TY - JOUR A1 - Giraudier, Manon A1 - Ventura-Bort, Carlos A1 - Wendt, Julia A1 - Lischke, Alexander A1 - Weymar, Mathias T1 - Memory advantage for untrustworthy faces BT - replication across lab- and web-based studies JF - PLoS one N2 - The Covid-19 pandemic imposed new constraints on empirical research and forced researchers to transfer from traditional laboratory research to the online environment. This study tested the validity of a web-based episodic memory paradigm by comparing participants' memory performance for trustworthy and untrustworthy facial stimuli in a supervised laboratory setting and an unsupervised web setting. Consistent with previous results, we observed enhanced episodic memory for untrustworthy compared to trustworthy faces. Most importantly, this memory bias was comparable in the online and the laboratory experiment, suggesting that web-based procedures are a promising tool for memory research. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0264034 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 17 IS - 2 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ventura-Bort, Carlos A1 - Dolcos, Florin A1 - Wendt, Julia A1 - Wirkner, Janine A1 - Hamm, Alfons O. A1 - Weymar, Mathias T1 - Item and source memory for emotional associates is mediated by different retrieval processes JF - Neuropsychologia : an international journal in behavioural and cognitive neuroscience N2 - 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. KW - event-related potentials KW - emotion KW - source memory KW - remember/know KW - old/new KW - effect Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.12.015 SN - 0028-3932 SN - 1873-3514 VL - 145 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ventura-Bort, Carlos A1 - Schnabel, Ella A1 - Wendt, Julia A1 - Weymar, Mathias T1 - Influence of resting heart rate variability on affect processing in different induction contexts JF - Psychophysiology : journal of the Society for Psychophysiological Research KW - HRV KW - Emotion KW - Startle Y1 - 2020 SN - 0048-5772 SN - 1469-8986 SN - 1540-5958 VL - 57 SP - S39 EP - S39 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Malden ER - TY - GEN A1 - Giraudier, Manon A1 - Ventura-Bort, Carlos A1 - Burger, Andreas M. A1 - Claes, Nathalie A1 - D'Agostini, Martina A1 - Fischer, Rico A1 - Franssen, Mathijs A1 - Kaess, Michael A1 - Koenig, Julian A1 - Liepelt, Roman A1 - Nieuwenhuis, Sander A1 - Sommer, Aldo A1 - Usichenko, Taras A1 - Van Diest, Ilse A1 - von Leupoldt, Andreas A1 - Warren, Christopher Michael A1 - Weymar, Mathias T1 - Evidence for a modulating effect of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) on salivary alpha-amylase as indirect noradrenergic marker: A pooled mega-analysis T2 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Background Non-invasive transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) has received tremendous attention as a potential neuromodulator of cognitive and affective functions, which likely exerts its effects via activation of the locus coeruleus-noradrenaline (LC-NA) system. Reliable effects of taVNS on markers of LC-NA system activity, however, have not been demonstrated yet. Methods The aim of the present study was to overcome previous limitations by pooling raw data from a large sample of ten taVNS studies (371 healthy participants) that collected salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) as a potential marker of central NA release. Results While a meta-analytic approach using summary statistics did not yield any significant effects, linear mixed model analyses showed that afferent stimulation of the vagus nerve via taVNS increased sAA levels compared to sham stimulation (b = 0.16, SE = 0.05, p = 0.001). When considering potential confounders of sAA, we further replicated previous findings on the diurnal trajectory of sAA activity. Conclusion(s) Vagal activation via taVNS increases sAA release compared to sham stimulation, which likely substantiates the assumption that taVNS triggers NA release. Moreover, our results highlight the benefits of data pooling and data sharing in order to allow stronger conclusions in research. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 808 KW - Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation KW - tVNS KW - sAA KW - Noradrenaline KW - Biomarker KW - Data pooling Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-577668 SN - 1866-8364 IS - 808 SP - 1378 EP - 1388 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Giraudier, Manon A1 - Ventura-Bort, Carlos A1 - Burger, Andreas M. A1 - Claes, Nathalie A1 - D'Agostini, Martina A1 - Fischer, Rico A1 - Franssen, Mathijs A1 - Kaess, Michael A1 - Koenig, Julian A1 - Liepelt, Roman A1 - Nieuwenhuis, Sander A1 - Sommer, Aldo A1 - Usichenko, Taras A1 - Van Diest, Ilse A1 - von Leupoldt, Andreas A1 - Warren, Christopher Michael A1 - Weymar, Mathias T1 - Evidence for a modulating effect of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) on salivary alpha-amylase as indirect noradrenergic marker: A pooled mega-analysis JF - Brain Stimulation N2 - Background Non-invasive transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) has