INSTITUTE OF PSYCHOLOGY

Im Projekt wird die Wirkung der tDCS anhand einer einzelnen Stimulationssitzung
gegenüber einer Sham-Stimulation (Placebo) überprüft. Es sollen gezielt etwaige
Plastizitätseffekte auf der Ebene neuropsychologischer Funktionen erfasst werden. Außerdem soll geprüft werden, inwiefern die Intervention sicher und akzeptiert in der
vulnerablen Gruppe der älteren, psychisch kranken Menschen umgesetzt werden kann und sich
dementsprechend für den klinischen und wiederholten Einsatz eignet.

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Aging as well as many psychiatric disorders are characterized by a decline in cognitive functions due to a lack of neural resources but these effects are difficult to isolate. Therefore, in this project we’ll use sleep deprivation in healthy young adults to induce a transient functional loss of resources. This model will be used to better understand how the cognitive control network deals with resource availability and to potentially identify approaches to improving cognitive performance when resources are reduced.

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Our Research Training Group 2413 is an innovate research program funded by the DFG. We - 13 PhD students and their PIs - are dealing with the idea that cognitive decline in normal aging results from synaptic dysbalances. Hence, we are highly motivated to shed more light on altered synaptic proteostasis, dysfunctions of the immune system, altered functionality of the multipart synapse and changes in neuromodulation.

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THE ROLE OF THE MEDIAL FRONTAL CORTEX IN COGNITIVE CONTROL AND DECISION-MAKING: ANATOMY, CONNECTIONS, REPRESENTATIONS, CAUSALITY

Using cognitive control, people flexibly adapt their behaviour to achieve their goals of action in a changing world. Despite intensive research, there is still no overarching understanding of the mechanisms of cognitive control and its underlying main structure, the posterior medial frontal cortex (pMFC). This is due to the insufficient consideration of the neuroanatomy of the pMFC, its subregions and individual variability, the low sensitivity of group studies, the scarcity of causal evidence in humans, and the use of diverse research methods and paradigms in heterogeneous studies, which makes it difficult to differentiate general principles of cognitive control from study-specific idiosyncrasies. The project aims to solve these problems with two completely new approaches:

A) So-called dense sampling, the comprehensive collection of behavioural, imaging, EEG, eye movement and peripheral physiological data in multiple studies of the same subject as they perform cognitive control demanding tasks, allows variables of cognitive control to be quantified directly or via computer modelling. Multivariate analysis procedures are used to identify general as well as task- and modality-specific representations of these variables and to create a functional mapping of the subregions of the pMFC. The basic idea is that general principles of cognitive control over tasks and context should generalise and always be represented in a similar way.

B) The new non-invasive brain stimulation with transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) allows influencing neuronal activity with unprecedented spatial resolution. In combination with EEG and imaging, tFUS will reveal the necessity of sub-areas of the pMFC and some sub-cortical network partners for cognitive control.
In the medium term, this project will open new avenues for studying individual differences and pathological changes in cognitive control.

This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 101018805).

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The dynamic economic growth in Cambodia is leading to an urbanisation and construction boom in Phnom Penh. The new buildings and neighbourhoods are frequently not erected sustainably and have direct and indirect negative environmental impacts externalised to the general public impacting urban quality of life. Issues of sustainability are rarely addressed by decision-makers in the construction sector, related ministries, city administrations, educational institutions or by building users. The overall aim of the multi- disciplinary Build4People project is to support and analyse a transformative shift in Phnom Penh’s current urban development pathway, to move it towards a pathway with higher sustainability and liveability levels, with the building sector as the entrance point of our research and the improvement of urban quality-of-life as the common goal.

Subproject WP#1:
The main goal of the research and development phase is to promote sustainable behavior, sustainable lifestyles and overall sustainable living for the people of Phnom Penh. This has to be achieved in line with the overall goal of improving the urban quality of life (UQoL) for all residents of Phnom Penh through a sustainable urban transformation.

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Summary
“IMIQ – Intelligent Mobility Space in the District” is a project of the IMR – Intelligent Mobility Space Saxony Anhalt (https://niimo.ovgu.de/en/Intelligent+Mobility+Space.html), which will be based in the Science Harbor in Magdeburg. Over a period of 3 1/2 years (01/2024 - 12/2027, actual operational start 8/2024), the science harbor will become a future district in which new solutions will be developed in a needs-oriented manner, tested technically and informationally and implemented socio-economically . Key innovations include a digital work-life twin (DMLZ) and a real-world laboratory for intelligent mobility (RIM).

Ambitions
The aim is to develop and test innovative mobility and communication approaches. A digital work-life twin (DWLZ) enables a holistic and innovative mobility and communication experience that offers efficient and personalized solutions through sensors, 5G and digital services and at the same time promotes social interaction and exchange on site. In the Intelligent Mobility Real Laboratory (RIM), the researchers' developments on intelligent mobility become physically visible and tangible/experienceable; they are tested and evaluated. Technologies for communication and V2X, localization and tracking are controlled in an operation control center, integrated with infrastructure (including mobility stations) and with implemented autonomous vehicles.

Further Information
You can find a detailed description, news and staff positions here: https://niimo.ovgu.de/IMIQ.html. Under this link, or under the names linked above, you will also find information about the IMIQ work areas of the project partners.

This project will build up cutting-edge research in the interdisciplinary research field of mobility at the OVGU and enable the transfer of new mobility solutions in Saxony-Anhalt and beyond. The visibility or experience is aimed at all stakeholders.

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Overview of the overall project
"IMIQ - Intelligenter Mobilitätsraum im Quartier" is a project of the IMR (Intelligenter Mobilitätsraum), which is based in the Port of Science in Magdeburg. Over the planned duration of four years (01/2024 - 12/2027), the Port of Science will become a future quarter in which new solutions are conceived, technically tested and socio-economically implemented in a needs-oriented manner.
The project is funded by the ERDF - European Regional Development Fund.

Participants:

• Prof. Dr. Andreas Wendemuth, Cognitive Systems
[Prof. Dr. Ellen Matthies, Environmental Psychology
• Andreas Müller, Digital Application Center Mobility/Logistics/Industry
[Prof. Dr. Benjamin Noack, Autonomous multi-sensor systems
• Prof. Dr. Andreas Nürnberger, Data & Knowledge Engineering
[Prof. Dr. Hartmut Zadek, Logistics and Transport Services[Dr. Leander Kauschke, Coordination

Structural goals:

1. The establishment of an interdisciplinary research branch at the OVGU
2. The development of the Port of Science as an attractive future quarter
3. Establishment as a nucleus for sustainable and intelligent mobility in Saxony-Anhalt

The project in detail
The development towards sustainable, user-oriented and efficient mobility of the future continues to face major challenges. Efforts to reduce emissions are set against increasing traffic volumes, particularly in motorized private transport; flexibility and user orientation still seem difficult to reconcile with sustainability.
Society must therefore address the task of making mobility services more cost-efficient, flexible and universally usable while meeting higher ecological requirements.
Content goals

• Establishment of a real-world laboratory for intelligent mobility (RIM)
  
  • Research into innovative mobility concepts with the help of an autonomous shuttle bus using a 5G test field
  
  
• Establishment of a digital work-life twin (DWLZ)
  
  • Mapping mobility and exploring new possibilities, from simple mapping to the ultimate integration of all real-time data
  
  

Use cases

• Individual public transport (IÖV)
  
  • Autonomous shuttle buses between the Port of Science and the OVGU campus
  • Robot vehicles for load transportation incl. transfer processes
  
  
• Mobile daily planning in the neighborhood (MTQ)
  
  • Simulation of mobility (especially public transport), work processes and the use of services in the DWLZ to test and optimize options that can later be implemented in the district
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The SmartProSys research initiative aims to replace fossil raw materials in chemical production with renewable carbon sources, thus contributing to a carbon-neutral society. It follows a system-oriented strategy and investigates resource-efficient degradation and synthesis strategies at process level, intelligent catalytic conversions at molecular level, and economic and societal impacts at a higher system level. The complexity of the system requires the development of powerful computational and machine learning methods for the design, simulation, optimization and control of the system. SmartProSys involves researchers from the fields of systems-oriented process engineering, chemistry, mathematics, logistics, political science, and psychology.
The "Social Support and Individual Appropriation" cluster aims to develop innovative theories and methods for the various disciplines involved (economics, supply chain management, political science, sociology and psychology) in order to explore and utilize the potential for transformative change. Within the cluster, the Chair of Environmental Psychology (co-)leads the sub-projects "Challenges for Societal Support" and "Challenges for the circular consumer".
The overarching aim of the "Challenges for Societal Support" sub-project is to gather findings on "cognitive" barriers in the new research field of a Green Carbon Circular Economy and to develop and test measures to overcome them.

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The SmartProSys research initiative aims to replace fossil raw materials in chemical production with renewable carbon sources, thus contributing to a carbon-neutral society. It follows a system-oriented strategy and investigates resource-efficient degradation and synthesis strategies at process level, intelligent catalytic conversions at molecular level, and economic and societal impacts at a higher system level. The complexity of the system requires the development of powerful computational and machine learning methods for the design, simulation, optimization and control of the system. SmartProSys involves researchers from the fields of systems-oriented process engineering, chemistry, mathematics, logistics, political science, and psychology.
The "Social Support and Individual Appropriation" cluster aims to develop innovative theories and methods for the various disciplines involved (economics, supply chain management, political science, sociology and psychology) in order to explore and utilize the potential for transformative change. Within the cluster, the Chair of Environmental Psychology (co-)leads the sub-projects "Challenges for Societal Support" and "Challenges for the circular consumer".
The sub-project "Challenges for the circular consumer" applies the concept of behavioral plasticity to understand (in)flexibility, adaptation and learning processes in the acceptance and appropriation of innovative solutions (in the form of novel process technologies and materials of a Green Carbon Circular Economy) at the consumer level.

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In the KlimaPlanReal project, new forms of initiating and supporting transformation processes at universities are being used and investigated in order to strengthen and accelerate transformation processes towards climate neutrality. To this end, university climate councils (planning cell method) are being set up following a status quo analysis. In these councils, expert opinions are drawn up, from which prioritized sub-projects for transfer laboratories (real laboratories method) are designed. Participatory instruments are also used here, for example transformation teams (transformer teams) are formed to implement the transfer labs together with practice partners, identify obstacles and develop ways to overcome them.

Further information can be found at klimaplanreal.ovgu.de.
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Autosuggestion is one form of self-suggestion and follows the idea that the constant, inner repetition of a thought can be converted into corresponding ideomotor, ideosensory, and ideoaffective states. This concept is certainly captivating, and nowadays used in many life and job coaching concepts. However, empirical evidence on how far and to what extent autosuggestion can indeed alter one’s own neurophysiological bodily states is so far scarce. Here, we use a combination of state-of-the-art neuroimaging technology (7 Tesla functional magnetic resonance imaging, fMRI) together with psychophysical modelling techniques and electrophysiological recordings (EEG), to answer the question of how the inner repetition of an idea influences tactile sensations at the body on a phenomenological, behavioural, and neurophysiological level.

Project funded by the Bial Foundation Research Grants 2019.

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Data collected in the clinic is often less meaningful than doctors would like. This is not only due to the limited number of tests, but also to subjective influencing factors such as the doctor-patient relationship or the experience of the doctor. Quantitative data on the patient's behavior in the home is often not available, which is a problem, especially for the diagnosis of motor disorders. In this project, we plan to use the latest findings from basic research on real-life tracking of hand functions to develop a new medical device, the "Diagnostic Glove". This is intended to help doctors to diagnose pathologies of the upper extremities more easily, evaluate them over time and use them to classify motor disorders. For the initialization of the project, we are working on a common problem that is difficult to solve in everyday clinical practice: the differentiation between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), inclusion body myositis (IBM) and monomelic amyotrophy (MMA). All three diseases are characterized by upper limb involvement, which can be difficult to distinguish in early stages of the disease. The project proposed here aims to (i) demonstrate that the Diagnostic Glove can be used to classify clinically-relevant changes in hand motor function, (ii) develop algorithms that can reliably distinguish between ALS, IBM and MMA, and (iii) obtain a patent for the software as a first step towards commercialization of the product. This project follows a trend in medicine in which new products are being developed that allow patient behavior to be recorded in real life. This "medicine to go" promises new, automated therapy procedures based on big data and analysis algorithms to make medical diagnosis more evidence-based and quantitative.
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Vision loss affects the ease with which we can explore the environment with eye movements. For instance, patients suffering from a central scotoma place saccade targets into the scotoma region until they have learned to use an extrafoveal retinal location as a saccadic reference point. This often takes months during which the patients suffer from inefficient exploration patterns with few saccades and abnormally wide attentional foci.

Other patients use retinal implants that provide them with residual vision in a small part of their visual field. Depending on the system used, the implants enable eye movements or only head movements to explore the environment. The impact of this limitation on visual search of the environment has only scarcely been investigated.

In the present project, we aim to investigate the impact of partial vision loss on visual search with eye-tracking and functional magnetic resonance imaging. Eye-tracking is used to simulate vision loss with gaze-contingent simulation of vision loss, e.g. with simulated scotomata. In combination with fMRI, we aim to investigate changes in visual search processes on the one hand and changes in the neural representation of the environment on the other hand.

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To respond to a touch, it is often necessary to localize it in space, and not just on the skin. The computation of this external spatial location involves the integration of somatosensation with visual and proprioceptive information about current body posture. Failures in the encoding of this external mapping would prevent us from retrieving the correct location of tactile events, impairing normal interactions with the environment. It would be like feeling the tickle of an insect on the skin, without knowing where to reach out to swat it away. The aim of the current project is to elucidate the mechanisms whereby self-generated movements and preceding tactile information is used by the remapping system to improve tactile localization.

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In my doctoral thesis, I am investigating genetic and pharmacologically induced changes in the human action monitoring system at the behavioral level and their electrophysiological correlates in the EEG.
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This project investigates the perception and neural representation of primary rewards, i.e. tastes, of their visual correspondences (secondary rewards) and of their (mis)matched combination in the human brain. Aims of this project are: (1) to identify the motivational, hedonic and category-specific representations (sweet, sour etc.) of primary rewards, (2) to identify the influence of secondary reinforcers on these representations and (3) to identify the effects of overlearned and novel visuo-gustatory correspondences on these and their functional interplay by means of univariate fMRI-approaches, plus functional connectivity, classification analysis and functional hyperalignment.

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Implementation of data processing and security concepts at a level that meets the requirements of funding institutions (ERC, DFG) and scientific journals. Documentation of the analysis tools available in Magdeburg. Implementation of user interfaces that make these and external technologies available to Magdeburg scientists with significantly reduced technical requirements. The aim is to increase the efficiency of the technical aspects of research projects and improve the reproducibility of analyses. Among other things, a general data structure for magnetic resonance imaging studies will be established, which will make future analysis paths accessible across all groups.
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This is a long-running project that aims to built a unique resource for studying the brain's natural behavior. It combines brain imaging with other data acquisition techniques to capture a versatile recording of the human response to a prolonged complex natural stimulus, the motion picture "Forrest Gump".

We invite anyone and everyone to participate in this decentralized effort to explore the opportunities of open science in neuroimaging. One of our goals is to document how much (scientific) value can be generated - from the publication of scientific findings derived from this dataset, algorithms and methods evaluated on this dataset, and/or extensions of this dataset by the acquisition and incorporation of new data.

