@article{WirknerWeymarLoewetal.2017,
  author    = {Wirkner, Janine and Weymar, Mathias and Loew, Andreas and Hamm, Carmen and Struck, Anne-Marie and Kirschbaum, Clemens and Hamm, Alfons O.},
  title     = {Cognitive functioning and emotion processing in breast cancer survivors and controls: An ERP pilot study},
  series = {Psychophysiology : journal of the Society for Psychophysiological Research},
  volume    = {54},
  journal   = {Psychophysiology : journal of the Society for Psychophysiological Research},
  publisher = {Wiley},
  address   = {Hoboken},
  issn      = {0048-5772},
  doi       = {10.1111/psyp.12874},
  pages     = {1209 -- 1222},
  year      = {2017},
  abstract  = {Diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer is a very emotionally aversive and stressful life event, which can lead to impaired cognitive functioning and mental health. Breast cancer survivors responding with repressive emotion regulation strategies often show less adaptive coping and adverse outcomes. We investigated cognitive functioning and neural correlates of emotion processing using ERPs. Self-report measures of depression, anxiety, and fatigue, as well as hair cortisol as an index of chronic stress, were assessed. Twenty breast cancer survivors (BCS) and 31 carefully matched healthy controls participated in the study. After neuropsychological testing and subjective assessments, participants viewed 30 neutral, 30 unpleasant, and 30 pleasant pictures, and ERPs were recorded. Recognition memory was tested 1 week later. BCS reported stronger complaints about cognitive impairments and more symptoms of depression, anxiety, and fatigue. Moreover, they showed elevated hair cortisol levels. Except for verbal memory, cognitive functioning was predominantly in the normative range. Recognition memory performance was decreased in cancer survivors, especially for emotional contents. In ERPs, survivors showed smaller late positive potential amplitudes for unpleasant pictures relative to controls in a later time window, which may indicate less elaborative processing of this material. Taken together, we found cognitive impairments in BCS in verbal memory, impaired emotional picture memory accuracy, and reduced neural activity when breast cancer survivors were confronted with unpleasant materials. Further studies and larger sample sizes, however, are needed to evaluate the relationship between altered emotion processing and reduced memory in BCS in order to develop new treatment strategies.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{WirknerVenturaBortSchwabeetal.2019,
  author    = {Wirkner, Janine and Ventura-Bort, Carlos and Schwabe, Lars and Hamm, Alfons O. and Weymar, Mathias},
  title     = {Chronic stress and emotion: Differential effects on attentional processing and recognition memory},
  series = {Psychoneuroendocrinology},
  volume    = {107},
  journal   = {Psychoneuroendocrinology},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {Oxford},
  issn      = {0306-4530},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.05.008},
  pages     = {93 -- 97},
  year      = {2019},
  abstract  = {Previous research indicates that acute stress around the time of learning facilitates attention and memory for emotionally salient information. Despite accumulating evidence for these acute stress effects, less is known about the role of chronic stress. In the present study, we therefore tested emotional and neutral scene processing and later recognition memory in female participants using hair cortisol concentrations as a biological marker for chronic stress. Event-related potentials recorded during picture viewing indicated enhanced late positive potentials (LPPs) for emotional, relative to neutral contents. These brain potentials varied as a function of long-term hair cortisol levels: hair-cortisol levels were positively related to overall LPP amplitudes. Results from recognition memory testing one week after encoding revealed better memory for emotional relative to neutral scenes. Hair-cortisol levels, however, were related to poorer memory accuracy. Taken together, our results indicate that chronic stress enhanced attentional processing during encoding of new stimuli and impaired later recognition memory. Results are discussed with regard to putatively opposite effects of chronic stress on certain brain regions (e.g., amygdala and hippocampus).},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{WendtLoewWeymaretal.2017,
  author    = {Wendt, Julia and Loew, Andreas and Weymar, Mathias and Lotze, Martin and Hamm, Alfons O.},
  title     = {Active avoidance and attentive freezing in the face of approaching threat},
  series = {NeuroImage : a journal of brain function},
  volume    = {158},
  journal   = {NeuroImage : a journal of brain function},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {San Diego},
  issn      = {1053-8119},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.06.054},
  pages     = {196 -- 204},
  year      = {2017},
  abstract  = {Defensive behaviors in animals and humans vary dynamically with increasing proximity of a threat and depending upon the behavioral repertoire at hand. The current study investigated physiological and behavioral adjustments and associated brain activation when participants were exposed to dynamically approaching threat that was either inevitable or could be avoided by motor action. When the approaching threat was inevitable, attentive freezing was observed as indicated by fear bradycardia, startle potentiation, and a dynamic increase in activation of the anterior insula and the periaqueductal grey. In preparation for active avoidance a switch in defensive behavior was observed characterized by startle inhibition and heart rate acceleration along with potentiated activation of the amygdala and the periaqueductal grey. Importantly, the modulation of defensive behavior according to threat imminence and the behavioral option at hand was associated with activity changes in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. These findings improve our understanding of brain mechanisms guiding human behavior during approaching threat depending on available resources.},
  language  = {en}
}