@misc{DolcosKatsumiMooreetal.2019, author = {Dolcos, Florin and Katsumi, Yuta and Moore, Matthew and Berggren, Nick and de Gelder, Beatrice and Derakshan, Nazanin and Hamm, Alfons O. and Koster, Ernst H. W. and Ladouceur, Cecile D. and Okon-Singer, Hadas and Ventura-Bort, Carlos and Weymar, Mathias}, title = {Neural correlates of emotion-attention interactions}, series = {Zweitver{\"o}ffentlichungen der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Zweitver{\"o}ffentlichungen der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe}, issn = {1866-8364}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-51621}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-516213}, pages = {45}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Due to their ability to capture attention, emotional stimuli tend to benefit from enhanced perceptual processing, which can be helpful when such stimuli are task-relevant but hindering when they are task-irrelevant. Altered emotion-attention interactions have been associated with symptoms of affective disturbances, and emerging research focuses on improving emotion-attention interactions to prevent or treat affective disorders. In line with the Human Affectome Project's emphasis on linguistic components, we also analyzed the language used to describe attention-related aspects of emotion, and highlighted terms related to domains such as conscious awareness, motivational effects of attention, social attention, and emotion regulation. These terms were discussed within a broader review of available evidence regarding the neural correlates of (1) Emotion-Attention Interactions in Perception, (2) Emotion-Attention Interactions in Learning and Memory, (3) Individual Differences in Emotion-Attention Interactions, and (4) Training and Interventions to Optimize Emotion-Attention Interactions. This comprehensive approach enabled an integrative overview of the current knowledge regarding the mechanisms of emotion-attention interactions at multiple levels of analysis, and identification of emerging directions for future investigations.}, language = {en} } @article{DolcosKatsumiMooreetal.2019, author = {Dolcos, Florin and Katsumi, Yuta and Moore, Matthew and Berggren, Nick and de Gelder, Beatrice and Derakshan, Nazanin and Hamm, Alfons O. and Koster, Ernst H. W. and Ladouceur, Cecile D. and Okon-Singer, Hadas and Ventura-Bort, Carlos and Weymar, Mathias}, title = {Neural correlates of emotion-attention interactions}, series = {Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews}, volume = {108}, journal = {Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0149-7634}, doi = {10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.08.017}, pages = {559 -- 601}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Due to their ability to capture attention, emotional stimuli tend to benefit from enhanced perceptual processing, which can be helpful when such stimuli are task-relevant but hindering when they are task-irrelevant. Altered emotion-attention interactions have been associated with symptoms of affective disturbances, and emerging research focuses on improving emotion-attention interactions to prevent or treat affective disorders. In line with the Human Affectome Project's emphasis on linguistic components, we also analyzed the language used to describe attention-related aspects of emotion, and highlighted terms related to domains such as conscious awareness, motivational effects of attention, social attention, and emotion regulation. These terms were discussed within a broader review of available evidence regarding the neural correlates of (1) Emotion-Attention Interactions in Perception, (2) Emotion-Attention Interactions in Learning and Memory, (3) Individual Differences in Emotion-Attention Interactions, and (4) Training and Interventions to Optimize Emotion-Attention Interactions. This comprehensive approach enabled an integrative overview of the current knowledge regarding the mechanisms of emotion-attention interactions at multiple levels of analysis, and identification of emerging directions for future investigations.}, language = {en} } @article{WickKriemlerGranacher2021, author = {Wick, Kristin and Kriemler, Susi and Granacher, Urs}, title = {Effects of a strength-dominated exercise program on physical fitness and cognitive performance in preschool children}, series = {Journal of strength and conditioning research : the research journal of the NSCA}, volume = {35}, journal = {Journal of strength and conditioning research : the research journal of the NSCA}, number = {4}, publisher = {Lippincott Williams \& Wilkins}, address = {Philadelphia}, issn = {1064-8011}, doi = {10.1519/JSC.0000000000003942}, pages = {983 -- 990}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Wick, K, Kriemler, S, and Granacher, U. Effects of a strength-dominated exercise program on physical fitness and cognitive performance in preschool children. J Strength Cond Res 35(4): 983-990, 2021-Childhood is characterized by high neuroplasticity that affords qualitative rather than quantitative components of physical activity to maximize the potential to sufficiently develop motor skills and foster long-term engagement in regular physical activity. This study examined the effects of an integrative strength-dominated exercise