@article{DimigenKlieglSommer2012,
  author    = {Dimigen, Olaf and Kliegl, Reinhold and Sommer, Werner},
  title     = {Trans-saccadic parafoveal preview benefits in fluent reading: A study with fixation-related brain potentials},
  series = {NeuroImage : a journal of brain function},
  volume    = {62},
  journal   = {NeuroImage : a journal of brain function},
  number    = {1},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {San Diego},
  issn      = {1053-8119},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.04.006},
  pages     = {381 -- 393},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {During natural reading, a parafoveal preview of the upcoming word facilitates its subsequent recognition (e.g., shorter fixation durations compared to masked preview) but nothing is known about the neural correlates of this so-called preview benefit. Furthermore, while the evidence is strong that readers preprocess orthographic features of upcoming words, it is controversial whether word meaning can also be accessed parafoveally. We investigated the timing, scope, and electrophysiological correlates of parafoveal information use in reading by simultaneously recording eye movements and fixation-related brain potentials (FRPs) while participants read word lists fluently from left to right. For one word the target (e.g., "blade") parafoveal information was manipulated by showing an identical ("blade"), semantically related ("knife"), or unrelated ("sugar") word as preview. In boundary trials, the preview was shown parafoveally but changed to the correct target word during the incoming saccade. Replicating classic findings, target words were fixated shorter after identical previews. In the EEG, this benefit was reflected in an occipitotemporal preview positivity between 200 and 280 ms. In contrast, there was no facilitation from related previews. In parafoveal-on-foveal trials, preview and target were embedded at neighboring list positions without a display change. Consecutive fixation of two related words produced N400 priming effects, but only shortly (160 ms) after the second word was directly fixated. Results demonstrate that neural responses to words are substantially altered by parafoveal preprocessing under normal reading conditions. We found no evidence that word meaning contributes to these effects. Saccade-contingent display manipulations can be combined with EEG recordings to study extrafoveal perception in vision.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{DimigenValsecchieSommeretal.2009,
  author    = {Dimigen, Olaf and Valsecchie, Matteo and Sommer, Werner and Kliegl, Reinhold},
  title     = {Human microsaccade-related visual brain responses},
  issn      = {0270-6474},
  doi       = {10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0911-09.2009},
  year      = {2009},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{FroemerDimigenNiefindetal.2015,
  author    = {Fr{\"o}mer, Romy and Dimigen, Olaf and Niefind, Florian and Krause, Niels and Kliegl, Reinhold and Sommer, Werner},
  title     = {Are Individual Differences in Reading Speed Related to Extrafoveal Visual Acuity and Crowding?},
  series = {PLoS one},
  volume    = {10},
  journal   = {PLoS one},
  number    = {3},
  publisher = {PLoS},
  address   = {San Fransisco},
  issn      = {1932-6203},
  doi       = {10.1371/journal.pone.0121986},
  pages     = {18},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {Readers differ considerably in their speed of self-paced reading. One factor known to influence fixation durations in reading is the preprocessing of words in parafoveal vision. Here we investigated whether individual differences in reading speed or the amount of information extracted from upcoming words (the preview benefit) can be explained by basic differences in extrafoveal vision-i.e., the ability to recognize peripheral letters with or without the presence of flanking letters. Forty participants were given an adaptive test to determine their eccentricity thresholds for the identification of letters presented either in isolation (extrafoveal acuity) or flanked by other letters (crowded letter recognition). In a separate eye-tracking experiment, the same participants read lists of words from left to right, while the preview of the upcoming words was manipulated with the gaze-contingent moving window technique. Relationships between dependent measures were analyzed on the observational level and with linear mixed models. We obtained highly reliable estimates both for extrafoveal letter identification (acuity and crowding) and measures of reading speed (overall reading speed, size of preview benefit). Reading speed was higher in participants with larger uncrowded windows. However, the strength of this relationship was moderate and it was only observed if other sources of variance in reading speed (e.g., the occurrence of regressive saccades) were eliminated. Moreover, the size of the preview benefit-an important factor in normal reading-was larger in participants with better extrafoveal acuity. Together, these results indicate a significant albeit moderate contribution of extrafoveal vision to individual differences in reading speed.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KlieglDambacherDimigenetal.2012,