Since 2014, a number of datasets have been publicly released for unrestricted use, covering functional and structural brain imaging, eye tracking, physiological recordings, and numerous annotations of the structure of the movie stimulus. For up-to-date information on available data, funding, and our many collaborators, please see the project homepage.

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The aim of this project is to overcome the technical difficulties involved in the distribution and reuse of original scientific data in order to improve collaboration between independent working groups in the step-by-step research process. To this end, the successful model of software distribution is being adapted for use in data sharing. Analogous to the software counterpart, all components of a "data distribution" are developed: Data package manager, package archive, interfaces for automated and interactive use. The work is based on two basic principles: 1) Use of existing, independent data hosting service providers as the foundation for a decentralized data-sharing platform. 2) Use of an already established software for data management and transport logistics: git-annex, which in turn is based on the widely used Git version control system. The finished "DataGit" system will make it possible to access a wide range of data with a single interface - from a single file on a working group's web server to large data collections on portals such as openfmri.org. DataGit is compatible with all operating systems and presents users with data access according to familiar concepts such as files and directories, while user authorization and data transport are handled transparently.
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In this effort we seek to identify the nature of attentional preferences of cognitive behavior, in terms of function (how it affects our behavior), physiology (how it is implemented in the brain), and time (how it is affected by learning/selection history). Specifically, what preferences can it hold, how do these change as a function of experience, and what are the neural codes underlying these representations?

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Today, it is possible to decode information from brain activation patterns using multivariate analysis methods. Nevertheless, little is known about the extent to which neuronal codes differ between individuals. The disadvantage of previous methods is that decoding models have to be created separately for each individual brain, as the functional fine structure of two brains in particular cannot be brought into congruence sufficiently. In this project, methods are being developed that make it possible to discover and describe commonalities in the neuronal representation of information by projecting individual brain activity patterns into a common high-dimensional space in order to create models of the representational spaces of different brain areas that are valid for a wide range of environmental stimuli and individuals. This includes complex cortical networks that do not respond consistently to external stimulation (e.g. for social cognition).
The algorithms "Hyperalignment" and "Hyperalignment for functional connectivity" are developed, which are optimized for application to functional brain activation profiles and connectivity patterns between brain areas, respectively. For validation, data is collected with functional magnetic resonance imaging during complex visual and auditory stimulation to analyze the underlying representational spaces.
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In 2013, a comprehensive data set for the investigation of auditory perception was recorded in collaboration with several CBBS working groups. This data set is unique worldwide in its combination of scope and paradigm. Subjects listened to an auditory version of the movie "Forrest Gump" while their brain activity and a number of physiological parameters were continuously recorded for the entire duration of two hours - in one of the most powerful magnetic resonance imaging systems. These functional measurements were supplemented by numerous images of the brain structure.

This dataset was made fully accessible to the public in 2014 and published in the Nature Publishing Group's new open access journal "Scientific Data". Directly with the publication, the "real-life cognition challenge" competition was announced to reward the best use of this dataset by an independent working group, thus bringing Magdeburg into the public eye with regard to the ever-increasing open-access and open-data movement in all scientific fields.
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The present project is set out to investigate the role of the frontopolar cortex in tracking visual stimulus characteristics. Previous studies have shown that the frontopolar cortex is involved in flexible attention shift between different stimulus dimensions (see Pollmann, 2015, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, for discussion). The present project investigates to what extend (1) low-level stimulus characteristics that are necessary for the flexible shift of attention are represented in the frontopolar cortex and (2) frontopolar regions actively track the necessity for attention shifts and change their activation accordingly. These questions are tackled with two paradigm that reguire different levels of attention shift between stimulus diemensions and multivariate analysis of the resulting fMRI and EEG data.

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The goal of the original research project in the first application phase was to search genome-wide for associations between genetic polymorphisms and electrophysiological endo-/phenotypes of human action monitoring. A genetic approach with a broad focus across many hundreds of thousands of SNPs offered the advantage of systematically and comprehensively determining the contribution of different systems/components in action monitoring. The goal of the continuation application was to further validate and characterize the promising initial results regarding a genetic contribution in action monitoring. The sample collected in the first stage of the application was too small to reach definitive conclusions here. Another focus of the continuation application was the comparison of different methodological approaches to relate genetic information to electrophysiological data (classical association approach, parallel ICA, shape invariant modeling).

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Ziel des Projektes ist es, herauszufinden, inwiefern elektrophysiologische Korrelate der Handlungsüberwachung nach einer Hirnschädigung bzw. einer psychischen Erkrankung im Vergleich zu einer Kontrollgruppe verändert erscheinen bzw. welchen prädiktiven Wert diese Veränderungen für die kognitive Wiederherstellung eines Patienten haben.

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Emotions are considered by most authors in psychology as discrete categories (in contrast to the classification of emotional states on the dimensions of valence and arousal), each with a specific pattern of experience, expression, physiological reactivity and neuronal activity. In view of this assumption, one of the major problems in emotion psychology today is the frequent lack of coherence between the different aspects of emotions, such as self-report (experience), facial expression and psychophysiological reactivity (e.g. ECG, electrodermal activity (EDA)). Looking at emotion induction tests, despite the self-report of emotions, there are usually only very low frequencies of complete prototypical facial expressions of an emotion and low frequencies of associated individual movements (so-called action units) at the same time.

There are various possible causes for the lack of coherence of the emotion elements. On the one hand, it could be a problem with the self-report measurement instrument. For this reason, the rating dial will be used to try to replicate the findings of Mauss et al. (2005) for sadness, but also to extend them to fear. The measurement of facial expression can of course also be incorrect or incomplete, so that relevant movements are not recorded if, for example, only EMG measurements of individual muscles are taken. This can be remedied by FACS, which classifies all facial movements, including eye and head movements, into categories.
In the planned pilot study, in addition to sadness, fear will also be induced using film material (a neutral film will be used as a control condition). Self-report, facial expressions and physiological reactions are to be recorded as dependent variables. 70 test subjects will be examined.
The aim of the study is to examine the coherence of self-report, facial expression and psychophysiological response (ECG, EDA) for grief and fear, as well as to find out whether fear is possibly expressed by facial movements other than those previously assumed. Two variants of coherence calculations will be compared. On the one hand, the coherence calculation based on the prototypical facial expressions assumed by Ekman (EMFACS). On the other hand, action unit combinations that occur more frequently during one of the emotion inductions than in the neutral condition should be considered indicative of the respective emotion and used for the coherence calculation. A higher coherence of one or the other method would indicate that the respective AUs belong to the respective emotion. If the coherence from the study by Mauss et al. (2005) is achieved with one of the methods, this would also speak for the basic unity (entity) of emotions.
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In this research project, we want to investigate the influence of psychological characteristics (e.g. Big Five, motivational strengths, emotion traits) of a person on their information behavior during a fact search or exploratory search. This study supplements the previous work in B4 with usage data on interactive dialogs during specific information search tasks. The user's behavior will be analyzed based on the above-mentioned user characteristics and the emotional-motivational state of the user in various stimulus situations (reference norms). Unfortunately, the user models created in B4 based on the previous studies do not yet allow for reliable user modelling due to the small number of test subjects, but have proven (Kotzyba et al., 2015) that modelling is possible with a suitable characterization of the users and a sufficiently large user sample.
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The IGF scenario is an experiment or data recording scenario as part of the CRC-TRR 62 Companion technology. Test subjects interacted with a technical system that helped them to complete a gait course. The purpose of the gait course is to train the gait. However, several emotion inductions were built into the scenario. Both anger/frustration and speech anxiety were to be evoked.
Facial expressions are categorized with the help of the Facial Action Coding System (Ekman & Friesen, 1978). Emotions are then derived from this. The categories of emotions are then used by cooperation partners from electrical engineering/computer science to train their automatic recognition programs.
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We provide a platform for the structured interdisciplinary scientific training of our doctoral as well as postdoctoral researchers within the proposed CRC to meet both individual career needs but also the transfer of knowledge form basic science into application, and the involvement of the public in research questions.

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The external environment is rich with multiple sources of sensory stimulation, and our ability to adapt
to our surroundings requires the efficient use of neural resources to process this dynamic input. Attendingto particular moments in time is a key cognitive capacity instrumental in all animals’ survival.
This requires associations between sensory systems and top-down executive control. How our senses
give us information about the environment changes as we age, often becoming compromised, and
resulting in drastic lifestyle changes, including problems with communicating and learning; ultimately
leading to isolation and further cognitive decline. While previous designs to prolong cognitive functioningacross the lifespan often rely on unisensory training programs, in the ‘real’ world, events often stimulate more than one sensory modality simultaneously and, therefore, may enhance the efficacy ofresource utilisation. The hidden potential underlying multisensory information processing within theseneurocognitive circuits during temporal attention, as well as the changes in these capacities acrossageing, remain unclear. Our project focuses on a key component that is instrumental in cognitive performanceand memory formation, the utilisation of temporal information in multisensory contexts; further, we will determine the potential to enhance these cognitive processes through interventionssuch as external feedback and multisensory training. We evaluate the potential for elevating cognitiveefficiency by manipulating expectations about the timing of sensorially cued events (WP1), testing thetransfer of information across modalities (WP2), and combining sensory categories (WP3) to ultimatelystabilise memory engrams. Across all three aims, we will relate behavioural readouts directly with neuronalactivity on the meso-scale and macro-scale level using functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI) in both humans and mice as well as micro-scale single-cell resolution two-photon (2P) Ca2+imaging and immediate early gene (IEG) expression in mice.

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The aim of our CBBS neuroscience graduate program (CBBS GP) is to connect students from the Otto von Guericke University (OVGU), the Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology (LIN) and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE). The CBBS graduate program is founded by the Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences CBBS, a central scientific institution of the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg.

Currently, more than 150 PhD students, MD students and postdocs are already registered. Under the umbrella of the Otto von Guericke Graduate Academy (OVG-GA), the CBBS GP offers assistance on arrival in Magdeburg / Germany, helps to overcome bureaucratic hurdles and gives students a guide how to shape their own career. In addition, the CBBS GP organizes German courses in various formats and creates the basis for a scientific exchange thanks to the study groups offered. In addition to the calendar, which now includes all events taking place on the medical campus, the CBBS GP tries to give an overview of the research taking place on that campus with the new ring lecture. The CBBS GP provides information about national and international job offers, including the black board with job advertisements for students, PhDs, MDs and postdocs.

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The ESF-funded international OVGU Graduate School (ESF-GS) Analysis, Imaging and Modeling of Neuronal and Inflammatory Processes (ABINEP) applied for here is intended to support and expand the training of international doctoral students in the particularly research-intensive profile lines of the Faculty of Medicine at Otto von Guericke University (OVGU). The OVGU profile lines funded by this ESF-GS are the Centers for Neurosciences (CBBS) and for Dynamic Systems (CDS, including Immunology/Molecular Medicine of Inflammation). The ESF-GS comprises 4 thematic modules with a total of 21 fellows, some of which are assigned to the above-mentioned focal points in parallel and which are to be combined organizationally under the central umbrella of the ABINEP ESF-GS. Each of the 4 thematic modules will have 5-6 scholarship holders. The modules, the allocation of the number of fellowships and the OVGU research structures supported by them are listed below. The non-university partners involved in the content are also named:

• 1. neuroinflammation ( 5; CBBS, CDS, OVGU, FME, LIN, DZNE)
• 2. modeling of neuronal networks ( 5; CBBS, OVGU, FME, LIN, DZNE)
• 3rd immunosenescence ( 6; CDS, FME, HZI)
• 4. imaging of human brain functions ( 5; CBBS, OVGU, FME, LIN, DZNE)

The CBBS-associated modules have strong links with the engineering sciences (especially the medical technology transfer focus), which are to be funded via an independently applied-for ESF-GS (MEMoRIAL). Close cooperation between these two ESF-GS is planned in order to achieve synergies both in the training of the scholarship holders and for innovative new research approaches in collaboration with the OVGU's medical technology transfer focus and the state project Autonomy in Old Age. Overall, the ESF-GS ABINEP promotes the internationalization of OVGU's recognized excellent medical research.
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This project investigates the perception and neuronal representation of primary reinforcers (taste), their visual counterparts (secondary reinforcers) and their (in)congruent combination in the human brain. Aims are: (1) identification of motivational, hedonic and catego-riespecific (sweet, sour etc.) representations of primary reinforcers, (2) identification of the influence of secondary reinforcers on these representations and (3) identification of the effects of novel and overlearned visuogustatory combinations and their functional interplay with univariate fMRI analyses, connectivity, classification analyses and hyperalignment.
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This project investigates the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying the perception of audiovisual synchrony. Behavioural and psychophysical measures are combined with both high temporal resolution (Magnetoencephalography) and high spatial resolution (functional magnetic resonance) brain imaging techniques. First we attempt to identify the temporal neural dynamics and neuroanatomical substrates of the cognitive processes underlying audiovisual integration. Second, we will investigate the functional properties of these areas, determining those which compute audiovisual synchrony automatically, and those which can be modulated by adaptation. Third, we attempt to determine how the manipulation of simple stimulus parameters (e.g. brightness) modifies the neural processes underlying audiovisual integration. For example, since brightness changes alter the arrival times of visual information in the isocortex, brightness manipulations may reveal how the brain integrates information across the senses despite changing cortical arrival times. Together, the results of this project will significantly broaden our understanding of the cognitive and neural mechanisms of multisensory temporal integration.

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This project is being carried out together with Dr. Jordi Navarra (P.I.) from the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Barcelona, Spain. It is funded by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (funding amount 87,750 euros). In this project, the neuronal basis of movements in the auditory area is being investigated in humans using fMRI.
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Dieses europaweite Netzwerk (17 teilnehmende EU-Länder plus Australien, Kanada und Japan) untersucht die philosophischen Konstrukte, linguistische Beschreibungen, psychologische Mechanismen und neuronalen Korrelate von Zeitwahrnehmung

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Investigations of multisensory spatial integration with electroenzephalography (EEG), Magnetenzephalography(MEG) and functional magnetresonaztomography (fMRI) in humans

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This project investigates the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying the perception of audiovisual synchrony. Behavioural and psychophysical measures are combined with both high temporal resolution (Magnetoencephalography) and high spatial resolution (functional magnetic resonance) brain imaging techniques. First we attempt to identify the temporal neural dynamics and neuroanatomical substrates of the cognitive processes underlying audiovisual integration. Second, we will investigate the functional properties of these areas, determining those which compute audiovisual synchrony automatically, and those which can be modulated by adaptation. Third, we attempt to determine how the manipulation of simple stimulus parameters (e.g. brightness) modifies the neural processes underlying audiovisual integration. For example, since brightness changes alter the arrival times of visual information in the isocortex, brightness manipulations may reveal how the brain integrates information across the senses despite changing cortical arrival times. Together, the results of this project will significantly broaden our understanding of the cognitive and neural mechanisms of multisensory temporal integration.