program on measures of physical fitness and cognitive performance in preschool children. Children aged 4-6 years from 3 kindergartens were randomized into an intervention (INT) group (n = 32) or a control group (n = 22). The 10-week intervention period was conducted 3 times per week (each session lasted 30 minutes) and included exercises for the promotion of muscle strength and power, coordination, and balance. Pre and post training, tests were conducted for the assessment of muscle strength (i.e., handgrip strength), muscle power (i.e., standing long jump), balance (i.e., timed single-leg stand), coordination (hopping on right/left leg), and attentional span (i.e., "Konzentrations-Handlungsverfahren fur Vorschulkinder" [concentration-action procedure for preschoolers]). Results from 2 x 2 repeated-measures analysis of covariance revealed a significant (p <= 0.05) and near significant (p = 0.051) group x time interaction for the standing long jump test and the Konzentrations-Handlungsverfahren. Post hoc tests showed significant pre-post changes for the INT (p < 0.001; d = 1.53) but not the CON (p = 0.72; d = 0.83). Our results indicate that a 10-week strength-dominated exercise program increased jump performance with a concomitant trend toward improvements in attentional capacity of preschool children. Thus, we recommend implementing this type of exercise program for preschoolers.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Schwetlick2023, author = {Schwetlick, Lisa}, title = {Data assimilation for neurocognitive models of eye movement}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-59828}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-598280}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {x, 209}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Visual perception is a complex and dynamic process that plays a crucial role in how we perceive and interact with the world. The eyes move in a sequence of saccades and fixations, actively modulating perception by moving different parts of the visual world into focus. Eye movement behavior can therefore offer rich insights into the underlying cognitive mechanisms and decision processes. Computational models in combination with a rigorous statistical framework are critical for advancing our understanding in this field, facilitating the testing of theory-driven predictions and accounting for observed data. In this thesis, I investigate eye movement behavior through the development of two mechanistic, generative, and theory-driven models. The first model is based on experimental research regarding the distribution of attention, particularly around the time of a saccade, and explains statistical characteristics of scan paths. The second model implements a self-avoiding random walk within a confining potential to represent the microscopic fixational drift, which is present even while the eye is at rest, and investigates the relationship to microsaccades. Both models are implemented in a likelihood-based framework, which supports the use of data assimilation methods to perform Bayesian parameter inference at the level of individual participants, analyses of the marginal posteriors of the interpretable parameters, model comparisons, and posterior predictive checks. The application of these methods enables a thorough investigation of individual variability in the space of parameters. Results show that dynamical modeling and the data assimilation framework are highly suitable for eye movement research and, more generally, for cognitive modeling.}, language = {en} } @article{HatukaiAlgomFischer2020, author = {Hatukai, Tatiana and Algom, Daniel and Fischer, Martin H.}, title = {Rodin has it!}, series = {Acta psychologica : international journal of psychonomics}, volume = {210}, journal = {Acta psychologica : international journal of psychonomics}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam [u.a.]}, issn = {0001-6918}, doi = {10.1016/j.actpsy.2020.103160}, pages = {6}, year = {2020}, abstract = {We report a new discovery on the role of hands in guiding attention, using the classic Stroop effect as our assay. We show that the Stroop effect diminishes, hence selective attention improves, when observers hold their chin, emulating Rodin's famous sculpture, "The Thinker." In two experiments we show that the Rodin posture improves the selectivity of attention as efficiently as holding the hands nearby the visual stimulus (the near-hands effect). Because spatial proximity to the displayed stimulus is neither present nor intended, the presence of the Rodin effect implies that attentional prioritization by the hands is not limited to the space between the hands.