@phdthesis{Popp2017,
  author    = {Popp, Hanna Margitta},
  title     = {Ver{\"a}nderung der Emotionsverarbeitung depressiver Patienten - eine EEG-Studie -},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-155211},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2017},
  abstract  = {In der vorliegenden Studie soll die Ver{\"a}nderung emotionaler Verarbeitung depressiver Patienten im Vergleich zu einer gesunden Kontrollgruppe untersucht werden. Als Messinstrument dient uns das EEG, welches als eine nicht invasive, sensitive Methode, die Ver{\"a}nderung der emotionalen Reaktion mittels EKPs darstellbar macht. So soll in dieser Studie ein Paradigma entwickelt werden, welches die Ver{\"a}nderung der emotionalen Verarbeitung von depressiven Patienten erfassen kann, um zuk{\"u}nftig die Effektivit{\"a}t von Psychotherapie anhand objektivierbarer Maße zu evaluieren.},
  subject      = {Elektroencephalogramm},
  language  = {de}
}
@phdthesis{Flohr2017,
  author    = {Flohr, Elena Leonie Ruth},
  title     = {The Scents of Interpersonality - On the Influence of Smells on the Evaluation and Processing of Social Stimuli},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-153352},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2017},
  abstract  = {In daily life, olfactory stimuli are potential generators of affective states, but also have a strong influence on social interaction. Pleasant odors have been shown to increase perceived attractiveness and pro-social behavior, whereas unpleasant body odors are often associated with negative personality traits. Since both pleasant odors and positive affective state facilitate pro-social behavior, it is conceivable that the influence of the odors on social interaction is mediated by the induced affective state elicited by the odor itself. The present thesis aims at exploring the impact of hedonic, i.e., pleasant or unpleasant, odors on the processing and evaluation of social stimuli as assessed by verbal, physiological, and behavioral indices. First, I investigate the effects of initially neutral odors which gained threatening value through an aversive conditioning procedure on social stimuli (Study 1). Second, I study the influence of naturally hedonic odors on social interaction. Third, this thesis aims at disentangling differences in the effects of an odor attributed to either a social interaction partner or the environment where the social encounter takes place (Study 2, 3, and 4). In the first study, a context conditioning procedure was applied, during which one out of two long-lasting neutral odors was paired with an unpredictable aversive unconditioned stimulus (US, i.e., white noise). This odor (CTX+) thereby gained threatening value, while another odor (CTX-) remained unpaired and therefore signaled safety. During a test session, facial stimuli were presented within both conditioned olfactory contexts. Results indicate that autonomic arousal was increased to faces when presented in the threatening odor context. Additionally, participants rated facial stimuli as more aversive when presented in the threatening odor as compared to the safety odor, indicating that faces acquire hedonic value from the odor they were presented in. Strikingly, angry facial expressions received additional processing resources when presented within a threatening olfactory context, as reflected on verbal reports and electrodermal activity (EDA). This latter finding suggests that threat-related stimuli, here angry faces, are preferentially processed within an olfactory context where a threat might happen. Considering that the hedonic value of an odor may be quite subjective, I conducted a pilot study in order to identify odors with pleasant vs. unpleasant properties for most participants. Seven odors (four pleasant and three unpleasant) were rated with respect to their valence (pleasant vs. unpleasant), arousal (arousing vs. calm), and intensity. Additionally, EDA was measured. Two pleasant (Citral and Eucalyptol) and two unpleasant ("Animalis" and Isobutyraldehyde) odors were chosen from the original seven. The unpleasant odors were rated as more negative, arousing, and intense than the positive ones, but no differences were found regarding EDA. These four odors were subsequently used in a virtual reality (VR) paradigm with two odor attribution groups. Participants of the social attribution group (n = 59) were always passively guided into the same room (an office) towards one out of two virtual agents who were either paired with the pleasant or the unpleasant odor. Participants of the contextual attribution group (n = 58) were guided into one out of two rooms which were either paired with the pleasant or the unpleasant odor and where they always met the same agent. For both groups, the agents