TY - CHAP A1 - Giraudier, Manon A1 - Ventura-Bort, Carlos A1 - Weymar, Mathias T1 - A pooled preliminary analysis on the effects of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on salivary alpha-amylase as noradrenergic biomarker T2 - Psychophysiology : journal of the Society for Psychophysiological Research KW - Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation KW - Salivary KW - Alpha-amylase KW - Pooled Data Y1 - 2021 SN - 1469-8986 VL - 58 SP - S60 EP - S60 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Malden, Mass. [u.a.] ER - TY - GEN A1 - Weymar, Mathias A1 - Ventura-Bort, Carlos A1 - Wendt, Julia A1 - Lischke, Alexander T1 - Behavioral and neural evidence of enhanced long-term memory for untrustworthy faces T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - 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. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 594 KW - Recognition Memory KW - Facial Expressions KW - Trustworthiness KW - Recollection KW - Amygdala KW - Metaanalysis KW - Information KW - Appearance KW - Perception KW - Trust Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-442925 SN - 1866-8364 IS - 594 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weymar, Mathias A1 - Ventura-Bort, Carlos A1 - Wendt, Julia A1 - Lischke, Alexander T1 - Behavioral and neural evidence of enhanced long-term memory for untrustworthy faces JF - Scientific Reports N2 - 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. KW - Recognition Memory KW - Facial Expressions KW - Trustworthiness KW - Recollection KW - Amygdala KW - Metaanalysis KW - Information KW - Appearance KW - Perception KW - Trust Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-55705-7 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 9 PB - Macmillan Publishers Limited CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wirkner, Janine A1 - Ventura-Bort, Carlos A1 - Schwabe, Lars A1 - Hamm, Alfons O. A1 - Weymar, Mathias T1 - Chronic stress and emotion: Differential effects on attentional processing and recognition memory JF - Psychoneuroendocrinology N2 - 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). KW - Chronic stress KW - Emotion KW - Event-related potential KW - Late positive potential KW - Memory KW - Hair cortisol Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.05.008 SN - 0306-4530 VL - 107 SP - 93 EP - 97 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Koenig, Julian A1 - Abler, Birgit A1 - Agartz, Ingrid A1 - akerstedt, Torbjorn A1 - Andreassen, Ole A. A1 - Anthony, Mia A1 - Baer, Karl-Juergen A1 - Bertsch, Katja A1 - Brown, Rebecca C. A1 - Brunner, Romuald A1 - Carnevali, Luca A1 - Critchley, Hugo D. A1 - Cullen, Kathryn R. A1 - de Geus, Eco J. C. A1 - de la Cruz, Feliberto A1 - Dziobek, Isabel A1 - Ferger, Marc D. A1 - Fischer, Hakan A1 - Flor, Herta A1 - Gaebler, Michael A1 - Gianaros, Peter J. A1 - Giummarra, Melita J. A1 - Greening, Steven G. A1 - Guendelman, Simon A1 - Heathers, James A. J. A1 - Herpertz, Sabine C. A1 - Hu, Mandy X. A1 - Jentschke, Sebastian A1 - Kaess, Michael A1 - Kaufmann, Tobias A1 - Klimes-Dougan, Bonnie A1 - Koelsch, Stefan A1 - Krauch, Marlene A1 - Kumral, Deniz A1 - Lamers, Femke A1 - Lee, Tae-Ho A1 - Lekander, Mats A1 - Lin, Feng A1 - Lotze, Martin A1 - Makovac, Elena A1 - Mancini, Matteo A1 - Mancke, Falk A1 - Mansson, Kristoffer N. T. A1 - Manuck, Stephen B. A1 - Mather, Mara A1 - Meeten, Frances A1 - Min, Jungwon A1 - Mueller, Bryon A1 - Muench, Vera A1 - Nees, Frauke A1 - Nga, Lin A1 - Nilsonne, Gustav A1 - Ordonez Acuna, Daniela A1 - Osnes, Berge A1 - Ottaviani, Cristina A1 - Penninx, Brenda W. J. H. A1 - Ponzio, Allison A1 - Poudel, Govinda R. A1 - Reinelt, Janis A1 - Ren, Ping A1 - Sakaki, Michiko A1 - Schumann, Andy A1 - Sorensen, Lin A1 - Specht, Karsten A1 - Straub, Joana A1 - Tamm, Sandra A1 - Thai, Michelle A1 - Thayer, Julian F. A1 - Ubani, Benjamin A1 - van Der Mee, Denise J. A1 - van Velzen, Laura S. A1 - Ventura-Bort, Carlos A1 - Villringer, Arno A1 - Watson, David R. A1 - Wei, Luqing A1 - Wendt, Julia A1 - Schreiner, Melinda Westlund A1 - Westlye, Lars T. A1 - Weymar, Mathias A1 - Winkelmann, Tobias A1 - Wu, Guo-Rong A1 - Yoo, Hyun Joo A1 - Quintana, Daniel S. T1 - Cortical thickness and resting-state cardiac function across the lifespan BT - a cross-sectional pooled mega-analysis JF - Psychophysiology : journal of the Society for Psychophysiological Research N2 - 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. KW - aging KW - autonomic nervous