Florian Chmetz | University of Lausanne (original) (raw)

Papers by Florian Chmetz

According to Freudian theory, memory representation and the somatic affects bound to them can hav... more According to Freudian theory, memory representation and the somatic affects bound to them can have distinct destinies. This dynamic and embodied theory of memory has been supported by recent findings in memory reconsolidation that emphasize how recollection induces memory lability and by the somatic markers hypothesis, which explains how somatic manifestations are constitutive of our emotional experiences. Indeed, it may be that the reassuring context of the psychoanalytic setting with reconsolidation mechanisms contributes to a re-association of threatening memories with more positive somatic markers. Here, we present two experiments in order to assess this hypothesis. In Exp.1, we tested whether inducing a somatic marker while negative memories are reactivated leads participants to evaluate the negative memories as less negative. In Exp.2, we tested whether such a manipulation has long lasting effects. Both Exp.1 and Exp.2 confirmed that inducing a positive somatic marker (smiling) during the reconsolidation phase does not affect memory accuracy. Exp.1 showed that participants evaluated aversive memories less negatively, and Exp.2 revealed that both neutral and negative reconsolidated memories were evaluated as less negative. We consider these results in the context of their theoretical and clinical implications.

Psychopathology, 2014

of spoken text along with repeated assessments at 14-day intervals allowed us to estimate the 'na... more of spoken text along with repeated assessments at 14-day intervals allowed us to estimate the 'natural' variation of speech parameters over time, and to analyze the sensitivity of speech parameters with respect to form and content of spoken text. Additionally, our project included a longitudinal self-assessment study with university students from Zurich (n = 18) and unemployed adults from Valencia (n = 18) in order to test the feasibility of the speech analysis method in home environments. Results: The normative data showed that speaking behavior and voice sound characteristics can be quantified in a reproducible and language-independent way. The high resolution of the method was verified by a computerized assignment of speech parameter patterns to languages at a success rate of 90%, while the correct assignment to texts was 70%. In the longitudinal self-assessment study we calculated individual 'baselines' for each test person along with deviations thereof. The significance of such deviations was assessed through the normative reference data. Conclusions: Our data provided gender-, age-, and language-specific thresholds that allow one to reliably distin-Abstract Background: Human speech is greatly influenced by the speakers' affective state, such as sadness, happiness, grief, guilt, fear, anger, aggression, faintheartedness, shame, sexual arousal, love, amongst others. Attentive listeners discover a lot about the affective state of their dialog partners with no great effort, and without having to talk about it explicitly during a conversation or on the phone. On the other hand, speech dysfunctions, such as slow, delayed or monotonous speech, are prominent features of affective disorders. Methods: This project was comprised of four studies with healthy volunteers from Bristol (English: n = 117), Lausanne (French: n = 128), Zurich (German: n = 208), and Valencia (Spanish: n = 124). All samples were stratified according to gender, age, and education. The specific study design with different types

Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition, 2016

In lateralized lexical decision tasks (LDTs), accuracy is higher and reaction times (RTs) are fas... more In lateralized lexical decision tasks (LDTs), accuracy is higher and reaction times (RTs) are faster for right visual field (RVF) than left visual field (LVF) presentations. Visual field differences are thought to demonstrate the left hemisphere's (LH) dominance for language. The use of different tasks and words between studies and languages make direct comparisons difficult. We performed a lateralized LDT for which we selected four to six letter words that are used in three languages of Switzerland (French, German, and Italian) and English and Dutch. We accounted for the potential moderating roles of sex, handedness and multilingualism (early acquisition versus late acquisition of at least one second language). One hundred participants were tested at a French-speaking University in Switzerland. All performed a French vocabulary knowledge task [Brysbaert ( 2013 ). Lextale_FR a fast, free, and efficient test to measure language proficiency in French. Psychologica Belgica, 53(1), 23-27. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-4373981]. Results showed a RVF over LVF advantage (accuracy, RTs and signal detection theory measures) for all groups, that is, irrespective of participants' sex, handedness and how many languages they spoke. We observed, however, that enhanced vocabulary knowledge related to a right hemisphere shift in early bilinguals and a LH shift in late bilinguals. We discuss how the current observations can inform future studies suitable for the validation of the current task using an "international" vocabulary.

