Publications (9)17 Total impact
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Article: Effects of rizatriptan on the contingent negative variation in healthy women.
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ABSTRACT: The effect of the antimigraine drug rizatriptan on the amplitude and habituation of the contingent negative variation (CNV) in healthy women was examined in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The test persons were assigned either to a drug (n = 20) or a placebo group (n = 20). The CNV was recorded three times: before, directly after, and 24 h after drug or placebo intake. The CNV paradigm was presented in a standard, a cued and a choice version. Rizatriptan led to an increase of CNV amplitude that depended on the level of difficulty of the task. Whereas there was no drug effect in the standard version, an amplitude increase was obtained mainly in the choice task. The results are in line with the ceiling theory of migraine, which assumes a rise of CNV amplitude if the serotonin level is lowered.Cephalalgia 06/2008; 28(9):922-32. · 3.43 Impact Factor -
Chapter: Entwicklungen der medizinischen Psychologie: Neuroprothesen für neurologische Erkrankungen
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ABSTRACT: Mit all seinen Werkzeugen vervollkommnet der Mensch seine Organe — die motorischen wie die sensorischen — oder räumt die Schranken für ihre Leistung weg. Die Motoren stellen ihm riesige Kräfte zur Verfügung, die er wie Muskeln in beliebige Richtungen schicken kann. …Der Mensch ist sozusagen eine Art Prothesengott geworden, recht großartig, wenn er alle seine Hilfsorgane anlegt, aber sie sind nicht mit ihm verwachsen und machen ihm gelegentlich noch viel zu schaffen (Freud 1930, S. 450 f.). Als Freud diesen Text geschrieben hat, hat er wahrscheinlich nicht (einmal im Traum) daran gedacht, dass er hiermit zukünftige Tätigkeitsfelder psychologischer Forscher und Therapeuten berührt. Tatsächlich war bislang die Entwicklung von Neuroprothesen, die von außen eine defekte Sensorik ersetzen (Cochlea-Implantate, Retina-Implantate, implantierte Mikrosysteme zur bedarfsgerechten Ausschüttung von Medikamenten, Harntraktsimulatoren für Querschnittsgelähmte), der medizinischen Grundlagen- und Anwendungsforschung vorbehalten. Unter Anwendung psychologischer Kenntnis um die Gesetze des assoziativen Lernens im Rahmen von Biofeedback-Anordnungen ist es gelungen, weitere »Schranken für die Leistung« aufzuheben oder zu umgehen. Dieser Beitrag stellt verschiedene Beispiele hierfür vor. Es werden unterschiedliche Anwendungen vorgestellt, mit deren Hilfe Patienten lernen können, ihre Hirntätigkeit gezielt zur Beeinflussung neurologischer Symptome (Epilepsien; Aufmerksamkeits- und Hyperaktivitätsstörungen) oder sogar als Mittel zur Kommunikation nach Ausfall der Motorik einzusetzen. Am Ende des Beitrags finden sich Überlegungen zu den Konsequenzen für das Selbstverständnis der medizinischen Psychologie.12/2005: pages 117-125; -
Article: Modification of slow cortical potentials in patients with refractory epilepsy: a controlled outcome study.
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ABSTRACT: To compare self-regulation of low-frequency EEG components (slow cortical potentials, SCPs) with other methods of seizure control for patients with drug-refractory partial epilepsy and to separate the real anticonvulsive effect from placebo effects. Results of a treatment program of SCP self-regulation (experimental group) are compared with two groups of patients, one of which learned self-control of respiratory parameters (end-tidal CO2 and respiration rate: RES group); the other received medication with new anticonvulsive drugs (AEDs) in combination with psychosocial counseling (MED group). Clinical, cognitive, behavioral, and personality measures were assessed before and after treatment. In addition, to control for placebo responses, patients repeatedly estimated their beliefs in the efficiency of the respective treatment, their satisfaction and expectations, and the quality of the relationship with their therapists. SCP and MED groups showed a significant decrease of seizure frequency, but the RES group did not. Clear positive changes in the sociopsychological adjustment were obtained in all three groups, with the maximal improvement being attained in the RES group. All kinds of therapy result in considerable improvement of patients' emotional state, which may in part be due to potential placebo effects: however, this improvement is not related to the quality of the therapeutic effect proper (i.e., seizure reduction). Traditional double-blind control group designs are inappropriate for behavioral interventions or treatments with psychoactive pharmacologic drugs. Rather, specific tests can be developed to control the placebo effect and to separate it from the genuine therapeutic effects.Epilepsia 04/2001; 42(3):406-16. · 3.96 Impact Factor -
Article: Changes in EEG power spectra during biofeedback of slow cortical potentials in epilepsy.
