Papers by Johanna Kissler
Affective neurolinguistics: a new field to grow at the intersection of emotion and language? – Commentary on Hinojosa et al., 2019
Language, cognition and neuroscience, Nov 22, 2019
ABSTRACT This paper comments on the recently proposed research framework of “affective neurolingu... more ABSTRACT This paper comments on the recently proposed research framework of “affective neurolinguistics” and discusses it in relation to various theories of emotion and domains of language processing. In line with Hinojosa, Moreno, and Ferré [2019. Affective neurolinguistics: Towards a framework for reconciling language and emotion. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience, 0(0), 1–27], the potential of “affective neurolinguistics” in the lexico-semantic and morphosyntactic domains is acknowledged. Going beyond that, the claim is made that to fully appreciate the importance of affect in language processing and to unify and bring out the full potential of this field, the theoretical framework should be context-sensitive and adopt a genuine communicative perspective from the start.
Modulations of Cortical Responses (Erps)To Peripherally Presented Emotional Faces, Words, and Gestures by Attentional Load
Something Always Sticks? - Emotional Modulation of Neutral Face Perception in an Implicit Memory Design
Kißler J, Strehlow J. SOMETHING ALWAYS STICKS? EMOTIONAL MODULATION OF FACE PERCEPTION IN AN IMPL... more Kißler J, Strehlow J. SOMETHING ALWAYS STICKS? EMOTIONAL MODULATION OF FACE PERCEPTION IN AN IMPLICIT MEMORY DESIGN. Psychophysiology. 2013;50(Suppl. 1):S84-S84
Pro- and Anti-saccades elicited by visual and acoustic cues a comparison between children with and without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Psychophysiology, 2009
ABSTRACT -
Schizophrenia Research, Mar 1, 2003
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Apr 1, 2014
Retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) is the phenomenon that 'retrieval-practice', the repeated retr... more Retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) is the phenomenon that 'retrieval-practice', the repeated retrieval of a subset of initially learned material, can impair the recall of episodically related memories. Previous studies showed that RIF is eliminated when retrieval-practice is carried out under psycho-social stress, anxiety, or in negative mood. However, pharmacological manipulation by hydrocortisone did not eliminate the effect. This study investigated the effect of beta-adrenergic blockade on stress-induced modulations of RIF, addressing possible interactive effects of the glucocorticoid and sympatho-adrenomedullary systems. Participants learned categorized word lists and then received either 60 mg propranolol or a placebo. After 90 min they were exposed to the TSST. A third group did not receive any medication and performed a non-stressful control task with the same timing as the other two groups. Finally, all participants underwent retrieval-practice and final recall. Both TSST groups exhibited a stress-induced increase in cortisol-levels, and the placebo group also exhibited large increases in markers of sympathetic nervous system activity and more psychological distress at the time of retrieval-practice. Although, overall recall was poorer under stress, an overall RIF effect emerged irrespective of group and showed no clear modulation by stress with or without beta-adrenergic blockade. In previous demonstrations of RIF elimination by negative emotion, state induction and retrieval-practice followed very briefly after initial learning. Given that both the previous study of hydrocortisone effects on RIF and the present study used longer delays between learning and retrieval-practice, the possibility that stress effects on retrieval-practice eliminate RIF only relatively briefly after learning is discussed.