  author    = {Kliegl, Reinhold and Dambacher, Michael and Dimigen, Olaf and Jacobs, Arthur M. and Sommer, Werner},
  title     = {Eye movements and brain electric potentials during reading},
  series = {Psychological research : an international journal of perception, attention, memory, and action},
  volume    = {76},
  journal   = {Psychological research : an international journal of perception, attention, memory, and action},
  number    = {2},
  publisher = {Springer},
  address   = {Heidelberg},
  issn      = {0340-0727},
  doi       = {10.1007/s00426-011-0376-x},
  pages     = {145 -- 158},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {The development of theories and computational models of reading requires an understanding of processing constraints, in particular of timelines related to word recognition and oculomotor control. Timelines of word recognition are usually determined with event-related potentials (ERPs) recorded under conditions of serial visual presentation (SVP) of words; timelines of oculomotor control are derived from parameters of eye movements (EMs) during natural reading. We describe two strategies to integrate these approaches. One is to collect ERPs and EMs in separate SVP and natural reading experiments for the same experimental material (but different subjects). The other strategy is to co-register EMs and ERPs during natural reading from the same subjects. Both strategies yield data that allow us to determine how lexical properties influence ERPs (e.g., the N400 component) and EMs (e.g., fixation durations) across neighboring words. We review our recent research on the effects of frequency and predictability of words on both EM and ERP measures with reference to current models of eye-movement control during reading. Results are in support of the proposition that lexical access is distributed across several fixations and across brain-electric potentials measured on neighboring words.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{LorenzGleichBecketal.2014,
  author    = {Lorenz, Robert C. and Gleich, Tobias and Beck, Anne and Poehland, Lydia and Raufelder, Diana and Sommer, Werner and Rapp, Michael Armin and Kuehn, Simone and Gallinat, J{\"u}rgen},
  title     = {Reward anticipation in the adolescent and aging brain},
  series = {Human brain mapping : a journal devoted to functional neuroanatomy and neuroimaging},
  volume    = {35},
  journal   = {Human brain mapping : a journal devoted to functional neuroanatomy and neuroimaging},
  number    = {10},
  publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell},
  address   = {Hoboken},
  issn      = {1065-9471},
  doi       = {10.1002/hbm.22540},
  pages     = {5153 -- 5165},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Processing of reward is the basis of adaptive behavior of the human being. Neural correlates of reward processing seem to be influenced by developmental changes from adolescence to late adulthood. The aim of this study is to uncover these neural correlates during a slot machine gambling task across the lifespan. Therefore, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate 102 volunteers in three different age groups: 34 adolescents, 34 younger adults, and 34 older adults. We focused on the core reward areas ventral striatum (VS) and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), the valence processing associated areas, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and insula, as well as information integration associated areas, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Results showed that VS and VMPFC were characterized by a hyperactivation in adolescents compared with younger adults. Furthermore, the ACC and insula were characterized by a U-shape pattern (hypoactivation in younger adults compared with adolescents and older adults), whereas the DLPFC and IPL were characterized by a J-shaped form (hyperactivation in older adults compared with younger groups). Furthermore, a functional connectivity analysis revealed an elevated negative functional coupling between the inhibition-related area rIFG and VS in younger adults compared with adolescents. Results indicate that lifespan-related changes during reward anticipation are characterized by different trajectories in different reward network modules and support the hypothesis of an imbalance in maturation of striatal and prefrontal cortex in adolescents. Furthermore, these results suggest compensatory age-specific effects in fronto-parietal regions. Hum Brain Mapp 35:5153-5165, 2014. (c) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{MeybergSinnEngbertetal.2017,