Frontiers in Psychology, 2015

Since Damasio introduced the somatic markers hypothesis in , it has spread through the psychologi... more Since Damasio introduced the somatic markers hypothesis in , it has spread through the psychological community, where it is now commonly acknowledged that somatic states are a factor in producing the qualitative dimension of our experiences. Present actions are emotionally guided by those somatic states that were previously activated in similar experiences. In this model, somatic markers serve as a kind of embodied memory. Here, we test whether the manipulation of somatic markers can modulate the emotional evaluation of negative memories. Because facial feedback has been shown to be a powerful means of modifying emotional judgements, we used it to manipulate somatic markers. Participants first read a sad story in order to induce a negative emotional memory and then were asked to rate their emotions and memory about the text. Twenty-four hours later, the same participants were asked to assume a predetermined facial feedback (smiling) while reactivating their memory of the sad story. The participants were once again asked to fill in emotional and memory questionnaires about the text. Our results showed that participants who had smiled during memory reactivation later rated the text less negatively than control participants. However, the contraction of the zygomaticus muscles during memory reactivation did not have any impact on episodic memory scores. This suggests that manipulating somatic states modified emotional memory without affecting episodic memory. Thus, modulating memories through bodily states might pave the way to studying memory as an embodied function and help shape new kinds of psychotherapeutic interventions.

Psychopathology, 2014

of spoken text along with repeated assessments at 14-day intervals allowed us to estimate the 'na... more of spoken text along with repeated assessments at 14-day intervals allowed us to estimate the 'natural' variation of speech parameters over time, and to analyze the sensitivity of speech parameters with respect to form and content of spoken text. Additionally, our project included a longitudinal self-assessment study with university students from Zurich (n = 18) and unemployed adults from Valencia (n = 18) in order to test the feasibility of the speech analysis method in home environments. Results: The normative data showed that speaking behavior and voice sound characteristics can be quantified in a reproducible and language-independent way. The high resolution of the method was verified by a computerized assignment of speech parameter patterns to languages at a success rate of 90%, while the correct assignment to texts was 70%. In the longitudinal self-assessment study we calculated individual 'baselines' for each test person along with deviations thereof. The significance of such deviations was assessed through the normative reference data. Conclusions: Our data provided gender-, age-, and language-specific thresholds that allow one to reliably distin-Abstract Background: Human speech is greatly influenced by the speakers' affective state, such as sadness, happiness, grief, guilt, fear, anger, aggression, faintheartedness, shame, sexual arousal, love, amongst others. Attentive listeners discover a lot about the affective state of their dialog partners with no great effort, and without having to talk about it explicitly during a conversation or on the phone. On the other hand, speech dysfunctions, such as slow, delayed or monotonous speech, are prominent features of affective disorders. Methods: This project was comprised of four studies with healthy volunteers from Bristol (English: n = 117), Lausanne (French: n = 128), Zurich (German: n = 208), and Valencia (Spanish: n = 124). All samples were stratified according to gender, age, and education. The specific study design with different types

According to Freudian theory, memory representation and the somatic affects bound to them can hav... more According to Freudian theory, memory representation and the somatic affects bound to them can have distinct destinies. This dynamic and embodied theory of memory has been supported by recent findings in memory reconsolidation that emphasize how recollection induces memory lability and by the somatic markers hypothesis, which explains how somatic manifestations are constitutive of our emotional experiences. Indeed, it may be that the reassuring context of the psychoanalytic setting with reconsolidation mechanisms contributes to a re-association of threatening memories with more positive somatic markers. Here, we present two experiments in order to assess this hypothesis. In Exp.1, we tested whether inducing a somatic marker while negative memories are reactivated leads participants to evaluate the negative memories as less negative. In Exp.2, we tested whether such a manipulation has long lasting effects. Both Exp.1 and Exp.2 confirmed that inducing a positive somatic marker (smiling) during the reconsolidation phase does not affect memory accuracy. Exp.1 showed that participants evaluated aversive memories less negatively, and Exp.2 revealed that both neutral and negative reconsolidated memories were evaluated as less negative. We consider these results in the context of their theoretical and clinical implications.

Psychopathology, 2014

of spoken text along with repeated assessments at 14-day intervals allowed us to estimate the 'na... more of spoken text along with repeated assessments at 14-day intervals allowed us to estimate the 'natural' variation of speech parameters over time, and to analyze the sensitivity of speech parameters with respect to form and content of spoken text. Additionally, our project included a longitudinal self-assessment study with university students from Zurich (n = 18) and unemployed adults from Valencia (n = 18) in order to test the feasibility of the speech analysis method in home environments. Results: The normative data showed that speaking behavior and voice sound characteristics can be quantified in a reproducible and language-independent way. The high resolution of the method was verified by a computerized assignment of speech parameter patterns to languages at a success rate of 90%, while the correct assignment to texts was 70%. In the longitudinal self-assessment study we calculated individual 'baselines' for each test person along with deviations thereof. The significance of such deviations was assessed through the normative reference data. Conclusions: Our data provided gender-, age-, and language-specific thresholds that allow one to reliably distin-Abstract Background: Human speech is greatly influenced by the speakers' affective state, such as sadness, happiness, grief, guilt, fear, anger, aggression, faintheartedness, shame, sexual arousal, love, amongst others. Attentive listeners discover a lot about the affective state of their dialog partners with no great effort, and without having to talk about it explicitly during a conversation or on the phone. On the other hand, speech dysfunctions, such as slow, delayed or monotonous speech, are prominent features of affective disorders. Methods: This project was comprised of four studies with healthy volunteers from Bristol (English: n = 117), Lausanne (French: n = 128), Zurich (German: n = 208), and Valencia (Spanish: n = 124). All samples were stratified according to gender, age, and education. The specific study design with different types

Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition, 2016

In lateralized lexical decision tasks (LDTs), accuracy is higher and reaction times (RTs) are fas... more In lateralized lexical decision tasks (LDTs), accuracy is higher and reaction times (RTs) are faster for right visual field (RVF) than left visual field (LVF) presentations. Visual field differences are thought to demonstrate the left hemisphere's (LH) dominance for language. The use of different tasks and words between studies and languages make direct comparisons difficult. We performed a lateralized LDT for which we selected four to six letter words that are used in three languages of Switzerland (French, German, and Italian) and English and Dutch. We accounted for the potential moderating roles of sex, handedness and multilingualism (early acquisition versus late acquisition of at least one second language). One hundred participants were tested at a French-speaking University in Switzerland. All performed a French vocabulary knowledge task [Brysbaert ( 2013 ). Lextale_FR a fast, free, and efficient test to measure language proficiency in French. Psychologica Belgica, 53(1), 23-27. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-4373981]. Results showed a RVF over LVF advantage (accuracy, RTs and signal detection theory measures) for all groups, that is, irrespective of participants' sex, handedness and how many languages they spoke. We observed, however, that enhanced vocabulary knowledge related to a right hemisphere shift in early bilinguals and a LH shift in late bilinguals. We discuss how the current observations can inform future studies suitable for the validation of the current task using an "international" vocabulary.

Frontiers in Psychology, 2015

Since Damasio introduced the somatic markers hypothesis in , it has spread through the psychologi... more Since Damasio introduced the somatic markers hypothesis in , it has spread through the psychological community, where it is now commonly acknowledged that somatic states are a factor in producing the qualitative dimension of our experiences. Present actions are emotionally guided by those somatic states that were previously activated in similar experiences. In this model, somatic markers serve as a kind of embodied memory. Here, we test whether the manipulation of somatic markers can modulate the emotional evaluation of negative memories. Because facial feedback has been shown to be a powerful means of modifying emotional judgements, we used it to manipulate somatic markers. Participants first read a sad story in order to induce a negative emotional memory and then were asked to rate their emotions and memory about the text. Twenty-four hours later, the same participants were asked to assume a predetermined facial feedback (smiling) while reactivating their memory of the sad story. The participants were once again asked to fill in emotional and memory questionnaires about the text. Our results showed that participants who had smiled during memory reactivation later rated the text less negatively than control participants. However, the contraction of the zygomaticus muscles during memory reactivation did not have any impact on episodic memory scores. This suggests that manipulating somatic states modified emotional memory without affecting episodic memory. Thus, modulating memories through bodily states might pave the way to studying memory as an embodied function and help shape new kinds of psychotherapeutic interventions.

Psychopathology, 2014

of spoken text along with repeated assessments at 14-day intervals allowed us to estimate the 'na... more of spoken text along with repeated assessments at 14-day intervals allowed us to estimate the 'natural' variation of speech parameters over time, and to analyze the sensitivity of speech parameters with respect to form and content of spoken text. Additionally, our project included a longitudinal self-assessment study with university students from Zurich (n = 18) and unemployed adults from Valencia (n = 18) in order to test the feasibility of the speech analysis method in home environments. Results: The normative data showed that speaking behavior and voice sound characteristics can be quantified in a reproducible and language-independent way. The high resolution of the method was verified by a computerized assignment of speech parameter patterns to languages at a success rate of 90%, while the correct assignment to texts was 70%. In the longitudinal self-assessment study we calculated individual 'baselines' for each test person along with deviations thereof. The significance of such deviations was assessed through the normative reference data. Conclusions: Our data provided gender-, age-, and language-specific thresholds that allow one to reliably distin-Abstract Background: Human speech is greatly influenced by the speakers' affective state, such as sadness, happiness, grief, guilt, fear, anger, aggression, faintheartedness, shame, sexual arousal, love, amongst others. Attentive listeners discover a lot about the affective state of their dialog partners with no great effort, and without having to talk about it explicitly during a conversation or on the phone. On the other hand, speech dysfunctions, such as slow, delayed or monotonous speech, are prominent features of affective disorders. Methods: This project was comprised of four studies with healthy volunteers from Bristol (English: n = 117), Lausanne (French: n = 128), Zurich (German: n = 208), and Valencia (Spanish: n = 124). All samples were stratified according to gender, age, and education. The specific study design with different types