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Papers by Arno Villringer
Frontiers in neuroscience, 2016
The esthetic appreciation of music is strongly influenced by cultural background and personal tas... more The esthetic appreciation of music is strongly influenced by cultural background and personal taste. One would expect that this would complicate the utilizability of musical feedback in paradigms, such that music would only be perceived as a reward if it complies to personal esthetic appreciation. Here we report data where we assessed esthetic appreciation of music after 1. a physically strenuous music improvisation and 2. after passive music listening (where participants esthetically assessed similar music). Data are reported from two experiments with different patient groups: 1. Drug abuse patients, and 2. Chronic pain patients. Participants in both experiments performed Jymmin, a music feedback method where exercise equipment is modified in such a way that it can be played like musical instruments by modulating musical parameters in a composition software. This combines physical exertion with musical performance in a fashion that has previously been shown to have a number of posi...
NeuroImage, Feb 15, 2016
Mind-wandering has a controversial relationship with cognitive control. Existing psychological ev... more Mind-wandering has a controversial relationship with cognitive control. Existing psychological evidence supports the hypothesis that episodes of mind-wandering reflect a failure to constrain thinking to task-relevant material, as well the apparently alternative view that control can facilitate the expression of self-generated mental content. We assessed whether this apparent contradiction arises because of a failure to consider differences in the types of thoughts that occur during mind-wandering, and in particular, the associated level of intentionality. Using multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analysis, we examined the cortical organisation that underlies inter-individual differences in descriptions of the spontaneous or deliberate nature of mind-wandering. Cortical thickness, as well as functional connectivity analyses, implicated regions relevant to cognitive control and regions of the default-mode network for individuals who reported high rates of deliberate mind-wand...
Diabetes, Aug 1, 2016
Lipodystrophy (LD) is a rare disease with a paucity of subcutaneous adipocytes and leptin deficie... more Lipodystrophy (LD) is a rare disease with a paucity of subcutaneous adipocytes and leptin deficiency. Patients often develop severe diabetes and, additionally, show a disturbed eating behavior with reduced satiety. The disturbed eating behavior can be restored by substitution with the leptin analog metreleptin. Long-term effects of metreleptin on resting state brain connectivity in treatment-naive patients with LD have not been assessed. In this study, resting state functional MRI scans and extensive behavioral testing assessing changes in hunger/satiety regulation were performed during the first 52 weeks of metreleptin treatment in nine patients with LD. Resting state connectivity significantly increased over the course of metreleptin treatment in three brain areas (i.e., hypothalamus, insula/superior temporal gyrus, medial prefrontal cortex). Behavioral tests demonstrated that perceived hunger, importance of eating, eating frequencies, and liking ratings of food pictures significa...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Background: Research shows a connection between stress and depression, but there is little differ... more Background: Research shows a connection between stress and depression, but there is little differentiation between areas of stress, making it difficult to identify and address specific areas in the context of public health measures. We utilized a multi-dimensional approach to chronic stress to better understand the relationship between different areas of stress and depression. Methods: We conducted linear regression analyses and used data from a sub-sample of the LIFE-Adult-Study (N = 1008) to analyze the connection between nine different areas of chronic stress (TICS) and depression (CES-D). In the second analysis, we controlled for sociodemographic variables, personality, physical activity, and social support. Results: There was a significant positive association between the stress domains Excessive Demands from Work, Lack of Social Recognition, Social Isolation, and Chronic Worrying and depression and a significant negative association between Pressure to Perform and depression. ...
Zeitschrift fur arztliche Fortbildung und Qualitatssicherung, 1999
After cerebral ischemia, brain cells are injured by a number of different mechanisms. While the b... more After cerebral ischemia, brain cells are injured by a number of different mechanisms. While the blood flow disturbance and consecutive energy depletion, is the initial event, excitotoxicity, peri-infarct-depolarisations, inflammation and apoptosis are most important subsequently. In this review, current knowledge on these events is summarized and it will be outlined how future treatment strategies can be derived from this knowledge.
Introduction: The habenula has an important controlling role within the human reward system [1,2]... more Introduction: The habenula has an important controlling role within the human reward system [1,2]: positive reward is signaled by the dopamine system, whereas disappointment is linked to habenular activation. Overactivation of the lateral habenula is associated with depression [3,4]. The habenula is positioned next to the third ventricle in front of the pineal body. It is divided into a medial and lateral part, which receive input from frontal parts of the brain via the stria medullaris and project down the brainstem via the fasciculus retroflexus[5]. The habenular commissure connecting the nuclei on both hemispheres forms the habenular trigone. However, the visualization of this structure is difficult because of its rather small size of approximately 5-9 mm in diameter. Therefore, we made use of a high field strength of 7T to obtain high resolution and high contrast T1, T2* und proton density maps to visualize and determine structural subdivisions of the habenula in-vivo and ex-vivo.
