What inspires my curiosity and motivation is to approach critical research questions influencing our daily life. These puzzles are reflected in several neuro-biological/psychological processes, and refining potential progress for mental and neuroeconomic principles underlying specific human actions.
The basal ganglia (BG) are crucial structures for decision-making processes, i.e. the cognitive p... more The basal ganglia (BG) are crucial structures for decision-making processes, i.e. the cognitive processes resulting in the selection of a set of actions among several alternative scenarios. Modelling of BG circuitry has played an important role in our understanding of these mental processes, over the last 20 years. Until now, many developmental changes have occurred regarding these models due to continued progress in anatomy, physiology and biochemistry research. In turn, these advances have provided us with novel views regarding the dynamic associations between BG regions. These interactions reflect their connectivity across motor, cognitive and associative loops, which are involved in the decision making process. Furthermore, even though numerous experimental studies have been led by cognitive dysfunctions related to BG, the connectionist neuronal network approach has rarely been employed to describe the decision-making process mechanisms. There are two reasons to support the importance of this class of descriptive model: (i) through this approach, we can precisely follow the information flow underlying decision-making as an emerging property of BG circuits and (ii) since educated decision-making involves preliminary learning relying on synaptic plasticity and thus on synaptic weights modification, we can provide a more plausible description of the whole phenomenon at the cell scale level. In this work, we show how the connectionist approach can shed additional light on the function of the input and output structures of the BG, on their transfer functions and we thus clarify this process in a mechanistic way.
Creativity is related to finding novel, surprising, and useful solutions. We argue that creative ... more Creativity is related to finding novel, surprising, and useful solutions. We argue that creative cognitive processes, divergent thinking, abstraction, and improvisation, are constructed on different novelty-based processes. The prefrontal cortex plays a role in creative ideation by providing a control mechanism. Thinking about novel solutions activates distant or loosely connected neurons of a semantic network that involves the hippocampus. Novelty can also be about the different combinations of earlier learned processes, such as the motor sequencing mechanism of the basal ganglia. The cerebellum is responsible for the precise control of movements, which is particularly important in improvisation. Our neurocomputational perspective is based on three creative processes based on novelty seeking, subserved by the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, cerebellum, basal ganglia, and dopamine. The algorithmic implementation of our model would enable us to describe commonalities and differences between these creative processes based on the proposed neural circuitry. This is the first brain-inspired neural network model of creative cognition, as most prior studies mainly provide theoretical and conceptual models of creativity.
Studien zum Thema Work-Life-Balance zeigen, dass die Integration von sportlichen Tatigkeiten in d... more Studien zum Thema Work-Life-Balance zeigen, dass die Integration von sportlichen Tatigkeiten in dem Alltag zu den wichtigsten praventiven Masnahmen gehort, um die eigene Resilienz zu erhohen. Doch wie konnen Arbeitnehmer sportliche Tatigkeiten in ihrem Alltag effizient einbauen?
Ancient Egyptians’ significant progress lies in developments involving almost all parts of life a... more Ancient Egyptians’ significant progress lies in developments involving almost all parts of life and particularly gender equality. For more than seven millennia, the Ancient Egyptian civilization provided the roots from which humanity determined its legacy for equality between both genders without any discrimination. Sadly, after seven millennia, Egyptian women’s role declined due to several mistaken conflicts until Mohamed Ali’s era in the nineteenth century. During Mohamed Ali’s time, women’s roles and status started to flourish again in all domains. However, the movement for gender equality was stagnant by the middle of the 1900s. It turned out to be challenging to recognize any remarkable achievement either in the social and scientific life supported by Egyptian women. Therefore, it was essential to shed light on these historical milestones and Egyptian women’s forgotten achievements. Although it was hard for women to progress in modern-day Egypt, there have been some exceptions. For example, several extraordinary stories of women could learn science and develop successful scientific careers, particularly when the traditional perspective for women limiting them to household duties. With the hope that more female Egyptian pioneers will prosper again as it was in old times or amid Mohamed Ali’s time, this chapter sheds light on the late fruitful Egyptian women’s achievements in the early and late 1900s and 2000s. We further compare the status of Egyptian and European women in modern times.