BMC Pediatrics, Dec 1, 2011
Background: Children are able to inhibit a prepotent reaction to suddenly arising visual stimuli,... more Background: Children are able to inhibit a prepotent reaction to suddenly arising visual stimuli, although this skill is not yet as pronounced as it is in adulthood. However, up to now the inhibition mechanism to acoustic stimuli has been scarcely investigated Methods: Reflexive (prosaccade) and inhibitory (antisaccade) responses to visual and acoustic targets were examined with an eye tracker system in 31 children between seven and twelve years of age using a gap-overlap task and two target eccentricities. Results: Acoustically cued saccades had longer reaction times than visually cued saccades. A gap effect (i.e., shorter reaction time in the gap than the overlap condition) was only found for visually elicited saccades, whereas an eccentricity effect (i.e., faster saccades to more laterally presented targets -12°vs. 6°or rather 90°vs. 45°) was only present in the acoustic condition. Longer reaction times of antisaccades compared to prosaccades were found only in the visual task. Across both tasks the typical pattern of elevated error rates in the antisaccade condition was found. Antisaccade errors declined with age, indicating an ongoing development of inhibitory functions. The present results lay the ground for further studies of acoustically triggered saccades in typically as well as atypically developing children and it might thus be possible to upgrade physiological diagnostic tools.
Love Letters and Hate Mail
Cambridge University Press eBooks, Jan 21, 2013
Human Brain Mapping, May 24, 2016
Human brains spontaneously differentiate between various emotional and neutral stimuli, including... more Human brains spontaneously differentiate between various emotional and neutral stimuli, including written words whose emotional quality is symbolic. In the electroencephalogram (EEG), emotional-neutral processing differences are typically reflected in the early posterior negativity (EPN, 200-300 ms) and the late positive potential (LPP, 400-700 ms). These components are also enlarged by taskdriven visual attention, supporting the assumption that emotional content naturally drives attention. Still, the spatio-temporal dynamics of interactions between emotional stimulus content and task-driven attention remain to be specified. Here, we examine this issue in visual word processing. Participants attended to negative, neutral, or positive nouns while high-density EEG was recorded. Emotional content and top-down attention both amplified the EPN component in parallel. On the LPP, by contrast, emotion and attention interacted: Explicit attention to emotional words led to a substantially larger amplitude increase than did explicit attention to neutral words. Source analysis revealed early parallel effects of emotion and attention in bilateral visual cortex and a later interaction of both in right visual cortex. Distinct effects of attention were found in inferior, middle and superior frontal, paracentral, and parietal areas, as well as in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Results specify separate and shared mechanisms of emotion and attention at distinct processing stages.
BMC Psychology, Feb 21, 2018
The extent to which people ascribe mind to others has been shown to predict the extent to which h... more The extent to which people ascribe mind to others has been shown to predict the extent to which human rights are conferred. Therefore, in the context of disorders of consciousness (DOC), mind ascription can influence end of life decisions. A previous US-American study indicated that participants ascribed even less mind to patients with unresponsive-wakefulness-syndrome (UWS) than to the dead. Results were explained in terms of implicit dualism and religious beliefs, as highly religious people ascribed least mind to UWS. Here, we addresses mind ascription to UWS patients in Germany. Methods: We investigate the perception of UWS patients in a large German sample (N = 910) and compare the results to the previous US data, addressing possible cultural differences. We further assess effects of medical expertise, age, gender, socio-economic status and subjective knowledge about UWS in the German sample. Results: Unlike the US sample, German participants did not perceive UWS patients as "more dead than dead", ascribing either equal (on 3 of 5 items) or more (on 2 items) mental abilities to UWS patients than to the dead. Likewise, an effect of implicit dualism was not replicated and German medically trained participants ascribed more capabilities to UWS patients than did a non-medical sample. Within the German sample, age, gender, religiosity and socio-economic status explained about 15% of the variability of mind ascription. Age and religiosity were individually significant predictors, younger and more religious people ascribing more mind. Gender had no effect. Results are consistent with cross-cultural differences in the perception of UWS between Germany and the USA, Germans ascribing more mind to UWS patients. The German sample ascribed as much or more but not less mind to a UWS patient than to a deceased, although within group variance was large, calling for further research. Mind ascription is vital, because, in times of declining resources for healthcare systems, and an increasing legalization of euthanasia, public opinion will influence UWS patients' rights and whether 'the right to die' will be the only right conceded to them.
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Papers by Johanna Kissler