Journal of cognitive neuroscience, Jan 9, 2015
Complex human behavior is hierarchically organized. Whether or not syntax plays a role in this or... more Complex human behavior is hierarchically organized. Whether or not syntax plays a role in this organization is currently under debate. The present ERP study uses piano performance to isolate syntactic operations in action planning and to demonstrate their priority over nonsyntactic levels of movement selection. Expert pianists were asked to execute chord progressions on a mute keyboard by copying the posture of a performing model hand shown in sequences of photos. We manipulated the final chord of each sequence in terms of Syntax (congruent/incongruent keys) and Manner (conventional/unconventional fingering), as well as the strength of its predictability by varying the length of the Context (five-chord/two-chord progressions). The production of syntactically incongruent compared to congruent chords showed a response delay that was larger in the long compared to the short context. This behavioral effect was accompanied by a centroparietal negativity in the long but not in the short c...
Frontiers in human neuroscience, 2010
PRIOR INFORMATION BIASES THE DECISION PROCESS: actions consistent with prior information are exec... more PRIOR INFORMATION BIASES THE DECISION PROCESS: actions consistent with prior information are executed swiftly, whereas actions inconsistent with prior information are executed slowly. How is this bias implemented in the brain? To address this question we conducted an experiment in which people had to decide quickly whether a cloud of dots moved coherently to the left or to the right. Cues provided probabilistic information about the upcoming stimulus. Behavioral data were analyzed with the linear ballistic accumulator (LBA) model, confirming that people used the cue to bias their decisions. The functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data showed that presentation of the cue differentially activated orbitofrontal cortex, hippocampus, and the putamen. Directional cues selectively activated the contralateral putamen. The fMRI analysis yielded results only when the LBA bias parameter was included as a covariate, highlighting the practical benefits of formal modeling. Our results su...
Frontiers in Psychology, 2012
Frontiers in neuroscience, 2016
The esthetic appreciation of music is strongly influenced by cultural background and personal tas... more The esthetic appreciation of music is strongly influenced by cultural background and personal taste. One would expect that this would complicate the utilizability of musical feedback in paradigms, such that music would only be perceived as a reward if it complies to personal esthetic appreciation. Here we report data where we assessed esthetic appreciation of music after 1. a physically strenuous music improvisation and 2. after passive music listening (where participants esthetically assessed similar music). Data are reported from two experiments with different patient groups: 1. Drug abuse patients, and 2. Chronic pain patients. Participants in both experiments performed Jymmin, a music feedback method where exercise equipment is modified in such a way that it can be played like musical instruments by modulating musical parameters in a composition software. This combines physical exertion with musical performance in a fashion that has previously been shown to have a number of posi...
NeuroImage, Feb 15, 2016
Mind-wandering has a controversial relationship with cognitive control. Existing psychological ev... more Mind-wandering has a controversial relationship with cognitive control. Existing psychological evidence supports the hypothesis that episodes of mind-wandering reflect a failure to constrain thinking to task-relevant material, as well the apparently alternative view that control can facilitate the expression of self-generated mental content. We assessed whether this apparent contradiction arises because of a failure to consider differences in the types of thoughts that occur during mind-wandering, and in particular, the associated level of intentionality. Using multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analysis, we examined the cortical organisation that underlies inter-individual differences in descriptions of the spontaneous or deliberate nature of mind-wandering. Cortical thickness, as well as functional connectivity analyses, implicated regions relevant to cognitive control and regions of the default-mode network for individuals who reported high rates of deliberate mind-wand...