smiled, frowned or remained with a neutral facial expression. This design allowed evaluating the influence of odor valence as a within-subjects factor and the influence of odor attribution as a between-subjects factor. Unpleasant odors facilitated the processing of social cues as reflected by increased verbal and physiological arousal as well as reduced active approach behavior. Specific influence of odor valence on emotional facial expressions was found for ratings, EDA, and facial mimicry, with the unpleasant odor causing a levelling effect on the differences between facial expressions. The social attribution group exhibited larger differences between odors than the contextual group with respect to some variables (i.e., ratings and EDA), but not to others (i.e., electrocortical potentials - ERPs - and approach behavior). In sum, unpleasant in comparison to pleasant odors diminished emotional responses during social interaction, while an additional enhancing effect of the social attribution was observed on some variables. Interestingly, the awareness that an interaction partner would smell (pleasantly or unpleasantly) boosted the emotional reactivity towards them. In Study 3, I adapted the VR paradigm to a within-subjects design, meaning that the different attribution conditions were now manipulated block-wise. Instead of an approach task, participants had to move away from the virtual agent (withdrawal task). Results on the ratings were replicated from Study 2. Specifically, the difference between pleasant and unpleasant odors on valence, arousal, and sympathy ratings was larger in the social as compared to the contextual attribution condition. No effects of odor or attribution were found on EDA, whereas heart rate (HR) showed a stronger acceleration to pleasant odors while participants were passively guided towards the agent. Instead of an approach task, I focused on withdrawal behavior in this study. Interestingly, independently of the attribution condition, participants spent more time withdrawing from virtual agents, when an unpleasant odor was presented. In sum, I demonstrated that the attribution of the odors to the social agent itself had an enhancing effect on their influence on social interaction. In the fourth and last study, I applied a similar within-subjects protocol as in Study 3 with an additional Ultimatum Game task as a measure of social interaction. Overall findings replicated the results of Study 3 with respect to HR and EDA. Strikingly, participants offered less money to virtual agents in the bad smelling room than in the good smelling room. In contrast to Study 3, no effects of odor attribution were found in Study 4. In sum, again I demonstrated that unpleasant odor may lessen social interaction not only when the interaction partner smells badly, but also in more complex interaction situations. In conclusion, I demonstrated that hedonic odors in general influence social interaction. Thus, pleasant odors seem to facilitate, while unpleasant odors seem to reduce interpersonal exchanges. Therefore, the present thesis extends the body of literature on the influence of odors on the processing of social stimuli. Although I found a direct influence of odors on social preferences as well as on the physiological and behavioral responses to social stimuli, I did not disentangle impact of odor per se from the impact of the affective state. Interestingly, odor attribution might play an additional role as mediator of social interactions such as odor effects in social interactions might be boosted when the smell is attributed to an individual. However, the results in this regard were less straightforward, and therefore further investigations are needed. Future research should also take into account gender or other inter-individual differences like social anxiety.},
  subject      = {smell},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Froehlich2016,
  author    = {Fr{\"o}hlich, Sarah},
  title     = {Modulation von „Sustained fear" durch transkranielle Gleichstromstimulation (tDCS)},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-145098},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {Transkraniale Gleichstromstimulation (tDCS) stellt eine neue Therapieoption f{\"u}r Patienten mit neurologischen und psychiatrischen Erkrankungen dar. tDCS ist eine nichtinvasive Methode, mit der das Membranpotential von Nervenzellen ver{\"a}ndert wird. Eine Depolarisation f{\"u}hrt zu einer Erh{\"o}hung des Potentials, eine Hyperpolarisation bewirkt eine Senkung. Diesen neuromodulatorischen Effekt hat man sich in der vorliegenden Arbeit zunutze gemacht. Im Versuchsaufbau wurde die Modulation von „sustained fear" durch tDCS getestet. Das angewandte Paradigma ist nach dem Prinzip des NPU-Tests von Grillon aufgebaut. Mithilfe von