@article{KrauseMeyerBekkeringetal.2018, author = {Krause, Florian and Meyer, Marlene and Bekkering, Harold and Hunnius, Sabine and Lindemann, Oliver}, title = {Interaction between perceptual and motor magnitudes in early childhood}, series = {Cognitive development}, volume = {49}, journal = {Cognitive development}, publisher = {Elsevier Science}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0885-2014}, doi = {10.1016/j.cogdev.2018.11.001}, pages = {11 -- 19}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Recent research has suggested that all types of size-related information are linked by a generalised system that codes for domain-independent magnitudes. This generalized system is further suggested to be acquired through everyday sensorimotor experiences with contingencies of size-related information in the real world. The aim of the present study was to investigate the existence of this common representation and its impact on the coupling of perception and action in early childhood. According to an embodied view on magnitude representation, an association between perceived magnitude information and size-related motor features, such as applied motor force, should emerge as soon as motor control is sufficiently developed. This hypothesis was tested in 2.5- to 3-year-old toddlers by engaging them in a computer game-like experimental task in which they were required to move objects placed on a platform upwards by pressing a button. The amount of objects was varied systematically (small amount: 3 vs. large amount: 15) and the force children applied on the button while moving the objects was recorded. Importantly, the amount of applied force was not relevant for successfully playing the game. The analysis of the peak force revealed that motor responses were executed more forcefully when children were presented with a large amount of objects compared to a small amount, irrespective of the toddler's motor abilities which were evaluated by two additional measures (force control and general fine motor skills). This general effect of perceived magnitude information on the task-irrelevant applied motor force confirms our notion that a link between perceptual and motor magnitudes exists already in early childhood and provides new evidence for a sensorimotor grounding of magnitude concepts.}, language = {en} } @article{KrauseBekkeringPrattetal.2017, author = {Krause, Florian and Bekkering, Harold and Pratt, Jay and Lindemann, Oliver}, title = {Interaction between numbers and size during visual search}, series = {Psychological research : an international journal of perception, attention, memory, and action}, volume = {81}, journal = {Psychological research : an international journal of perception, attention, memory, and action}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Heidelberg}, issn = {0340-0727}, doi = {10.1007/s00426-016-0771-4}, pages = {664 -- 677}, year = {2017}, abstract = {The current study investigates an interaction between numbers and physical size (i.e. size congruity) in visual search. In three experiments, participants had to detect a physically large (or small) target item among physically small (or large) distractors in a search task comprising single-digit numbers. The relative numerical size of the digits was varied, such that the target item was either among the numerically large or small numbers in the search display and the relation between numerical and physical size was either congruent or incongruent. Perceptual differences of the stimuli were controlled by a condition in which participants had to search for a differently coloured target item with the same physical size and by the usage of LCD-style numbers that were matched in visual similarity by shape transformations. The results of all three experiments consistently revealed that detecting a physically large target item is significantly faster when the numerical size of the target item is large as well (congruent), compared to when it is small (incongruent). This novel finding of a size congruity effect in visual search demonstrates an interaction between numerical and physical size in an experimental setting beyond typically used binary comparison tasks, and provides important new evidence for the notion of shared cognitive codes for numbers and sensorimotor magnitudes. Theoretical consequences for recent models on attention, magnitude representation and their interactions are discussed.}, language = {en} } @article{DelperoArendsSprechertetal.2022, author = {Delpero, Manuel and Arends, Danny and Sprechert, Maximilian and Krause, Florian and Kluth, Oliver and Sch{\"u}rmann, Annette and Brockmann, Gudrun A. and Hesse, Deike}, title = {Identification of four novel QTL linked to the metabolic syndrome in the Berlin Fat Mouse}, series = {International journal of obesity / North American Association for the Study of Obesity}, volume = {46}, journal = {International journal of obesity / North American Association for the Study of Obesity}, number = {2}, publisher = {Nature Publ. Group}, address = {Avenel, NJ}, issn = {0307-0565}, doi = {10.1038/s41366-021-00991-3}, pages = {307 -- 315}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background The Berlin Fat Mouse Inbred line (BFMI) is a model for obesity and the metabolic syndrome. This study aimed to identify genetic variants associated with impaired glucose metabolism using the obese lines BFMI861-S1 and BFMI861-S2, which are genetically closely related, but differ in several traits. BFMI861-S1 is insulin resistant and stores ectopic fat in the liver, whereas BFMI861-S2 is insulin sensitive. Methods In generation 10, 397 males of an advanced intercross line (AIL) BFMI861-S1 x BFMI861-S2 were challenged with a high-fat, high-carbohydrate diet and phenotyped over 25 weeks. QTL-analysis was performed after selective genotyping of 200 mice using the GigaMUGA Genotyping Array. Additional 197 males were genotyped for 7 top SNPs in QTL regions. For the prioritization of positional candidate genes whole genome sequencing and gene expression data of the parental lines were used. Results Overlapping QTL for gonadal adipose tissue weight and blood glucose concentration were detected on chromosome (Chr) 3 (95.8-100.1 Mb), and for gonadal adipose tissue weight, liver weight, and blood glucose concentration on Chr 17 (9.5-26.1 Mb). Causal modeling suggested for Chr 3-QTL direct effects on adipose tissue weight, but indirect effects on blood glucose concentration. Direct effects on adipose tissue weight, liver weight, and blood glucose concentration were suggested for Chr 17-QTL. Prioritized positional candidate genes for the identified QTL were Notch2 and Fmo5 (Chr 3) and Plg and Acat2 (Chr 17). Two additional QTL were detected for gonadal adipose tissue weight on Chr 15 (67.9-74.6 Mb) and for body weight on Chr 16 (3.9-21.4 Mb). Conclusions QTL mapping together with a detailed prioritization approach allowed us to identify candidate genes associated with traits of the metabolic syndrome. In addition, we provided evidence for direct and indirect genetic effects on blood glucose concentration in the insulin-resistant mouse line BFMI861-S1.