Why can some people generate outstanding creative ideas despite receiving frustrating feedback? A... more Why can some people generate outstanding creative ideas despite receiving frustrating feedback? Although previous studies highlighted the effects of emotional states on creativity, the interactions between specific psychophysiological emotional parameters or affective states and response inhibition (RI) on creativity remain elusive. Therefore, with this study, we aimed to investigate whether RI mediates the effects of emotional states on creative thinking, specifically divergent thinking (DT), while participants receive frustrating or encouraging feedback. We induced positive and negative affect and psychophysiological arousal (PA) by manipulating feedback on performing a go/no-go task (GNGT), one of the standardized tasks for measuring RI. In other words, we provided participants with artificial feedback on GNGT to induce either frustration following (a negative emotional state) or a feeling of success (a positive emotional state). After receiving the manipulated feedback, participants performed the alternative uses task (AUT), a classical test for measuring DT. Subjective affective states were assessed using the Positive and Negative Affect Scale-Expanded Form (PANAS-X). During AUT, PA was measured through skin conductance (SC) and heart rate variability (HRV). Our data revealed that RI mediates the effect of negative affect and fatigue and enhanced PA (measured through HRV) on DT. Moreover, positive affect and PA (measured through SC) directly enhanced the three indices of DT (fluency, originality, and flexibility). Concerning the measurement of HRV, the application of time-domain HRV analyses was superior to that of frequency-domain HRV analyses. Notably, gender had strong direct and indirect effects on fluency and flexibility but not originality. In conclusion, our results suggest distinct mechanisms for modulatory effects of specific emotional states and associated psychophysiological on divergent creative thinking.
Neural network activity is thought to be regulated through cortical development. During cortical ... more Neural network activity is thought to be regulated through cortical development. During cortical development, the reversal potential of GABAA signaling turns from excitatory to inhibitory. However, whether the physiological switch of GABAA signaling is the only factor that impacts cortical development or if other parameters also participate still remains elusive. For example, several experimental findings indicated how the states of structural connectivity between excitatory and inhibitory neurons play an essential role in fine tuning and shaping network firing activity. Furthermore, local density of arborescence and a lateral spread length between neighboring neurons during cortical development might also contribute to scaling firing rate activity. Here, we propose a computational model approach to address neural changes (including changes in GABA, connectivity, and other parameters) during cortical development
The basal ganglia (BG) are crucial structures for decision-making processes, i.e. the cognitive p... more The basal ganglia (BG) are crucial structures for decision-making processes, i.e. the cognitive processes resulting in the selection of a set of actions among several alternative scenarios. Modelling of BG circuitry has played an important role in our understanding of these mental processes, over the last 20 years. Until now, many developmental changes have occurred regarding these models due to continued progress in anatomy, physiology and biochemistry research. In turn, these advances have provided us with novel views regarding the dynamic associations between BG regions. These interactions reflect their connectivity across motor, cognitive and associative loops, which are involved in the decision making process. Furthermore, even though numerous experimental studies have been led by cognitive dysfunctions related to BG, the connectionist neuronal network approach has rarely been employed to describe the decision-making process mechanisms. There are two reasons to support the importance of this class of descriptive model: (i) through this approach, we can precisely follow the information flow underlying decision-making as an emerging property of BG circuits and (ii) since educated decision-making involves preliminary learning relying on synaptic plasticity and thus on synaptic weights modification, we can provide a more plausible description of the whole phenomenon at the cell scale level. In this work, we show how the connectionist approach can shed additional light on the function of the input and output structures of the BG, on their transfer functions and we thus clarify this process in a mechanistic way.
