@article{VenturaBortDolcosWendtetal.2017, author = {Ventura-Bort, Carlos and Dolcos, Florin and Wendt, Julia and Wirkner, Janine and Hamm, Alfons O. and Weymar, Mathias}, title = {Item and source memory for emotional associates is mediated by different retrieval processes}, series = {Neuropsychologia : an international journal in behavioural and cognitive neuroscience}, volume = {145}, journal = {Neuropsychologia : an international journal in behavioural and cognitive neuroscience}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0028-3932}, doi = {10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.12.015}, pages = {11}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Recent event-related potential (ERP) data showed that neutral objects encoded in emotional background pictures were better remembered than objects encoded in neutral contexts, when recognition memory was tested one week later. In the present study, we investigated whether this long-term memory advantage for items is also associated with correct memory for contextual source details. Furthermore, we were interested in the possibly dissociable contribution of familiarity and recollection processes (using a Remember/Know procedure). The results revealed that item memory performance was mainly driven by the subjective experience of familiarity, irrespective of whether the objects were previously encoded in emotional or neutral contexts. Correct source memory for the associated background picture, however, was driven by recollection and enhanced when the content was emotional. In ERPs, correctly recognized old objects evoked frontal ERP Old/New effects (300-500 ms), irrespective of context category. As in our previous study (Ventura-Bort et al., 2016b), retrieval for objects from emotional contexts was associated with larger parietal Old/New differences (600-800 ms), indicating stronger involvement of recollection. Thus, the results suggest a stronger contribution of recollection-based retrieval to item and contextual background source memory for neutral information associated with an emotional event.}, language = {en} } @article{VenturaBortWirknerGenheimeretal.2018, author = {Ventura-Bort, Carlos and Wirkner, Janine and Genheimer, Hannah and Wendt, Julia and Hamm, Alfons O. and Weymar, Mathias}, title = {Effects of Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation (tVNS) on the P300 and Alpha-Amylase Level}, series = {Frontiers in Human Neuroscience}, volume = {12}, journal = {Frontiers in Human Neuroscience}, publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1662-5161}, doi = {10.3389/fnhum.2018.00202}, pages = {1 -- 12}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Recent research suggests that the P3b may be closely related to the activation of the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) system. To further study the potential association, we applied a novel technique, the non-invasive transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS), which is speculated to increase noradrenaline levels. Using a within-subject cross-over design, 20 healthy participants received continuous tVNS and sham stimulation on two consecutive days (stimulation counterbalanced across participants) while performing a visual oddball task. During stimulation, oval non-targets (standard), normal-head (easy) and rotated-head (difficult) targets, as well as novel stimuli (scenes) were presented. As an indirect marker of noradrenergic activation we also collected salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) before and after stimulation. Results showed larger P3b amplitudes for target, relative to standard stimuli, irrespective of stimulation condition. Exploratory post hoc analyses, however, revealed that, in comparison to standard stimuli, easy (but not difficult) targets produced larger P3b (but not P3a) amplitudes during active tVNS, compared to sham stimulation. For sAA levels, although main analyses did not show differential effects of stimulation, direct testing revealed that tVNS (but not sham stimulation) increased sAA levels after stimulation. Additionally, larger differences between tVNS and sham stimulation in P3b magnitudes for easy targets were associated with larger increase in sAA levels after tVNS, but not after sham stimulation. Despite preliminary evidence for a modulatory influence of tVNS on the P3b, which may be partly mediated by activation of the noradrenergic system, additional research in this field is clearly warranted. Future studies need to clarify whether tVNS also facilitates other processes, such as learning and memory, and whether tVNS can be used as therapeutic tool.}, language = {en} } @article{WirknerVenturaBortSchulzetal.2018, author = {Wirkner, Janine and Ventura-Bort, Carlos and Schulz, Paul and Hamm, Alfons O. and Weymar, Mathias}, title = {Event-related potentials of emotional and neutral memories}, series = {Psychophysiology : journal of the Society for Psychophysiological Research}, volume = {55}, journal = {Psychophysiology : journal of the Society for Psychophysiological Research}, number = {7}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {0048-5772}, doi = {10.1111/psyp.13069}, pages = {12}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Previous research found that memory is not only better for emotional information but also for neutral information that has been encoded in the context of an emotional event. In the present ERP study, we investigated two factors that may influence memory for neutral and emotional items: temporal proximity between emotional and neutral items during encoding, and retention interval (immediate vs. delayed). Forty-nine female participants incidentally encoded 36 unpleasant and 108 neutral pictures (36 neutral pictures preceded an unpleasant picture, 36 followed an unpleasant picture, and 36 neutral pictures were preceded and followed by neutral