Interoception and symptom reporting: Disentangling accuracy and bias.

in Frontiers in Psychology (2015)

Affektive Bewertung von Körperbildern bei Anorexia nervosa

in Wittchen, H.-U.; Härtling, S.; Hoyer, J. (Eds.) Abstractband - Wieviel Psychologie steckt in der Psychotherapie? (2015)

Altered patterns of heartbeat-evoked potentials in depersonalization/derealization disorder: neurophysiological evidence for impaired cortical representation of bodily signals

in Psychosomatic Medicine (2015), 77(5), 506-516

OBJECTIVE: Core features of depersonalization-/derealization disorder (DPD) are emotional numbing and feelings of disembodiment. While there are several neurophysiological findings supporting subjective ... [more ▼]

OBJECTIVE: Core features of depersonalization-/derealization disorder (DPD) are emotional numbing and feelings of disembodiment. While there are several neurophysiological findings supporting subjective emotional numbing, the psychobiology of disembodiment remains unclear. METHODS: Heartbeat-evoked potentials (HEPs), which are considered psychophysiological indicators for the cortical representation of afferent signals originating from the cardiovascular system, were assessed in 23 patients with DPD and 24 healthy control individuals during rest and while performing a heartbeat perception task. RESULTS: Absolute HEP amplitudes did not differ between groups. Nevertheless, healthy individuals showed higher HEPs during the heartbeat perception task than during rest, while no such effect was found in DPD patients (p = .031). DPD patients had higher total levels of salivary alpha-amylase than healthy individuals (9626.6±8200.0 vs. 5344.3±3745.8 kUmin/l; p = .029), but there were no group differences in cardiovascular measures (heart rate: 76.2±10.1 vs. 74.3 ±7.5 bpm, p = .60; nLF HRV: .63±.15 vs. .56 ±.15 n.u., p = .099; LF/HF ratio: 249.3±242.7 vs. 164.8 ±108.8, p = .10), salivary cortisol (57.5±46.7 vs. 55.1±43.6 nmolmin/l, p = .86) or cortisone levels (593.2±260.3 vs. 543.8±257.1 nmolmin/l, p = .52). CONCLUSION: These results suggest altered cortical representation of afferent signals originating from the cardiovascular system in DPD patients, which may be associated with higher sympathetic tone. These findings may reflect difficulties of DPD patients to attend to their actual bodily experiences. [less ▲]

Short-term food deprivation increases amplitudes of heartbeat-evoked potentials

in Psychophysiology (2015), 52(5), 695-703

Nutritional state, i.e. fasting or non-fasting, may affect the processing of interoceptive signals, but mechanisms underlying this effect remain unclear. We investigated 16 healthy women on two separate ... [more ▼]

Nutritional state, i.e. fasting or non-fasting, may affect the processing of interoceptive signals, but mechanisms underlying this effect remain unclear. We investigated 16 healthy women on two separate days: when satiated (standardized food intake) and after an 18 h food deprivation period. On both days, heartbeat-evoked potentials (HEPs) and cardiac and ANS activation indices (heart rate, nLF HRV) were assessed. The HEP is an EEG pattern that is considered an index of cortical representation of afferent cardiovascular signals. Average HEP activity (R-wave +455-595 ms) was enhanced during food deprivation compared to normal food intake. Cardiac activation did not differ between nutritional conditions. Our results indicate that short-term food deprivation amplifies an electrophysiological correlate of the cortical representation of visceral-afferent signals originating from the cardiovascular system. This effect could not be attributed to increased cardiac activation, as estimated by heart rate and nLF HRV, after food deprivation. [less ▲]

Elicitation of Negative Emotions in Adolescents using Video Clips

Poster (2014, September 05)

Dreaming and health (Chapter 37)

in Tranquillo, Nicholas (Ed.) Dream consciousness: Allan Hobson's new approach to the brain and its mind (2014)

This book presents three lectures by Allan Hobson, entitled “The William James Lectures on Dream Consciousness”. The three lectures expose the new psychology, the new physiology and the new philosophy ... [more ▼]