vorhersehbaren und unvorhersehbaren aversiven Reizen (menschlicher Schrei) ist eine Einsch{\"a}tzung von kurz- („phasic") und langanhaltenden („sustained") Angstreaktionen m{\"o}glich. Der Startle Reflex wurde zur Erfassung dieses Angstzustands aufgezeichnet. Gesunde Probanden (n=74) erfuhren eine 20-min{\"u}tige tDCS Stimulation mit einer Stromst{\"a}rke von 1 mA bei einer Elektrodengr{\"o}ße von 35 cm². Es ergab sich somit eine Stromdichte von 0,0286 mA/cm². Es konnte ein signifikanter Effekt von tDCS auf „sustained fear" nachgewiesen werden. Die neuromodulatorische Wirkung stellte sich bei anodaler Stimulation durch ver{\"a}nderte Startle Statistiken im Vergleich zur Sham Kontrollgruppe dar. „Phasic fear" zeigte keine nachweisbare Wirkung der Gleichstromstimulation. Gegenstand der Arbeit war außerdem die Untersuchung des Paradigmas zur Analyse von „phasic" und „sustained fear" auf subjektiver und psychophysiologischer Ebene. Mithilfe von Startle Daten und dreier spezieller Frageb{\"o}gen war dies m{\"o}glich (STAI X1, PANAS, SAM). Die Startle Daten bewiesen eine Einflussnahme der Bedingungen (vorhersehbar, unvorhersehbar, neutral). Zudem war der Reflex davon abh{\"a}ngig, ob den Probanden eine Vorwarnung angezeigt wurde (ITI, Cue). Eine Vorank{\"u}ndigung der aversiven Reize bewirkte eine erh{\"o}hte Anspannung, weshalb die Startle Reaktion bei der vorhersehbaren Bedingung am st{\"a}rksten ausfiel. Ohne Vorwarnung (ITI) war die durchschnittliche Reaktion auf einen unvorhersehbaren Schrei am gr{\"o}ßten. Nicht angek{\"u}ndigte Stimuli l{\"o}sten eine starke Stressreaktion aus, woraufhin eine anhaltende Alarmbereitschaft bei den Probanden entstand. „Sustained fear" ergab sich aus den unvorhersehbaren Bedingungen mit und ohne Warnhinweise (ITI U-Cue U). Nach subjektiver Einsch{\"a}tzung der Versuchsteilnehmer/-innen best{\"a}tigte der STAI X1 und der PANAS einen Anstieg der emotionalen Anspannung durch das Paradigma. Der psychologische Einfluss des Paradigmas spiegelte sich auch im Rating des SAM-Tests wider. Vor allem der Effekt vorhersehbarer und unvorhersehbarer Ereignisse ergab {\"u}bereinstimmend signifikante Werte, analog zu den Startle Daten. Die statistische Auswertung zeigt Erfolg versprechende Ans{\"a}tze in Bezug auf den Einfluss der Gleichstromstimulation auf das Angstverhalten. Durch den Versuchsaufbau einer plazebokontrollierten, randomisierten Doppelblindstudie kann von sehr verl{\"a}sslichen Ergebnissen mit großer Aussagekraft ausgegangen werden. Die nachgewiesene tDCS Wirkung gilt es nun anhand weiterf{\"u}hrender Studien genauer zu untersuchen. Variable Parameter wie Stromintensit{\"a}t, Stimulationsdauer, Elektrodengr{\"o}ße und -position, aber auch interindividuelle Aspekte wie Alter, Geschlecht oder genetische Unterschiede m{\"u}ssen in Vergleichsuntersuchungen m{\"o}glicherweise mit einem gr{\"o}ßeren Probandenkollektiv {\"u}berpr{\"u}ft werden. Dar{\"u}ber hinaus wurde die Studie zun{\"a}chst an gesunden Probanden getestet. F{\"u}r eine Anwendung von tDCS bei Angstst{\"o}rungen m{\"u}ssen gesondert Versuche durchgef{\"u}hrt werden. Die Daten liefern einen wichtigen Beitrag zur tDCS Forschung und haben weitreichende Bedeutung f{\"u}r die Entwicklung neuer Therapiem{\"o}glichkeiten im klinischen Alltag.},
  subject      = {tDCS},
  language  = {de}
}
@article{HuesteggeBoeckler2016,
  author    = {Huestegge, Lynn and B{\"o}ckler, Anne},
  title     = {Out of the corner of the driver's eye: Peripheral processing of hazards in static traffic scenes},
  series = {Journal of Vision},
  volume    = {16},
  journal   = {Journal of Vision},
  number    = {11},
  doi       = {10.1167/16.2.11},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-147726},
  pages     = {1-15},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {Effective gaze control in traffic, based on peripheral visual information, is important to avoid hazards. Whereas previous hazard perception research mainly focused on skill-component development (e.g., orientation and hazard processing), little is known about the role and dynamics of peripheral vision in hazard perception. We analyzed eye movement data from a study in which participants scanned static traffic scenes including medium-level versus dangerous hazards and focused on characteristics of fixations prior to entering the hazard region. We found that initial saccade amplitudes into the hazard region were substantially longer for dangerous (vs. medium-level) hazards, irrespective of participants' driving expertise. An analysis of the temporal dynamics of this hazard-level dependent saccade targeting distance effect revealed that peripheral hazard-level processing occurred around 200-400 ms during the course of the fixation prior to entering the hazard region. An additional psychophysical hazard detection experiment, in which hazard eccentricity was manipulated, revealed better detection for dangerous (vs. medium-level) hazards in both central and peripheral vision. Furthermore, we observed a significant perceptual decline from center to periphery for medium (but not for highly) dangerous hazards. Overall, the results suggest that hazard processing is remarkably effective in peripheral vision and utilized to guide the eyes toward potential hazards.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KaethnerKueblerHalder2015,
