Carina Höfler's research while affiliated with Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz and other places

... These associations give credence to the view that while enjoyment is not a prerequisite for engagement, it may be a significant factor. Yet, the involvement of the reward system, which is activated by stimuli that elicit enjoyment (Klasen et al., 2012;Wabnegger et al., 2021), has not been studied in the context of narrative engagement. More on this front, it . ...

... So far, only rarely have placebos been used to promote positive emotions and positive activities. For example, a deceptive placebo (sunflower oil labeled as herbal medicine that helps to focus on one's inner strengths) increased the frequency of relaxation practice in healthy students during a two-week training [6]. In a study by Gaab et al. [7], one group of healthy participants viewed an animated video showing green dots, along with the placebo suggestion that 'the color green activates early conditioned emotional schemata'. ...

... A plethora of human studies employed functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to determine the neural basis of disgust, yet findings with respect to the neural systems that mediate conscious disgust experience remained highly inconsistent. For example, the insula has been traditionally considered as a key neural substrate of disgust 6,7,19,20 , however several studies did not observe insula engagement in response to disgust stimuli [21][22][23][24][25] and recent evidence suggests a broader role of the insula in interoceptive 26,27 and central autonomic processes 28 . Subcortical regions like the amygdala and basal ganglia have also been considered as key disgust regions 7,19,29 , probably due to their roles in early threat detection and defensive motor responses 7,14,15 . ...

... In a general sample, self-disgust mediated between depressive symptoms/sexual abuse and NSSI [25]. It was also identified as a relevant predictor of suicide risk [26]. In a study using neuroimaging methods, it was found that NSSI and self-disgust were negatively associated with the volume of the secondary somatosensory cortex (i.e., a brain area engaged in the processing of pain, tactile and visceral sensations) in patients with BPD, which could be a result of deficits in the integration of sensory inputs [27]. ...

... The same team also provided electrical stimulation to the left TPJ under surgical conditions, which induced the sensation of an illusory shadow person [95]. A structural MRI study investigated the belief in the miracles of Lourdes via Voxel-Based Morphometry (VBM), restricted only to grey matter analysis [96]. The results showed that the belief corresponded positively with TPJ volume and negatively with MPFC volume. ...

... For example, Tippens et al. (2014) found that participants with stronger beliefs in a placebo (100% expectation to have received a dietary supplement for weight loss) reported a decline in self-efficacy throughout the study and tended to lose a smaller proportion of weight than participants with less pronounced beliefs. Similar findings have been reported by Höfler et al. (2019). The participants received sham transcranial magnetic stimulation that was administered along with the verbal suggestion that the treatment would increase visual attention. ...

... Despite normal TDI scores (32.5 for mother, 33 for son) 8 , both had altered smell perception. The son had distasteful hyperosmia for 11 odors, hyperosmia for 15 odors, and normosmia for 23 odors; his mother had distasteful hyperosmia for 13 odors, hyperosmia for 17 odors, and normosmia for 21 odors. ...

... [23][24][25] To the best of our knowledge, there are only two studies that have investigated the visual function response to placebo or nocebo effects, but they were focused on oculomotor function. 26,27 Therefore, given that placebo and nocebo effects can induce changes in measurements within both subjective and objective domains, 28 it is of interest to evaluate the influence of placebo and nocebo effects on measures of the visual function such as the dynamics of the accommodative response and stereoacuity. ...

... The order of the twelve trials was randomised. Before each trial, participants had to fixate a cross in the centre of the screen for 500 ms (compare: Gremsl et al., 2018). Participants were asked to imagine the actor giving them feedback, e.g. about a task assignment at the university (compare: Wiggert et al., 2015). ...

... Moreover, this activity did not differ between the fear groups when viewing blood-related stimuli, suggesting that BII-related stimuli are generally aversive, regardless of fear levels. Furthermore, Leutgeb et al. (44) showed pictures of blood and of water with red or pink food coloring to participants with and without BII phobia. Results showed early selective attention (P100 amplitudes: 90-140 ms) toward pictures of blood compared to pictures of pink or red colored water among participants with BII phobia, while later components (P300: 340-500 ms) revealed that both groups of participants exhibited selective attention toward blood compared to pink or red colored water. ...