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When we look at a face, we carry out distinctive eye movements leading to gaze paths that can easily be discriminated from the gaze paths elicited by other objects. It is well-known that frontal and parietal areas support the planning and execution of such eye movements. However, we recently showed that face and house-specific gaze tracks can be decoded in the fusiform face area (FFA) and the parahippocampal place area (PPA) - even in the absence of a face or house to look at. We concluded that action (gaze) patterns are represented in high-level visual cortex, demonstrating a potential neural basis for close interactions of perception and action. While we think we have presented solid evidence for this counterintuitive mapping of complex gaze patterns in high-level perceptual areas, many questions as to their nature and function remain.
In the first experiment of the present proposal, we want to investigate the nature of this novel finding, specifically at what time the critical information is represented in a gaze track and if it is coded in the sequence or rather the location of fixations. In a second experiment, we want to learn if the gaze tracks elicited when identifying a face respectively identifying a facial emotion expression are represented in different perceptual brain areas. Finally, we plan to investigate if microsaccades elicited during face viewing are represented in a similar way as saccades in the FFA.

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Allocation of attention enables us to focus on the task at hand. However, in a constantly changing environment it is also necessary to explore the environment for the adaptive reallocation of resources. The anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC) is regarded as a decisive part of a neurocognitive circuit for the neuronal realization of exploratory resource allocation in human and non-human primates. However, rodents (with their less differentiated frontal cortex) also show exploratory resource allocation. We plan to investigate the neural processes of exploratory attentional resource shifts on the macro-scale and meso-scale across humans and Mongolian gerbils. We utilize a novel, complementary foraging paradigm in both species based on exploitation / exploration trade-offs and record brain activity from the aPFC with respect to its local micro- and widespread macro-circuitry. Moreover, there is emerging evidence that exploratory attention is diminished in old age revealed by-sometimes perseverative- exploitative behaviour. Exploratory resource allocation is also likely to be a prerequisite for successful transfer of learning. This will be investigated in collaboration with other subprojects of the CRC.

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Our previous work has shown that the deficits of contextual cueing in search with central vision loss are not due to a failure to learn repeatedly presented configurations, but due to a failure of memory-guided search that goes along with inefficient saccadic exploration of the search displays. In the current project, we want to address this issue with the aim to improve memory-guided search in individuals with central vision loss by improving saccadic exploration.
 
The main problem of eye movement control following central vision loss is that saccades lead to the foveation of peripheral saccade targets. While this is normally adaptive, bringing peripheral points of interest in full view, it is obviously maladaptive after central vision loss, requiring corrective saccades to bring the point of interest into view at a preferred retinal location (PRL) bordering the area of vision loss. What would be more adaptive in this case is to re-reference the saccade target location to an extrafoveal PRL. It is important to note that PRL-use is not the same as saccadic re-referencing to the PRL. In fact, SR has been found to develop only slowly - over months - in clinical populations suffering from foveal vison loss (von Noorden & Mackensen, 1962; White & Bedell, 1990; Whittaker, Cum­mings, & Swieson, 1991). However, recent experiments with central scotoma simulation (Barraza-Bernal et al., 2017; Kwon et al., 2013; Walsh and Liu, 2014; Liu and Kwon, 2016) have demonstrated ways to induce SR over hours rather than months, as reported in the patient studies. While these reports have shown the feasibility of successful SR training with simulated scotomata, they still leave many open questions, as outlined in the work program. Moreover, it took up to 25 hours of training for the fixations with the PRL to become comparably accurate as with the fovea (Kwon et al., 2013), so even a significant reduction of training hours with improved training techniques would be a considerable progress, making future training programs for patients more feasible. Furthermore, the usefulness of SR-training in AMD-patients (instead of study participants with simulated scotomata) still needs to be established.
Because of the slow spontaneous development of saccadic rereferencing and its importance for efficient visual search (including memory-driven search guidance), the main aim of this proposal is the development of an efficient method to train the fast and durable establishment of saccadic re-referencing (SR) to a PRL in the presence of foveal vision loss and to test effects on memory-guided search in the contextual cueing paradigm as well as its transfer to another important task - reading.

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In previous experiments, we have shown that structures of the dopaminergic system are not only involved in reward learning but also in visual learning processes that are either based only on cognitive feedback or even on internal confidence judgments in the absence of external feedback. In the coming application period, we would like to build on this by investigating the interaction of the ventral striatum and medial temporal lobe in complex visual learning processes. Based on animal experiments, we will use functional imaging to investigate how these structures interact in the representation of reward expectancy and prediction errors in spatial and temporal contexts. Building on our previous work, we will define these terms to include responses to external feedback about the correctness of task expectations on the one hand, and the confirmation or violation of implicitly learned contingencies on the other. To this end, we would like to conduct a series of experiments using high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging and link these to quantitative modeling. Based on findings from animal experiments, we first plan to investigate an explicit context conditioning paradigm in which the representation of motivational value of an action alternative and context is analyzed . Building on these findings, we would then like to proceed to the investigation of implicit learning processes. To this end, we plan to use the contextual cueing paradigm on the one hand and the serial reaction time paradigm on the other.
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Retinal implants consist of electronic chips that are implanted in the eyes of blind patients to replace the function of the lost receptor cells and to stimulate preserved retinal nerve cells. In this way, a visual impression can be restored, but it is so limited that it is not easy to recognize objects or scenes. We would now like to develop a training program for these patients that will enable them to learn to recognize objects as quickly as possible using their reduced vision mediated by the retinal implant.
To this end, we are trying to optimize object representation for vision with retinal implants (RI) in various ways. Great importance is attached to ensuring that object recognition generalizes to new, previously unlearned object views in order to guarantee the transfer of learning to everyday situations. In order to minimize unnecessary stress for the patients, the training program is initially developed using visually healthy test subjects who attempt to recognize object images that simulate vision using retinal implants by means of reduced resolution and specific distortions.
The ultimate aim of the project is to develop a computer-assisted training program for RI patients that will help them to make the best possible use of their regained vision in everyday life following implantation.
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Retinal implants (RI) are photoelectric devices that enable otherwise blind patients residual vision due to electrical stimulation of the retina. The perception gained by retinal implants ( RI) is limited by the design of the implant on the one hand and by physiological factors on the other hand (for a recent review see Shepherd et al., 2013). Great progress has been made in the development of RI systems and surgical procedures, leading to certified medical products. In contrast, to our knowledge no scientifically validated perceptual learning programs exist that help the RI patients to make optimal use of their implants. The potential usefulness of perceptual learning regimes derives from the severe limitations of visual perception that current RI technology can offer. In this situation, patients may substantially benefit from learning to recognize objects and scenes in the degraded visual signals that RIs deliver.

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Adaptive perception requires the prioritization of relevant over irrelevant information. When we are looking for a specific book of which we only remember the color of its cover, we can limit our search to mainly that color. The mental representation of what we are looking for is called the attentional template (also target template, search template, attentional set; e.g., Folk et al., 1992). An attentional template is a flexible representation reflecting current selection preferences, as derived from continuously changing task demands and prior selection history. Even though attentional templates are essential for shaping and controlling perception and action in everyday life, surprisingly little is known about their nature. For example, when you look for your car keys, do you look for their shape, their color, or both? In case of the latter, are shape and color integrated in a single representation, or are they independently represented? Can you look for your wallet at the same time, without affecting your key-template? Furthermore, it is often assumed that visual attention is guided by visual templates, but it is perfectly possible that non-visual types of representation (e.g., semantic codes) are also involved. Finally, the nature of the template may change fundamentally in the course of learning, as a result of selection history.AimThe aim of our joint research proposal is to answer the fundamental question of what kind of representation the attentional template is, in terms of function (how it affects our behaviour), physiology (how it is implemented in the brain), and time (how it is affected by learning/selection history). How we flexibly set up new attentional preferences remains one of the great mysteries in cognitive neuroscience, and any reference to templates involves some residual appeal to a homunculus. Although we will not be able to completely banish this homunculus in our research, ourultimate aim is to do the next best thing, to seek fundamental new insights into the nature of this homunculus. To this end, in several other projects we have focused on questions like the number of templates that can be maintained simultaneously, the dynamics of controlling the template, and the influence of different memory systems. In this collaboration we focus on the fundamental question of representation: What is the nature of the attentional template? Specifically, what types of preference can it hold, how do these change as a function of experience, and what are the neural codes underlying these representations? A thorough understanding of the representational properties of attentional templates is a major step on the way towards a neuro cognitive model of attention which will eventually replace the homunculus with a scientific theory of goal-directed perception and action.

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Retinal damage affecting the macula leads to loss of high-resolution vision. Patients learn to use peripheral parts of their retina to replace foveal vision. Because of the lesser receptor density in the retinal periphery, this means a loss of spatial resolution. In the present project, we want to explore whether macular damage entails deficits in visual selective attention and visual long-term memory. From investigations in normal-sighted observers we know of a close link between selective attention and exploration of the environment by means of eye movements. When exploration is impaired by loss of foveal fixation, deficits of attentional selection may be a consequence. Since attentional selection of an object is known to be an important precondition for later retrieval from long-term memory, macular damage may also entail deficits in visual long term memory. We intend to investigate these topics in a series of experiments in which we measure guidance of visual search by implicit learning as well as visual object memory. Speed and accuracy of search and memory will be related to eye movement patterns as well as brain activation. Patient data will further be compared to data from normal-sighted individuals, in whom scotomata will be simulated via gaze-contingent displays.

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Multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) of functional magnetic resonance imaging data has recently become widespread in the neurosciences. MVPA is associated with the hope of obtaining spatially high-resolution information about brain functions. Recently, however, controversial results have been published about the information content of fMRI signals of different resolutions and their contributions to the classification of perceptual content using MVPA. In the present project, we want to systematically investigate to what extent the higher spatial resolution and sensitivity enabled by high magnetic field strength contribute to an improvement in the classification of activation patterns. To this end, we vary the field strength (3T and 7T), compare different spatial resolutions, analyze the influence of sensitivity and investigate these factors under stimulation conditions that cause differences in the neuronal excitation pattern in the submillimeter or millimeter range. The aim of the investigations is to better characterize the factors influencing multivariate pattern analyses and, associated with this, to optimize future MVPA designs with regard to recording and evaluation.
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In previous experiments, we have shown that structures of the dopaminergic system are not only involved in reward learning but also in visual learning processes that are either based only on cognitive feedback or even on internal confidence judgments in the absence of external feedback. In the coming application period, we would like to build on this by investigating the interaction of the ventral striatum and medial temporal lobe in complex visual learning processes. Based on animal experiments, we will use functional imaging to investigate how these structures interact in the representation of reward expectancy and prediction errors in spatial and temporal contexts. Building on our previous work, we will define these terms to include responses to external feedback about the correctness of task expectations on the one hand and the confirmation or violation of implicitly learned contingencies on the other. To this end, we would like to conduct a series of experiments using high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging and link these to quantitative modeling. Based on findings from animal experiments, we first plan to investigate an explicit context conditioning paradigm in which the representation of motivational value of an action alternative and context is analyzed. Building on these findings, we would then like to proceed to the investigation of implicit learning processes. To this end, we plan to use the contextual cueing paradigm on the one hand and the serial reaction time paradigm on the other.
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The association of features with objects is a classic topic in visual neuroscience. Evidence for the involvement of the posterior parietal cortex comes primarily from lesion studies, while imaging experiments have so far remained equivocal. While previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies compared visual search for feature associations with simple feature search, we would like to take an alternative approach. Combining high-resolution fMRI and multivariate analysis methods, we plan to directly compare activation patterns induced by feature or conjunction changes in order to draw conclusions about the representation of feature associations in the posterior parietal cortex via their dissimilarity. Particular attention will be paid to the representation of feature associations between visual dimensions (such as orientation and color) and within a dimension, because the aforementioned lesion studies provide initial evidence that the posterior parietal cortex may be particularly involved in the processing of transdimensional feature associations.
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Retinal damage affecting the macula leads to loss of high-resolution vision. Patients learn to use peripheral parts of their retina to replace foveal vision. Because of the lesser receptor density in the retinal periphery, this means a loss of spatial resolution. In the present project, we want to explore whether macular damage entails deficits in visual selective attention and visual long-term memory. From investigations in normal-sighted observers we know of a close link between selective attention and exploration of the environment by means of eye movements. When exploration is impaired by loss of foveal fixation, deficits of attentional selection may be a consequence. Since attentional selection of an object is known to be an important precondition for later retrieval from long-term memory, macular damage may also entail deficits in visual long term memory. We intend to investigate these topics in a series of experiments in which we measure guidance of visual search by implicit learning as well as visual object memory. Speed and accuracy of search and memory will be related to eye movement patterns as well as brain activation. Patient data will further be compared to data from normal-sighted individuals, in whom scotomata will be simulated via gaze-contingent displays.

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Aufmerksamkeit kann implizit, durch Regelhaftigkeiten in der Außenwelt, gesteuert werden. Diese müssen dabei gar nicht bewußt wahrgenommen werden. Solche Regelhaftigkeiten zu entdecken, ermöglicht uns eine effizientere visuelle Suche. Ein experimentelles Paradigma, in dem sich eine solche implizite Aufmerksamkeitssteuerung zeigt, ist das kontextuelle Cueing-Paradigma (Chun & Jiang, 1998), welches auf inzidentellem Lernen der räumlichen Anordnung von Items in einem Suchdisplay beruht. Kontextuelles Cueing ist verhaltensseitig gut untersucht. Weniger bekannt ist hingegen die neuronale Basis diese Effekts. Einzig die Beteiligung medial temporaler Strukturen wird, mit widersprüchlichen Befunden, diskutiert (Chun & Phelps, 1999; Manns & Squire, 2001). Die geplanten funktionellen Bildgebungsexperimente haben drei Schwerpunkte. Zum einen soll untersucht werden, welche Prozesse und kortikale Strukturen das inzidentelle Lernen wiederholter räumlicher Anordnungen in der visuellen Suche unterstützen. Zweitens soll die neuronale Basis des inzidentellen Lernens selbst von den neuronalen Korrelaten der Expression des Lernens abgegrenzt werden. Drittens soll untersucht werden, welche neuronalen Strukturen auf Änderungen der räumlichen Regelhaftigkeiten reagieren, um eine Neuausrichtung der Aufmerksamkeit zu ermöglichen.

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Primary and secondary reinforcers motivate the behavior of humans. Reward prediction is important as differences between predicted and actual outcome of an event are used as a learning signal. Delayed or improbable rewards are discounted but discounting functions differ markedly between subjects. We are seeking to pinpoint the neural correlates of reward during learning in healthy and pathological states

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In diesem Projekt wollen wir untersuchen, inwieweit das mesocorticale dopaminerge Belohnungssystem neben der Vermittlung von Konditionierungsphänomenen auch in visuelles Kategorielernen involviert ist. Am Paradigma des Informations-Integrations-Lernens, bei dem Kategoriezugehörigkeit in Abwesenheit einer leicht verbalisierbaren Zuordnungsregel erlernt wird, wollen wir untersuchen, inwieweit das Belohnungssystem an diesen Lernprozessen beteiligt ist, wenn Lernen durch (1) positive Verstärkung (Belohnung), (2) Rückmeldung ohne explizite Verstärkung oder (3) ohne explizite Rückmeldung erfolgt. Aktivierung in Strukturen des mesocorticalen dopaminergen Systems werden zu corticalen Arealen in Beziehung gesetzt. Dies betrifft einerseits Areale, die visuelle Suche und Aufmerksamkeitssteuerung unterstützen sowie andererseits visuelle Areale im Occipitotemporalcortex, die in die Verarbeitung visueller Merkmale und Objekte eingebunden sind. Multivariate voxelbasierte Klassifikationsverfahren werden dabei, teils in Kombination mit räumlich hochaufgelöster fMRT bei hoher Feldstärke (7T) eingesetzt, um die Kodierung von Gewinnerwartung, Gewinn-/Rückmeldungsunsicherheit und Gewinn/Rückmeldung in den Arealen des dopaminergen Systems zu analysieren. Die Kombination dieser Verfahren mit ereigniskorrelierter fMRT-Analyse erlaubt die Analyse von Teilaspekten wie Gewinnerwartung und Vorhersagefehler innerhalb eines Versuchsdurchgangs sowie von Lernprozessen über Versuchsdurchgänge hinweg.

