Free will strikes back: Steady-state movement-related cortical potentials are modulated by cognitive control.

In psychology and neuroscience, opposition to free will has asserted that any degree of perceived self-control or choice is a mere epiphenomenon which provides no meaningful influence on action. The present research tested the validity of this conclusion by designing a paradigm in which the potential effect of self-monitoring on motor output could be investigated. Using a repetitive finger tapping task that evokes automatic patterns in participants tapping responses, we have obtained evidence that (1) participants may voluntarily reduce the predictability of their tapping patterns (2) by exercising cognitive control that (3) modulates response-locked steady-state movement-related potentials over primary and supplementary motor areas.

Knowledge of collision modulates defensive multisensory responses to looming insects in arachnophobes.

We investigated the role of contextual knowledge in defensive responses to visual stimuli (spiders and butterflies) looming toward the hand. Human participants responded to tactile stimuli delivered to the same hand at 6 possible locations during an insect's approach. Tactile reaction times were faster when looming stimuli were closer to the hand, especially for spiders, and faster when insects loomed on a collision path than on a near-miss path.

Eating in Synch: An investigation of parent-infant behaviour coordination during feeding interactions.

During feeding, parents have been described to move their mouth as if they were eating themselves. Such matching of behaviours between parents and their infants during face-to-face interactions represents an example of behavioural synchrony. To date, however, the function of these synchronous eating-like mouth movements by the caregiver remains unexplored.

The Redundant Signals Effect and the Full Body Illusion: not Multisensory, but Unisensory Tactile Stimuli Are Affected by the Illusion.

During a full body illusion (FBI), participants experience a change in self-location towards a body that they see in front of them from a third-person perspective and experience touch to originate from this body. Multisensory integration is thought to underlie this illusion. In the present study we tested the redundant signals effect (RSE) as a new objective measure of the illusion that was designed to directly tap into the multisensory integration underlying the illusion.

The Evaluation of Equine Allogeneic Tenogenic Primed Mesenchymal Stem Cells in a Surgically Induced Superficial Digital Flexor Tendon Lesion Model.

Tendon injuries are very common in horses and jeopardize the athletic performance, and due to the high risk of reinjury may lead to early retirement. The use of mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of equine tendon disease is widely investigated because of their regenerative potential. The objective of this study is to investigate the safety and efficacy of equine allogeneic tenogenic primed mesenchymal stem cells (tpMSCs) for the management of tendinitis in horses.

Event-related brain potentials reflect predictive coding of anticipated economic change.

Research has demonstrated the importance of economic forecasts for financial decisions at the aggregate economic level. However, little is known about the psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms that economic forecasts activate at the level of individual decision-making. In the present study, we used event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to test the hypothesis that economic forecasts influence individuals' internal model of the economy and their subsequent decision behavior.

Availability of synchronous information in an additional sensory modality does not enhance the full body illusion.

The Full body illusion (FBI) is an illusion in which participants experience a change in self-location to a body that is perceived from a third-person perspective. The FBI is usually induced through experimenter generated stroking but can also be induced through self-generated stroking. In four experiments (three preregistered) we compared a self-generated stroking induction condition to a self-generated movement condition, where the only difference between conditions was the presence or absence of touch.

Effects of environmental tobacco smoke exposure on brain functioning in never-smoking adolescents.

Introduction: Brain functioning, as indexed by event-related potentials (ERPs) representing smoking cue reactivity, inhibitory control, and reward processing, has been found to be compromised in smokers. However, whether environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure in never smokers results in similar brain changes is unknown. This question is particularly relevant during adolescence, given ongoing brain maturation and a high risk of smoking initiation.

Testing the Effectiveness of a Disclosure in Activating Children's Advertising Literacy in the Context of Embedded Advertising in Vlogs.

Watching vlogs of social media influencers has become a favorite pastime for children and adolescents. For advertisers, vlogs are an excellent way to reach young viewers. As such, vlogs have become a powerful marketing tool.

The self-generated full body illusion is accompanied by impaired detection of somatosensory stimuli.

Research has found that body illusions may be accompanied by consequences for the real body whereby various somatosensory and homeostatic bodily functions may be impaired. These findings stem from research where an experimenter induced the body illusions. In line with advances in the domains of videogames and virtual reality where the real body is used as a controller we investigate if these consequences also accompany self-generated body illusions.

Activation of Mirror Neuron Regions Is Altered in Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)-Neurophysiological Evidence Using an Action Observation Paradigm.

Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) have difficulty performing and learning motor skills. Automatic activation of the mirror neuron system (MNS) during action observation and its coupling to the motor output system are important neurophysiological processes that underpin observational motor learning. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that MNS function is disrupted in children with DCD by using sensitive electroencephalography (EEG)-based measures of MNS activation during action observation.

The neural correlates of the awe experience: Reduced default mode network activity during feelings of awe.

In the present fMRI study, we aimed to obtain insight into the key brain networks involved in the experience of awe-a complex emotion that is typically elicited by perceptually vast stimuli. Participants were presented with awe-eliciting, positive and neutral videos, while they were instructed to get fully absorbed in the scenery or to count the number of perspective changes. By using a whole-brain analysis we found that several brain regions that are considered part of the default mode network (DMN), including the frontal pole, the angular gyrus, and the posterior cingulate cortex, were more strongly activated in the absorption condition.