Creativity is related to finding novel, surprising, and useful solutions. We argue that creative ... more Creativity is related to finding novel, surprising, and useful solutions. We argue that creative cognitive processes, divergent thinking, abstraction, and improvisation, are constructed on different novelty-based processes. The prefrontal cortex plays a role in creative ideation by providing a control mechanism. Thinking about novel solutions activates distant or loosely connected neurons of a semantic network that involves the hippocampus. Novelty can also be about the different combinations of earlier learned processes, such as the motor sequencing mechanism of the basal ganglia. The cerebellum is responsible for the precise control of movements, which is particularly important in improvisation. Our neurocomputational perspective is based on three creative processes based on novelty seeking, subserved by the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, cerebellum, basal ganglia, and dopamine. The algorithmic implementation of our model would enable us to describe commonalities and differences between these creative processes based on the proposed neural circuitry. This is the first brain-inspired neural network model of creative cognition, as most prior studies mainly provide theoretical and conceptual models of creativity.
Studien zum Thema Work-Life-Balance zeigen, dass die Integration von sportlichen Tatigkeiten in d... more Studien zum Thema Work-Life-Balance zeigen, dass die Integration von sportlichen Tatigkeiten in dem Alltag zu den wichtigsten praventiven Masnahmen gehort, um die eigene Resilienz zu erhohen. Doch wie konnen Arbeitnehmer sportliche Tatigkeiten in ihrem Alltag effizient einbauen?
Ancient Egyptians’ significant progress lies in developments involving almost all parts of life a... more Ancient Egyptians’ significant progress lies in developments involving almost all parts of life and particularly gender equality. For more than seven millennia, the Ancient Egyptian civilization provided the roots from which humanity determined its legacy for equality between both genders without any discrimination. Sadly, after seven millennia, Egyptian women’s role declined due to several mistaken conflicts until Mohamed Ali’s era in the nineteenth century. During Mohamed Ali’s time, women’s roles and status started to flourish again in all domains. However, the movement for gender equality was stagnant by the middle of the 1900s. It turned out to be challenging to recognize any remarkable achievement either in the social and scientific life supported by Egyptian women. Therefore, it was essential to shed light on these historical milestones and Egyptian women’s forgotten achievements. Although it was hard for women to progress in modern-day Egypt, there have been some exceptions. For example, several extraordinary stories of women could learn science and develop successful scientific careers, particularly when the traditional perspective for women limiting them to household duties. With the hope that more female Egyptian pioneers will prosper again as it was in old times or amid Mohamed Ali’s time, this chapter sheds light on the late fruitful Egyptian women’s achievements in the early and late 1900s and 2000s. We further compare the status of Egyptian and European women in modern times.
Why can some people generate outstanding creative ideas despite receiving frustrating feedback? A... more Why can some people generate outstanding creative ideas despite receiving frustrating feedback? Although previous studies highlighted the effects of emotional states on creativity, the interactions between specific psychophysiological emotional parameters or affective states and response inhibition (RI) on creativity remain elusive. Therefore, with this study, we aimed to investigate whether RI mediates the effects of emotional states on creative thinking, specifically divergent thinking (DT), while participants receive frustrating or encouraging feedback. We induced positive and negative affect and psychophysiological arousal (PA) by manipulating feedback on performing a go/no-go task (GNGT), one of the standardized tasks for measuring RI. In other words, we provided participants with artificial feedback on GNGT to induce either frustration following (a negative emotional state) or a feeling of success (a positive emotional state). After receiving the manipulated feedback, participants performed the alternative uses task (AUT), a classical test for measuring DT. Subjective affective states were assessed using the Positive and Negative Affect Scale-Expanded Form (PANAS-X). During AUT, PA was measured through skin conductance (SC) and heart rate variability (HRV). Our data revealed that RI mediates the effect of negative affect and fatigue and enhanced PA (measured through HRV) on DT. Moreover, positive affect and PA (measured through SC) directly enhanced the three indices of DT (fluency, originality, and flexibility). Concerning the measurement of HRV, the application of time-domain HRV analyses was superior to that of frequency-domain HRV analyses. Notably, gender had strong direct and indirect effects on fluency and flexibility but not originality. In conclusion, our results suggest distinct mechanisms for modulatory effects of specific emotional states and associated psychophysiological on divergent creative thinking.
