You See What You Smell: Preferential Processing of Chemosensory Satiety Cues and Its Impact on Body Shape Perception.

The current study examines neural responses to satiety- and fasting-related volatiles and their effect on the processing of body shapes. Axillary sweat was sampled with cotton pads from 10 individuals after 12 h of fasting, and after having consumed a standard breakfast. Pure cotton pads served as the control.

Interprofessional nutrition management - implementation and evaluation of a course for medical and nursing students using research-based learning method.

The aim of the teaching project "Interprofessional Nutrition Management in Inpatient and Home Care" of the Medical Faculty of the Heinrich Heine University (HHU) and the Fliedner University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf (FFH) was to test an interprofessional training session on the topic of malnutrition using the method of research-based learning to evaluate feasibility. In the teaching project for medical and nursing students, research-based learning was applied in a case-based cross-sector setting. The teaching project was assessed quantitatively by the participating students through questionnaires and four newly-developed scales.

Mu-Suppression as an Indicator of Empathic Processes in Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Adults.

Self-reported empathy differs with gender and sexual orientation. The current study investigated whether mu-suppression, reflecting brain activity especially related to state empathy, also is modulated by gender and sexual orientation. Pictures of painful and non-painful actions were presented to 20 lesbians, 20 gay men, 20 heterosexual men and 20 heterosexual women, while EEG was recorded.

Effects of feedback delay and agency on feedback-locked beta and theta power during reinforcement learning.

Feedback-based learning initiated by dopamine (DA) cell firing is crucial for adaptive behavior. The nature and context of feedback can vary, however, affecting how feedback is processed. For example, the feedback-related negativity (FRN) in the ERP in humans, which has been linked to the DA system, is reduced for delayed feedback and for observational compared to active learning.

Impact of interprofessional education for medical and nursing students on the nutritional management of in-patients.

Despite its frequency, malnutrition is underestimated in its importance for morbidity and mortality. Interprofessional nutrition management can improve patient safety and clinical outcomes. An interprofessional education is considered as the basis for good team cooperation.

Empathic Cognitions Affected by Undetectable Social Chemosignals: An EEG Study on Visually Evoked Empathy for Pain in an Auditory and Chemosensory Context.

Reduction of mu activity within the EEG is an indicator of cognitive empathy and can be generated in response to visual depictions of others in pain. The current study tested whether this brain response can be modulated by an auditory and a chemosensory context. Participants observed pictures of painful and non-painful actions while pain associated and neutral exclamations were presented (Study 1, = 30) or while chemosensory stimuli were presented via a constant flow olfactometer (Study 2, = 22).

Pregnancy reduces the perception of anxiety.

In humans, stress can be contagiously transmitted via chemosignals on a subconscious level. This study investigates how pregnancy affects neural responses to anxiety chemosignals. Using cotton pads, 28 men donated axillary sweat immediately before an academic examination (anxiety sweat) and during ergometer training (control).

Sensitivity of the human mirror neuron system for abstract traces of actions: An EEG-study.

Theories of neuroaesthetics assume, that looking at traces of actions used in creating artwork (e.g. brush marks) is associated with a simulation of these actions in the observer's sensorimotor-cortex.

Chemosensory anxiety signals prime defensive behavior in prepubertal girls.

Chemosensory anxiety signals effectively prime motor responses related to withdrawal behavior, such as the startle reflex, in adult humans. As the reproductive status strongly affects the response to social chemosignals, the current study examined whether chemosensory anxiety signals would augment the startle response in prepubertal children as it does in adults. Using cotton pads, axillary sweat was collected from 28 men while waiting for an important oral examination (anxiety condition), and during ergometer training (sport control condition).

The Impact of Stress on Odor Perception.

The olfactory system and emotional systems are highly intervened and share common neuronal structures. The current study investigates whether emotional (e.g.

Fancy Citrus, Feel Good: Positive Judgment of Citrus Odor, but Not the Odor Itself, Is Associated with Elevated Mood during Experienced Helplessness.

Aromatherapy claims that citrus essential oils exert mood lifting effects. Controlled studies, however, have yielded inconsistent results. Notably, studies so far did not control for odor pleasantness, although pleasantness is a critical determinant of emotional responses to odors.

Somatosensory mu activity reflects imagined pain intensity of others.

In accordance with simulation theories of empathy, the somatosensory cortex is involved in the perception of pain of others. Cognitive processes, like perspective taking, can alter empathy-related activity within the somatosensory cortex. The current study investigates whether this modulation is caused by the imagined sensation of pain or by the cognitive load of a perspective-taking task.

Does human body odor represent a significant and rewarding social signal to individuals high in social openness?

Across a wide variety of domains, experts differ from novices in their response to stimuli linked to their respective field of expertise. It is currently unknown whether similar patterns can be observed with regard to social expertise. The current study therefore focuses on social openness, a central social skill necessary to initiate social contact.

Down-modulation of mu-activity through empathic top-down processes.

Simulation theories argue that humans simulate motor processes of others to gain information about intentions and emotional states of others. Mu-suppression is a valid electrophysiological correlate of these processes. Mu-activity can be measured via electroencephalography (EEG) in the alpha-band (8-13 Hz) above the sensorimotor cortex and is suppressed when actions are executed or observed.

Differential processing of social chemosignals obtained from potential partners in regards to gender and sexual orientation.

On an individual level, human body odors carry information about whether a person is an eligible mate. The current studies investigate if body odors also transmit information about individuals being potential partners in more general terms, namely in regards to gender and sexual orientation. In study 1, 14 gay and 14 heterosexual men were presented with body odors obtained from potential partners (gay male and heterosexual female body odors, respectively) and heterosexual male body odor as a control.