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Gasper K, Hu D, Haynes E. Feeling more neutral? Evaluative conditioning can increase neutral affective reactions. Cogn Emot 2024:1-19. [PMID: 38973178 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2024.2372385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2024] [Indexed: 07/09/2024]
Abstract
ABSTRACTWhile it is important to learn what is good and bad, can people learn what is neither? The answer to this question is not readily apparent, but it has important implications for how people learn affective responses. Six experiments examined whether evaluative conditioning (EC) can instill neutral affect. They tested four hypotheses: EC, in which novel conditioned stimuli (CSs) are paired with neutral unconditioned stimuli (USs) (1) creates neutral affect, (2) forms stronger experiences of neutrality when the number of contingent CS-US pairings is high rather than low, (3) creates positive affect, due to mere exposure, and (4) forms responses that are distinct from no US pairings. Respondents rated how positive, negative, and neutral they felt about a CS before and after an EC task in which CSs were paired with USs (positive, negative, neutral, or no stimuli). The positive/negative US conditions increased/decreased positivity, decreased/increased negativity, and decreased neutrality ratings, respectively. Supporting hypotheses 1, 2, and 4, the neutral US, but not the no US, condition increased neutral evaluations when respondents experienced a high (vs. low) number of CS-US pairings. Hypothesis 3 was not supported. The results reveal that people learn not only valenced, but also neutral, preferences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen Gasper
- The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
| | - Danfei Hu
- The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Elise Haynes
- The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
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2
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Ziereis A, Schacht A. Gender congruence and emotion effects in cross-modal associative learning: Insights from ERPs and pupillary responses. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14380. [PMID: 37387451 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Revised: 05/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023]
Abstract
Social and emotional cues from faces and voices are highly relevant and have been reliably demonstrated to attract attention involuntarily. However, there are mixed findings as to which degree associating emotional valence to faces occurs automatically. In the present study, we tested whether inherently neutral faces gain additional relevance by being conditioned with either positive, negative, or neutral vocal affect bursts. During learning, participants performed a gender-matching task on face-voice pairs without explicit emotion judgments of the voices. In the test session on a subsequent day, only the previously associated faces were presented and had to be categorized regarding gender. We analyzed event-related potentials (ERPs), pupil diameter, and response times (RTs) of N = 32 subjects. Emotion effects were found in auditory ERPs and RTs during the learning session, suggesting that task-irrelevant emotion was automatically processed. However, ERPs time-locked to the conditioned faces were mainly modulated by the task-relevant information, that is, the gender congruence of the face and voice, but not by emotion. Importantly, these ERP and RT effects of learned congruence were not limited to learning but extended to the test session, that is, after removing the auditory stimuli. These findings indicate successful associative learning in our paradigm, but it did not extend to the task-irrelevant dimension of emotional relevance. Therefore, cross-modal associations of emotional relevance may not be completely automatic, even though the emotion was processed in the voice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annika Ziereis
- Department for Cognition, Emotion and Behavior, Affective Neuroscience and Psychophysiology Laboratory, Institute of Psychology, Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Anne Schacht
- Department for Cognition, Emotion and Behavior, Affective Neuroscience and Psychophysiology Laboratory, Institute of Psychology, Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
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Ventura-Bort C, Wirkner J, Wendt J, Hamm AO, Weymar M. Establishment of Emotional Memories Is Mediated by Vagal Nerve Activation: Evidence from Noninvasive taVNS. J Neurosci 2021; 41:7636-7648. [PMID: 34281991 PMCID: PMC8425981 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2329-20.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2020] [Revised: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Emotional memories are better remembered than neutral ones, but the mechanisms leading to this memory bias are not well understood in humans yet. Based on animal research, it is suggested that the memory-enhancing effect of emotion is based on central noradrenergic 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 neural findings confirm a modulatory influence of the vagus nerve in emotional memory formation in humans.