Neural network activity is thought to be regulated through cortical development. During cortical ... more Neural network activity is thought to be regulated through cortical development. During cortical development, the reversal potential of GABAA signaling turns from excitatory to inhibitory. However, whether the physiological switch of GABAA signaling is the only factor that impacts cortical development or if other parameters also participate still remains elusive. For example, several experimental findings indicated how the states of structural connectivity between excitatory and inhibitory neurons play an essential role in fine tuning and shaping network firing activity. Furthermore, local density of arborescence and a lateral spread length between neighboring neurons during cortical development might also contribute to scaling firing rate activity. Here, we propose a computational model approach to address neural changes (including changes in GABA, connectivity, and other parameters) during cortical development
Question
Noninvasive cortical stimulation techniques such as repetitive transcranial magnetic sti... more Question Noninvasive cortical stimulation techniques such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) are capable of increasing and decreasing cortical excitability and thereby might be clinically relevant for rehabilitation of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. However, the induced after-effects are usually too short-lasting to be clinically relevant. In this study we investigated if combining rTMS with operant learning can induce long-lasting after-effects not achievable neither with rTMS alone nor with operant learning alone.
dependent way. At present, only few studies investigated the effects of tDCS on the modulation of... more dependent way. At present, only few studies investigated the effects of tDCS on the modulation of functional connectivity between remote cortical areas. Objective: In the present study we aimed to investigate the impact of bipolar tDCS on cortical networks connectivity through graph theoretical analysis. Materials & methods: High-density EEG recordings were acquired before and after bipolar anodal, cathodal and sham tDCS applied over the primary motor cortex of the dominant hemisphere in 14 healthy subjects. Results: Results showed that, after bipolar anodal tDCS stimulation over the dominant primary motor cortex the related brain network presented a more small-worldnessy, meaning a global tendency to be more random in its functional connections respect to prestimulus condition in both hemispheres. Conclusions: Our results suggest that tDCS is able to modulate globally the cortical connectivity of the brain, modifying the underlying functional organization via complex pattern of direct and indirect cortical activations or inhibitions of the stimulated networks, which might be related to changes in synaptic efficiency of the motor network and related brain areas. Question: Recent neuroimaging studies have suggested that the anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC; BA 9/10) is involved in deception and moral cognition. However, since neuroimaging techniques only allow correlative statements, the functional contribution of the aPFC to deception and moral cognition remains elusive. Methods: In the first experiment we investigated, if modulating the excitability of the aPFC by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) would alter deceptive behavior. Forty-four subjects participated in a thief role play, in which they were supposed to steal money and then to attend an interrogation with the Guilty Knowledge Test. In addition, the skin-conductance response (SCR) and the reaction time during verbal response (lie vs. truth) were measured. In a double-blind repeated measures design subjects received during the interrogation cathodal, anodal or sham tDCS. Furthermore, in order to measure skilful lying, we developed a lying quotient (LQ) relating the frequency of lies on critical questions to the frequency of lies on uncritical questions. In a second experiment we investigated , if modulating the excitability of the aPFC by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) would alter moral judgments. Results: Remarkably, inhibition of the aPFC by cathodal tDCS did not lead to an impairment of deceptive behavior but rather to a significant improvement. This effect could be seen by faster reaction times in telling lies, but not in telling the truth, a decrease in sympathetic SCR and feeling of guilt while deceiving the interrogator compared to sham stimulation and a significantly higher LQ, which reflects skillful lying. Enhancing the excitability of the aPFC by anodal tDCS did not affect deceptive behavior, underpinning the specificity of the stimulation polarity. Moreover, in the second experiment we have shown that inhibition of the aPFC reduces moral conflict and reaction time while subjects are performing moral dilemma tasks. Conclusions: These