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Aufmerksamkeit kann implizit, durch Regelhaftigkeiten in der Außenwelt, gesteuert werden. Diese müssen dabei gar nicht bewußt wahrgenommen werden. Solche Regelhaftigkeiten zu entdecken, ermöglicht uns eine effizientere visuelle Suche. Ein experimentelles Paradigma, in dem sich eine solche implizite Aufmerksamkeitssteuerung zeigt, ist das kontextuelle Cueing-Paradigma (Chun & Jiang, 1998), welches auf inzidentellem Lernen der räumlichen Anordnung von Items in einem Suchdisplay beruht. Kontextuelles Cueing ist verhaltensseitig gut untersucht. Weniger bekannt ist hingegen die neuronale Basis diese Effekts. Einzig die Beteiligung medial temporaler Strukturen wird, mit widersprüchlichen Befunden, diskutiert (Chun & Phelps, 1999; Manns & Squire, 2001). Die geplanten funktionellen Bildgebungsexperimente haben drei Schwerpunkte. Zum einen soll untersucht werden, welche Prozesse und kortikale Strukturen das inzidentelle Lernen wiederholter räumlicher Anordnungen in der visuellen Suche unterstützen. Zweitens soll die neuronale Basis des inzidentellen Lernens selbst von den neuronalen Korrelaten der Expression des Lernens abgegrenzt werden. Drittens soll untersucht werden, welche neuronalen Strukturen auf Änderungen der räumlichen Regelhaftigkeiten reagieren, um eine Neuausrichtung der Aufmerksamkeit zu ermöglichen.

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Die neuronale Basis von Aufmerksamkeitskontrollprozessen soll mit der funktionellen Magnetresonanztomographie untersucht werden. Insbesondere dient das Projekt der Entwicklung neuartiger Analysemethoden, die die multivariate Analyse von Hirnaktivationsmustern erlauben. Zu diesem Zweck kooperieren wir mit dem Department of Psychology der Princeton University (insbes. Prof. Jim Haxby, Ph.D.), die auf diesem Gebiet eine der weltweit führenden Institutionen sind.

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Modulatorische Aufmerksamkeitseffekte in sensorischen Großhirnarealen sind gut bekannt. In dieser Studie untersuchen wir, inwieweit solche Aufmerksamkeitseffekte auch im Motorkortex zu beobachten sind. Dazu wird ein räumliches Hinweisreizverfahren verwendet, um Aufmerksamkeitsausrichtungen auf Punkte in der linken und rechten Raumhälfte zu generieren. Mittels funktioneller Magnetresonanztomographie untersuchen wir, inwieweit die Aktivität des primären motorischen Kortex durch die Aufmerksamkeitsausrichtung moduliert wird. Weiterhin untersuchen wir mittels trankranieller Magnetstimulation (TMS) und Elektromyographie, inwieweit diese Aktivierung in eine beschleunigte motorische Antwort mündet.

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Bei hohen Aufgabenanforderungen kann die Bearbeitung dadurch effizienter werden, daß Ressourcen beider Hemisphären gemeinsam genutzt werden. Diese Annahme wird durch Experimente zum bilateralen Verteilungsvorteil nahegelegt. Bei diesen Experimenten wurde beobachtet, daß manche Aufgaben schneller bearbeitet werden, wenn die zu verarbeitenden Reize über beide Gesichtsfeldhälften verteilt dargeboten werden, im Vergleich zur Darbietung in einer Gesichtsfeldhälfte. Dieser Verteilungsvorteil tritt insbesondere bei komplexeren Aufgaben auf, während er bei einfachen Aufgaben eher nicht auftritt, ja sogar hier die Bearbeitung von Reizen innerhalb einer Gesichtsfeldhälfte effizienter sein kann. Während dieser Effekt in einer Reihe verschiedener Aufgaben gezeigt wurde, so ist doch noch weitgehend unklar, was die Komplexität einer Aufgabe ausmacht, die dann zu einem bilateralen Verteilungsvorteil führt. Diese Frage wollen wir mit Verhaltensexperimenten und funktioneller Magnetresonanztomographie an hirngesunden Probanden untersuchen. Mittels einer Patientenstichprobe mit Teilläsionen des Corpus callosum wollen wir darüberhinaus untersuchen, welche Kommissuren an der interhemisphärischen Ressourcenteilung beteiligt sind.

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Wir untersuchen die Wirksamkeit der Prismaadaptationsmethode und einer neuen "Kognitiven" Adaptation in der Behandlung des Neglectsyndroms. Das Projekt dient zum einen der Überprüfung der Nutzbarkeit der Prismaadaptation in der Behandlung des Neglect und zum anderen der Aufklärung der zugrundeliegenden Prozesse.

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Das Ziel der bisher durchgeführten Untersuchungen bestand darin, die neuronalen Korrelate perzeptuellen Lernens mittels funktioneller Magnet-Resonanz-Tomographie (fMRT) abzubilden. Dazu wurden zwei Experimentalreihen zum Lernen einer Orientierungsunterscheidung (Ahissar & Hochstein, 2002) und zum Lernen der Krümmungsdiskrimination von Scheinkanten (Rubin, Nakayama & Shapley, 2002) durchgeführt, um sie auf ihre Eignung für die Implementierung in einem Kern-Spin-Design zu testen. Das letztgenannte Paradigma erwies sich insofern als geeigneter, als der zeitliche Verlauf der Lerneffekte besser vorhersagbar war und das neuronale Korrelat der lernbedingten Veränderungen eindeutig bestimmt werden konnte. Wir haben eine Gruppe von 24 Personen in der Aufgabe trainiert und ihre Hirnaktivität mittels fMRT gemessen. Personen, die signifikante lerninduzierte Verbesserungen zeigten, unterschieden sich von Personen, die nicht gelernt hatten vor allem darin, dass eine Zunahme der neuronalen Aktivität, erschlossen aus dem BOLD-Signal, in den retinotop organisierten frühen visuellen Arealen (V1,V2) zu beobachten war. In einem behavioralen Nachfolgeexperiment haben wir bei 15 Probanden die Langzeittrainingseffekte sowie deren Spezifität untersucht. Es zeigte sich, dass die Wahrnehmungsverbesserungen über einen Zeitraum von 10 Monaten stabil waren. Allerdings waren die Leistungsverbesserungen auf den trainierten Ort im Gesichtsfeld beschränkt, d.h. es war keine Übertragung der verbesserten Wahrnehmungsleistungen auf andere als die trainierten Gesichtsfeldpositionen möglich. Wir haben ein zweites FMRI-Experiment durchgeführt, in dem wir die technischen Parameter verändert haben, um die räumliche Genauigkeit der Aktivierungslokalisation zu verbessern. Trotz der, infolge der erhöhten Auflösung, verringerten Sensitivität des Signals, zeigen erste Ergebnisse, dass die räumliche Lokalisation tatsächlich exakter gelungen ist. Die Ergebnisse bezüglich der neuronalen Aktivität in Reaktion auf Scheinkanten werden zur Zeit analysiert.

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Investigation on neural substrates of exogenous and endogenous induced covert shifts of attention by means of behavioural, event-related potential and functional magnetic resonance recordings in healthy and brain-damaged patients with attentional disorders.

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Bei hohen Aufgabenanforderungen kann die Bearbeitung dadurch effizienter werden, daß Ressourcen beider Hemisphären gemeinsam genutzt werden. Diese Annahme wird durch Experimente zum bilateralen Verteilungsvorteil nahegelegt. Bei diesen Experimenten wurde beobachtet, daß manche Aufgaben schneller bearbeitet werden, wenn die zu verarbeitenden Reize über beide Gesichtsfeldhälften verteilt dargeboten werden, im Vergleich zur Darbietung in einer Gesichtsfeldhälfte. Dieser Verteilungsvorteil tritt insbesondere bei komplexeren Aufgaben auf, während er bei einfachen Aufgaben eher nicht auftritt, ja sogar hier die Bearbeitung von Reizen innerhalb einer Gesichtsfeldhälfte effizienter sein kann. Während dieser Effekt in einer Reihe verschiedener Aufgaben gezeigt wurde, so ist doch noch weitgehend unklar, was die Komplexität einer Aufgabe ausmacht, die dann zu einem bilateralen Verteilungsvorteil führt. Diese Frage wollen wir mit Verhaltensexperimenten und funktioneller Magnetresonanztomographie an hirngesunden Probanden untersuchen. Mittels einer Patientenstichprobe mit Teilläsionen des Corpus callosum wollen wir darüberhinaus untersuchen, welche Kommissuren an der interhemisphärischen Ressourcenteilung beteiligt sind.

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Our daily decisions and behaviors are significantly influenced by how and where we direct our attention. The focus of attention is also a prerequisite for successful learning in many situations. For example, a child's learning success depends on whether they manage to focus their attention on content relevant to the lesson or whether they allow themselves to be distracted by their surroundings. These attention processes often take place unconsciously and are modulated not only by current environmental stimuli but also by previous learning experiences. Thus, individuals with addiction disorders are more likely to turn to stimuli that previously co-occurred with the addictive substance, which may contribute to the occurrence of relapse cases. The research of our group deals with this interplay of learning, attention and behavior and its change over the lifespan and in mental illness. To answer our questions, we use a combination of methods from behavioral experiments and neuroscientific imaging techniques. The results of our research will be used to develop tools that help patients in real-life situations to overcome attentional biases. This can be done, for example, via target group-specific cell phone apps that can be used in everyday life.
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Recent work in this subproject has demonstrated that both implicit and explicit rewards are involved in the incidental learning of repeated spatial configurations. Implicitly, reward signals were obtained from the putamen when a search target was found at a learnt location within a repeated spatial search context. Explicit monetary reward led to enhanced search guidance in repeated configurations. Medial frontal and retrosplenial cortex were core areas of the underlying neural architecture. For the next funding period, we propose to further investigate the nature of reward enhancement of spatial contextual cueing with respect to the role of relative reward value and with respect to the role of reward versus punishment (monetary gain versus loss). In addition, the specificity of the reward-related enhancement will be tested by contrasting context learning and target location probability learning as well as by investigating the contribution of visual working memory capacity. A new aspect will consist of developmental studies of reward modulation of contextual cueing over the lifespan. In particular, we will study age-related changes during learning, expression of learning and relearning of incidentally acquired contextual cues in visual search and examine how the implicit processes interact with motivational factors and working memory capacity.

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The project includes a pilot study in which the ability to defer rewards and risk aversion in the context of economic decision-making processes are examined. In addition, economic decision-making in old age is to be improved through training.
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Da gerade die Auseinandersetzung mit mathematischen Inhalten zu einem gelungenen Start ins Schulleben sowie einer erfolgreichen Schulkarriere beiträgt, möchten wir im Projekt "Früh übt sich . - gewusst wie" Bedingungen für eine positive Entwicklung mathematischer Fähigkeiten von Vorschulkindern identifizieren. Hierbei werden wir die Faktoren Elternhaus und Kindergarten sowie Merkmale des Kindes selbst näher betrachten. Das Projekt leistet einen wichtigen Beitrag zur Beantwortung folgender Forschungsfragen:

• Was sind optimale Voraussetzungen für frühkindliche Entwicklungsprozesse?
• Wodurch lassen sich Entwicklungsunterschiede im Bereich mathematischer Fähigkeiten am besten vorhersagen?
• Welchen Einfluss haben familiäre Sozialisationsfaktoren auf die Entwicklung mathematischer Fähigkeiten?
• Welche Möglichkeiten bietet eine ganzheitliche Betrachtung von Frühförderung?

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Die Mehrfamilientherapie (MFT) ist ein evidenzbasiertes Verfahren zur Behandlung von psychischen Störungen, psychiatrischen Symptomen und körperlichen Erkrankungen bei Kindern, Jugendlichen und Erwachsenen. Hierbei werden Patienten und deren Familien direkt und aktiv in den therapeutischen Prozess einbezogen. Die MFT nutzt dabei nicht nur die Ressourcen der einzelnen Familienmitglieder und deren Beziehungen, sondern fokussiert zentral auf den Austausch der Familien untereinander. Dabei wird handlungsorientiert mit szenischen Arbeitsformen gearbeitet. In einer Vielzahl von Wirksamkeitsstudien konnten die positiven Effekte dieser Therapieform bestätigt und für einzelne Krankheitsbilder wie z.B. Schizophrenie, Essstörungen und körperlichen Erkrankungen genauer spezifiziert werden. In der Magdeburger Tagesklinik der Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie ist die Mehrfamilientherapie ein wesentlicher Behandlungsbaustein. Es werden Kinder und Jugendliche im Alter von 3 bis 18 Jahren in unterschiedlichen Altersgruppen behandelt. Eine Besonderheit in Magdeburg ist die Anwendung der MFT altersgruppenspezifisch mit unterschiedlichen Krankheitsbildern. Die Gemeinsamkeit dieser Gruppen ist die Altergruppe und nicht das Störungsbild, wobei gleiche und ähnliche Krankheitsbilder in den Gruppen vorkommen. Bisher existieren kaum Studien, die systematisch untersucht haben, was die Teilnehmer von Mehrfamiliengruppen als hilfreich erleben, wovon sie am meisten profitieren und was sich durch die Teilnahme für sie verändert. Dies untersuchen wir unter Verwendung einer Zeitreihenanalyse für die verschiedenen Altersgruppen in unserer Tagesklinik. Neben einer Prä- und Posttestmessung vor und nach der Behandlung eines Patienten liegt der Schwerpunkt der Studie in der Befragung der Patienten, ihrer Familien und der Therapeuten nach jeder Mehrfamilientherapiesitzung. Die Ergebnisse der Befragungen über mehrere Messzeitpunkte werden verglichen und spezifische Wirkmechanismen dieses Behandlungsansatzes in den verschiedenen Altersbereichen überprüft.

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Ziel des Projektes ist es, ein Programm zur Förderung intellektueller, insbesondere mathematische Fähigkeiten im Kindergarten zu entwickeln und zu evaluieren. Damit soll gleichzeitig einen Beitrag zur Begabungsförderung im Vorschulalter geleistet werden. Das Training besteht aus 16 Übungseinheiten und umfasst die acht kognitiven Bereiche: Visuelle Differenzierungsfähigkeit, Räumliches Vorstellen und Visualisieren, Zahlbegriff, Mengenauffassung, Einfache Rechenoperationen, Umgang mit Symbolen, Erfassen abstrakt-logischer Zusammenhänge, Ursache-Wirkungs-Beziehungen. Die Effektivität des Förderprogramms wird mit Hilfe eines Pre-Post-Test-Designs mit Kontrollgruppe bestimmt. Teilnehmer/-innen sind 5- bis 6-jährige Vorschulkinder aus verschiedenen Kindertagesstätten der Stadt Magdeburg.Das Projekt ist am Diagnostik-, Interventions- und Evaluationszentrum am Institut für Psychologie der Otto-von-Guericke-Universität angesiedelt

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Nonretinal vision is a term for visual experience in the absence of external stimulation (e.g., visual imagery, visual working memory, visual hallucination). Many previous studies have found that humans can use nonretinal vision to influence visual perceptual task performance (e.g., holding the identity of an upcoming target in mind prior to performing a search), but different studies have made vastly different conclusions about the extent of this influence. One issue is that individual differences in nonretinal vision are rarely taken into account, but they may greatly impact perception. For example, there is a wide spectrum of nonretinal visual vividness: on one end, there are people who cannot visualize even familiar concrete objects (aphantasia). On the other end, some people have such strong nonretinal vividness that it interferes with visual perception on a daily basis, as in the case of synaesthesia (e.g., uncontrollably imagining colors attached to letters of the alphabet).