pictures) and participated in a recognition memory task either immediately (N=24) or 1 week (N=25) after encoding. Results showed better memory for emotional pictures relative to neutral pictures. In accordance, enhanced centroparietal old/new differences (500-900 ms) during recognition were observed for unpleasant compared to neutral pictures, most pronounced for the 1-week interval. Picture position effects, however, were only subtle. During encoding, late positive potentials for neutral pictures were slightly lower for neutral pictures following unpleasant ones, but only at trend level. To summarize, we could replicate and extend previous ERP findings showing that emotionally arousing events are better recollected than neutral events, particularly when memory is tested after longer retention intervals. Picture position during encoding, however, had only small effects on elaborative processing and no effects on memory retrieval.}, language = {en} } @article{FischerVenturaBortHammetal.2018, author = {Fischer, Rico and Ventura-Bort, Carlos and Hamm, Alfons O. and Weymar, Mathias}, title = {Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) enhances conflict-triggered adjustment of cognitive control}, series = {Cognitive, affective, \& behavioral neuroscience : a journal of the Psychonomic Society}, volume = {18}, journal = {Cognitive, affective, \& behavioral neuroscience : a journal of the Psychonomic Society}, number = {4}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {New York}, issn = {1530-7026}, doi = {10.3758/s13415-018-0596-2}, pages = {680 -- 693}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Response conflicts play a prominent role in the flexible adaptation of behavior as they represent context-signals that indicate the necessity for the recruitment of cognitive control. Previous studies have highlighted the functional roles of the affectively aversive and arousing quality of the conflict signal in triggering the adaptation process. To further test this potential link with arousal, participants performed a response conflict task in two separate sessions with either transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS), which is assumed to activate the locus coeruleus-noradrenaline (LC-NE) system, or with neutral sham stimulation. In both sessions the N2 and P3 event-related potentials (ERP) were assessed. In line with previous findings, conflict interference, the N2 and P3 amplitude were reduced after conflict. Most importantly, this adaptation to conflict was enhanced under tVNS compared to sham stimulation for conflict interference and the N2 amplitude. No effect of tVNS on the P3 component was found. These findings suggest that tVNS increases behavioral and electrophysiological markers of adaptation to conflict. Results are discussed in the context of the potentially underlying LC-NE and other neuromodulatory (e.g., GABA) systems. The present findings add important pieces to the understanding of the neurophysiological mechanisms of conflict-triggered adjustment of cognitive control.}, language = {en} } @article{WeymarVenturaBortWendtetal.2019, author = {Weymar, Mathias and Ventura-Bort, Carlos and Wendt, Julia and Lischke, Alexander}, title = {Behavioral and neural evidence of enhanced long-term memory for untrustworthy faces}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {9}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, publisher = {Macmillan Publishers Limited}, address = {London}, issn = {2045-2322}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-019-55705-7}, pages = {8}, year = {2019}, abstract = {In daily life, we automatically form impressions of other individuals on basis of subtle facial features that convey trustworthiness. Because these face-based judgements influence current and future social interactions, we investigated how perceived trustworthiness of faces affects long-term memory using event-related potentials (ERPs). In the current study, participants incidentally viewed 60 neutral faces differing in trustworthiness, and one week later, performed a surprise recognition memory task, in which the same old faces were presented intermixed with novel ones. We found that after one week untrustworthy faces were better recognized than trustworthy faces and that untrustworthy faces prompted early (350-550 ms) enhanced frontal ERP old/new differences (larger positivity for correctly remembered old faces, compared to novel ones) during recognition. Our findings point toward an enhanced long-lasting, likely familiarity-based, memory for untrustworthy faces. Even when trust judgments about a person do not necessarily need to be accurate, a fast access to memories predicting potential harm may be important to guide social behaviour in daily life.}, language = {en} } @article{VenturaBortWirknerDolcosetal.2019, author = {Ventura-Bort, Carlos and Wirkner, Janine and Dolcos, Florin and Wendt, Julia and Hamm, Alfons O. and Weymar, Mathias}, title = {Enhanced spontaneous retrieval of cues from emotional events: an ERP study}, series = {Biological psychology}, volume = {148}, journal = {Biological psychology}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0301-0511}, doi = {10.1016/j.biopsycho.2019.107742}, pages = {7}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Recent evidence points to enhanced episodic memory retrieval not only for emotional items but also for neutral information encoded in emotional contexts. However, prior research only tested instructed explicit recognition, and hence here we investigated whether memory retrieval is also heightened for cues from emotional contexts when retrieval is not explicitly probed. During the first session of a two-session experiment, neutral objects were presented on different background scenes varying in emotional and neutral contents. One week later, objects were presented again (with no background) intermixed