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...
Cerebral Cortex, 2017
The cytoarchitectonic map as proposed by Brodmann currently dominates models of human sensorimoto... more The cytoarchitectonic map as proposed by Brodmann currently dominates models of human sensorimotor cortical structure, function, and plasticity. According to this model, primary motor cortex, area 4, and primary somatosensory cortex, area 3b, are homogenous areas, with the major division lying between the two. Accumulating empirical and theoretical evidence, however, has begun to question the validity of the Brodmann map for various cortical areas. Here, we combined in vivo cortical myelin mapping with functional connectivity analyses and topographic mapping techniques to reassess the validity of the Brodmann map in human primary sensorimotor cortex. We provide empirical evidence that area 4 and area 3b are not homogenous, but are subdivided into distinct cortical fields, each representing a major body part (the hand and the face). Myelin reductions at the hand-face borders are cortical layer-specific, and coincide with intrinsic functional connectivity borders as defined using large-scale resting state analyses. Our data extend the Brodmann model in human sensorimotor cortex and suggest that body parts are an important organizing principle, similar to the distinction between sensory and motor processing.
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...
Cortex, 2017
Incidental learning of appropriate stimulus-response associations is crucial for optimal function... more Incidental learning of appropriate stimulus-response associations is crucial for optimal functioning within our complex environment. Positive and negative prediction errors
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...
Brain Stimulation, 2016
Sham-controlled, double-blinded tDCS study on the cerebellums role in motor (re)learning A-B-A ... more Sham-controlled, double-blinded tDCS study on the cerebellums role in motor (re)learning A-B-A paradigm employed to create behavioral interference by secondary task (B) and test long-term tDCS effects on motor memory re-acquisition Behavioral interference disrupted motor memory retention but (anodal but not sham or cathodal) tDCS delivered online during memory acquisition induced lasting and robust effects on re-acquisition performance ABSTRACT Background: While concurrent transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) affects motor memory acquisition and long-term retention, it is unclear how behavioral interference modulates long-term tDCS effects. Behavioral interference can be introduced through a secondary task learned in-between motor memory acquisition and later recall of the original task. Objective/Hypothesis: The cerebellum is important for the processing of errors if movements should be adapted to external perturbations (motor memory acquisition). We hypothesized that concurrent cerebellar tDCS during adaptation influences both memory acquisition and re-acquisition if motor errors are enlarged due to behavioral interference. Methods: In a sham-controlled and double-blinded study, we applied anodal and cathodal tDCS to the ipsilateral cerebellum while subjects adapted reaching movements to an external, clockwise force field perturbation (acquisition task A) with their dominant right arm. Behavioral interference by an oppositely oriented, counterclockwise perturbation (secondary task B) was introduced in between the acquisition and re-acquisition (24h later) sessions. Results: Learning task B disrupted memory retention of A and re-increased motor errors in the re-acquisition session. Anodal but not sham or cathodal tDCS impaired motor memory acquisition and, additionally, increased motor errors during re-acquisition of the original motor memory. Conclusion(s): Behavioral interference disrupted motor memory retention but tDCS delivered online during memory acquisition induced lasting and robust effects on re-acquisition performance one day later. Our data also suggests different error-processing mechanisms at work during motor memory acquisition and re-acquisition.
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. ...
ESC Heart Failure, 2020
Aims White matter lesions (WML) are common structural alterations in the white matter of the brai... more Aims White matter lesions (WML) are common structural alterations in the white matter of the brain and their prevalence increases with age. They are associated with cerebral ischaemia and cognitive dysfunction. Patients with heart failure (HF) are at risk for cognitive decline. We hypothesized that the presence and duration of HF are associated with WML. Methods and results The LIFE-Adult Study is a population-based study of 10 000 residents of Leipzig, Germany. WML were quantitated in 2490 participants who additionally underwent cerebral MRI using the Fazekas score. Mean age was 64 years, and 46% were female; 2156 (86.6%) subjects had Fazekas score of 0-1, and 334 (13.4%) had Fazekas score of 2-3. Thirty participants had a medical history of HF, 1019 had hypertension, and 51 had a history of stroke. Median left ventricular ejection fraction of the participants with HF was 57% (interquartile ranges 54-62). Age, troponin T, NT-proBNP, body mass index, history of acute myocardial infarction, stroke, HF, and diabetes were positively associated with WML in univariate analysis. On multivariate analysis, age, hypertension, stroke, and HF were independently associated with WML. The odd's ratio for the association of WML (Fazekas 2-3) with HF was 2.8 (95% CI 1.2-6.5; P = 0.019). WML increased with longer duration of HF (P = 0.036 for trend). Conclusions In addition to age, hypertension, and stroke, the prevalence and duration of HF are independently associated with WML. This observation sets the stage to investigate the prognostic value of WML in HF and the impact of HF therapies on WML.
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.
NeuroImage, 2018
It is well established that musical training induces sensorimotor plasticity. However, there are ... more It is well established that musical training induces sensorimotor plasticity. However, there are remarkable differences in how musicians train for proficient stage performance. The present EEG study outlines for the first time clear-cut neurobiological differences between classical and jazz musicians at high and low levels of action planning, revealing genre-specific cognitive strategies adopted in production. Pianists imitated chord progressions without sound that were manipulated in terms of harmony and context length to assess high-level planning of sequence-structure, and in terms of the manner of playing to assess low-level parameter specification of single acts. Jazz pianists revised incongruent harmonies faster as revealed by an earlier reprogramming negativity and beta power decrease, hence neutralising response costs, albeit at the expense of a higher number of manner errors. Classical pianists in turn experienced more conflict during incongruent harmony, as shown by theta power increase, but were more ready to implement the required manner of playing, as indicated by higher accuracy and beta power decrease. These findings demonstrate that specific demands and action focus of training lead to differential weighting of hierarchical action planning. This suggests different enduring markers impressed in the brain when a musician practices one or the other style.
We discovered independently the shell-type supernova remnant G12.82−0.02, recently reported by Br... more We discovered independently the shell-type supernova remnant G12.82−0.02, recently reported by Brogan et al. (2005), which is coincident with the unidentified TeV gamma-ray source revealed in the HESS survey of the Galactic plane. Estimating the ambient starlight at the location of this source from the integrated Lyα luminosity of the nearby H II region W33, we conclude that inverse Compton emission is a viable explanation for the observed TeV emission. Examining remnants in the survey of Aharonian et al. (2005a) including those detected above 200 Gev and those not detected, we find a strikingly large range of more than three orders of magnitude in the radio to TeV flux ratios. We briefly explore the possible explanations of this range and the implications for the TeV emission mechanism.
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
An efficient and fast auditory-motor network is a basic resource for trained musicians due to the... more An efficient and fast auditory-motor network is a basic resource for trained musicians due to the importance of motor anticipation of sound production in musical performance. When playing an instrument, motor performance always goes along with the production of sounds and the integration between both modalities plays an essential role in the course of musical training. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of task-irrelevant auditory feedback during motor performance in musicians using a serial reaction time task (SRTT). Our hypothesis was that musicians, due to their extensive auditory-motor practice routine during musical training, have superior performance and learning capabilities when receiving auditory feedback during SRTT relative to musicians performing the SRTT without any auditory feedback. Behaviorally, we found that auditory feedback reinforced SRTT performance of the right hand (referring to absolute response speed) while learning capabilities remained unchanged. This finding highlights a potential important role for task-irrelevant auditory feedback in motor performance in musicians, a finding that might provide further insight into auditory-motor integration independent of the trained musical context.
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Papers by Arno Villringer