The main goal of this project is to investigate the extent to which individual differences in nonretinal vividness and precision impact behavioral and cortical correlations with visual perception.

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Many disorders as well as ageing cause a decline in cognitive functions, yet experimentally inducible
changes in neural resources are required to understand how these declines arise and how they are
counteracted by mechanisms mobilising remaining resources. Lack of sleep destabilises and impairs
cognitive performance and renders mistakes more likely, presumably by functionally depleting neural
resources. In this project we aim to establish and characterise sleep deprivation (SD) as a model to
test and simulate the effects of declining cognitive functions as a result of reduced availability of neural resources (a "functional loss of resources”) in humans. On the other hand, cognitive control may adaptively mobilise resources according to needs and availability. To probe neural resources and mechanisms maintaining cognitive functions in spite of SD effects, cognitive control is investigated using a task allowing us to disentangle contributions of the posterior medial frontal, lateral frontal, and occipital cortices which together form a neural network that facilitates behavioural adaptations. Employing model-based and multivariate pattern analyses (MVPA) to neuroimaging data in rested wakefulness (RW) and after SD, the contributions of individual regions and the network itself will be investigated. Structural predictors of resource vs. vulnerability to SD, such as intracortical myelination, will be explored using microstructural MRI. Orexin (OX) is a neuropeptide that, in interaction with the noradrenergic (NA) system, stabilises and adjusts arousal and may have the potential to revert SD effects. Therefore, its role of in stabilising and restoring neural resources will be studied in pharmacological challenge studies.

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This project is part of the Research Training Group (RTG) 2413 "The aging synapse (SynAGE)"
Cf. http://gp.cbbs.eu/synage-tp13/
RTG 2413: The Aging Synapse - Molecular, Cellular and Behavioral Underpinnings of Cognitive Decline
Our aging society has benefitted in large from advances in modern medicine in the last century. By 2050 the global number of elderly dependent people will supposedly have reached 277 million (Prince et al., 2013) with approximately every fourth Western citizen being over the age of 65 (Cracknell, 2010). This demographic change poses an increasing burden with incurred economic, infrastructural, and last but not least large social expenses - especially if it comes down to decline of cognitive function in the elderly. Thus, there is an urgent need for a better understanding of such cognitive decline in order to develop strategies for maintaining and improving mental health and quality of life in the elderly population. Current research in this field focuses mainly on dementia and associated neurodegenerative diseases. Much less investigated and in many aspects neglected, however, are the consequences of normal aging as such for synaptic, cellular and neuronal network properties. Normal aging is associated with a decline in sensory, motor, and cognitive function, in particular working memory, cognitive flexibility and multi-tasking capacity, and although relatively mild as compared to dementia, this negatively impacts on health and life quality. In fact, there is cumulating evidence that not only genetic factors contribute to the course of aging but also individual lifestyle habits such as rich diet, little to no exercise, stress, provoked development of the metabolic syndrome, vascular alterations, all of which negatively impact on cognitive function in the elderly as well.
The innovative research program of RTG2413 SynAGE deals with the idea that cognitive decline in normal aging results from subtle synaptic alterations that impart an imbalance between stability and plastic properties of spine synapses and that is qualitatively different from neurodegeneration. This will further involve changes in the properties and functionality of the extracellular matrix, communication and interaction with glia cells and cells of the immune system, neuromodulation, and ultimately otherwise compensatory mechanisms. We aim to understand these processes of synaptic aging from a molecular, cellular as well as behavioral angle by jointly addressing transversal, intimately linked themes forming a comprehensive framework for inspiring thesis projects with high societal relevance.

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Cognitive control enables goal-oriented behavior and flexible adaptations to newly arising difficulties in actions as well as the compensation and future avoidance of own action errors. Over the last three decades, the implementation of this essential function in the human brain has been intensively researched, resulting in a rapid advance in the understanding of cognitive control. A large number of theories and models have been developed, but these are difficult to summarize or refute. It is extremely difficult to integrate the multiple parameters that appear to be represented in different study paradigms in the main cognitive control region of the cortex (specifically the posterior medial frontal cortex, pMFC), to discover possible subregional specificities and to recognize the similarities and differences in their underlying computational mechanisms. Causes include the strong heterogeneity and lack of standardization of paradigms and the frequent lack of mathematical/biophysical formalization in computational models.

The aim of the NovACoDe project is to develop and test prototypical research paradigms for the investigation and quantification of cognitive performance in cognitive control, action monitoring and decision-making. The paradigms should fulfill the following criteria:

1. Robustness, reliability and time efficiency. The paradigms should be structured in such a way that they demonstrate a high level of reliability with repeated testing, that they are robust in relation to the examination context (laboratory, clinic) and that they provide statistically reliable data in the shortest possible examination time. They should also be easy for patients to carry out
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2. Relevant parameters of cognitive control and decisions should be quantifiable from the behavioral data directly or through computational modeling (see below)
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3. The paradigms should be adapted to imaging and electrophysiology in such a way that correlates of the parameters mentioned under 2 can be measured directly or decoded using multivariate pattern recognition methods
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For these paradigms, computational models are to be developed or adapted that can reproduce the behavior of the test subjects and thus allow the determination of latent parameters. The applicability of the paradigms will be demonstrated in pilot studies with EEG. As a result, a battery of standardized examination paradigms focusing on cognitive control and decision-making will be developed, which will be used to investigate causal relationships, e.g. by means of brain stimulation in healthy individuals and for clinical and clinical- oriented studies in patients with neurological or psychiatric disorders.

The project was initially approved for the period July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022 with a total amount of 151,536 euros. In May 2022, the project period was extended until November 30, 2022 and the funding allocation was increased by 10,943.19 euros to a total of 162,479.19 euros. One research assistant, Dr. Lieneke Janssen, and two student assistants are currently being financed from the project funds. The project manager is Professor Dr. Markus Ullsperger, Chair of Neuropsychology at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg.

The project has already contributed significantly to the development of a learning paradigm in which various parameters, e.g. the amount of a reward and surprises irrelevant for learning, are manipulated and their representations in the brain waves can be broken down (Kirschner H, Fischer AG, Ullsperger M (2022) Feedback-related EEG dynamics separately reflect decision parameters, biases, and future choices. NeuroImage 259:119437. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119437).
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As part of the international Graduate School on Analysis, Imaging, and Modeling of Neuronal and Inflammatory Processes (ABINEP), Module 4 "Human Brain Imaging for diagnosing neurocognitive disorders", mechanisms of value-based decisions and their deviations from the optimum are investigated in healthy individuals and in patients with mental disorders. The focus is particularly on mechanisms of relative learning. The investigations are carried out multimodally (EEG, MEG, fMRI).
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The aim of the proposed study is to investigate in a genome wide fashion the association between genomic polymorphisms and endo- / phenotypes of human performance monitoring in terms of surface electroencephalogram (EEG), in order to investigate the genetic basis and genetic mechanisms of cognitive control processes. This is a continuation of project KL 2337 / 2-1 (term 2 years until 30.09.2012). To date, in a multicentric approach at the Radboud University of Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and at the Max Planck Institute for human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany, N = 1000 young, healthy subjects were characterized in terms of behavioral and EEG phenotypes and their genetic material collected. In 686 of these subjects, the genotyping has been completed. A preliminary genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) provided evidence of association between response time, post-error slowing (PES) and error-related negativity (ERN) amplitude with different genomic loci and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP). Furthermore, we were able to establish the feasibility of the analysis by means of parallel independent component analysis (parallel ICA). The proposed project is designed to complete the data collection or collection of a step-up cohort to secure the findings and to provide means for a more detailed analysis.

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This project addresses the role of the habenula (Hb) in motivated behaviour of humans. The Hb is an important relay on a major descending pathway from the forebrain to the brain stem with predominantly inhibitory influence on monoaminergic nuclei, thereby controlling release of dopamine and serotonin to the forebrain. The project aims at understanding the contribution of the Hb to active and passive avoidance and to learning from aversive events. This comprises studying habenular activity, its structural and functional embedding in pallido-habenulo-mesencephalo-striatal networks, and its neurochemical interactions. To this end, high-resolution structural, diffusion-weighted and functional MRI, pharmacological challenges, and in-vivo receptor density mapping using positron emission tomography will be performed in healthy volunteers. Understanding habenular functions is important not only for fundamental neurosciences but also for clinical neuropsychiatry, because dysfunction of the Hb has been suggested to contribute to the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders, such as affective disorders and addiction. Therefore, we will search for volume and connectivity aberrations of the Hb in patients with addiction.

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To err is human. While cognitive neuroscience has made substantial progress in understanding the brain s ability to detect errors and to adapt behavior accordingly, the neurobiological reasons and conditions for making mistakes are still poorly understood. Sleep deprivation leads to lower task performance and increased error rates. The proposed project aims at investigating the brain mechanisms that underlie the commission of errors in goal-directed behavior in rested wakefulness and after sleep deprivation. Using combined EEG and fMRI, we will investigate whether different types of errors can be distinguished and predicted based on specific spatiotemporal patterns of brain activity evolving before the error occurs. An interference task has been designed such that perceptual processing of task-relevant and distracting stimuli can be decoded separately by means of machine learning techniques thereby providing a tool to  investigate the effects of arousal and selective attention. Thus, general disengagement from task can be distinguished from distraction and maladaptive misallocation of selective attention. The planned study will help predicting errors based on brain activity patterns and understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the performance deficits after sleep deprivation. It will furthermore be the starting point of a long-term collaboration of two laboratories providing complementary expertise with respect to performance monitoring, attention, cognitive changes induced by sleep deprivation and multimodal cognitive neuroscience methods.

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The consortium will develop computational models of learning and decision making and test them in two biological systems, humans and macaques. The models shall account for the use of different sources of information on action outcomes to guide future behavior: feedback on real outcomes, fictive feedback on outcomes that would have been obtained had a different action been chosen, and observational feedback on action outcomes seen in other actors in social situations. We expect that the same computational principles apply for all information sources but that the learning parameters differ quantitatively between feedback type and species. Model fits to behavior and model-based analyses of neural data will reveal brain correlates of the computational variables. We expect to find anatomical and functional dissociations during monitoring of the different sources of feedback information and later convergence on a single mechanism implementing changes to future behavior. Using complementary methods in two primate species will lead to better generalizability of the models, better understanding of underlying neural mechanisms, and mutually informed choice of recording sites and analysis.

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Decision making in a dynamically changing world often depends on beliefs about the current state of the world. Some states may be constant but noisy and this stochasticity is reflected in expected uncertainty. In contrast, when states change significantly, unexpected uncertainty, i.e., uncertainty about the state itself is induced. Furthermore, different sources of information may sometimes converge, but in other cases diverge, and decisions should optimally be based on the most reliable source of information available or a weighted integration of discrepant observations.

Prior studies have found that activity in visual areas covaries with the degree of surprise which drives the speed of learning representable as a learning rate, yet it is unknown whether this is a flexible process. Learning itself is implemented by a network of higher cortical regions including parietal and anterior prefrontal cortex, yet how these networks dynamically relate and where the information itself converges is unknown.
In this project, we will develop a task that is suited to investigate dynamically weighted learning and decode its informational content. It will allow to directly and parametrically quantify how much humans base their decisions on different sources of information while also allowing to measure updates in the beliefs of the validity of each source and compare these to the performance of a Bayes optimal learner.

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In a changeable, uncertain environment it is necessary for goal-directed, motivated behavior to flexibly react to appetitive and aversive events and to learn from them in order to approach favorable situations and to avoid unfavorable ones. The neuromodulators dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) have been implicated in appetitive and aversive Pavlovian and instrumental learning and the associated behavioral responses. In the present proposal we focus on the habenula, a small epithalamic brain structure, which controls a major descending pathway from the forebrain to the mesencephalon thereby exerting strong influence on dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) release in the telencephalon. In primates it has been implicated in performance monitoring and value-based decision making, particularly in learning to avoid actions entailing losses or aversive outcomes. In humans, habenular dysfunction seems associated with psychiatric diseases, particularly major depressive disorder (MDD). However, knowledge about habenular function and connectivity in humans is sparse, because previous research has often neglected this small structure. The proposed project capitalizes on the increased accessibility of the human habenula due to advances in neuroimaging leading to higher signal-to-noise ratio at higher spatial resolution. It aims at understanding the role of the habenula in decision making with a focus on avoiding negative action outcomes. A converging methods approach will be applied to access the functional activity of the habenula and to unravel its anatomical and functional interaction with other brain regions implicated in motivated behavior: Using high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging in healthy volunteers, habenular activity and functional connectivity will be studied during rest, Pavlovian conditioning of rewarding and aversive events and during an instrumental probabilistic learning task allowing to disentangle approach- and avoidance-learning. By means of diffusion-weighted imaging (dwMRI) and probabilistic tractography individual connectivity profiles of the habenula with subcortical and cortical structures will be established. These connectivity profiles and other connectivity measures will be correlated with behavioral and neuroimaging data. In addition, the goal of this project phase is to establish behavioral and imaging protocols enabling a long-term research focus of the habenula in pathological states and in close relation to the neurochemistry orchestrated by this brain region.

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How do we change from performing a monotonous task on automatic pilot to controlled behaviour? A network of brain regions is important for this type of adaptive behaviour by signalling the need for controlled behaviour, implementing a cautious response strategy, and facilitating more controlled behaviour. However, although we know which brain regions are involved in these processes, how all these separate regions of the brain work together to produce adaptive behaviour remains a mystery. The current project aims to use a combination of brain stimulation techniques to study how this feat is
achieved in the healthy human brain.

The goal of the proposed project is to investigate how the frontal cortex causally interacts with posterior brain areas to produce proactive and reactive control over behavior.

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Over the past decade numerous studies have revealed alterations in performance monitoring and decision making in obsessive-compulsive disorder. The aims of the current project are: (1) to further investigate these changes to specify the underlying mechanism; and (2) to determine relationships with clinical phenotypes (such as obsession and compulsions) of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

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Emotional experience is based upon the interplay between the instantaneous appraisal of salient stimuli, provided by limbic brain areas, on the one hand, and prefrontal control mechanisms to adequately regulate the initial emotional response, on the other hand. In psychiatric disorders that are characterized by emotional hyperarousal, an imbalance of these two processes has been assumed. Models of emotional (dys)regulation may contribute to a better understanding of pathological anxiety experienced by patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Initial evidence suggests that OCD is characterized by emotion regulation difficulties as indicated by self-report measures. Further, OCD appears to be linked to functional changes in brain areas implicated in emotion processing and emotion regulation. Thus, neuroimaging findings have demonstrated increased activity in both limbic and frontal brain areas during symptom provocation in OCD, suggesting altered cortico-limbic interactions, when OCD-relevant stimuli are being processed. However, emotion regulation strategies have not yet been directly examined in OCD. Therefore, this project aims at investigating cognitive emotion regulation in OCD by using event-related potentials and examining whether emotion regulation deficits can be compensated when emotion regulation is guided externally.