received tremendous attention as a potential neuromodulator of cognitive and affective functions, which likely exerts its effects via activation of the locus coeruleus-noradrenaline (LC-NA) system. Reliable effects of taVNS on markers of LC-NA system activity, however, have not been demonstrated yet. Methods The aim of the present study was to overcome previous limitations by pooling raw data from a large sample of ten taVNS studies (371 healthy participants) that collected salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) as a potential marker of central NA release. Results While a meta-analytic approach using summary statistics did not yield any significant effects, linear mixed model analyses showed that afferent stimulation of the vagus nerve via taVNS increased sAA levels compared to sham stimulation (b = 0.16, SE = 0.05, p = 0.001). When considering potential confounders of sAA, we further replicated previous findings on the diurnal trajectory of sAA activity. Conclusion(s) Vagal activation via taVNS increases sAA release compared to sham stimulation, which likely substantiates the assumption that taVNS triggers NA release. Moreover, our results highlight the benefits of data pooling and data sharing in order to allow stronger conclusions in research. KW - Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation KW - tVNS KW - sAA KW - Noradrenaline KW - Biomarker KW - Data pooling Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brs.2022.09.009 SN - 1876-4754 VL - 15 SP - 1378 EP - 1388 PB - Elsevier CY - New York, NY, USA ET - 6 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wirkner, Janine A1 - Ventura-Bort, Carlos A1 - Schulz, Paul A1 - Hamm, Alfons O. A1 - Weymar, Mathias T1 - Event-related potentials of emotional and neutral memories BT - the role of encoding position and delayed testing JF - Psychophysiology : journal of the Society for Psychophysiological Research N2 - 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. KW - attention KW - emotion KW - ERPs KW - memory KW - old KW - new effect KW - serial position effect Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.13069 SN - 0048-5772 SN - 1469-8986 VL - 55 IS - 7 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ventura-Bort, Carlos A1 - Wirkner, Janine A1 - Wendt, Julia A1 - Hamm, Alfons O. A1 - Weymar, Mathias T1 - Establishment of emotional memories is mediated by vagal nerve activation BT - evidence from noninvasive taVNS JF - The journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience N2 - Emotional memories are better remembered than neutral ones, but the mechanisms leading to this memory bias are not well under-stood in humans yet. Based on animal research, it is suggested that the memory-enhancing effect of emotion is based on central nor-adrenergic release, which is triggered by afferent vagal nerve activation. To test the causal link between vagus nerve activation and emotional memory in humans, we applied continuous noninvasive transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) during exposure to emotional arousing and neutral scenes and tested subsequent, long-term recognition memory after 1 week. We found that taVNS, compared with sham, increased recollection-based memory performance for emotional, but not neutral, material. These findings were complemented by larger recollection-related brain potentials (parietal ERP Old/New effect) during retrieval of emotional scenes encoded under taVNS, compared with sham. Furthermore, brain potentials recorded during encoding also revealed that taVNS facilitated early attentional discrimination between emotional and neutral scenes. Extending animal research, our behavioral and neu-ral findings confirm a modulatory influence of the vagus nerve in emotional memory formation in humans. KW - emotion KW - ERPs KW - memory KW - Old KW - New effect KW - LPP KW - vagus nerve KW - tVNS Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2329-20.2021 SN - 1529-2401 VL - 41 IS - 36 SP - 7636 EP - 7648 PB - Society for Neuroscience CY - Washington, DC ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ventura-Bort, Carlos A1 - Wirkner, Janine A1 - Dolcos, Florin A1 - Wendt, Julia A1 - Hamm, Alfons O. A1 - Weymar, Mathias T1 - Enhanced spontaneous retrieval of cues from emotional events: an ERP study JF - Biological psychology N2 - 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. KW - Event-related potentials KW - ERP KW - Emotion KW - Retrieval KW - Spontaneous memory KW - Old/New effect Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2019.107742 SN - 0301-0511 SN - 1873-6246 VL - 148 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - GEN A1 - Weymar, Mathias A1 - Ventura-Bort, Carlos A1 - Wirkner, Janine A1 - Wendt, Julia A1 - Hamm, Alfons T1 - Effects of Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation (TVNS) on unpleasant picture processing and long-term memory T2 - Psychophysiology : journal of the Society for Psychophysiological Research Y1 - 2018 SN - 0048-5772 SN - 1469-8986 VL - 55 SP - S18 EP - S18 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken 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 -