Publications by authors named "K Heimrath"

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is one of the most prominent non-invasive electrical brain stimulation method to alter neuronal activity as well as behavioral processes in cognitive and perceptual domains. However, the exact mode of action of tDCS-related cortical alterations is still unclear as the results of tDCS studies often do not comply with the somatic doctrine assuming that anodal tDCS enhances while cathodal tDCS decreases neuronal excitability. Changes in the regional cortical neurotransmitter balance within the stimulated cortex, measured by excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter levels, have the potential to provide direct neurochemical underpinnings of tDCS effects.

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Objective: Transcranial static magnetic field stimulation (tSMS) has proposed a new, promising, and simple non-invasive brain stimulation method. While several studies gained certain evidence about tSMS effects in the motor, somatosensory, and visual domains, there is still a controversial debate about its general effectiveness. In the present study, we investigated potential tSMS effects on auditory speech processing as measured by a dichotic listening (DL) task.

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Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) has become a valuable research tool for the investigation of neurophysiological processes underlying human action and cognition. In recent years, striking evidence for the neuromodulatory effects of transcranial direct current stimulation, transcranial alternating current stimulation, and transcranial random noise stimulation has emerged. While the wealth of knowledge has been gained about tES in the motor domain and, to a lesser extent, about its ability to modulate human cognition, surprisingly little is known about its impact on perceptual processing, particularly in the auditory domain.

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Background: Speech-related disorders may refer to impairment of temporal analysis in the human auditory system. By the advance of non-invasive brain stimulation new forms of therapy arise. In the present study, we examined the neuromodulatory effect of auditory tDCS on the perception of temporal modulated speech syllables.

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Attitude to morality, reflecting cultural norms and values, is considered unique to human social behavior. Resulting moral behavior in a social environment is controlled by a widespread neural network including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), which plays an important role in decision making. In the present study we investigate the influence of neurophysiological modulation of DLPFC reactivity by means of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on moral reasoning.

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