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Im Abschlussbericht zum Projekt "Schulische und unterrichtliche Determinanten von Schulerfolg und Schabbruch an Sekundar- und Gemeinschaftsschulen in Sachsen-Anhalt" (kurz SEASA I genannt) wurden u.a. erste Befunde zum Programm "Produktives Lernen in Schule und Betrieb" (PL) dargelegt. Diese deuten auf eine insgesamt positive Bewertung des Programmes bezüglich seiner Vermeidung von schulischem Dropout hin, stellen jedoch keine zielgerichtete und umfassende Evaluation des Programms dar. Besonders im Hinblick auf die momentan noch nicht absehbaren langfristigen Auswirkungen der Corona-Pandemie auf die Entwicklung der Dropoutquoten in Sachsen-Anhalt sollte eine unabhängige, evidenzbasierte Evaluation und wissenschaftliche Bewertung des PL-Programmes vorgenommen werden. Auf dieser Basis können Handlungsempfehlungen für einen Transfer des Modellprojektes in den schulischen Regelbetrieb ausgesprochen werden.

Ziel des Anschlussprojektes (Laufzeit 15.11.2021 - 31.12.2022) war eine Evaluation der Wirksamkeit des Programms "Produktives Lernen in Schule und Betrieb" in Sachsen-Anhalt bezüglich der Vermeidung eines schulischen Dropouts ohne Schulabschluss. Hierbei wurden bereits identifizierte Schulerfolgsfaktoren der ersten Förderungsperiode sowie weitere Erfolgsbedingungen (u. a. erzielte Bildungsabschlüsse, Bildungsbiografien der Schüler*innen) berücksichtigt und eine Bedarfsermittlung an den Schulen vorgenommen. Einen besonderen Stellenwert haben die Auswirkungen und Veränderungen durch die Corona-Pandemie eingenommen. Entsprechend lag der Schwerpunkt auf den 24 PL-Standortschulen, an denen das Programm zum Zeitpunkt der Befragung im März 2022 umgesetzt wurde.

Der Bericht wurde am 7.12.2022 an das Ministerium übergeben. Die Pressemitteilung finden Sie hier: https://mb.sachsen-anhalt.de/fileadmin/tsa_rssinclude/bildungsministerium_07_12_2022_pressemitteilung_das-produktive-lernen-in-schule-und-betrieb-pl-ebnet-rund-80-der-schuelerinnen-und-schueler-den-weg-zum-ersten-anerkannten-schulabschluss.pdf

Eine Zusammenfassung der Ergebnisse aus dem Projekt finden Sie im beigefügten Dokument ("Projektanhang"). Bei Fragen wenden Sie sich an Prof. Dr. Raphaela Porsch (raphaela.porsch@ovgu.de).

Weitere Informationen zum SEASA-Projekt (Phase 1 und 2) finden Sie hier: https://www.wirtschaftsdidaktik.ovgu.de/Forschung/SEASA_Projekt-p-1014.html

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Das Projekt SEASA soll Erkenntnisse über die Ursachen der hohen Anzahl von Sekundar- und Gemeinschaftsschüler*innen ohne Hauptschulabschluss in Sachsen-Anhalt gewinnen und sich auf schulische und unterrichtliche Merkmale sowie auf die Prävention und den Umgang mit Schulabsentismus beziehen. Ziel es, Handlungsempfehlungen für Lehrkräfte, Schulen und Schulleitungen sowie bildungspolitische Einrichtungen abzuleiten, die speziell Lehrkräfte und Schulleitungen bzw. Schulen adressieren. Die Studie wird als eine Mixed-Methods-Studie angelegt. Dazu soll in einer 1. Phase eine quantitative Erhebung mittels Online-Befragungen an allen öffentlichen Sekundar- und Gemeinschaftsschulen in Sachsen-Anhalt erfolgen. In einer 2. Phase sollen auf Grundlage der Ergebnisse der ersten Phase und in Bezug auf relevante Strukturmerkmale erfolgreiche und weniger erfolgreiche Schulen ausgewählt werden und an diesen problemzentrierte Interviews mit Vertreter*innen der Schulleitungen durchgeführt sowie Dokumentenanalysen von Schulprogrammen, Schulhomepages usw. vorgenommen werden.

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CO₂ pricing could become a key instrument in achieving the 2030 climate targets. The taxation of fossil fuels for areas not covered by EU emissions trading will be introduced in Germany from 2021. In an inter- and transdisciplinary project, the steering and distribution effects of different variants of CO₂ pricing as well as the prerequisites for increasing social acceptance will therefore be investigated. CO₂ pricing scenarios will be developed, subjected to social science analyses in the field and finally the effects of these scenarios will be modeled in micro, macro and system analyses. The (interim) results will be discussed with experts and citizens. The aim is to find socially acceptable solutions and to increase the acceptance of CO₂ pricing by communicating these solutions.

In the sub-project "Regional differences and determinants of individual acceptance and rebound propensity", the working team from the Department of Personality and Social Psychology at OvGU is investigating which person- and variant-specific determinants influence the acceptance of CO₂-pricing. Among other things, the influence of environmental attitudes and CO₂-pricing knowledge on acceptance are considered. With the help of regional cluster surveys, possible differences in environmental attitudes and acceptance between urban and rural as well as structurally strong and structurally weak regions will also be investigated. In addition, the extent to which individual rebound propensity can influence the effects of CO₂ pricing with certain redistribution mechanisms will be investigated.

Funding body: Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi)
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The project focuses on the question of how effective behavior-oriented, non-fiscal strategies are for avoiding rebound effects. This question is being investigated in the Sennestadt district of Bielefeld, which was built in the 1950s/60s and whose multi-storey apartment buildings are currently undergoing gradual energy-efficient refurbishment. In a first step of the study, an explanatory model of psychological rebound effects based on a summary of current research literature and intervention approaches based on this model will be tested quantitatively and experimentally. In parallel, qualitative and quantitative preliminary studies will be used to record the heating-related habits, needs and attitudes of Sennestadt households prior to the refurbishment. The aim of these first two steps is to identify the central psycho-social drivers of rebound effects and the avoidance strategies that can be applied to them. Furthermore, a sensor system is to be developed and implemented in this phase that can objectively record the energy consumption of households as well as important aspects of usage behavior and evaluate them using self-learning computer algorithms. Based on the findings of these preparatory steps, interdisciplinary intervention development (psychology and computer science) will begin: Within the framework of a tablet-based persuasive computer system, the previously tested psychological intervention techniques are integrated into a more comprehensive intervention approach. In cooperation with our practice partners Sennestadt GmbH, Alberts Architekten and Vonovia, the main study will quantitatively evaluate the effects of the implemented intervention on the actual energy consumption of households after the energy-efficient refurbishment by means of a quasi-experimental before-and-after comparison group study (N = 200 households). The result of the project should be a theory-based, empirically evaluated, technically innovative, practically tested and attractive intervention for potential users, which can be routinely used by housing associations in the context of energy-efficient modernization measures to avoid/reduce rebound effects.
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The Build4People project promotes sustainable buildings and sustainable urban development from a people-centred perspective. Despite the high electricity prices, the new buildings erected as part of Cambodia's ongoing construction boom are neither energy-efficient nor adapted to the tropical climate. Instead of a demand orientation, the goal of short-term profit maximization is in the foreground. Decision makers are not sufficiently aware of sustainability issues. The Build4People project considers sustainable, people-centred urban planning as a cross-cutting task that does not necessarily evolve and which is not top-down feasible only through legal regulations. Our innovative team works on a trans-disciplinary basis and develops innovative concepts based on proven scientific and regional expertise together with local partners, which directly target urban sustainability. The connecting scientific-conceptional, analytical and superior normative bracket is always the notion of urban quality of life. On-site research will be carried out together with the most important local universities. Implementation will be done with the Phnom Penh city administration, the General Department of Housing at the relevant ministry and by means of a secondary education demonstration project (Green School). Locally established multipliers such as the European Chamber of Commerce or a local construction carry out the dissemination of our approaches fair.
Sub-project T2 (OvGU) focuses on main constraints and motives for pro-environmental everyday behaviour of people in Phnom Penh.
The standardized measurement of environmental behaviours as well as associated predictors targets a deeper understanding of conditions for environmental behaviour in Cambodia. The main objective is the development of theory-driven, tailored intervention techniques.

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The main objective of this project is to analyse and demonstrate how an adapted and translated knowledge of environmental psychology may support administrative decision makers in the establishment and successful implementation of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures.

In cooperation with  Joanneum Research (Graz, Austria), AdaptBehaviour is funded by the Climate and Energy Fund (7th call Austrian Climate Research Programme ACRP) of the Austrian Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology and the The Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management.

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The EU project GLAMURS examines obstacles and perspectives for the promotion of sustainability and the green economy in Europe. Several ways are being identified to support and accelerate the transition to a "greener" Europe. Scientists from the fields of psychology, economics, political and environmental sciences are working with local actors to develop theories and models to identify obstacles and perspectives in the process of transformation to sustainable lifestyles and economic forms. Individual and societal obstacles are examined in interaction with regional conditions. To this end, seven case regions in different EU countries will be examined in more detail (e.g. Galicia, Altmark, South Tyrol).

The research will engage policy makers and stakeholders at the European and regional level to achieve the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy and the Resource Efficiency Initiative. The project will contribute to the development of policies that support the transformation process in Europe.
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The aim of this research project is (a) to record the status quo of the acceptance of third-party use of electricity-related usage data and (b) to test possible measures that could improve the acceptance of third-party use of electricity-related usage data and thus the likelihood of such data being made available.

Consumer acceptance is essential in order to further drive the efficiency of the energy system in Germany through digitalization and to collect and process the required energy consumption data. Accordingly, it is necessary to determine the status quo of acceptance of third-party use of electricity-related usage data in the population in order to identify any need for regulatory action and regulatory leeway. The starting point here is two central individual preferences - attitudes towards informational self-determination and environmental attitudes.

The investigation of the status quo of the acceptance of the external use of electricity-related usage data and its correlation with individual attitudes and the structural framework conditions of the external use of electricity-related usage data requires the valid recording of both preferences. As there is currently no suitable measuring instrument for recording attitudes towards informational self-determination, a behavior-based measuring instrument of this kind will be developed first. Analogous to the environmental attitude scale, the attitude towards the disclosure of personal data is also conceptualized within the framework of the Campbell paradigm.

Subsequently, as part of a large-scale survey representative of the German population, different scenarios of third-party use of electricity-related usage data are compared with each other. In this way, the effect of different socio-economic attributes (e.g. cost reduction and incentives) on individual acceptance can be quantified. It will also be of central interest whether one of the two preferences, attitude towards informational self-determination or environmental attitude, is of primary importance for the acceptance of third-party use of electricity-related usage data. By controlling manifest acceptance as realistically as possible, the suitability of the findings for everyday use will also be tested and converted into recommendations for action for dealing with private households.
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As a contribution to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) formulated in the 2030 Agenda, the UN has announced the five-year UNESCO Global Action Program "Education for Sustainable Development" (2015-2019). The aim is to bring about a change in society as a whole by educating the thoughts and actions of each individual.
In Germany, this process is coordinated by the National ESD Platform, whose efforts are summarized in the ESD Action Plan. An important aspect of this is professional monitoring and the development of ESD indicators that can be integrated into existing reporting formats in order to evaluate joint efforts. Outcome evaluation, i.e. the question of effects on learners that are reflected in their competencies, has so far played a subordinate role. A synthetic, cross-disciplinary and transdisciplinary competence modeling that also empirically investigates the effects of ESD measures on learners is still largely lacking. The aim of this research project is therefore to develop a set of ESD outcome indicators - initially for the school sector - which can be used to assess the success of competence development.
Education, and in particular education for sustainable development (ESD), is seen as a key factor in the transformation to a sustainably developing society. The imparting of design competence, which is reflected in knowledge, motivation and action, should empower individuals to work towards a sustainable society. This comprehensive outcome of ESD is to be recorded as holistically and reliably as possible with indicators as part of our project.
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The transformation of the energy system goes hand in hand with new roles for private households. In local and community-based energy systems in particular, many factors, especially social factors, can influence the willingness to actively participate. Interactions between actors have so far been insufficiently considered in economic models.
The project is investigating whether and how the social context and other factors motivate households to participate in the transformation. Potential influencing factors are identified and empirically investigated (sub-project OvGU). In addition to environmental motivation, striving for self-sufficiency and costs, social influences (e.g. social pressure) will be considered. On this basis, behavioral constellations are identified using cross-impact analysis (sub-project IEK-STE). Transformation paths are created and integrated into macroeconomic and energy-economic models in order to record the overall economic significance. Finally, conclusions are drawn on measures to promote transformation processes (IEK-STE sub-project) and recommendations for action are developed together with the practical advisory board.
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Effective behavior management
Evidence-based behavioral control depends not only on the effectiveness of the measures, but also on a correct understanding of when and why certain measures such as financial incentives and nudges (i.e. systematic behavioral facilitation), e.g. for the purchase of electric vehicles, work or fail. Only a correct understanding of the mechanisms of action of behavioral control measures also makes it possible to prevent undesirable side effects (e.g. in the form of unexpected opposition or rebound) and to identify pseudo effects. As we assume on the basis of our previous work, the first key factor behind energy-related decisions and actions is the person-specific preference or tendency to lead a more or less sustainable life. In addition, the specific behavioral costs associated with a particular decision or action are the second key variable. Based on this basic understanding of energy-relevant decisions and actions, the aim of the first project phase is to test the limits of the compensatory effectiveness of the two determinants with the help of three classic decision experiments in behavioral economics. In the first phase of the project, our focus is on individual consumers. Our long-term goal is to develop a comprehensive theory of behavioural control that can be applied not only to energy saving or the purchase of electric vehicles, but also to sustainable action in general and not only at the level of individual actors, but also at the level of organizations.

Behavioral & energy relevance of different lifestyles in Germany
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The STORIES project aims to contribute to a dynamic future of children's ebooks evolution by a) developing user-friendly interfaces for young students (10-12 years old) to create their own multi-path stories expressing their imagination and creativity and b) by integrating the latest AR, VR and 3D printing technologies to visualize their stories in numerous innovative ways. In the heart of this intervention lies the vision for integrated curricula and deeper learning outcomes. The project will offer these innovations through a single environment, the STORIES Storytelling Platform which will be the place for students artistic expression and scientific inquiry at the same time. The creations of the students (paintings, models, dioramas and constructions, 3D objects and landscapes, animations, science videos and science theater plays) will be captured and integrated in the form of interactive ebooks. The STORIES technical team will design advanced interfaces in which students will be able to augment characters, buildings, greenhouses and different 3D geometrical structures on a tablet or their computer and inspect their work using a mobile device. The outcome of their work will be detected and tracked, and the video stream is augmented with an animated 3D version of the character or the artifact. The platform will be tested in real settings in Germany, Greece, Portugal, France, Finland and Japan, involving 60 teachers and 3000 students (5th and 6th grade). To achieve this, the proposed project is developing a novel cooperation between creative industries and electronic publishing, educational research institutions in the field of STEM, schools and informal learning centers. The consortium includes 15 partners from Europe, USA, Japan and Australia. But STORIES is going beyond that: The consortium will cooperate in the design of the platform and in the development of the story-line mechanism with Eugene (Eugenios) Trivizas, well known writer of children's books.