  author    = {K{\"a}thner, Ivo and K{\"u}bler, Andrea and Halder, Sebastian},
  title     = {Comparison of eye tracking, electrooculography and an auditory brain-computer interface for binary communication: a case study with a participant in the locked-in state},
  series = {Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation},
  volume    = {12},
  journal   = {Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation},
  number    = {76},
  doi       = {10.1186/s12984-015-0071-z},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-145305},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {Background In this study, we evaluated electrooculography (EOG), an eye tracker and an auditory brain-computer interface (BCI) as access methods to augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). The participant of the study has been in the locked-in state (LIS) for 6 years due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He was able to communicate with slow residual eye movements, but had no means of partner independent communication. We discuss the usability of all tested access methods and the prospects of using BCIs as an assistive technology. Methods Within four days, we tested whether EOG, eye tracking and a BCI would allow the participant in LIS to make simple selections. We optimized the parameters in an iterative procedure for all systems. Results The participant was able to gain control over all three systems. Nonetheless, due to the level of proficiency previously achieved with his low-tech AAC method, he did not consider using any of the tested systems as an additional communication channel. However, he would consider using the BCI once control over his eye muscles would no longer be possible. He rated the ease of use of the BCI as the highest among the tested systems, because no precise eye movements were required; but also as the most tiring, due to the high level of attention needed to operate the BCI. Conclusions In this case study, the partner based communication was possible due to the good care provided and the proficiency achieved by the interlocutors. To ease the transition from a low-tech AAC method to a BCI once control over all muscles is lost, it must be simple to operate. For persons, who rely on AAC and are affected by a progressive neuromuscular disease, we argue that a complementary approach, combining BCIs and standard assistive technology, can prove valuable to achieve partner independent communication and ease the transition to a purely BCI based approach. Finally, we provide further evidence for the importance of a user-centered approach in the design of new assistive devices.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Genheimer2020,
  author    = {Genheimer, Hannah},
  title     = {The acquisition of anxiety and the impact of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation on extinction learning in virtual contexts},
  doi       = {10.25972/OPUS-20639},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-206390},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {This thesis aims for a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying anxiety as well as trauma- and stressor-related disorders and the development of new therapeutic approaches. I was first interested in the associative learning mechanisms involved in the etiology of anxiety disorders. Second, I explored the therapeutic effects of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) as a promising new method to accelerate and stabilize extinction learning in humans. For these purposes, I applied differential anxiety conditioning protocols realized by the implementation of virtual reality (VR). Here, a formerly neutral virtual context (anxiety context, CTX+) is presented whereby the participants unpredictably receive mildly aversive electric stimuli (unconditioned stimulus, US). Another virtual context (safety context, CTX-) is never associated with the US. Moreover, extinction of conditioned anxiety can be modeled by presenting the same contexts without US delivery. When unannounced USs were administered after extinction, i.e. reinstatement, the strength of the "returned" conditioned anxiety can provide information on the stability of the extinction