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ABSTRACT: The goal of the study was to explore parallel changes in EEG spectral frequencies during biofeedback of slow cortical potentials (SCPs) in epilepsy patients. Thirty-four patients with intractable focal epilepsy participated in 35 sessions of SCP self-regulation training. The spectral analysis was carried out for the EEG recorded at the same electrode site (Cz) that was used for SCP feedback. The most prominent effect was the increase in the theta 2 power (6.0-7.9 Hz) and the relative power decrement in all other frequency bands (particularly delta 1, alpha 2 and beta 2) in transfer trials (i.e., where patients controlled their SCPs without continuous feedback) compared with feedback trials. In the second half of the training course (i.e., sessions 21-35) larger power values in the delta, theta, and alpha bands were found when patients were required to produce positive versus negative SCP shifts. Both across-subject and across-session (within-subject) correlations between spectral EEG parameters, on the one hand, and SCP data, on the other hand, were low and inconsistent, contrary to high and stable correlations between different spectral variables. This fact, as well as the lack of considerable task-dependent effects during the first part of training, indicates that learned SCP shifts did not directly lead to the specific dynamics of the EEG power spectra. Rather, these dynamics were related to nonspecific changes in patients' brain state.Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback 01/2000; 24(4):213-33. · 1.13 Impact Factor -
Article: Negative potential shifts and the prediction of the outcome of neurofeedback therapy in epilepsy.
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ABSTRACT: About two-thirds of epilepsy patients who learn to control their slow cortical potential shifts (SCP) reduce their seizure rate, but the remaining third does not demonstrate clinical improvement. In the present study, this finding was replicated in a group of 27 patients with focal epilepsy. We found that patients who consistently produced larger negative SCP in all conditions during the first phase of treatment, showed no decrease in seizure frequency during the six-month follow-up, as compared with the three-month baseline phase. The large negative SCP explained about one-third of the variance of the clinical outcome. Age, medication, seizure history, or the localization of focus were found to be unrelated to clinical improvement.Clinical Neurophysiology 05/1999; 110(4):683-6. · 3.41 Impact Factor -
Article: Control of cortical excitability in epilepsy.
Advances in neurology 01/1999; 81:281-90. -
Article: Behavioral psychophysiological intervention in a mentally retarded epileptic patient with brain lesion.
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ABSTRACT: Behavioral psychophysiological treatment entailing Slow Cortical Potential (SCP) biofeedback training and behavioral self-control training was conducted with a 27-year-old male epileptic patient (seizures for 23 years) with Wechsler IQ 64 who underwent callosotomy. The patient had 12/week secondary generalized tonic-clonic seizures. The treatment, consisting of 43 SCP training sessions and 22 behavioral control sessions, yielded a highly significant reduction of seizure frequency to about 7.5/week; such a decrease had never been observed after administration of new anticonvulsant drugs, nor after the callosotomy. During SCP feedback training, the patient was able to produce highly-significant cortical differentiation of SCPs of about 4 microV. In addition, he developed several new behaviors indicating growing ability of self-perception and self-regulation. These findings suggest that a combination of SCP biofeedback with behavioral treatment of epilepsy can be used even in mentally retarded patients with organic brain disorders.Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback 10/1998; 23(3):189-202. · 1.13 Impact Factor -
Article: Stability of cortical self-regulation in epilepsy patients.
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ABSTRACT: Biofeedback-supported self-regulation of slow cortical potentials (SCP) is increasingly being used for treatment of intractable epilepsy. However, it is unknown whether the acquired ability to regulate one's own cortical potentials remains stable over time. In this study, 18 patients with drug-resistant partial epilepsy performed 35 training sessions in which they learned to generate slow cortical potential shifts in either positive or negative direction. At the end of training, they differentiated significantly between required cortical positivity and required cortical negativity. Six months after this point, they still demonstrated an unchanged between-condition differentiation. The performance in the booster session was particularly good in trials without continuous SCP feedback. The ability to generate positive SCP shifts was related to decrease of seizure frequency during the 6 months follow-up period compared with the 3 month baseline period. This data indicate that the acquired ability of humans to regulate their cortical potentials did not decrease over a 6 month period but rather, tended to consolidate.Neuroreport 06/1997; 8(8):1867-70. · 1.66 Impact Factor -
Article: Self-regulation of slow cortical potentials in epilepsy: a retrial with analysis of influencing factors.
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ABSTRACT: Twenty sessions of biofeedback training were carried out with 12 drug-resistant patients with focal epilepsy who learned to produce either negative or positive shifts of their slow cortical potentials (SCPs) at vertex. Feedback trials were interspersed with transfer trials in which only a discriminative stimulus (signalizing whether positivity or negativity was required) was presented, without feedback signal. Patients were able to differentiate significantly between the conditions of cortical positivity and cortical negativity, with larger differentiation scores being obtained in feedback trials than in transfer trials. The amplitude of positivity generated in the positivity condition increased linearly across sessions both in feedback and in transfer trials. The largest negativity was produced in the 5th session; after this, more transient negativities were generated, whose amplitude decreased towards the end of trial. The mean severity of seizures, estimated as the frequency of seizures weighted by their subjective 'strength', decreased significantly after training as compared to the pre-training phase. The data suggest that (1) patients could learn to achieve a state of cortical disfacilitation and (2) with progressed learning, they became less motivated for (or afraid of) producing considerable negative shifts, since extensive negativity may reflect cortical over-excitation and therefore be associated with early signs of seizures. The inability of producing cortical negativity is however not necessarily a bad predictor.Epilepsy Research 12/1996; 25(3):269-76. · 2.29 Impact Factor
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Institutions
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1996–2001
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Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology
Tübingen, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany
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