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From a psychological point of view, two factors are decisive for improving the return of small electrical appliances: (a) the existing motivation to act in an ecologically sustainable manner and (b) the behavioral costs incurred during recycling (see Kaiser, Byrka & Hartig, 2010). Concrete behavioral costs are, for example, the distance to be covered to the nearest collection point or the lack of knowledge about what can be recycled and where. So far, it has been shown that behavioral costs can also be reduced through social incentives (through recognition, praise, admiration, prestige) and through knowledge transfer. Consequently, the cost of recycling small electrical appliances can generally be reduced through the framework conditions. Accordingly, the framework conditions for recycling can be optimized, e.g. by imparting knowledge about what is collected and where, or by reducing the distance to the nearest collection point, e.g. by providing additional collection containers. The motivation already present in the population to handle raw materials in an ecologically sustainable manner can be used in this way to achieve better recycling of small electrical appliances (see Kaiser, Arnold & Otto, 2014).

In the first field study of our sub-project, the effectiveness of various measures to reduce behavioral costs will be investigated. First of all, the existing motivation to act in an ecologically sustainable manner in the selected areas in the Harz region will be recorded. We are investigating whether knowledge transfer, deposit containers and collection campaigns improve the return of small electrical appliances. Since such and other recycling-promoting measures often go unnoticed by the majority of the population and are only effective for a small population group with a comparatively high motivation to act in an ecologically sustainable manner, the aim of the second field study is to reach those population groups that do not usually participate in psychological studies. Individuals are contacted via their everyday social context (e.g. via their workplace, club or school). Through associations, companies or schools, it is also possible to reach people with comparatively low motivation to act in an ecologically sustainable way. The aim of our second field study is therefore to examine whether (a) knowledge transfer, (b) social incentives and © their combination have the desired effect on the recycling of small electrical appliances in the general population.
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The STORIES project aims to contribute to a dynamic future of childrens ebooks evolution by a) developing user-friendly interfaces for young students (10-12 years old) to create their own multi-path stories expressing their imagination and creativity and b) by integrating the latest AR, VR and 3D printing technologies to visualize their stories in numerous innovative ways. In the heart of this intervention lies the vision for integrated curricula and deeper learning outcomes. The project will offer these innovations through a single environment, the STORIES Storytelling Platform which will be the place for students artistic expression and scientific inquiry at the same time. The creations of the students (paintings, models, dioramas and constructions, 3D objects and landscapes, animations, science videos and science theatre plays) will be captured and integrated in the form of interactive ebooks. The STORIES technical team will design advanced interfaces in which students will be able to augment characters, buildings, greenhouses and different 3D geometrical structures on a tablet or their computer and inspect their work using a mobile device. The outcome of their work will be detected and tracked, and the video stream is augmented with an animated 3D version of the character or the artefact. The platform will be tested in real settings in Germany, Greece, Portugal, France, Finland and Japan, involving 60 teachers and 3000 students (5th and 6th grade). To achieve this, the proposed project is developing a novel cooperation between creative industries and electronic publishing, educational research institutions in the field of STEM, schools and informal learning centres. The consortium includes 15 partners from Europe, USA, Japan and Australia. But STORIES is going beyond that: The consortium will cooperate in the design of the platform and in the development of the storyline mechanism with Eugene (Eugenios) Trivizas, well known writer of children's books.

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For effective environmental policy and communication, decision-makers need information on the state of environmental awareness and environmental behavior in society. The environmental awareness studies, which have been carried out every two years throughout Germany since 1996, provide such information.
However, changing tasks and adjustments to current events, different concepts of environmental awareness and measurement considerations meant that the instruments used to measure environmental awareness differed to a greater or lesser extent over time, particularly in terms of content. In order to be able to estimate the development of environmental awareness in the population over the last 20 years despite such differences in content, it is planned to carry out a uniform re-analysis of the eleven surveys from 1996 to 2016.
Such a re-analysis requires that a pool of items covering all surveys be compiled to record environmental awareness. In a first step, all items from all surveys are collected and evaluated according to the standard criteria for formally good questionnaire items (see e.g. Dillman, Smyth, & Christian, 2009).
In a second step, the compiled items are empirically tested for their Rasch homogeneity. On the basis of this item pool, a Campbell paradigm-based measurement instrument of environmental awareness is compiled and, if necessary, extended by some already established items (see e.g. Kaiser & Wilson 2004). This new Campbell paradigm-based, comprehensive measurement instrument of environmental awareness is then empirically tested for its measurement properties in a field test (N = 500). Such a comprehensive Rasch scale of environmental awareness is not only open to updating in the long term, but is also comparable across different survey points in time (despite different specific measurement instruments at different points in time).
We will then compile a version of this Rasch scale of environmental awareness reduced to a maximum of 50 to 60 items for the 2018 survey, which will then be used in the current representative survey of environmental awareness in 2018. In order to expand the item pool of our Campbell paradigm-based conception of environmental awareness for future surveys, new unused topics and content will be explored for their usefulness as indicators of environmental awareness in a further work package. In a final step, environmental awareness will then be estimated for the various surveys since 1996 using the items available for each measurement point and the development over time will be compared.
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From a psychological perspective, two factors are decisive for improving the return of small electrical appliances in general and cell phones in particular: the existing intrinsic motivation to act in an ecologically sustainable manner and the behavioral costs incurred during recycling (see Kaiser, Byrka & Hartig, 2010). Specifically, in this case, these are the intrinsic motivation to use raw materials sparingly by recycling small electrical appliances and the behavioral costs incurred, such as the distance to be covered to the nearest collection point. Our sub-project is now concerned with comparing different options for reducing the behavioral costs of recycling small electrical appliances, which should lead to an increase in the return of recyclable materials.

Social (through recognition, praise, admiration, prestige) and material incentives as well as knowledge-related reductions in effort have proven to be effective in indirectly reducing behavioral costs. While incentives reduce existing costs through personal gains, knowledge reduces behavioral costs by eliminating knowledge deficits (e.g. what, where and how to recycle). In addition to the possibility of indirectly reducing individual behavioral costs - e.g. by eliminating the need to search for information and through social and material gains - the costs of recycling small electrical appliances can also be reduced directly through the structural framework conditions. By optimizing the structural framework conditions of concrete recycling, the already existing intrinsic motivation for resource-conserving handling of raw materials can be used to achieve an equally better return of small electrical appliances (see Kaiser, Arnold & Otto, 2014).

Accordingly, the aim of our subproject can be described as follows. It consists of testing the relative effectiveness of (a) indirect and (b) direct behavioral control measures in two independent field studies. While in field study A we reduce behavioral costs indirectly - via social and material incentives as well as knowledge transfer - in experiment B behavioral costs are reduced directly by means of optimized or new bring and pick-up recycling systems. We examine the absolute and relative effectiveness of these behavioural control measures based on their impact on the return rates of small electrical appliances - especially cell phones - in selected municipalities and groups of people in order to contribute to the optimization of resource recycling in the sense of the forum. Our contribution to the recycling turnaround therefore consists of developing effective behavioral control measures to improve resource recycling on the consumer side.
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Technological developments to increase the energy efficiency of technology, consumer education for more efficient use of technology and detailed consumption feedback often do not lead to the hoped-for savings in energy consumption. The opportunities offered by more efficient technology are - so our thesis - only used by individuals who already have sufficient motivation to protect the environment (i.e. environmental attitudes).

In several field experiments, we are investigating this moderation hypothesis in cooperation with energy service providers, among others, by means of information interventions and via different consumer groups.
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The consultancy will strengthen the work related to environmental awareness and Greening TVET in the priority area of Vocational Training of the GIZ in Vietnam. Through sound analysis of collected date a baseline will be available that helps the TVET program in general for further planning, can be used for internal and external communication and further on will be the basis to proof changes in knowledge and awareness of the Vietnamese society in regard to environment and Climate Change transferred in TVET processes.

The analysis will be done based on latest academic research in the field of environmental psychology and education.

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Methodological support for the project "Adaptation to Climate Change through the Promotion of Biodiversity". Based on an existing data set, the quality of the measurement instruments used is assessed and improved where necessary. Proposals for the further evaluation of the project will be made.
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Following on from the initial project "Individual climate adaptation: status quo" (2010) and based on the results of the survey on environmental motivation in a selection of municipalities in Saxony-Anhalt, the effectiveness of two interventions is now being examined in the continuation of the project. In these interventions, we use psychological knowledge on the effect of social influence on individual behavior. Magdeburg was chosen as the model city and a selection of statistical districts with certain motivational characteristics was selected. At the end of the project, the effectiveness of the interventions will be assessed on the basis of behavioural patterns for dealing with energy, water, mobility, consumption, political engagement and climate change using the data from the previous year and in comparison with a control group. The aim is to make recommendations for social communication on adapting to climate change.
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Im Rahmen einer landesweiten Befragung werden individuelle Motivationsunterschiede zum ökologisch-nachhaltigen Handeln in Sachsen-Anhalt erfasst. Dazu werden vier Kommunen auf der Grundlage ihrer spezifischen Klimavulnerabilität ausgewählt. Im Anschluss wird ein motivationsangepasster Aktionsplan zur Verbesserung des individuellen ökologisch-nachhaltigen Handels und zur langfristigen schulischen Förderung der Umwelthandlungskompetenz abgeleitet. Ziel der Aktionspläne ist es außerdem, die individuellen Anpassungsanstrengungen an den sich abzeichnenden Klimawandel systematisch zu verbessern. Der Aktionsplan fließt in die Kommunikationsstrategie des Landes Sachsen-Anhalts zur Anpassung an den Klimawandel ein.

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Um­welt­bil­dung wird in der Regel als eine Art "neuer" Allgemeinbildung–im Sinne von Be­wusst­seins- und Werte­wan­del–verstanden. Demgegenüber wird in der Umweltpsychologie zunehmend deutlich, dass vor allem spezifischen Handlungs- und kog­nitiv-emotionalen Kompetenzen eine große, wenn nicht die entscheidende Bedeutung beim Hervorbringen umweltgerechten Handelns zukommt. Im Kern un­seres Forschungs­vor­habens steht die Entwicklung eines empirisch fundierten ökologiespe­zifischen Kompetenzmodells sowie langfristig die Modellierung des Entwicklungsverlaufs während der primären Erwerbs­phase von der frühen Jugend- bis ins junge Erwachsenen­alter. Alle dabei betroffe­nen Handlungs- und kognitiv-emotionalen Kom­petenzen werden psychometrisch auf der Basis der Familie der Rasch-Modelle be­schrieben und im Rahmen von Strukturgleichungs- und/oder Mehr­eben­en­ana­lyseverfahren model­liert. Erklärtes Ziel der ersten (hiermit beantragten) Förderungs­phase ist es, (a) das bislang noch frag­men­tiert vorhan­dene Wissen zu den umweltspe­zifischen Handlungs- und kognitiven Kom­pe­tenzen theoretisch-empi­risch zu integrieren und dabei (b) erste Hinweise auf Ent­wicklungsverläufe im Ju­gendalter zu erhalten. © Darüber hinaus soll das bislang erst sehr vorläufig entwickelte Verfah­ren zur Messung der kog­nitiv-emotionalen Disposition "Identifikation mit der natürli­chen Umwelt" auf eine theo­retisch und psycho­metrisch solide Basis ge­stellt werden.

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Ziel des Projektes ist es, ein Programm zur Förderung intellektueller, insbesondere mathematische Fähigkeiten im Kindergarten zu entwickeln und zu evaluieren. Damit soll gleichzeitig einen Beitrag zur Begabungsförderung im Vorschulalter geleistet werden. Das Training besteht aus 16 Übungseinheiten und umfasst die acht kognitiven Bereiche: Visuelle Differenzierungsfähigkeit, Räumliches Vorstellen und Visualisieren, Zahlbegriff, Mengenauffassung, Einfache Rechenoperationen, Umgang mit Symbolen, Erfassen abstrakt-logischer Zusammenhänge, Ursache-Wirkungs-Beziehungen. Die Effektivität des Förderprogramms wird mit Hilfe eines Pre-Post-Test-Designs mit Kontrollgruppe bestimmt.Teilnehmer/-innen sind 5- bis 6-jährige Vorschulkinder aus verschiedenen Kindertagesstätten der Stadt Magdeburg.

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Ein bildungspolitisches Problem mit ökonomischen und persönlichen Konsequenzen ist die optimale Plazierung von Schülerinnen und Schülern zu vorhandenen Bildungseinrichtungen. Zu den besonderen Bildungseinrichungen in Sachsen-Anhalt gehören die Gymnasien mit inhaltlichen Schwerpunkten, wo geeignete Kinder aufgenommen werden und lernen sollen. Für das mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlich orientierte Werner-von-Siemens-Gymnasium ist ein Aufnahmeverfahren entwickelt worden, das vom Kultusministerium bestätigt wurde, und das geeignete Schüler für diese Ausbildungsform diagnostizieren soll. In Zusammenhang mit der in jedem Jahr durchgeführten Eignungsuntersuchung stellt sich die Frage, ob mit diesem Aufnahmeverfahren tatsächlich geeignete Bewerber diagnostiziert werden können und ob sich das Begabungspotential auch in entsprechenden Leistungen niederschlägt. Eine 1994 begonnene Längsschnittsanalyse erlaubt Einblicke in die Leistungs- und Persönlichkeitsentwicklung einer unter mathematischer Befähigung selektierten Schülerschaft in einer ihre individuelle Begabungsrichtung fördernden Lernumwelt. Diese Studie kann, wenn sie weiter geführt wird, zur Beantwortung obiger Fragestellung beitragen und damit helfen, Aufnahmeverfahren zu optimieren und praktisch und theoretische Positionen zur Begabungserkennung und Begabungsförderung weiter entwickeln. Eine weitere Längsschnittstudie mit mathematisch, musisch, sprachlich und normal begabten Schülerinnen und Schüler dient vor allem auch der Untersuchung dieser praktisch bedeutsamen und wissenschaftlich wertvollen Problematik, untersucht aber auch gleichzeitig den Persönlichkeitsbereich dieser unterschiedlich leistungsfähigen Schülerstichproben. Im Zusammenhang mit dem Begabungsbegriff, der Begabungsdiagnostik und nicht zuletzt mit der Geschlechtsdifferenzierung stehen fortgeschrittene Untersuchungen zur räumlichen Vorstellungsfähigkeit und begonnene Untersuchungen zur Musikalität. Geschlechtseffekte im mentalen Rotieren räumlicher G ebilde zugunsten der männlichen Probanden lassen Fragen nach deren genetisch-hormonellen Bedingtheit entstehen, wobei auch die Bedeutung von Erfahrungen (räumliche Aktivitäten, Erfahren der Geschlechterrolle, besondere Sozialisationsbedingungen) verstärkt hinterfragt wird. Dies hat auch wieder eignungsdiagnostische Bedeutung, denn Geschlechtsunterschiede in bestimmten Leistungs- und Persönlichkeitsmerkmalen werfen auch Fragen nach der Testfairneß unter selektionspsychologischer Sicht auf.