findings give causal support to recent correla-tive data obtained by fMRI studies indicating a predominant role of BA 9/10 in deceptive behavior. Moreover, our findings suggest that inhibition of BA9/10 reduces the moral conflict during deception, presumably evoked by performing a self-perceived wrongful act. Introduction: Application of SO-tDCS during NREM sleep has shown to be beneficial for consolidation of declarative memories, although contradictory reports also exist (Barham et al., 1974). Specifically the disparate results of individual studies led us to investigate task and trait-dependent effects of SO-tDCS on modulating endogenous brain rhythms and its impact on memory consolidation. Objectives: The aim of the present study is to determine the interaction between general cognitive abilities and the efficiency of SO-tDCS on manipulating endogenous EEG activity and memory performance. Methods: Young healthy students (n = 14, 8 females) participated in three experimental sessions of nocturnal sleep with EEG, EOG and EMG recordings: Stimulation, Sham and one Baseline session without learning. Five different tasks were to be learned prior to sleep and contents recalled the following morning. SO-tDCS (0.8 Hz) was applied during a stimulation period within early NREM sleep. This stimulation consisted five 5-min blocks of SO-tDCS followed each by a 60-s stimulation free interval. IQ performance was tested 7 days after the last sleep session. Results: Participants improved on the figural paired-associate task significantly during the stimulation condition as compared to sham (p < 0.01). During the first 150 min of NREM sleep subsequent to the stimulation period fast spindle (12–15 Hz) count and density were significantly higher at centro-parietal regions than during a comparable time period during the sham session (p < 0.005). Preliminary analyses detected a correlation between the efficiency of SO-tDCS and overall IQ performance [2]. Summary: Our study suggests that externally applied electric fields during NREM sleep can alter endogenous oscillations in the hours following stimulation and this favours the consolidation of a declarative memory. Furthermore, the correlation with IQ performance suggests SO-tDCS efficiency is dependent upon interactions with non-task and or non-state dependent features.
It is our great pleasure to invite you to contribute with one or more chapters to our edited book... more It is our great pleasure to invite you to contribute with one or more chapters to our edited book " Female pioneers from Ancient Egypt and the Middle East: On the influence of history on gender psychology ". The book will be published by Springer Nature in 2019. We aim at providing an innovative inter-disciplinary book on gender role in eastern societies, authored by international experts from different disciplines such as Neuroscience, Psychology, History, Politics and Theology. Would you like to contribute to one or more of these chapters? If you are interested, then, send your manuscript to the email addresses which are mentioned below, by November 1, 2018. Your chapter should contain 4,000-6,000 words including references (and figures). We would like to make the book accessible to researchers and students as well as the lay audience. We hope you will be able to participate in this project by providing your chapter. Please, let us know and feel free to email us if you have any question.
Zusammenfassung Studien zum Thema Work-Life-Balance zeigen, dass die Integration von sport-lichen... more Zusammenfassung Studien zum Thema Work-Life-Balance zeigen, dass die Integration von sport-lichen Tätigkeiten in dem Alltag zu den wichtigsten präventiven Maßnahmen gehört, um die eigene Resilienz zu erhöhen. Doch wie können Arbeitnehmer sportliche Tätigkeiten in ihrem Alltag effi zient einbauen? " Wenn Sie uns ein Gesundheitskonzept vorstellen, das maximal eine Zigaret-tenpause (5 min) pro Tag und Mitarbeiter dauert, erhalten Sie den Zuschlag. " Mit dieser und weiteren Anforderungen, die im Folgenden beschrieben werden, hat die Entwicklung des Paulsbad Konzepts begonnen. In dieser Arbeit werden die Effekte von sehr kurzen sportlichen Interventionen innerhalb der Arbeitsphasen (das Paulsbad Konzept) empirisch geprüft. Die Analysen beruhen auf einer Stichprobe (N=32), die in zwei Gruppen auf-geteilt war (N=17 in der Experimentalgruppe und N=15 in der Kontrollgruppe). Im Verlauf der Studie konnten unterschiedliche Entwicklungen zwischen den beiden Gruppen in Bezug auf Kopfschmerzen, Rückenschmerzen, sowie emotional wahrgenommene Belastungen innerhalb von sechs Monaten festgestellt werden. Der Einfl uss von verschiedenen Aspekten wie z.B. Spaß, Gemeinschaftsgefühl und sozialer Interaktion während der Übungsumsetzung wurden nicht be-trachtet, auch wenn diese sicherlich ihren Anteil zu den Ergebnissen beitragen. Weiterführende Untersuchungen in diesem Bereich sollten Messmethoden für diese Aspekte evaluieren und in der Datenanalyse mit berücksichtigen.
Kreatives Denken ist die Basis für viele Innovationen in Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft, Kultur oder im... more Kreatives Denken ist die Basis für viele Innovationen in Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft, Kultur oder im Alltag. Trotz ihrer Bedeutung ist die Neurobiologie der Kreativität wenig erforscht. Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler der Jacobs University haben nun unsere Fähigkeit gemessen, neue und originelle Lösungen zu entwickeln-und dabei unter anderem festgestellt, dass Kreativität durch Gehirnstimulation gezielt gefördert werden kann. Die Ergebnisse der Studie sind kürzlich in der renommierten Zeitschrift "Brain Structure and Function" erschienen. Eine Komponente der Kreativität ist die Fähigkeit, nach mehreren Lösungen für ein einziges Problem zu suchen. Also wurden den Probanden, ausschließlich Studierende der Jacobs University, verschiedene Aufgaben gestellt: Wozu kann man etwa einen Ziegelstein verwenden, wozu eine Büroklammer? "Je mehr Ideen die Testpersonen hatten und je ausgefallener sie waren, desto besser", erzählt Radwa Khalil, Doktorandin in Neurowissenschaften an der Jacobs University und Erstautorin der Studie. Gleichzeitig wurden die Gehirnaktivitäten gemessen. "Kreativität ist nicht einer bestimmten Gehirnregion zuzuordnen. Aus vorherigen Studien ist jedoch bekannt, dass Menschen mit einer Schädigung der linken Gehirnhälfte, zum Beispiel Schlaganfallpatienten, kreativer werden", erklärt Dr. Ben Godde, Professor für Neurowissenschaften und Koautor der Studie. Um diesen Effekt zu simulieren, nutzten die Forschenden ein Verfahren zur Gehirnstimulation, mit dem eine Gehirnregion unterdrückt und eine andere aktiviert werden kann. Dieses Verfahren nennt sich "transkranielle Gleichstromstimulation." "Die Probanden mit einer aktiven rechten Gehirnregion waren eindeutig kreativer", sagt Radwa Khalil. Zugleich maßen die Forschenden die Auswirkungen der inhibitorischen Kontrolle auf die Gehirnströme, also der Fähigkeit, seine Gedanken und Reaktionen zu kontrollieren statt ihnen freien Lauf zu lassen. "Unsere Studie zeigt zum ersten Mal, dass Kreativität mit Impulskontrolle zusammenhängt. Demnach haben Menschen mit einer geringeren Impulskontrolle nicht nur soziale Schwierigkeiten sondern es fällt ihnen auch schwerer, kreative Lösungen für ihre Probleme zu finden", erläutert Prof. Dr. Ahmed Karim, Neuropsychologe und ebenfalls Koautor der Studie. Ziel der Forschung ist es, die neurobiologischen Vorgänge der Kreativität besser zu verstehen. "Je besser uns dies gelingt, desto gezielter kann man sie fördern, etwa durch Trainingsprogramme", beschreibt Radwa Khalil die Bedeutung ihrer Forschung. Über die Jacobs University Bremen: In einer internationalen Gemeinschaft studieren. Sich für verantwortungsvolle Aufgaben in einer digitalisierten und globalisierten Gesellschaft qualifizieren. Über Fächer-und Ländergrenzen hinweg lernen, forschen und lehren. Mit innovativen Lösungen und Weiterbildungsprogrammen Menschen und Märkte stärken. Für all das steht die Jacobs University Bremen. 2001 als private, englischsprachige Campus-Universität gegründet, erzielt sie immer wieder Spitzenergebnisse in nationalen und internationalen Hochschulrankings. Ihre mehr als 1500 Studierenden stammen aus mehr als 120 Ländern, rund 80 Prozent sind für ihr Studium nach Deutschland gezogen. Forschungsprojekte der Jacobs
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Noninvasive cortical stimulation techniques such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) are capable of increasing and decreasing cortical excitability and thereby might be clinically relevant for rehabilitation of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. However, the induced after-effects are usually too short-lasting to be clinically relevant. In this study we investigated if combining rTMS with operant learning can induce long-lasting after-effects not achievable neither with rTMS alone nor with operant learning alone.