  author    = {Meyberg, Susann and Sinn, Petra and Engbert, Ralf and Sommer, Werner},
  title     = {Revising the link between microsaccades and the spatial cueing of voluntary attention},
  series = {Vision research : an international journal for functional aspects of vision.},
  volume    = {133},
  journal   = {Vision research : an international journal for functional aspects of vision.},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {Oxford},
  issn      = {0042-6989},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.visres.2017.01.001},
  pages     = {47 -- 60},
  year      = {2017},
  abstract  = {Microsaccades - i.e., small fixational saccades generated in the superior colliculus (SC) - have been linked to spatial attention. While maintaining fixation, voluntary shifts of covert attention toward peripheral targets result in a sequence of attention-aligned and attention-opposing microsaccades. In most previous studies the direction of the voluntary shift is signaled by a spatial cue (e.g., a leftwards pointing arrow) that presents the most informative part of the cue (e.g., the arrowhead) in the to-be attended visual field. Here we directly investigated the influence of cue position and tested the hypothesis that microsaccades align with cue position rather than with the attention shift. In a spatial cueing task, we presented the task-relevant part of a symmetric cue either in the to-be attended visual field or in the opposite field. As a result, microsaccades were still weakly related to the covert attention shift; however, they were strongly related to the position of the cue even if that required a movement opposite to the cued attention shift. Moreover, if microsaccades aligned with cue position, we observed stronger cueing effects on manual response times. Our interpretation of the data is supported by numerical simulations of a computational model of microsaccade generation that is based on SC properties, where we explain our findings by separate attentional mechanisms for cue localization and the cued attention shift. We conclude that during cueing of voluntary attention, microsaccades are related to both - the overt attentional selection of the task-relevant part of the cue stimulus and the subsequent covert attention shift.(C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{ValsecchiDimigenKliegletal.2009,
  author    = {Valsecchi, Matteo and Dimigen, Olaf and Kliegl, Reinhold and Sommer, Werner and Turatto, Massimo},
  title     = {Microsaccadic inhibition and P300 enhancement in a visual oddball task},
  issn      = {0048-5772},
  doi       = {10.1111/j.1469-8986.2009.00791.x},
  year      = {2009},
  abstract  = {It has recently been demonstrated that the presentation of visual oddballs induces a prolonged inhibition of microsaccades. The amplitude of the P300 component in event-related potentials (ERPs) has been shown to be sensitive to the category (target vs. nontarget) of the eliciting stimulus, its overall probability, and the preceding stimulus sequence. In the present study we further specify the functional underpinnings of the prolonged microsaccadic inhibition in the visual oddball task, showing that the stimulus category, the frequency of a stimulus, and the preceding stimulus sequence influence microsaccade rate. Furthermore, by co-recording ERPs and eye movements, we were able to demonstrate that, despite being largely sensitive to the same experimental manipulation, the amplitude of P300 and the microsaccadic inhibition predict each other only weakly.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{YanSommer2015,
  author    = {Yan, Ming and Sommer, Werner},
  title     = {Parafoveal-on-Foveal Effects of Emotional Word Semantics in Reading Chinese Sentences: Evidence From Eye Movements},
  series = {Journal of experimental psychology : Learning, memory, and cognition},
  volume    = {41},
  journal   = {Journal of experimental psychology : Learning, memory, and cognition},
  number    = {4},
  publisher = {American Psychological Association},
  address   = {Washington},
  issn      = {0278-7393},
  doi       = {10.1037/xlm0000095},
  pages     = {1237 -- 1243},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {Despite the well-known influence of emotional meaning on cognition, relatively less is known about its effects on reading behavior. We investigated whether fixation behavior during the reading of Chinese sentences is influenced by emotional word meaning in the parafovea. Two-character target words embedded into the same sentence frames provided emotionally positive, negative, or neutral contents. Fixation durations on neutral pretarget words were prolonged for positive parafoveal words and for highly frequent negative parafoveal words. In addition, fixation durations on foveal emotional words were shorter than those on neutral words. We also found that the role of emotional words varied as a function of their valence during foveal and parafoveal processing. These findings suggest a processing advantage for emotional words relative to emotionally neutral stimuli in foveal and parafoveal vision. We discuss implications for the notion of attention attraction due to emotional content.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{ZahediOeznurAkalinLawrenceetal.2023,