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The project examines the existing barriers, but also the potential opportunities for an inclusive energy
transition from a social, economic and political science perspective. Particularly impact-relevant areas
(heating and mobility) as well as potentially vulnerable groups (population in rural areas) are the focal
points. In an analysis phase, the disciplinary findings on barriers (issues of subjective mapping of the
investment decision, affordability, distributional impacts) will be embedded in the current and future context (rising CO₂ price, accompanying measures, actor constellations, institutions, policy mix at different political and administrative levels as well as in different policy areas) and finally integrated into an integrative phase model of sustainable investment decisions of households. On this basis, perspectives for future control instruments and interactive communication tools will be developed in a subsequent development, testing and contextualizing phase in cooperation with practice partners. These will be implemented in a pilot study and tested experimentally. Moreover, it will be evaluated in cooperation with the practice partners. In addition, the acceptance of an increasing CO₂ price will be investigated in accompanying studies, especially if it is supplemented by complementary instruments that expand the individual's scope for action. Changes over time and interactions between acceptability and perceived options for CO₂ options will also be analyzed.

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The corona pandemic has seriously changed mobility behavior worldwide and also in Germany. The distance of all journeys made has been greatly reduced, as the need for many journeys has disappeared due to, for example, home offices, home schooling, travel restrictions, changes in leisure activities and restricted social contacts. In addition to a reduction in mobility, a change in the chosen modes of transport was also observed, e.g. public transport was used significantly less and frequently replaced by individual transport, whether by car, bicycle or on foot. However, research on changed mobility behavior under corona conditions must not stop at a mere inventory of changes. With a view to the major transformation towards sustainability, the central research question is: What impact do the restrictions and the new experiences they enable have on the long-term trend towards climate protection and sustainable mobility?

Trends towards sustainable mobility were already evident before 2020 in the area of everyday mobility, but also in the business travel culture, and here especially among universities. From a psychological point of view, it can certainly be expected that temporary changes in the everyday mobility situation are also conducive to lasting behavioral changes; especially if an high motivation to change already existed, and if positive experiences are made possible by the temporary changes. In the context of the corona pandemic experiences were, for example, made with reduced or changed everyday and vacation travel mobility. In terms of business trips, alternative, hybrid or entirely digital conference formats were tested and encountered to a greater extent. The pandemic is therefore seen as a window of opportunity to reinforce existing transformation trends (Schmidt, Sieverding, Wallis, & Matthies, 2021).

In the TraMocee project, on the one hand, potentials for stabilizing interventions in everyday mobility (bicycle and public transport use) as well as in vacation travel mobility are identified, following on from a previous study of our own. On the other hand, the use of the currently large potential for reducing scientific conference travel is being researched in a transformative way with the involvement of organizers and service providers in the conference sector. The project is funded by The German Federal Environmental Foundation (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt - DBU).

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The aim of the interdisciplinary research project "AuRa - Autonomes Rad" is to develop three-wheeled cargo bikes that are provided autonomously in order to achieve an environmentally friendly improvement in local mobility. In a sub-project, the Department of Environmental Psychology is investigating the acceptance and acceptability of such autonomous micromobiles by other road users such as pedestrians and car drivers, as well as the human-centered design of the bicycle call system. In addition, the current and changing mobility needs in Saxony-Anhalt are being investigated.
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Carbon pricing (as cost internalization in the sense of the polluter pays principle) is, by now, widely acknowledged as a necessary instrument for the systematic reduction of CO2 emissions and, therefore, individuals' carbon footprints. In September 2019, the German Government presented an outline for a comprehensive carbon pricing scheme (emissions trading system) and accompanying measures as part of the so-called climate package . It is, however, unknown how individuals represent their carbon footprint and how they anticipate possible effects of carbon pricing schemes on their household. This could have important consequences for the social acceptability and the effectiveness of such instruments.
In this research project, we systematically investigate how consumers react to carbon pricing schemes considering the representation of their own carbon budgets and their perceived scopes of behavior change in different consumption sectors.
The project is funded by the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture and Energy of Saxony-Anhalt.

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The aim of the project "The coronavirus crisis as a 'game changer' for the transformation to sustainability?" is to investigate German citizens' attitudes and motives for sustainability and sustainability action in the context of the coronavirus crisis. Just a few weeks after the start of the coronavirus pandemic, voices were already being raised in Germany pointing beyond the current dramatic social and economic consequences to the significance of the crisis for the Great Transformation. Since then, a large number of thoughts have been expressed on the coronavirus crisis and sustainability nexus, both fears (such as whether the impending recession threatens the implementation of the climate package) and positive expectations (such as falling CO₂ emissions in the transport sector), as well as hopes that the experience of solidarity and experiences of restriction could promote future lifestyle changes. The patterns of interpretation are currently still in constant flux, but it is already clear that the Covid-19 epidemic is breaking up old structures and political decisions are being made at a rapid pace. It is therefore important to accompany social change processes with research now and to arrive at early assessments of the windows of opportunity and challenges for the Great Transformation arising from the pandemic. The project is funded by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU).
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Policy makers have many options to choose from when they plan to foster the transition of the German energy system. First of all, the transition has a technical dimension, as different kinds of technologies can be used or promoted to a different extent. Additionally, each change in the current energy system will affect society in a different way. For example, certain measures lead to energy price changes while others affect the natural environment. Some solutions can be expected to be better accepted by society than others.
The project ENavi (Energy transformation navigation system) aims at estimating the effects of different courses of action on society and developing a navigation system for policy makers. This instrument is supposed to support decision makers in choosing appropriate measures.
As part of the project, the Division of Environmental Psychology (Prof. Ellen Matthies, Dr. Ingo Kastner Annalena Becker and Sebastian Bobeth as project staff) investigates sustainable investment decisions in the sectors of mobility and heating. As potential target groups, we look at private households and organizations. We aim at identifying critical factors for sustainable investment decisions. Different consumption sectors and target groups will be compared.

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Cargo bikes are a sustainable alternative for transporting goods in cities. They have the potential to replace 25% of today's inner-city delivery trips and can thus contribute to CO₂ savings and a higher quality of life in cities. Setting up inner-city depots for cargo bikes enables the storage and handling of goods for subsequent distribution by cargo bike in the city. In the interdisciplinary project "Cargo bike depot", a model guideline for the implementation of inner-city depots is being developed. The focus is on logistical requirements, ensuring the flow of traffic and a high level of acceptance by stakeholders. Aspects such as location issues, the effect of a high volume of cargo bikes in traffic, acceptance by residents and road users as well as usage preferences of cargo bike riders are being investigated.
The Chair of Logistical Systems forms an interdisciplinary team together with the Department of Environmental Psychology at the Institute of Psychology. While traffic areas are modeled and simulated on the logistics side, a qualitative survey of experts (e.g. from the delivery industry, planning, municipal administrations) and a quantitative survey of a sample representative of cities are planned in the area of psychological acceptance research.
In line with the National Cycling Plan 2020, the project aims to improve traffic quality, ensure sustainable mobility, broadly apply the results and generate new findings. It is funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) from funds for the implementation of the National Cycling Plan 2020.
The project is supported by a project advisory board. This consists of the following members:
- Cargobike.now
- German Aerospace Center (DLR)
- DPD Germany GmbH
- PedalPower Schönstedt&Busack GbR
- United Parcel Service (UPS)
- Center for Applied Psychology, Environmental and Social Research (ZEUS GmbH).
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The aim of the ECHO project is to promote sustainable energy use behavior in the university sector. A strategy is being developed to support committed key players at universities in promoting climate protection and anchoring it permanently on site.

An effective energy-saving campaign is being developed in collaboration with the project teams from the cooperating universities. At the same time, the members of the project teams are trained as change agents in accompanying workshops to enable them to accompany and expand the campaign in the long term and initiate further sustainable change processes. The energy-saving campaign will initially be implemented with employees in selected university buildings. In the course of the project, it will be transferred to other university buildings, again in close cooperation with the project teams and local employees.
ECHO is a joint project involving Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Fresenius University of Applied Sciences Idstein and the HIS Institute for Higher Education Development e. V. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) and the Project Management Jülich (PtJ).
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The Helmholtz Alliance ENERGY-TRANS aims to support the implementation of the energy transition by providing action-oriented knowledge. In this desired transformation of the energy system towards greater efficiency and a higher proportion of renewable energies and the innovations required for this, the demand and user side is of particular importance, which makes further research necessary. An interdisciplinary research approach was chosen as part of ENERGY-TRANS in order to be able to research the socio-technical energy system in an appropriately holistic manner.
As part of the Helmholtz Alliance ENERGY-TRANS, the Department of Environmental Psychology at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg is working on various issues and tasks in the research field of "User Behavior and Demand Management":

• Incentives to promote renewable energies and energy-efficient renovations
• Identifying and supporting different types of households in the area of energy saving
• The effect of monetary vs. ecological framing of electricity saving information in households
• Energy use in households with young people
• Electricity use in private households with a photovoltaic system
• Acceptance of electric cars as innovations in the field of mobility in private households

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The research project uses the action-phase-based self-regulation model to reduce behavioral CO2 emissions in a Norwegian population sample through behavioral change. The two target behaviors were identified on the basis of an analysis by the participating environmental scientists in such a way that they both make a relevant contribution to Norway's overall CO2 emissions and offer enough scope for people to change their behavior. The project focuses in the first phase on reducing beef consumption and in a second phase on purchasing energy-efficient cars. The action phase model assumes that the change in behavior takes place in several steps and that each of these steps contains a specific selection of conditions that must be fulfilled in order to reach the next phase. Accordingly, the project develops communication-based interventions that utilize the mechanisms of action in the phase in which a participant finds him/herself. The interventions are communicated via an internet platform. There are five experimental conditions: targeted according to diagnosed phase, random, all at the same time, self-administered and a control group without interventions. Both the psychological predictors and the behavior are collected in three waves before and after the intervention, as well as several months later.
The project is being carried out together with Prof. Dr. Christian Klöckner (NTNU Trondheim, Norway) and in cooperation with Prof. Paul C. Stern (National Research Council, Washington, USA), Prof. Sebastian Bamberg (Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences) and Prof. Linda Steg (University of Groningen, Netherlands). It is funded by the Norwegian Research Council (NFR).
This text was translated with DeepL

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Ziel des Projektes ist es, in interdisziplinärer Zusammenarbeit, neue, effektive Interventionsstrategien zur Förderung effizienten Nutzerverhaltens in Organisationen zu entwickeln, umzusetzen und wissenschaftlich zu evaluieren. Mit Blick auf die Praxisrelevanz wird als Untersuchungs- und Interventionssetting der Bereich der Energienutzung in öffentlichen Gebäuden (zunächst Hochschulen) gewählt. Hier liegen hohe Einsparpotenziale sowohl im Stromnutzungsverhalten als auch im Bereich der Wärmenutzung (für die Ruhr-Universität Bochum wurden Potenziale von bis zu 20 Prozent identifiziert; vgl. Kattenstein, Unger & Wagner 2002), zudem darf wegen der Vorbild- und Multiplikatorenwirkung von Hochschulen eine starke Verbreitung der Instrumente allgemein auf Konsumenten in Haushalten und Organisationen erwartet werden. Teilziele:

• Ausschöpfen von Energiesparpotenzialen im Nutzerverhalten mit Hilfe der Durchführung entsprechender Maßnahmen in öffentlichen Liegenschaften, insbesondere an Hochschulen
• Objektive und ingenieurwissenschaftliche Potenzialermittlung der Energieeinsparungen durch Nutzerverhalten
• Entwicklung eines zielgruppenangepassten Instruments zur Förderung von energieeffizientem Nutzerverhalten, das künftig von weiteren Akteuren (weiteren Hochschulen, öffentlichen Liegenschaften) genutzt werden kann
• Erarbeitung von Maßnahmen zur Verbreitung des Instruments im Hochschulbereich

Die Projektziele werden durch die Verbundpartnerschaft eines interdisziplinären Projektteams der Ruhr-Universität Bochum (Psychologie und Ingenieurwissenschaften) und der HIS GmbH (Experten für das Setting Hochschule) realisiert. Als Praxispartner wirken die EnergieAgentur.NRW sowie Hochschulvertreter aus NRW und von bundesweiten Hochschulen bei der Umsetzung des Vorhabens mit.

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Ergebnisse der psychologischen Interventionsforschung zum Verkehrsmittelwahlverhalten machen deutlich, dass Menschen ausgeprägte und schwer veränderbare Präferenzen für den Pkw haben. Verschiedene AutorInnen gehen davon aus, dass eine häufige Nutzung des Pkws zu einer Stabilisierung der Präferenz für dieses Verkehrsmittel führt und den Einfluss von aktuellen potenziellen Einflussfaktoren schwächt. Zur Erklärung der Resistenz gegenüber Interventionen wurde insbesondere das Konstrukt der Gewohnheit ins Feld geführt. Die bisher diskutierten Konzepte variieren allerdings in ihren Annahmen über Genese und Funktion und haben damit unterschiedliche Implikationen für Prävention und Intervention. Ziel des beantragten Projektes ist es, das Phänomen der Fixierung, d.h. der unangemessenen Stabilität von Präferenzen (bei veränderten externen und internen Bedingungen) im Kontext eines integrierten Normaktivationsmodells zu untersuchen. Insbesondere soll vergleichend analysiert werden, durch welche Mechanismen (Assoziation, Skripts, Heuristiken) das Phänomen der Verkehrsmittelfixierung erklärt werden kann, und welche Rolle Sozialisationseinflüsse hierbei spielen. Ein weiteres Ziel ist die Erkundung von Möglichkeiten der Überwindung von Fixierungen. Damit trägt das Projekt dazu bei, die derzeitige Diskussion um die kognitiven Korrelate von Gewohnheiten zu fokussieren und öffnet das Konzept von Gewohnheiten stärker für psychologische Interventionen; hier im Sinne einer nachhaltigen Mobilität. Vor dem Hintergrund der allgemeinen Klimaschutzbestrebungen ist dies als wichtiges gesamtgesellschaftliches Ziel zu betrachten.

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Normen haben sich in vielen Bereichen umweltschonenden Handelns (zwar nicht als ausschließlich maßgeblich, jedoch) als durchaus stabile Einflussfaktoren erwiesen; dies gilt insbesondere für Müllvermeidungs- und Mülltrennungsverhalten. Hier hat sich eine Differenzierung zwischen sozialen (Erwartungen des sozialen Umfeldes) und personalen Normen (eigene moralische Motivation) als sinnvoll erwiesen. Weitere Differenzierungen, wie die zwischen injunktiver (man soll) und deskriptiver Norm (das wahrgenommene übliche Handeln der anderen) wurden bisher jedoch nicht berücksichtigt. Gerade das wahrgenommene Handeln im familiären Umfeld hat sich jedoch in einer aktuellen japanischen Studie als wichtigster normativer Einfluss auf Müll vermeidendes Handeln erwiesen. Hieran anknüpfend soll in einer vergleichenden japanisch/deutschen Studie das auf Müll (Müllvermeidung, Mülltrennung) bezogene Verhalten von Kindern und Erwachsenen analysiert werden. Bearbeitet wird die Frage, durch welche Aspekte des elterlichen Verhaltens umweltschonendes Verhalten von Kindern beeinflusst, und durch welche Variablen dies vermittelt wird. Der Kulturvergleich macht hier Sinn, da vorausgehende eigene Untersuchungen zeigen, dass soziale Normen in Japan einflussmächtiger sind als in deutschen Stichproben.

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