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Emotionally relevant information elicits stronger and more enduring memories than nonrelevant information. Animal research has shown that this memory-enhancing effect of emotion is related to the noradrenergic activation in the brain, which is triggered by afferent fibers of the vagus nerve (VN). In the current study, we show that noninvasive transcutaneous auricular VN stimulation enhances recollection-based memory formation specifically for emotionally relevant information as indicated by behavioral and electrophysiological indices. These human findings give novel insights into the mechanisms underlying the establishment of emotional episodic memories by confirming the causal link between the VN and memory formation which may help understand the neural mechanisms underlying disorders associated with altered memory functions and develop treatment options.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Ventura-Bort
- Department of Biological Psychology and Affective Science, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Potsdam, 14476, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Janine Wirkner
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, 17489, Germany
| | - Julia Wendt
- Department of Biological Psychology and Affective Science, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Potsdam, 14476, Potsdam, Germany
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, 17487, Germany
| | - Alfons O Hamm
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, 17487, Germany
| | - Mathias Weymar
- Department of Biological Psychology and Affective Science, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Potsdam, 14476, Potsdam, Germany
- Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, 14476, Germany
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Sperl MFJ, Wroblewski A, Mueller M, Straube B, Mueller EM. Learning dynamics of electrophysiological brain signals during human fear conditioning. Neuroimage 2020; 226:117569. [PMID: 33221446 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Revised: 09/13/2020] [Accepted: 11/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Electrophysiological studies in rodents allow recording neural activity during threats with high temporal and spatial precision. Although fMRI has helped translate insights about the anatomy of underlying brain circuits to humans, the temporal dynamics of neural fear processes remain opaque and require EEG. To date, studies on electrophysiological brain signals in humans have helped to elucidate underlying perceptual and attentional processes, but have widely ignored how fear memory traces evolve over time. The low signal-to-noise ratio of EEG demands aggregations across high numbers of trials, which will wash out transient neurobiological processes that are induced by learning and prone to habituation. Here, our goal was to unravel the plasticity and temporal emergence of EEG responses during fear conditioning. To this end, we developed a new sequential-set fear conditioning paradigm that comprises three successive acquisition and extinction phases, each with a novel CS+/CS- set. Each set consists of two different neutral faces on different background colors which serve as CS+ and CS-, respectively. Thereby, this design provides sufficient trials for EEG analyses while tripling the relative amount of trials that tap into more transient neurobiological processes. Consistent with prior studies on ERP components, data-driven topographic EEG analyses revealed that ERP amplitudes were potentiated during time periods from 33-60 ms, 108-200 ms, and 468-820 ms indicating that fear conditioning prioritizes early sensory processing in the brain, but also facilitates neural responding during later attentional and evaluative stages. Importantly, averaging across the three CS+/CS- sets allowed us to probe the temporal evolution of neural processes: Responses during each of the three time windows gradually increased from early to late fear conditioning, while long-latency (460-730 ms) electrocortical responses diminished throughout fear extinction. Our novel paradigm demonstrates how short-, mid-, and long-latency EEG responses change during fear conditioning and extinction, findings that enlighten the learning curve of neurophysiological responses to threat in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias F J Sperl
- Department of Psychology, Personality Psychology and Assessment, University of Marburg, 35032 Marburg, Germany; Department of Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Giessen, 35394 Giessen, Germany.
| | - Adrian Wroblewski
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Translational Neuroimaging Marburg, University of Marburg, 35039 Marburg, Germany.
| | - Madeleine Mueller
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Translational Neuroimaging Marburg, University of Marburg, 35039 Marburg, Germany; Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Benjamin Straube
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Translational Neuroimaging Marburg, University of Marburg, 35039 Marburg, Germany.
| | - Erik M Mueller
- Department of Psychology, Personality Psychology and Assessment, University of Marburg, 35032 Marburg, Germany.