system KW - cortical thickness KW - heart rate KW - heart KW - rate variability KW - sex Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.13688 SN - 0048-5772 SN - 1469-8986 VL - 58 IS - 7 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Ventura-Bort, Carlos A1 - Schneider, Paula A1 - Weymar, Mathias T1 - Effects of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (TAVNS) on interoception T2 - Psychophysiology : journal of the Society for Psychophysiological Research KW - Interoception KW - Neurostimulation KW - Heart Rate Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.13928 SN - 1469-8986 VL - 58 SP - S58 EP - S58 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Malden, Mass. [u.a.] ER - TY - GEN A1 - Weymar, Mathias A1 - Ventura-Bort, Carlos A1 - Wirkner, Janine A1 - Genheimer, Hannah A1 - Wendt, Julia A1 - Hamm, Alfons O. T1 - Effects of Transcutaneous Vagus Vagus Nerve Stimulation (TVNS) on selective attentions and emotional episodic memory : findings from ERP research T2 - Psychophysiology : journal of the Society for Psychophysiological Research N2 - Recent research indicates that non- invasive stimulation of the afferent auricular vagal nerve (tVNS) may modulate various cognitive and affec-tive functions, likely via activation of the locus coeruleus- norepinephrine (LC- NE) system. In a series of ERP studies we found that the attention- related P300 component is enhanced during continuous vagal stimula-tion, compared to sham, which is also related to increased salivary alpha amylase levels (a putative indirect marker for central NE activation). In another study, we investigated the effect of continuous tVNS on the late positive potential (LPP), an electrophysiological index for motivated atten-tion toward emotionally evocative cues, and the effects of tVNS on later recognition memory (1- week delay). Here, vagal stimulation prompted earlier LPP differences (300- 500 ms) between unpleasant and neutral scenes. During retrieval, vagal stimulation significantly improved memory performance for unpleasant, but not neutral pictures, compared to sham stimulation, which was also related to enhanced salivary alpha amylase levels. In line, unpleasant images encoded under tVNS compared to sham stimulation also produced enhanced ERP old/new differences (500- 800 ms) during retrieval indicating better recollection. Taken together, our studies suggest that tVNS facilitates attention, learning and episodic memory, likely via afferent projections to the arousal- modulated LC- NE system. We will, however, also show data that point to critical stimulation parameters (likely duration and frequency) that need to be considered when applying tVNS Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.13501 SN - 0048-5772 SN - 1469-8986 VL - 56 SP - S12 EP - S12 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Giraudier, Manon A1 - Ventura-Bort, Carlos A1 - Weymar, Mathias T1 - Effects of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (TVNS) on emotional word processing and recognition memory JF - Psychophysiology KW - transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation Y1 - 2020 SN - 0048-5772 SN - 1469-8986 VL - 57 SP - S73 EP - S73 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Malden ER - TY - GEN A1 - Ventura-Bort, Carlos A1 - Wirkner, Janine A1 - Genheimer, Hannah A1 - Wendt, Julia A1 - Hamm, Alfons O. A1 - Weymar, Mathias T1 - Effects of Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation (tVNS) on the P300 and Alpha-Amylase Level BT - A Pilot Study T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - 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. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 473 KW - EEG KW - P300 KW - tVNS KW - norepinephrine KW - locus coeruleus KW - salivary alpha-amylase Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-419259 IS - 473 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ventura-Bort, Carlos A1 - Wirkner, Janine A1 - Genheimer, Hannah A1 - Wendt, Julia A1 - Hamm, Alfons O. A1 - Weymar, Mathias T1 - Effects of Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation (tVNS) on the P300 and Alpha-Amylase Level BT - A Pilot Study JF - Frontiers in Human Neuroscience N2 - 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. KW - EEG KW - P300 KW - tVNS KW - norepinephrine KW - locus coeruleus KW - salivary alpha-amylase Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00202 SN - 1662-5161 VL - 12 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER -