Experimental Brain Research

https://link.springer.com/journal/221

List of Papers (Total 904)

Compatibility effects with touchless gestures

Human actions are suspect to various compatibility phenomena. For example, responding is faster to the side where a stimulus appears than to the opposite side, referred to as stimulus–response (S–R) compatibility. This is even true, if the response is given to a different stimulus feature, while location itself is irrelevant (Simon compatibility). In addition, responses typically...

Longitudinal changes in global structural brain connectivity and cognitive performance in former hospitalized COVID-19 survivors: an exploratory study

Long-term sequelae of COVID-19 can result in reduced functionality of the central nervous system and substandard quality of life. Gaining insight into the recovery trajectory of admitted COVID-19 patients on their cognitive performance and global structural brain connectivity may allow a better understanding of the diseases

Failure induces task-irrelevant exploration during a stencil task

During reward-based motor tasks, performance failure leads to an increase in movement variability along task-relevant dimensions. These increases in movement variability are indicative of exploratory behaviour in search of a better, more successful motor action. It is unclear whether failure also induces exploration along task-irrelevant dimensions that do not influence...

Decreased nerve conduction velocity may be a predictor of fingertip dexterity and subjective complaints

We examined the causes of decreased fingertip dexterity in elderly individuals with an aim to improve their quality of life by improving their activities of daily living. We calculated nerve conduction velocity, absolute error during force adjustment tasks, and fingertip dexterity test scores for 30 young (21–34 years old) and 30 elderly (60–74 years old) participants to identify...

Overt visual attention and between-limb asynchrony for bimanual reaching movements

Although synchrony between the limbs is an often-cited feature of bimanual coordination, recent studies have also highlighted the small asynchronies that can occur. The visuo-motor demands of any bimanual task are considered central to the emergence of asynchrony, but the relationship between the two remains largely unexplored. This study aimed to address this issue. Hand and eye...

Variation of body weight supported treadmill training parameters during a single session can modulate muscle activity patterns in post-stroke gait

Evidence supporting the benefits of locomotor training (LT) to improve walking ability following stroke are inconclusive and could likely be improved with a better understanding of the effects of individual parameters i.e., body weight support (BWS), speed, and therapist assistance and their interactions with walking ability and specific impairments. We evaluated changes in...

Comparing anticipatory and stop-signal response inhibition with a novel, open-source selective stopping toolbox

Response inhibition is essential for terminating inappropriate actions and, in some cases, may be required selectively. Selective stopping can be investigated with multicomponent anticipatory or stop-signal response inhibition paradigms. Here we provide a freely available open-source Selective Stopping Toolbox (SeleST) to investigate selective stopping using either anticipatory...

Decision times in orthographic processing: a cross-linguistic study

Reading comparisons across transparent and opaque orthographies indicate critical differences that may reveal the mechanisms involved in orthographic decoding across orthographies. Here, we address the role of criterion and speed of processing in accounting for performance differences across languages. We used binary tasks involving orthographic (words–pseudowords), and non...

Effects of quinpirole in the ventral tegmental area on impulsive behaviour during performance on the five-choice serial reaction time task

Impulsive behaviour on the five-choice serial reaction time task (5CSRTT), a task measuring attention and impulsivity in rodents, is known to depend on dopamine (DA) neurotransmission in the mesolimbic DA pathway. Previous research in our lab reported that systemic administration of the D2/3 agonist quinpirole, which decreases DA release in the striatum, reduced premature...

A single session of whole-body cryotherapy boosts maximal cycling performance and enhances vagal drive at rest

Whole-body cryotherapy (WBC) has been reported to maximize physical recovery after exercise and reduce the ensuing muscle damage. In addition, WBC triggers cardiovascular responses leading to an increased vagal drive. Here we tested whether WBC may boost exercise performance as well as post-exercise recovery. Moreover, we compared the effects of WBC and exercise on sympathovagal...

EEG-based sensory testing reveals altered nociceptive processing in elite endurance athletes

Increased exercise loads, as observed in elite athletes, seem to modulate the subjective pain perception in healthy subjects. The combination of electroencephalography (EEG) and standardized noxious stimulation can contribute to an objective assessment of the somatosensory stimulus processing. We assessed the subjective pain ratings and the electroencephalogram (EEG)-based...

Short-and long-latency afferent inhibition of the human leg motor cortex by H-reflex subthreshold electrical stimulation at the popliteal fossa

In humans, peripheral sensory stimulation inhibits subsequent motor evoked potentials (MEPs) induced by transcranial magnetic stimulation; this process is referred to as short- or long-latency afferent inhibition (SAI or LAI, respectively), depending on the inter-stimulus interval (ISI) length. Although upper limb SAI and LAI have been well studied, lower limb SAI and LAI remain...

Fatigue and perceived fatigability, not objective fatigability, are prevalent in people with post-COVID-19

Persistent symptoms after acute COVID-19 infection, termed post-COVID-19 fatigue, occur in 44–70% of patients. Characterizing fatigue in this population is vital to determine the etiology of post-COVID-19 fatigue symptoms and to assess the effectiveness of potential interventions. The purpose of this study was to assess differences in perceived and objective fatigability between...

Is there hierarchical generalization in response-effect learning?

Ideomotor theory is an influential approach to understand goal-directed behavior. In this framework, response-effect (R-E) learning is assumed as a prerequisite for voluntary action: Once associations between motor actions and their effects in the environment have been formed, the anticipation of these effects will automatically activate the associated motor pattern. R-E learning...

How prism adaptation reveals the distinct use of size and positions in grasping

The size of an object equals the distance between the positions of its opposite edges. However, human sensory processing for perceiving positions differs from that for perceiving size. Which of these two information sources is used to control grip aperture? In this paper, we answer this question by prism adaptation of single-digit movements of the index finger and thumb. We...

Tapping on a target: dealing with uncertainty about its position and motion

Reaching movements are guided by estimates of the target object’s location. Since the precision of instantaneous estimates is limited, one might accumulate visual information over time. However, if the object is not stationary, accumulating information can bias the estimate. How do people deal with this trade-off between improving precision and reducing the bias? To find out, we...

The influence of tDCS on perceived bouncing/streaming

Processing ambiguous situations is a constant challenge in everyday life and sensory input from different modalities needs to be integrated to form a coherent mental representation on the environment. The bouncing/streaming illusion can be studied to provide insights into the ambiguous perception and processing of multi-modal environments. In short, the likelihood of reporting...

The influence of a single transcranial direct current stimulation session on physical fitness in healthy subjects: a systematic review

Physical fitness is of indisputable importance for both health, and sports. Currently, the brain is being increasingly recognized as a contributor to physical fitness. Hereby, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), as an ergogenic aid, has gained scientific interest. The current PRISMA-adherent review aimed to examine the effect of tDCS on the three core components of...

Dopamine increases risky choice while D2 blockade shortens decision time

Dopamine is crucially involved in decision-making and overstimulation within dopaminergic pathways can lead to impulsive behaviour, including a desire to take risks and reduced deliberation before acting. These behavioural changes are side effects of treatment with dopaminergic drugs in Parkinson disease, but their likelihood of occurrence is difficult to predict and may be...

Intracortical facilitation and inhibition in human primary motor cortex during motor skill acquisition

The primary motor cortex (M1) is critical for movement execution, but its role in motor skill acquisition remains elusive. Here, we examine the role of M1 intracortical circuits during skill acquisition. Paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) paradigms of short-interval intracortical facilitation (SICF) and inhibition (SICI) were used to assess excitatory and...

Motor cortex excitability in chronic low back pain

Chronic pain is associated with dysfunctional cortical excitability. Research has identified altered intracortical motor cortex excitability in Chronic Lower Back Pain (CLBP). However, research identifying the specific intracortical changes underlying CLBP has been met with inconsistent findings. In the present case–control study, we examined intracortical excitability of the...

Less motor (re-)planning requires fewer working memory resources

In the current study, we asked if less motor re-planning requires fewer resources in working memory (WM). To this end, participants executed a spatial WM task in parallel to different sequential motor tasks: (1) a randomised task with a high amount of motor re-planning and (2) an ordered task with a lower amount of motor re-planning. Recall performance in the spatial WM task was...

Do graspable objects always leave a motor signature? A study on memory traces

Several studies have reported the existence of reciprocal interactions between the type of motor activity physically performed on objects and the conceptual knowledge that is retained of them. Whether covert motor activity plays a similar effect is less clear. Certainly, objects are strong triggers for actions, and motor components can make the associated concepts more memorable...