}, language = {en} } @article{StegenwallnerSchuetzAdani2020, author = {Stegenwallner-Sch{\"u}tz, Maja and Adani, Flavia}, title = {Production of referring expressions by children with ASD}, series = {Language acquisition : a journal of developmental linguistics}, volume = {27}, journal = {Language acquisition : a journal of developmental linguistics}, number = {3}, publisher = {Routledge, Taylor \& Francis Group}, address = {Abingdon}, issn = {1048-9223}, doi = {10.1080/10489223.2020.1769625}, pages = {276 -- 305}, year = {2020}, abstract = {This study examines the discourse basis for referent accessibility and its relation to the choice of referring expressions by children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and typically developing children. The aim is to delineate how the linguistic and extra-linguistic context affects referent accessibility to the speaker. The study also examines the degree to which accessibility effects are modulated by cognitive factors such as working memory capacity. In the study, the contrast levels between the referent and a competitor (one contrast/two contrasts) and the syntactic prominence of the referent (subject/object position in the preceding question) were manipulated in an elicited production task. The results provide evidence that the referring expressions of children with ASD correlate with the discourse status of referents to a similar extent as in typically developing controls. All children were more likely to refer with lexical NPs to referents that contrasted on two levels with a highly prominent competitor, compared to referents that contrasted on one level. They were also more likely to produce pronouns for referents previously mentioned in the subject than the object position. The effect of both discourse factors was modulated by the age and working memory capacity of the children with and without ASD. Accordingly, the study suggests that children with ASD do not generally differ from children with typical development in their referential choices when the discourse status of a referent allows them to model the referent's accessibility from their own discourse perspective in a way that is modulated by working memory capacity.}, language = {en} } @article{MeixnerNixonLaubrock2022, author = {Meixner, Johannes M. and Nixon, Jessie S. and Laubrock, Jochen}, title = {The perceptual span is dynamically adjusted in response to foveal load by beginning readers}, series = {Journal of experimental psychology : general}, volume = {151}, journal = {Journal of experimental psychology : general}, number = {6}, publisher = {American Psychological Association}, address = {Washington}, issn = {0096-3445}, doi = {10.1037/xge0001140}, pages = {1219 -- 1232}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The perceptual span describes the size of the visual field from which information is obtained during a fixation in reading. Its size depends on characteristics of writing system and reader, but-according to the foveal load hypothesis-it is also adjusted dynamically as a function of lexical processing difficulty. Using the moving window paradigm to manipulate the amount of preview, here we directly test whether the perceptual span shrinks as foveal word difficulty increases. We computed the momentary size of the span from word-based eye-movement measures as a function of foveal word frequency, allowing us to separately describe the perceptual span for information affecting spatial saccade targeting and temporal saccade execution. First fixation duration and gaze duration on the upcoming (parafoveal) word N + 1 were significantly shorter when the current (foveal) word N was more frequent. We show that the word frequency effect is modulated by window size. Fixation durations on word N + 1 decreased with high-frequency words N, but only for large windows, that is, when sufficient parafoveal preview was available. This provides strong support for the foveal load hypothesis. To investigate the development of the foveal load effect, we analyzed data from three waves of a longitudinal study on the perceptual span with German children in Grades 1 to 6. Perceptual span adjustment emerged early in development at around second grade and remained stable in later grades. We conclude that the local modulation of the perceptual span indicates a general cognitive process, perhaps an attentional gradient with rapid readjustment.}, language = {en} } @misc{LiebeDordevicKaufmannetal.2022, author = {Liebe, Thomas and Dordevic, Milos and Kaufmann, J{\"o}rn and Avetisyan, Araks and Skalej, Martin and M{\"u}ller, Notger Germar}, title = {Investigation of the functional pathogenesis of mild cognitive impairment by localisation-based locus coeruleus resting-state fMRI}, series = {Zweitver{\"o}ffentlichungen der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Gesundheitswissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Zweitver{\"o}ffentlichungen der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Gesundheitswissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {7}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-58177}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-581772}, pages = {5630 -- 5642}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Dementia as one of the most prevalent diseases urges for a better understanding of the central mechanisms responsible for clinical symptoms, and necessitates improvement of actual diagnostic capabilities. The brainstem nucleus locus coeruleus (LC) is a promising target for early diagnosis because of its early structural alterations and its relationship to the functional disturbances in the patients. In this study, we applied our improved method of localisation-based LC resting-state fMRI to investigate the differences in central sensory signal processing when comparing functional connectivity (fc) of a patient group with mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 