}, language = {en} } @article{KrauseLindemann2014, author = {Krause, Florian and Lindemann, Oliver}, title = {Expyriment: A Python library for cognitive and neuroscientific experiments}, series = {Behavior research methods : a journal of the Psychonomic Society}, volume = {46}, journal = {Behavior research methods : a journal of the Psychonomic Society}, number = {2}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {New York}, issn = {1554-351X}, doi = {10.3758/s13428-013-0390-6}, pages = {416 -- 428}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Expyriment is an open-source and platform-independent lightweight Python library for designing and conducting timing-critical behavioral and neuroimaging experiments. The major goal is to provide a well-structured Python library for script-based experiment development, with a high priority being the readability of the resulting program code. Expyriment has been tested extensively under Linux and Windows and is an all-in-one solution, as it handles stimulus presentation, the recording of input/output events, communication with other devices, and the collection and preprocessing of data. Furthermore, it offers a hierarchical design structure, which allows for an intuitive transition from the experimental design to a running program. It is therefore also suited for students, as well as for experimental psychologists and neuro-scientists with little programming experience.}, language = {en} } @misc{KrauseLindemann2014, author = {Krause, Florian and Lindemann, Oliver}, title = {Expyriment: A Python library for cognitive and neuroscientific experiments}, series = {Behavior research methods : a journal of the Psychonomic Society}, volume = {46}, journal = {Behavior research methods : a journal of the Psychonomic Society}, number = {2}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {New York}, issn = {1554-351X}, doi = {10.3758/s13428-013-0436-9}, pages = {416 -- 428}, year = {2014}, language = {en} } @article{KrauseLindemannTonietal.2014, author = {Krause, Florian and Lindemann, Oliver and Toni, Ivan and Bekkering, Harold}, title = {Different brains process Numbers differently: Structural bases of individual differences in spatial and nonspatial number representations}, series = {Journal of cognitive neuroscience}, volume = {26}, journal = {Journal of cognitive neuroscience}, number = {4}, publisher = {MIT Press}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {0898-929X}, doi = {10.1162/jocn_a_00518}, pages = {768 -- 776}, year = {2014}, abstract = {A dominant hypothesis on how the brain processes numerical size proposes a spatial representation of numbers as positions on a "mental number line." An alternative hypothesis considers numbers as elements of a generalized representation of sensorimotor-related magnitude, which is not obligatorily spatial. Here we show that individuals' relative use of spatial and nonspatial representations has a cerebral counterpart in the structural organization of the posterior parietal cortex. Interindividual variability in the linkage between numbers and spatial responses (faster left responses to small numbers and right responses to large numbers; spatial-numerical association of response codes effect) correlated with variations in gray matter volume around the right precuneus. Conversely, differences in the disposition to link numbers to force production (faster soft responses to small numbers and hard responses to large numbers) were related to gray matter volume in the left angular gyrus. This finding suggests that numerical cognition relies on multiple mental representations of analogue magnitude using different neural implementations that are linked to individual traits.}, language = {en} } @article{KrauseBekkeringLindemann2013, author = {Krause, Florian and Bekkering, Harold and Lindemann, Oliver}, title = {A feeling for numbers shared metric for symbolic and tactile numerosities}, series = {Frontiers in psychology}, volume = {4}, journal = {Frontiers in psychology}, number = {3}, publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00007}, pages = {8}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Evidence for an approximate analog system of numbers has been provided by the finding that the comparison of two numerals takes longer and is more error-prone if the semantic distance between the numbers becomes smaller (so-called numerical distance effect). Recent embodied theories suggest that analog number representations are based on previous sensory experiences and constitute therefore a common magnitude metric shared by multiple domains. Here we demonstrate the existence of a cross-modal semantic distance effect between symbolic and tactile numerosities. Participants received tactile stimulations of different amounts of fingers while reading Arabic digits and indicated verbally whether the amount of stimulated fingers was different from the simultaneously presented digit or not. The larger the semantic distance was between the two numerosities, the faster and more accurate participants made their judgments. This cross-modal numerosity distance effect suggests a direct connection between tactile sensations and the concept of numerical magnitude. A second experiment replicated the interaction between symbolic and tactile numerosities and showed that this effect is not modulated by the participants' finger counting habits. Taken together, our data provide novel evidence for a shared metric for symbolic and tactile numerosities as an instance of an embodied representation of numbers.}, language = {en} }