Diabetes, Aug 1, 2016
Lipodystrophy (LD) is a rare disease with a paucity of subcutaneous adipocytes and leptin deficie... more Lipodystrophy (LD) is a rare disease with a paucity of subcutaneous adipocytes and leptin deficiency. Patients often develop severe diabetes and, additionally, show a disturbed eating behavior with reduced satiety. The disturbed eating behavior can be restored by substitution with the leptin analog metreleptin. Long-term effects of metreleptin on resting state brain connectivity in treatment-naive patients with LD have not been assessed. In this study, resting state functional MRI scans and extensive behavioral testing assessing changes in hunger/satiety regulation were performed during the first 52 weeks of metreleptin treatment in nine patients with LD. Resting state connectivity significantly increased over the course of metreleptin treatment in three brain areas (i.e., hypothalamus, insula/superior temporal gyrus, medial prefrontal cortex). Behavioral tests demonstrated that perceived hunger, importance of eating, eating frequencies, and liking ratings of food pictures significa...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Background: Research shows a connection between stress and depression, but there is little differ... more Background: Research shows a connection between stress and depression, but there is little differentiation between areas of stress, making it difficult to identify and address specific areas in the context of public health measures. We utilized a multi-dimensional approach to chronic stress to better understand the relationship between different areas of stress and depression. Methods: We conducted linear regression analyses and used data from a sub-sample of the LIFE-Adult-Study (N = 1008) to analyze the connection between nine different areas of chronic stress (TICS) and depression (CES-D). In the second analysis, we controlled for sociodemographic variables, personality, physical activity, and social support. Results: There was a significant positive association between the stress domains Excessive Demands from Work, Lack of Social Recognition, Social Isolation, and Chronic Worrying and depression and a significant negative association between Pressure to Perform and depression. ...
Zeitschrift fur arztliche Fortbildung und Qualitatssicherung, 1999
After cerebral ischemia, brain cells are injured by a number of different mechanisms. While the b... more After cerebral ischemia, brain cells are injured by a number of different mechanisms. While the blood flow disturbance and consecutive energy depletion, is the initial event, excitotoxicity, peri-infarct-depolarisations, inflammation and apoptosis are most important subsequently. In this review, current knowledge on these events is summarized and it will be outlined how future treatment strategies can be derived from this knowledge.
Introduction: The habenula has an important controlling role within the human reward system [1,2]... more Introduction: The habenula has an important controlling role within the human reward system [1,2]: positive reward is signaled by the dopamine system, whereas disappointment is linked to habenular activation. Overactivation of the lateral habenula is associated with depression [3,4]. The habenula is positioned next to the third ventricle in front of the pineal body. It is divided into a medial and lateral part, which receive input from frontal parts of the brain via the stria medullaris and project down the brainstem via the fasciculus retroflexus[5]. The habenular commissure connecting the nuclei on both hemispheres forms the habenular trigone. However, the visualization of this structure is difficult because of its rather small size of approximately 5-9 mm in diameter. Therefore, we made use of a high field strength of 7T to obtain high resolution and high contrast T1, T2* und proton density maps to visualize and determine structural subdivisions of the habenula in-vivo and ex-vivo.
Journal of cognitive neuroscience, Jan 9, 2015
Complex human behavior is hierarchically organized. Whether or not syntax plays a role in this or... more Complex human behavior is hierarchically organized. Whether or not syntax plays a role in this organization is currently under debate. The present ERP study uses piano performance to isolate syntactic operations in action planning and to demonstrate their priority over nonsyntactic levels of movement selection. Expert pianists were asked to execute chord progressions on a mute keyboard by copying the posture of a performing model hand shown in sequences of photos. We manipulated the final chord of each sequence in terms of Syntax (congruent/incongruent keys) and Manner (conventional/unconventional fingering), as well as the strength of its predictability by varying the length of the Context (five-chord/two-chord progressions). The production of syntactically incongruent compared to congruent chords showed a response delay that was larger in the long compared to the short context. This behavioral effect was accompanied by a centroparietal negativity in the long but not in the short c...
Frontiers in human neuroscience, 2010
PRIOR INFORMATION BIASES THE DECISION PROCESS: actions consistent with prior information are exec... more PRIOR INFORMATION BIASES THE DECISION PROCESS: actions consistent with prior information are executed swiftly, whereas actions inconsistent with prior information are executed slowly. How is this bias implemented in the brain? To address this question we conducted an experiment in which people had to decide quickly whether a cloud of dots moved coherently to the left or to the right. Cues provided probabilistic information about the upcoming stimulus. Behavioral data were analyzed with the linear ballistic accumulator (LBA) model, confirming that people used the cue to bias their decisions. The functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data showed that presentation of the cue differentially activated orbitofrontal cortex, hippocampus, and the putamen. Directional cues selectively activated the contralateral putamen. The fMRI analysis yielded results only when the LBA bias parameter was included as a covariate, highlighting the practical benefits of formal modeling. Our results su...
Frontiers in Psychology, 2012