28) and an age-matched healthy control group (n = 29). MCI and control participants could be differentiated in their Mini-Mental-State-Examination (MMSE) scores (p < .001) and LC intensity ratio (p = .010). In the fMRI, LC fc to anterior cingulate cortex (FDR p < .001) and left anterior insula (FDR p = .012) was elevated, and LC fc to right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ, FDR p = .012) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC, FDR p = .021) was decreased in the patient group. Importantly, LC to rTPJ connectivity was also positively correlated to MMSE scores in MCI patients (p = .017). Furthermore, we found a hyperactivation of the left-insula salience network in the MCI patients. Our results and our proposed disease model shed new light on the functional pathogenesis of MCI by directing to attentional network disturbances, which could aid new therapeutic strategies and provide a marker for diagnosis and prediction of disease progression.}, language = {en} } @article{LiebeDordevicKaufmannetal.2022, author = {Liebe, Thomas and Dordevic, Milos and Kaufmann, J{\"o}rn and Avetisyan, Araks and Skalej, Martin and M{\"u}ller, Notger Germar}, title = {Investigation of the functional pathogenesis of mild cognitive impairment by localisation-based locus coeruleus resting-state fMRI}, series = {Human Brain Mapping}, volume = {43}, journal = {Human Brain Mapping}, edition = {18}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {New York, NY, USA}, issn = {1097-0193}, doi = {10.1002/hbm.26039}, pages = {5630 -- 5642}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Dementia as one of the most prevalent diseases urges for a better understanding of the central mechanisms responsible for clinical symptoms, and necessitates improvement of actual diagnostic capabilities. The brainstem nucleus locus coeruleus (LC) is a promising target for early diagnosis because of its early structural alterations and its relationship to the functional disturbances in the patients. In this study, we applied our improved method of localisation-based LC resting-state fMRI to investigate the differences in central sensory signal processing when comparing functional connectivity (fc) of a patient group with mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 28) and an age-matched healthy control group (n = 29). MCI and control participants could be differentiated in their Mini-Mental-State-Examination (MMSE) scores (p < .001) and LC intensity ratio (p = .010). In the fMRI, LC fc to anterior cingulate cortex (FDR p < .001) and left anterior insula (FDR p = .012) was elevated, and LC fc to right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ, FDR p = .012) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC, FDR p = .021) was decreased in the patient group. Importantly, LC to rTPJ connectivity was also positively correlated to MMSE scores in MCI patients (p = .017). Furthermore, we found a hyperactivation of the left-insula salience network in the MCI patients. Our results and our proposed disease model shed new light on the functional pathogenesis of MCI by directing to attentional network disturbances, which could aid new therapeutic strategies and provide a marker for diagnosis and prediction of disease progression.}, language = {en} } @article{AdamElsner2020, author = {Adam, Maurits and Elsner, Birgit}, title = {The impact of salient action effects on 6-, 7-, and 11-month-olds' goal-predictive gaze shifts for a human grasping action}, series = {PLOS ONE}, volume = {15}, journal = {PLOS ONE}, number = {10}, publisher = {Public Library of Science}, address = {San Fransisco}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0240165}, pages = {18}, year = {2020}, abstract = {When infants observe a human grasping action, experience-based accounts predict that all infants familiar with grasping actions should be able to predict the goal regardless of additional agency cues such as an action effect. Cue-based accounts, however, suggest that infants use agency cues to identify and predict action goals when the action or the agent is not familiar. From these accounts, we hypothesized that younger infants would need additional agency cues such as a salient action effect to predict the goal of a human grasping action, whereas older infants should be able to predict the goal regardless of agency cues. In three experiments, we presented 6-, 7-, and 11-month-olds with videos of a manual grasping action presented either with or without an additional salient action effect (Exp. 1 and 2), or we presented 7-month-olds with videos of a mechanical claw performing a grasping action presented with a salient action effect (Exp. 3). The 6-month-olds showed tracking gaze behavior, and the 11-month-olds showed predictive gaze behavior, regardless of the action effect. However, the 7-month-olds showed predictive gaze behavior in the action-effect condition, but tracking gaze behavior in the no-action-effect condition and in the action-effect condition with a mechanical claw. The results therefore support the idea that salient action effects are especially important for infants' goal predictions from 7 months on, and that this facilitating influence of action effects is selective for the observation of human hands.}, language = {en} }