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Seligowski AV, Reffi AN, Phillips KA, Orcutt HK, Auerbach RP, Pizzagalli DA, Ressler KJ. Neurophysiological responses to safety signals and the role of cardiac vagal control. Behav Brain Res 2020; 396:112914. [PMID: 32976862 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2020] [Revised: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Deficits in safety signal learning are well-established in fear-related disorders (e.g., PTSD, phobias). The current study used a fear conditioning paradigm to test associations among eye blink startle and event-related brain potential (ERP) latency measures of safety signal learning, as well as the role of cardiac vagal control (a measure of top-down inhibition necessary for safety learning). METHODS Participants were 49 trauma-exposed women ages 17 to 28 years. Eyeblink startle response and ERP amplitudes/latencies were derived for conditioned stimuli associated (CS+) and not associated (CS-) with an aversive unconditioned stimulus. ERPs included the P100 and late positive potential (LPP), which index early visual processing and sustained emotional encoding, respectively. Cardiac vagal control was assessed with resting heart rate variability (HRV). RESULTS P100 and LPP latencies for the CS- (safety signal stimulus) were significantly negatively associated with startle to the CS-, but not the CS + . LPP CS- latencies were significantly negatively associated with PTSD Intrusion scores, and this relationship was moderated by vagal control, such that the effect was only present among those with low HRV. CONCLUSIONS ERP-based markers of safety signal learning were associated with startle response to the CS- (but not CS+) and PTSD symptoms, indicating that these markers may have relevance for fear-related disorders. Cardiac vagal control indexed by HRV is a moderating factor in these associations and may be relevant to safety signal learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonia V Seligowski
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
| | - Anthony N Reffi
- Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA
| | | | - Holly K Orcutt
- Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA
| | - Randy P Auerbach
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Division of Clinical Developmental Neuroscience, Sackler Institute, New York, NY USA
| | - Diego A Pizzagalli
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - Kerry J Ressler
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
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Ventura-Bort C, Dolcos F, Wendt J, Wirkner J, Hamm AO, Weymar M. Item and source memory for emotional associates is mediated by different retrieval processes. Neuropsychologia 2020; 145:106606. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.12.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2017] [Revised: 11/13/2017] [Accepted: 12/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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Amd M, Baillet S. Neurophysiological Effects Associated With Subliminal Conditioning of Appetite Motivations. Front Psychol 2019; 10:457. [PMID: 30890986 PMCID: PMC6411685 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2018] [Accepted: 02/15/2019] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
When attempting to encourage eating, explicitly providing statements like "eating is pleasant" may produce little effect. This may be due to subjective, negatively-valenced narratives evoked by perception of the verb "eating" (e.g., eating →fat →lonely), overriding any explicitly provided eating-pleasant valence information. In our study, we presented eating-related verbs under subliminal visual conditions to mitigate the onset of eating-associated deliberation. Verbs were linked with neutral or positively valenced terms across independent blocks. Modulations of event-related magnetoencephalographic (MEG) components and parietal activations in the alpha range (8-12 Hz) illustrated a significant effect of valence during pre-lexical time windows. We found significantly greater saliva production and declarations of increasing hunger after eating-related verbs were linked with positive terms. Orally reported preferences did not vary between conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Micah Amd
- McConnell Brain Imaging Center, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Laboratory of Human Behavior Studies, Department of Psychology, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji
| | - Sylvain Baillet
- McConnell Brain Imaging Center, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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Lei Y, Wang J, Dou H, Qiu Y, Li H. Influence of typicality in category-based fear generalization: Diverging evidence from the P2 and N400 effect. Int J Psychophysiol 2019; 135:12-20. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2018.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2018] [Revised: 11/05/2018] [Accepted: 11/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