memory. In Study 1, I disentangled the role of elemental and conjunctive context representations in the acquisition of conditioned anxiety. Sequential screenshots of two virtual offices were presented like a flip-book so that I elicited the impression of walking through the contexts. Some pictures of CTX+ were paired with an US (threat elements), but not some other screenshots of the same context (non-threat elements), nor the screenshots depicting CTX- (safety elements). Higher contingency ratings for threat compared to non-threat elements revealed elemental representation. Electro-cortical responses showed larger P100 and early posterior negativity amplitudes elicited by screenshots depicting CTX+ compared to CTX- and suggested conjunctive representation. These results support the dual context representation in anxiety acquisition in healthy individuals. Study 2 addressed the effects of tVNS on the stabilization of extinction learning by using a context conditioning paradigm. Potentiated startle responses as well as higher aversive ratings in CTX+ compared to CTX- indicate successful anxiety conditioning. Complete extinction was found in startle responses and valence ratings as no differentiation between CTX+ and CTX- suggested. TVNS did not affect extinction or reinstatement of anxiety which may be related to the inappropriate transferability of successful stimulation parameters from epilepsy patients to healthy participants during anxiety extinction. Therefore, in Study 3 I wanted to replicate the modulatory effects of tVNS on heart rate and pain perception by the previously used parameters. However, no effects of tVNS were observed on subjective pain ratings, on pain tolerance, or on heart rate. This led to the conclusion that the modification of stimulation parameters is necessary for a successful acceleration of anxiety extinction in humans. In Study 4, I prolonged the tVNS and, considering previous tVNS studies, I applied a cue conditioning paradigm in VR. Therefore, during acquisition a cue (CS+) presented in CTX+ predicted the US, but not another cue (CS-). Both cues were presented in a second context (CTX-) and never paired with the US. Afterward, participants received either tVNS or sham stimulation and underwent extinction learning. I found context-dependent cue conditioning only in valence ratings, which was indicated by lower valence for CS+ compared to CS- in CTX+, but no differential ratings in CTX-. Successful extinction was indicated by equal responses to CS+ and CS-. Interestingly, I found reinstatement of conditioned fear in a context-dependent manner, meaning startle response was potentiated for CS+ compared to CS- only in the anxiety context. Importantly, even the prolonged tVNS had no effect, neither on extinction nor on reinstatement of context-dependent cue conditioning. However, I found first evidence for accelerated physiological contextual extinction due to less differentiation between startles in CTX+ compared to CTX- in the tVNS than in the sham stimulated group. In sum, this thesis first confirms the dual representation of a context in an elemental and a conjunctive manner. Second, though anxiety conditioning and context-dependent cue conditioning paradigms worked well, the translation of tVNS accelerated extinction from rats to humans needs to be further developed, especially the stimulation parameters. Nevertheless, tVNS remains a very promising approach of memory enhancement, which can be particularly auspicious in clinical settings.},
  subject      = {Angst},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Ahrens2020,
  author    = {Ahrens, Lea Marlen},
  title     = {The Role of Attentional Control and Fear Acquisition and Generalization in Social Anxiety Disorder},
  doi       = {10.25972/OPUS-17162},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-171622},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {Although Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is one of the most prevalent mental disorders, still little is known about its development and maintenance. Cognitive models assume that deviations in attentional as well as associative learning processes play a role in the etiology of SAD. Amongst others, deficits in inhibitory attentional control as well as aberrations during fear generalization, which have already been observed in other anxiety disorders, are two candidate mechanisms that might contribute to the onset and retention of SAD. However, a review of the literature shows that there is a lack of research relating to these topics. Thus, the aim of the present thesis was to examine in which way individuals with SAD differ from healthy controls regarding attentional control and generalization of acquired fear during the processing of social stimuli. Study 1 tested