This book presents three lectures by Allan Hobson, entitled “The William James Lectures on Dream Consciousness”. The three lectures expose the new psychology, the new physiology and the new philosophy that derive from and support the protoconsciousness hypothesis of dreaming. They review in detail many of the studies on sleep and dreaming conducted since the days of Sigmund Freud. Following the lectures are commentaries written by scholars whose expertise covers a wide range of scientific disciplines including, but not limited to, philosophy, psychology, neurology, neuropsychology, cognitive science, biology, and animal sciences. The commentaries each answer a specific question in relation to Hobson’s lectures and his premise that dreaming is an altered state of consciousness. Capitalizing on a vast amount of data, the lectures and commentaries provide undisputed evidence that sleep consists of a well-organized sequence of subtly orchestrated brain states that undoubtedly play a crucial function in the maintenance of normal brain functions. These functions include both basic homeostatic processes necessary to keep the organism alive as well as the highest cognitive functions including perception, decision making, learning and consciousness. [less ▲]

The influence of emotional instability on daily pain outcomes in chronic pain patients

Poster (2014, May)

Food-cue affected motor response inhibition and self-reported dieting success: a pictorial affective shifting task

in Frontiers in Psychology (2014), 5(216),

Behavioral inhibition is one of the basic facets of executive functioning and is closely related to self-regulation. Impulsive reactions, i.e. low inhibitory control, have been associated with higher body ... [more ▼]

Behavioral inhibition is one of the basic facets of executive functioning and is closely related to self-regulation. Impulsive reactions, i.e. low inhibitory control, have been associated with higher body-mass-index (BMI), binge eating, and other problem behaviors (e.g. substance abuse, pathological gambling, etc.). Nevertheless, studies which investigated the direct influence of food-cues on behavioral inhibition have been fairly inconsistent. In the current studies, we investigated food-cue affected behavioral inhibition in young women. For this purpose, we used a go/no-go task with pictorial food and neutral stimuli in which stimulus-response mapping is reversed after every other block (affective shifting task). In study 1, hungry participants showed faster reaction times to and omitted fewer food than neutral targets. Low dieting success and higher BMI were associated with behavioral disinhibition in food relative to neutral blocks. In study 2, both hungry and satiated individuals were investigated. Satiation did not influence overall task performance, but modulated associations of task performance with dieting success and self-reported impulsivity. When satiated, increased food craving during the task was associated with low dieting success, possibly indicating a preload-disinhibition effect following food intake. Food-cues elicited automatic action and approach tendencies regardless of dieting success, self-reported impulsivity, or current hunger levels. Yet, associations between dieting success, impulsivity, and behavioral food-cue responses were modulated by hunger and satiation. Future research investigating clinical samples and including other salient non-food stimuli as control category is warranted. [less ▲]

Adipositas im Kindes- und Jugendalter: Risikofaktoren, Prävention und Behandlung

in Verhaltenstherapie (2014), 24(3), 182-192

Longer lasting weight loss is only achieved in 10% of obese adults, who try to lose weight. Therefore, prevention programmes for children and adolescents should have highest priority. Proximal and distal ... [more ▼]

Longer lasting weight loss is only achieved in 10% of obese adults, who try to lose weight. Therefore, prevention programmes for children and adolescents should have highest priority. Proximal and distal risk factors for the development of obesity include high-energy intake, low physical activity, high genetic load, low socioeconomic status and migration background. Prevention and intervention programmes need to take psychosocial factors into account and offer a personalized therapy in the respective settings. Even though cognitive behaviour therapy is superior to lifestyle intervention alone, as weight loss during treatment is higher when cognitive behaviour therapy is offered, its long-term success is uncertain. The need to include the family environment into treatment programmes is illustrated by studies showing that treating parents alone has the same effect on children’s weight loss as treating both parents and their children. Fast food, sugar sweetened drinks, hours of watching television and computer use are often discussed in terms of their causative role for obesity. The role of government policies to regulate the availability of fast food or sugar sweetened drinks as a prevention strategy is disputed, with little current empirical evidence as to the efficacy or effectiveness of such an approach. Nevertheless, public health regulations are unlikely to achieve the desired results at a population level, if not supported by families, schools and communities as well as the industry, currently investing more in economic success than responsibility for society. [less ▲]

State of the Art in der Verhaltensmedizin: Keynote-Beiträge der DGVM-Jahrestagung 2013 - Editorial

in Verhaltenstherapie (2014)