Auditory mismatch processing: Role of paradigm and stimulus characteristics as detected by fMRI.

Auditory mismatch processing is accompanied by activation of a distributed brain network which can be detected by fMRI. However, the impact of different experimental designs such as event-related or block designs and different stimulus characteristics on the auditory mismatch response and the activity of this network remains controversial. In the present study, we applied five auditory mismatch paradigms with standard experimental designs and recorded fMRI in 31 healthy participants.

Targeting Treatment-Resistant Auditory Verbal Hallucinations in Schizophrenia with fMRI-Based Neurofeedback - Exploring Different Cases of Schizophrenia.

Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) are a hallmark of schizophrenia and can significantly impair patients' emotional, social, and occupational functioning. Despite progress in psychopharmacology, over 25% of schizophrenia patients suffer from treatment-resistant hallucinations. In the search for alternative treatment methods, neurofeedback (NF) emerges as a promising therapy tool.

Social reward improves the voluntary control over localized brain activity in fMRI-based neurofeedback training.

Neurofeedback (NF) based on real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rt-fMRI) allows voluntary regulation of the activity in a selected brain region. For the training of this regulation, a well-designed feedback system is required. Social reward may serve as an effective incentive in NF paradigms, but its efficiency has not yet been tested.

How do our brain hemispheres cooperate to avoid false memories?

Memories are not always as reliable as they may appear. The occurrence of false memories can be reduced, however, by enhancing the cooperation between the two brain hemispheres. Yet is the communication from left to right hemisphere as helpful as the information transfer from right to left? To address this question, 72 participants were asked to learn 16 word lists.

Do our brain hemispheres exchange some stimulus aspects better than others?

The communication between the two brain hemispheres involves considerable information losses. This study investigated whether these losses might be reduced for frequently processed stimulus attributes and currently attended stimulus properties. It was assumed that size should be more often processed than animateness, since estimating object size is essential for motor planning.

Is interhemispheric communication disturbed when the two hemispheres perform on separate tasks?

The coordination of sensorimotor tasks involving both visual half-fields requires exchange of information between the brain hemispheres. So far, this interhemispheric information transfer has never been investigated under conditions where the two hemispheres receive different visual inputs and each hemisphere performs on a different task. The present study asked whether such conditions affect the transfer of information between the hemispheres, and if so, at which processing stage.