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Mayer, G., & Schmied-Knittel, I. (2012). UFO-Alarm! UFOs, Massenmedien und soziale Stigmatisierung. In H.-W. Peiniger, D. Ammon, T. A. Günter, C. Czech, N. G. Cincinnati, & P. Kauert (Eds.), UFO-Forschung und Wissenchaft. Beiträge zur übergreifenden GEP-Fachtagung (pp. 25-38 2-3).
Fiehler, K., Bannert, M. M., Bischoff, M., Blecker, C., Stark, R., Vaitl, D., Franz, V. H., & Rösler, F. (2011). Working memory maintenance of grasp-target information in the human posterior parietal cortex. NeuroImage, 54(3), 2401–2411. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.09.080

Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging was applied to identify cortical areas involved in maintaining target information in working memory used for an upcoming grasping action. Participants had to grasp with their thumb and index finger of the dominant right hand three-dimensional objects of different size and orientation. Reaching-to-grasp movements were performed without visual feedback either immediately after object presentation or after a variable delay of 2-12 s. The right inferior parietal cortex demonstrated sustained neural activity throughout the delay, which overlapped with activity observed during encoding of the grasp target. Immediate and delayed grasping activated similar motor-related brain areas and showed no differential activity. The results suggest that the right inferior parietal cortex plays an important functional role in working memory maintenance of grasp-related information. Moreover, our findings confirm the assumption that brain areas engaged in maintaining information are also involved in encoding the same information, and thus extend previous findings on working memory function of the posterior parietal cortex in saccadic behavior to reach-to-grasp movements.
Stippekohl, B., Winkler, M. H., Walter, B., Kagerer, S., Mucha, R. F., Pauli, P., Vaitl, D., & Stark, R. (2012). Neural responses to smoking stimuli are influenced by smokers’ attitudes towards their own smoking behaviour. PloS One, 7(11), e46782. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0046782

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.
Toepper, M., Gebhardt, H., Beblo, T., Thomas, C., Driessen, M., Bischoff, M., Blecker, C. R., Vaitl, D., & Sammer, G. (2010). Functional correlates of distractor suppression during spatial working memory encoding. Neuroscience, 165(4), 1244–1253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2009.11.019

Executive working memory operations are related to prefrontal regions in the healthy brain. Moreover, neuroimaging data provide evidence for a functional dissociation of ventrolateral and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Most authors either suggest a modality-specific or a function-specific prefrontal cortex organization. In the present study we particularly aimed at the identification of different prefrontal cerebral areas that are involved in executive inhibitory processes during spatial working memory encoding. In an fMRI study (functional magnetic resonance imaging) we examined the neural correlates of spatial working memory processing by varying the amount of executive demands of the task. Twenty healthy volunteers performed the Corsi Block-Tapping test (CBT) during fMRI. The CBT requires the storage and reproduction of spatial target sequences. In a second condition, we presented an adapted version of the Block-Suppression-Test (BST). The BST is based on the original CBT but additionally requires the active suppression of visual distraction within the target sequences. In comparison to the CBT performance, particularly the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (BA 9) showed more activity during the BST condition. Our results show that the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex plays a crucial role for executive controlled inhibition of spatial distraction. Furthermore, our findings are in line with the processing model of a functional dorsolateral-ventrolateral prefrontal cortex organization.
Jacob, C., Olliges, E., Haile, A., Hoffmann, V., Jacobi, B., Steinkopf, L., Lanz, M., Wittmann, M., Tschöp, M. H., & Meissner, K. (2023). Placebo effects on nausea and motion sickness are resistant to experimentally-induced stress. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 9908. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-36296-w

Nausea often occurs in stressful situations, such as chemotherapy or surgery. Clinically relevant placebo effects in nausea have been demonstrated, but it remains unclear whether stress has an impact on these effects. The aim of this experimental study was to investigate the interplay between acute stress and placebo effects in nausea. 80 healthy female volunteers susceptible to motion sickness were randomly assigned to either the Maastricht Acute Stress Test or a non-stress control condition, and to either placebo treatment or no treatment. Nausea was induced by a virtual vection drum and behavioral, psychophysiological as well as humoral parameters were repeatedly assessed. Manipulation checks confirmed increased cortisol levels and negative emotions in the stressed groups. In the non-stressed groups, the placebo intervention improved nausea, symptoms of motion sickness, and gastric myoelectrical activity (normo-to-tachy (NTT) ratio). In the stressed groups, the beneficial effects of the placebo intervention on nausea and motion sickness remained unchanged, whereas no improvement of the gastric NTT ratio was observed. Results suggest that placebo effects on symptoms of nausea and motion sickness are resistant to experimentally-induced stress. Stress most likely interfered with the validity of the gastric NTT ratio to measure nausea and thus the gastric placebo effect.
Landolt, K., Wittwer, A., Wyss, T. A., Unterrassner, L., Fach, W., Krummenacher, P., Brugger, P., Haker, H., Kawohl, W., Schubiger, P. A., Folkers, G., & Rössler, W. (2014). Help-seeking in people with exceptional experiences: Results from a general population sample. Frontiers in Public Health, 2, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2014.00051
Vaitl, D., Birbaumer, N., Gruzelier, J., Jamieson, G. A., Kotchoubey, B., Kübler, A., Lehmann, D., Miltner, W. H. R., Ott, U., Pütz, P., Sammer, G., Strauch, I., Strehl, U., Wackermann, J., & Weiss, T. (2005). Psychobiology of altered states of consciousness. Psychological Bulletin, 131(1), 98–127. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.131.1.98

The article reviews the current knowledge regarding altered states of consciousness (ASC) (a) occurring spontaneously, (b) evoked by physical and physiological stimulation, (c) induced by psychological means, and (d) caused by diseases. The emphasis is laid on psychological and neurobiological approaches. The phenomenological analysis of the multiple ASC resulted in 4 dimensions by which they can be characterized: activation, awareness span, self-awareness, and sensory dynamics. The neurophysiological approach revealed that the different states of consciousness are mainly brought about by a compromised brain structure, transient changes in brain dynamics (disconnectivity), and neurochemical and metabolic processes. Besides these severe alterations, environmental stimuli, mental practices, and techniques of self-control can also temporarily alter brain functioning and conscious experience.

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Ihre Suche

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