whether impairment in the inhibitory control of attention is a feature of SAD, and how it might be influenced by emotional expression and gaze direction of an interactional partner. For this purpose, individuals with SAD and healthy controls (HC) participated in an antisaccade task with faces displaying different emotional expressions (angry, neutral and happy) and gaze directions (direct and averted) serving as target stimuli. While the participants performed either pro- or antisaccades in response to the peripherally presented faces, their gaze behavior was recorded via eye-tracking, and ratings of valence and arousal were obtained. Results revealed that both groups showed prolonged latencies and increased error rates in trials with correct anti- compared to prosaccades. However, there were no differences between groups with regard to response latency or error rates, indicating that SAD patients did not exhibit impairment on inhibitory attentional control in comparison to HC during eye-tracking. Possible explanations for this finding could be that reduced inhibitory attentional control in SAD only occurs under certain circumstances, for example, when these individuals currently run the risk of being negatively evaluated by others and not in the mere presence of phobic stimuli, or when the cognitive load of a task is so high that it cannot be unwound by compensatory strategies, such as putting more effort into a task. As not only deviations in attentional, but also associative learning processes might be pathogenic markers of SAD, these mechanisms were further addressed in the following experiments. Study 2 is the first that attempted to investigate the generalization of conditioned fear in patients with SAD. To this end, patients with SAD and HC were conditioned to two neutral female faces serving as conditioned stimuli (CS+: reinforced; CS-: non-reinforced) and a fearful face paired with a loud scream serving as unconditioned stimulus (US). Fear generalization was tested by presenting morphs of the two faces (GS: generalization stimuli), which varied in their similarity to the original faces. During the whole experiment, self-report ratings, heart rate (HR) and skin conductance responses (SCR) were recorded. Results demonstrated that SAD patients rated all stimuli as less pleasant and more arousing, and overestimated the occurrence of the US compared to HC, indicating a general hyperarousal in individuals with SAD. In addition, ratings and SCR indicated that both groups generalized their acquired fear from the CS+ to intermediate GSs as a function of their similarity to the CS+. However, except for the HR data, which indicated that only SAD patients but not HC displayed a generalization response in this measure, most of the results did not support the hypothesis that SAD is characterized by overgeneralization. A plausible reason for this finding could be that overgeneralization is just a key characteristic of some anxiety disorders and SAD is not one of them. Still, other factors, such as comorbidities in the individuals with SAD, could also have had an influence on the results, which is why overgeneralization was further examined in study 3. The aim of study 3 was to investigate fear generalization on a neuronal level. Hence, high (HSA) and low socially anxious participants (LSA) underwent a conditioning paradigm, which was an adaption of the experimental design used study 2 for EEG. During the experiment, steady-state visually evoked potentials (ssVEPs) and ratings of valence and arousal were recorded. Analyses revealed significant generalization gradients in all ratings with highest fear responses to the CS+ and a progressive decline of these reactions with increasing similarity to the CS-. In contrast, the generalization gradient on a neuronal level showed highest amplitudes for the CS+ and a reduction in amplitude to the most proximal, but not distal GSs in the ssVEP signal, which might be interpreted as lateral inhibition in the visual cortex. The observed dissociation among explicit and implicit measures points to different functions of behavioral and sensory cortical processes during fear generalization: While the ratings might reflect an individual's consciously increased readiness to react to threat, the lateral inhibition pattern in the occipital cortex might serve to maximize the contrast among stimuli with and without affective value and thereby improve adaptive behavior. As no group differences could be observed, the finding of study 2 that overgeneralization does not seem to be a marker of SAD is further consolidated. In sum, the conducted experiments suggest that individuals with SAD are characterized by a general hyperarousal during the exposition to disorder-relevant stimuli as indicated by enhanced arousal and reduced valence ratings of the stimuli compared to HC. However, the hypotheses that reduced inhibitory attentional control and overgeneralization of conditioned fear are markers of SAD were mostly not confirmed. Further research is required to elucidate whether they only occur under certain circumstances, such as high cognitive load (e.g. handling two tasks simultaneously) or social stress (e.g. before giving a speech), or whether they are not characteristics of SAD at all. With the help of these findings, new interventions for the treatment of SAD can be developed, such as attentional bias modification or discrimination learning.},
