risk factors for those conditions. Applying a multi-level approach, in a sample of 95 healthy adults, we investigated effects of the functional COMT Val158Met polymorphism, caffeine as an adenosine A2A receptor antagonist (300 mg in a placebo-controlled intervention design) and childhood maltreatment (CTQ) as well as their interaction on the affect-modulated startle response as a neurobiologically founded defensive reflex potentially related to fear- and distress-related disorders. COMT val/val genotype significantly increased startle magnitude in response to unpleasant stimuli, while met/met homozygotes showed a blunted startle response to aversive pictures. Furthermore, significant gene-environment interaction of COMT Val158Met genotype with CTQ was discerned with more maltreatment being associated with higher startle potentiation in val/val subjects but not in met carriers. No main effect of or interaction effects with caffeine were observed. Results indicate a main as well as a GxE effect of the COMT Val158Met variant and childhood maltreatment on the affect-modulated startle reflex, supporting a complex pathogenetic model of the affect-modulated startle reflex as a basic neurobiological defensive reflex potentially related to anxiety and affective disorders.}, 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-129936}, 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{LikowskiMuehlbergerGerdesetal.2012, author = {Likowski, Katja U. and M{\"u}hlberger, Andreas and Gerdes, Antje B. M. and Wieser, Mattias J. and Pauli, Paul and Weyers, Peter}, title = {Facial mimicry and the mirror neuron system: simultaneous acquisition of facial electromyography and functional magnetic resonance imaging}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-75813}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Numerous studies have shown that humans automatically react with congruent facial reactions, i.e., facial mimicry, when seeing a vis-{\´a}-vis' facial expressions. The current experiment is the first investigating the neuronal structures responsible for differences in the occurrence of such facial mimicry reactions by simultaneously measuring BOLD and facial EMG in an MRI scanner. Therefore, 20 female students viewed emotional facial expressions (happy, sad, and angry) of male and female avatar characters. During picture presentation, the BOLD signal as well as M. zygomaticus major and M. corrugator supercilii activity were recorded simultaneously. Results show prototypical patterns of facial mimicry after correction for MR-related artifacts: enhanced M. zygomaticus major activity in response to happy and enhanced M. corrugator supercilii activity in response to sad and angry expressions. Regression analyses show that these congruent facial reactions correlate significantly with activations in the IFG, SMA, and cerebellum. Stronger zygomaticus reactions to happy faces were further associated to increased activities in the caudate, MTG, and PCC. Corrugator reactions to angry expressions were further correlated with the hippocampus, insula, and STS. Results are discussed in relation to core and extended models of the mirror neuron system (MNS).}, subject = {Psychologie}, language = {en} } @article{WeberScholzDomschkeetal.2012, author = {Weber, Heike and Scholz, Claus J{\"u}rgen and Domschke, Katharina and Baumann, Christian and Klauke, Benedikt and Jacob, Christian P. and Maier, Wolfgang and Fritze, J{\"u}rgen and Bandelow, Borwin and Zwanzger, Peter Michael and Lang, Thomas and Fehm, Lydia and Str{\"o}hle, Andreas and Hamm, Alfons and Gerlach, Alexander L. and Alpers, Georg W. and Kircher, Tilo and Wittchen, Hans-Ulrich and Arolt, Volker and Pauli, Paul and Deckert, J{\"u}rgen and Reif, Andreas}, title = {Gender Differences in Associations of Glutamate Decarboxylase 1 Gene (GAD1) Variants with Panic Disorder}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-75830}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Background: Panic disorder is common (5\% prevalence) and females are twice as likely to be affected as males. The heritable component of panic disorder is estimated at 48\%. Glutamic acid dehydrogenase GAD1, the key enzyme for the synthesis of the inhibitory and anxiolytic neurotransmitter GABA, is supposed to influence various mental disorders, including mood and anxiety disorders. In a recent association study in depression, which is highly comorbid with panic disorder, GAD1 risk allele associations were restricted to females. Methodology/Principal Findings: Nineteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) tagging the common variation in GAD1 were genotyped in two independent gender and age matched case-control samples (discovery sample n = 478; replication sample n = 584). Thirteen SNPs passed quality control and were examined for gender-specific enrichment of risk alleles associated with panic disorder by using logistic regression including a genotype6gender interaction term. The latter was found to be nominally significant for four SNPs (rs1978340, rs3762555, rs3749034, rs2241165) in the discovery sample; of note, the respective minor/risk alleles were associated with panic disorder only in females. These findings were not confirmed in the replication sample; however, the genotype6gender interaction of rs3749034 remained significant in the combined sample. Furthermore, this polymorphism showed a nominally significant association with the Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire sum score. Conclusions/Significance: The present study represents the first systematic evaluation of gender-specific enrichment of risk alleles of the common SNP variation in the panic disorder candidate gene GAD1. Our tentative results provide a possible explanation for the higher susceptibility of females to panic disorder.}, subject = {Medizin}, 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} } @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} }