Application of a worry reduction intervention in a medically unexplained symptoms-analogue student-sample.

Objective: Worry is an important perpetuating factor of Medically Unexplained Symptoms (MUS). Former research has shown that a worry postponement instruction is effective in reducing Subjective Health Complaints (SHC) in non-clinical samples. This study aimed to (1) replicate these findings in a MUS-analogue student-sample and (2) assess alexithymia as a moderator.

Is mindfulness associated with interpersonal forgiveness?

Using a multimethod approach, the current research tested the basic prediction that mindfulness is associated with interpersonal forgiveness. Across 5 studies, we found that mindfulness meditation, trait mindfulness, and an experimental induction of mindfulness, were positively associated with indicators of both dispositional forgiving tendencies, state levels of forgiveness regarding a past offense, and levels of perceived forgiving tendencies as rated by the romantic partner. Two studies examined the roles of perspective taking and rumination as potential mechanisms; results provided most consistent support for the role of perspective taking.

Go/no-go training affects frontal midline theta and mu oscillations to passively observed food stimuli.

The mere perception of high-calorie food items can trigger strong action tendencies towards these foods. Go/no-go training has successfully been applied to reduce such action tendencies. This study investigated the electrophysiological mechanisms that may underlie the beneficial effects of go/no-go training on food consumption.

Ultrasound tissue characterisation of the superficial digital flexor tendons in juvenile Thoroughbred racehorses during early race training.

Background: Injuries to the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) are one of the leading causes of Thoroughbred (TB) wastage. Increasingly, the aim is to prevent injury rather than treat it. Conventional ultrasonography is not sufficiently sensitive to accurately monitor tendon and predict injury.

Eye-Closure Enhances Creative Performance on Divergent and Convergent Creativity Tasks.

In today's world of rapid changes and increasing complexity, understanding and enhancing creativity is of critical importance. Studies investigating EEG correlates of creativity linked power in the alpha frequency band to creativity, and alpha-power has been interpreted as reflecting attention on internal mental representations and inhibition of external sensory input. Thus far, however, there is no direct evidence for the idea that internally directed attention facilitates creativity.

Effect of single intralesional treatment of surgically induced equine superficial digital flexor tendon core lesions with adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells: a controlled experimental trial.

Background: Adipose tissue is a promising source of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) for the treatment of tendon disease. The goal of this study was to assess the effect of a single intralesional implantation of adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (AT-MSCs) on artificial lesions in equine superficial digital flexor tendons (SDFTs).

Methods: During this randomized, controlled, blinded experimental study, either autologous cultured AT-MSCs suspended in autologous inactivated serum (AT-MSC-serum) or autologous inactivated serum (serum) were injected intralesionally 2 weeks after surgical creation of centrally located SDFT lesions in both forelimbs of nine horses.

Forecasted economic change and the self-fulfilling prophecy in economic decision-making.

This study addresses the self-fulfilling prophecy effect, in the domain of economic decision-making. We present experimental data in support of the hypothesis that speculative forecasts of economic change can impact individuals' economic decision behavior, prior to any realized changes. In a within-subjects experiment, participants (N = 40) played 180 trials in a Balloon Analogue Risk Talk (BART) in which they could make actual profit.

Neural correlates of judgments of learning - An ERP study on metacognition.

Metacognitive assessment of performance has been revealed to be one of the most powerful predictors of human learning success and academic achievement. Yet, little is known about the functional nature of cognitive processes supporting judgments of learning (JOLs). The present study investigated the neural underpinnings of JOLs, using event-related brain potentials.

Transcranial direct current stimulation of the right temporoparietal junction impairs third-person perspective taking.

Given the current debates about the precise functional role of the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) in egocentric and exocentric perspective taking, in the present study we manipulated activity in the rTPJ to investigate the effects on a spatial perspective-taking task. Participants engaged in a mental body transformation task, requiring them to mentally rotate their own body to the position of an avatar, while undergoing anodal, cathodal, or sham transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the rTPJ. As a control task, participants judged the laterality of a stimulus feature with respect to a fixation cross on the screen.

Effect of intralesional platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment on clinical and ultrasonographic parameters in equine naturally occurring superficial digital flexor tendinopathies - a randomized prospective controlled clinical trial.

Background: Regenerative and anti-inflammatory effects on tendinopathies have been attributed to blood-derived biologicals. To date the evidence for the efficacy of autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment of naturally occurring equine tendinopathies is limited. The purpose of this placebo-controlled clinical trial was to describe the effect of a single treatment of equine superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) disease with PRP on clinical and ultrasonographic parameters.

How to diagnose plantaris tendon involvement in midportion Achilles tendinopathy - clinical and imaging findings.

Background: The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate if clinical assessment, Ultrasound + Colour Doppler (US + CD) and Ultrasound Tissue Characterisation (UTC) can be useful in detecting plantaris tendon involvement in patients with midportion Achilles tendinopathy.

Methods: Twenty-three tendons in 18 patients (14 men, mean age: 37 years and 4 women: 44 years) (5 patients with bilateral tendons) with midportion Achilles tendinopathy were surgically treated with a scraping procedure and plantaris tendon removal. For all tendons, clinical assessment, Ultrasound + Colour Doppler (US + CD) examination and Ultrasound Tissue Characterisation (UTC) were performed.