  subject      = {Sozialangst},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{WieserGerdesReichertsetal.2014,
  author    = {Wieser, Matthias J. and Gerdes, Antje B. M. and Reicherts, Philipp and Pauli, Paul},
  title     = {Mutual influences of pain and emotional face processing},
  series = {Frontiers in Psychology},
  volume    = {5},
  journal   = {Frontiers in Psychology},
  issn      = {1664-1078},
  doi       = {10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01160},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-118446},
  pages     = {1160},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {The perception of unpleasant stimuli enhances whereas the perception of pleasant stimuli decreases pain perception. In contrast, the effects of pain on the processing of emotional stimuli are much less known. Especially given the recent interest in facial expressions of pain as a special category of emotional stimuli, a main topic in this research line is the mutual influence of pain and facial expression processing. Therefore, in this mini-review we selectively summarize research on the effects of emotional stimuli on pain, but more extensively turn to the opposite direction namely how pain influences concurrent processing of affective stimuli such as facial expressions. Based on the motivational priming theory one may hypothesize that the perception of pain enhances the processing of unpleasant stimuli and decreases the processing of pleasant stimuli. This review reveals that the literature is only partly consistent with this assumption: pain reduces the processing of pleasant pictures and happy facial expressions, but does not - or only partly - affect processing of unpleasant pictures. However, it was demonstrated that pain selectively enhances the processing of facial expressions if these are pain-related (i.e., facial expressions of pain). Extending a mere affective modulation theory, the latter results suggest pain-specific effects which may be explained by the perception-action model of empathy. Together, these results underscore the important mutual influence of pain and emotional face processing.},
  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{WoelkSuetterlinKochetal.2014,
  author    = {W{\"o}lk, Julian and S{\"u}tterlin, Stefan and Koch, Stefan and V{\"o}gele, Claus and Schulz, Stefan M.},
  title     = {Enhanced cardiac perception predicts impaired performance in the Iowa Gambling Task in patients with panic disorder},
  series = {Brain and Behavior},
  volume    = {4},
  journal   = {Brain and Behavior},
  number    = {2},
  issn      = {2162-3279},
  doi       = {10.1002/brb3.206},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-119865},
  pages     = {238-46},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {OBJECTIVE: Somatic marker theory predicts that somatic cues serve intuitive decision making; however, cardiovascular symptoms are threat cues for patients with panic disorder (PD). Therefore, enhanced cardiac perception may aid intuitive decision making only in healthy individuals, but impair intuitive decision making in PD patients. METHODS: PD patients and age-and sex-matched volunteers without a psychiatric diagnosis (n=17, respectively) completed the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) as a measure of intuitive decision making. Interindividual differences in cardiac perception were assessed with a common mental-tracking task. RESULTS: In line with our hypothesis, we found a pattern of opposing associations (Fisher's Z=1.78, P=0.04) of high cardiac perception with improved IGT-performance in matched control-participants (r=0.36, n=14) but impaired IGT-performance in PD patients (r=-0.38, n=13). CONCLUSION: Interoceptive skills, typically assumed to aid intuitive decision making, can have the opposite effect in PD patients who experience interoceptive cues as threatening, and tend to avoid them. This may explain why PD patients frequently have problems with decision making in everyday life. Screening of cardiac perception may help identifying patients who benefit from specifically tailored interventions.},
  language  = {en}
}