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Seligowski AV, Bondy E, Singleton P, Orcutt HK, Ressler KJ, Auerbach RP. Testing neurophysiological markers related to fear-potentiated startle. Psychiatry Res 2018; 267:195-200. [PMID: 29913378 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.06.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2018] [Revised: 06/08/2018] [Accepted: 06/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Fear-potentiated startle (FPS) paradigms provide insight into fear learning mechanisms that contribute to impairment among individuals with posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Electrophysiology also has provided insight into these mechanisms through the examination of event-related potentials (ERPs) such as the P100 and LPP. It remains unclear, however, whether the P100 and LPP may be related to fear learning processes within the FPS paradigm. To this end, we tested differences in ERP amplitudes for conditioned stimuli associated (CS+) and not associated (CS-) with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US) during fear acquisition. Participants included 54 female undergraduate students (mean age = 20.26). The FPS response was measured via electromyography of the orbicularis oculi muscle. EEG data were collected during the FPS paradigm. While the difference between CS+ and CS- P100 amplitude was not significant, LPP amplitudes were significantly enhanced following the CS+ relative to CS-. Furthermore, the LPP difference wave (CS+ minus CS-) was associated with FPS scores for the CS- during the later portion of fear acquisition. These findings suggest that conditioned stimuli may have altered emotional encoding (LPP) during the FPS paradigm. Thus, the LPP may be a promising neurophysiological marker that is related to fear learning processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonia V Seligowski
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
| | - Erin Bondy
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Paris Singleton
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - Holly K Orcutt
- Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA
| | - Kerry J Ressler
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - Randy P Auerbach
- McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY USA; Division of Clinical Developmental Neuroscience, New York, NY USA
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Howsley P, Levita L. Anticipatory representations of reward and threat in perceptual areas from preadolescence to late adolescence. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2017; 25:246-259. [PMID: 28359682 PMCID: PMC6987791 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2017.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2016] [Revised: 01/29/2017] [Accepted: 03/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
This study examined whether changes in perceptual processes can partially account for the increase in reward-orientated behaviour during adolescence. This was investigated by examining reinforcement-dependent potentiation to discriminative stimuli (SD) that predicted rewarding or threatening outcomes. To that end, perceptual event-related potentials that are modulated by motivationally salient stimuli, the N170 and Late Positive Potential (LPP), were recorded from 30 preadolescents (9–12 years), 30 adolescents (13–17 years), and 34 late adolescents (18–23 years) while they completed an instrumental task in which they emitted or omitted a motor response to obtain rewards and avoid losses. The LPP, but not the N170, showed age, but not gender, differences in reinforcement-dependent potentiation; preadolescents, adolescents, and late adolescents showed potentiation to SD that predicted a threat, whereas only preadolescents showed potentiation to SD that predicted a reward. Notably, the magnitude of threat-related LPP reinforcement-dependent potentiation decreased during the course of adolescence. In addition, greater sensation seeking was associated with greater LPP amplitudes in preadolescent males, but smaller LPP amplitudes in late adolescent males. Critically, these findings provide initial evidence for developmental differences in value-related coding in perceptual areas, where adolescents show greater perceptual biases to avoidance-related cues than to reward-related cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippa Howsley
- Department of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S1 2LT, United Kingdom.
| | - Liat Levita
- Department of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S1 2LT, United Kingdom.
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Ventura-Bort C, Löw A, Wendt J, Dolcos F, Hamm AO, Weymar M. When neutral turns significant: brain dynamics of rapidly formed associations between neutral stimuli and emotional contexts. Eur J Neurosci 2016; 44:2176-83. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2016] [Revised: 06/17/2016] [Accepted: 06/22/2016] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Ventura-Bort
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology; University of Greifswald; Franz-Mehring-Str. 47 17487 Greifswald Germany
- Department of Basic and Clinical Psychology, and Psychobiology; Universitat Jaume I; Castellón Spain
| | - Andreas Löw
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences; Helmut-Schmidt-University/University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg; Hamburg Germany
| | - Julia Wendt
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology; University of Greifswald; Franz-Mehring-Str. 47 17487 Greifswald Germany
| | - Florin Dolcos
- Psychology Department; Neuroscience Program; Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Champaign IL USA
| | - Alfons O. Hamm
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology; University of Greifswald; Franz-Mehring-Str. 47 17487 Greifswald Germany
| | - Mathias Weymar
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology; University of Greifswald; Franz-Mehring-Str. 47 17487 Greifswald Germany
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