  author    = {Zahedi, Anoushiravan and {\"O}znur Akalin, Renin and Lawrence, Johanna E. and Baumann, Annika and Sommer, Werner},
  title     = {The nature and persistence of the effects of posthypnotic suggestions on food preferences},
  series = {Frontiers in psychology},
  volume    = {14},
  journal   = {Frontiers in psychology},
  publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation},
  address   = {Lausanne},
  issn      = {1664-1078},
  doi       = {10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1123907},
  pages     = {19},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {The persistence of food preferences, which are crucial for diet-related decisions, is a significant obstacle to changing unhealthy eating behavior. To overcome this obstacle, the current study investigates whether posthypnotic suggestions (PHSs) can enhance food-related decisions by measuring food choices and subjective ratings. After assessing hypnotic susceptibility in Session 1, at the beginning of Session 2, a PHS was delivered aiming to increase the desirability of healthy food items (e.g., vegetables and fruit). After the termination of hypnosis, a set of two tasks was administrated twice, once when the PHS was activated and once deactivated in counterbalanced order. The task set consisted of rating 170 pictures of food items, followed by an online supermarket where participants were instructed to select enough food from the same item pool for a fictitious week of quarantine. After 1 week, Session 3 mimicked Session 2 without renewed hypnosis induction to assess the persistence of the PHS effects. The Bayesian hierarchical modeling results indicate that the PHS increased preferences and choices of healthy food items without altering the influence of preferences in choices. In contrast, for unhealthy food items, not only both preferences and choices were decreased due to the PHS, but also their relationship was modified. That is, although choices became negatively biased against unhealthy items, preferences played a more dominant role in unhealthy choices when the PHS was activated. Importantly, all effects persisted over 1 week, qualitatively and quantitatively. Our results indicate that although the PHS affected healthy choices through resolve, i.e., preferred more and chosen more, unhealthy items were probably chosen less impulsively through effortful suppression. Together, besides the translational importance of the current results for helping the obesity epidemic in modern societies, our results contribute theoretically to the understanding of hypnosis and food choices.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{ZahediOeznurAkalinLawrenceetal.2022,
  author    = {Zahedi, Anoushiravan and {\"O}znur Akalin, Renin and Lawrence, Johanna E. and Baumann, Annika and Sommer, Werner},
  title     = {The nature and persistence of posthypnotic suggestions' effects on food preferences},
  series = {Frontiers in nutrition : FNUT},
  volume    = {9},
  journal   = {Frontiers in nutrition : FNUT},
  publisher = {Frontiers Media},
  address   = {Lausanne},
  issn      = {2296-861X},
  doi       = {10.3389/fnut.2022.859656},
  pages     = {6},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {Food preferences are crucial for diet-related decisions, which substantially impact individual health and global climate. However, the persistence of unfavorable food preferences is a significant obstacle to changing eating behavior. Here we explored the effects of posthypnotic suggestions (PHS) on food-related decisions by measuring food choices, subjective ratings, and indifference points. In Session 1, demographic data and hypnotic susceptibility of participants were assessed. In Session 2, following hypnosis induction, PHS aiming to increase the desirability of healthy food was delivered. Afterward, a task set was administrated twice, once when PHS was activated and once deactivated. The order of PHS activation was counterbalanced across participants. The task set included a liking-rating task for 170 pictures of different food items, followed by an online supermarket where participants were instructed to select enough food for a fictitious week of quarantining from the same item pool. After 1 week, Session 3 repeated Session 2 without hypnosis induction in order to assess the persistence of PHS. The crucial dependent measures were food choices, subjective ratings, and the indifference points as a function of time and PHS condition.},
  language  = {en}
}