with novel objects. In both sessions, participants were instructed to attentively watch the stimuli (free viewing procedure), and during the second session, ERPs were also collected to measure the ERP Old/New effect, an electrophysiological correlate of episodic memory retrieval. Analyses were performed using cluster-based permutation tests in order to identify reliable spatiotemporal ERP differences. Based on this approach, old relative to new objects, were associated with larger ERP positivity in an early (364-744 ms) and late time window (760-1148 ms) over distinct central electrode clusters. Interestingly, significant late ERP Old/New differences were only observed for objects previously encoded with emotional, but not neutral scenes (504 to 1144 ms). Because these ERP differences were observed in a non-instructed retrieval context, our results indicate that long-term, spontaneous retrieval for neutral objects, is particularly heightened if encoded within emotionally salient contextual information. These findings may assist in understanding mechanisms underlying spontaneous retrieval of emotional associates and the utility of ERPs to study maladaptive involuntary memories in trauma- and stress-related disorders.}, 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{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{VenturaBortSchnabelWendtetal.2020, author = {Ventura-Bort, Carlos and Schnabel, Ella and Wendt, Julia and Weymar, Mathias}, title = {Influence of resting heart rate variability on affect processing in different induction contexts}, series = {Psychophysiology : journal of the Society for Psychophysiological Research}, volume = {57}, journal = {Psychophysiology : journal of the Society for Psychophysiological Research}, publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell}, address = {Malden}, issn = {0048-5772}, pages = {S39 -- S39}, year = {2020}, language = {en} } @article{KoenigAblerAgartzetal.2020, author = {Koenig, Julian and Abler, Birgit and Agartz, Ingrid and akerstedt, Torbjorn and Andreassen, Ole A. and Anthony, Mia and Baer, Karl-Juergen and Bertsch, Katja and Brown, Rebecca C. and Brunner, Romuald and Carnevali, Luca and Critchley, Hugo D. and Cullen, Kathryn R. and de Geus, Eco J. C. and de la Cruz, Feliberto and Dziobek, Isabel and Ferger, Marc D. and Fischer, Hakan and Flor, Herta and Gaebler, Michael and Gianaros, Peter J. and Giummarra, Melita J. and Greening, Steven G. and Guendelman, Simon and Heathers, James A. J. and Herpertz, Sabine C. and Hu, Mandy X. and Jentschke, Sebastian and Kaess, Michael and Kaufmann, Tobias and Klimes-Dougan, Bonnie and Koelsch, Stefan and Krauch, Marlene and Kumral, Deniz and Lamers, Femke and Lee, Tae-Ho and Lekander, Mats and Lin, Feng and Lotze, Martin and Makovac, Elena and Mancini, Matteo and Mancke, Falk and Mansson, Kristoffer N. T. and Manuck, Stephen B. and Mather, Mara and Meeten, Frances and Min, Jungwon and Mueller, Bryon and Muench, Vera and Nees, Frauke and Nga, Lin and Nilsonne, Gustav and Ordonez Acuna, Daniela and Osnes, Berge and Ottaviani, Cristina and Penninx, Brenda W. J. H. and Ponzio, Allison and Poudel, Govinda R. and Reinelt, Janis and Ren, Ping and Sakaki, Michiko and Schumann, Andy and Sorensen, Lin and Specht, Karsten and Straub, Joana and Tamm, Sandra and Thai, Michelle and Thayer, Julian F. and Ubani, Benjamin and van Der Mee, Denise J. and van Velzen, Laura S. and Ventura-Bort, Carlos and Villringer, Arno and Watson, David R. and Wei, Luqing and Wendt, Julia and Schreiner, Melinda Westlund and Westlye, Lars T. and Weymar, Mathias and Winkelmann, Tobias and Wu, Guo-Rong and Yoo, Hyun Joo and Quintana, Daniel S.}, title = {Cortical thickness and resting-state cardiac function across the lifespan}, series = {Psychophysiology : journal of the Society for Psychophysiological Research}, volume = {58}, journal = {Psychophysiology : journal of the Society for Psychophysiological Research}, number = {7}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {0048-5772}, doi = {10.1111/psyp.13688}, pages = {16}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Understanding the association between autonomic nervous system [ANS] function and brain morphology across the lifespan provides important insights into neurovisceral mechanisms underlying health and disease. Resting-state ANS activity, indexed by measures of heart rate [HR] and its variability [HRV] has been associated with brain morphology, particularly cortical thickness [CT]. While findings have been mixed regarding the anatomical distribution and direction of the associations, these inconsistencies may be due to sex and age differences in HR/HRV and CT. Previous studies have been limited by small sample sizes, which impede the assessment of sex differences and aging effects on the association between ANS function and CT. To overcome these limitations, 20 groups worldwide contributed data collected under similar protocols of CT assessment and HR/HRV recording to be pooled in a mega-analysis (N = 1,218 (50.5\% female), mean age 36.7 years (range: 12-87)). Findings suggest a decline in HRV as well as CT with increasing age. CT, particularly in the orbitofrontal cortex, explained additional variance in HRV, beyond the effects of aging. This pattern of results may suggest that the decline in HRV with increasing age is related to a decline in orbitofrontal CT. These effects were independent of sex and specific to HRV; with no significant association between CT and HR. Greater CT across the adult lifespan may be vital for the maintenance of healthy cardiac regulation via the ANS-or greater cardiac vagal activity as indirectly reflected in HRV may slow brain atrophy. Findings reveal an important association between CT and cardiac parasympathetic activity with implications for healthy aging and longevity that should be studied further in longitudinal research.}, language = {en} }