Neurophysiological correlates and cognitive components of motor and action control

Westerholz J. Neurophysiological correlates and cognitive components of motor and action control. Bielefeld: Universitätsbibliothek Bielefeld; 2015

Neurophysiology of grasping actions: Evidence from ERPs

Koester D, Schack T, Westerholz J. Neurophysiology of grasping actions: Evidence from ERPs. Frontiers in Psychology. 2016;7: 1996.We use our hands very frequently to interact with our environment. Neuropsychology together with lesion models and intracranial recordings and imaging work yielded important insights into the functional neuroanatomical correlates of grasping, one important function of our hands, pointing toward a functional parietofrontal brain network. Event-related potentials (ERPs) register directly electrical brain activity and are endowed with high temporal resolution but have long been assumed to be susceptible to movement artifacts. Recent work has shown that reliable ERPs can be obtained during movement execution. Here, we review the available ERP work on (uni) manual grasping actions. We discuss various ERP components and how they may be related to functional components of grasping according to traditional distinctions of manual actions such as planning and control phases. The ERP results are largely in line with the assumption of a parietofrontal network. But other questions remain, in particular regarding the temporal succession of frontal and parietal ERP effects. With the low number of ERP studies on grasping, not all ERP effects appear to be coherent with one another. Understanding the control of our hands may help to develop further neurocognitive theories of grasping and to make progress in prosthetics, rehabilitation or development of technical systems for support of human actions. Full text freely available under: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.0199

Habitual vs Non- Habitual Manual Actions: An ERP Study on Overt Movement Execution

Westerholz J, Schack T, Schütz C, Koester D. Habitual vs Non- Habitual Manual Actions: An ERP Study on Overt Movement Execution. PLoS ONE. 2014;9(4): e93116.This study explored the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the planning and execution of an overt goal- related handle rotation task. More specifically, we studied the neural basis of motor actions concerning the influence of the grasp choice. The aim of the present study was to differentiate cerebral activity between grips executed in a habitual and a nonhabitual mode, and between specified and free grip choices. To our knowledge, this is the first study to differentiate cerebral activity underlying overt goal-related actions executed with a focus on the habitual mode. In a handle rotation task, participants had to use thumb-toward (habitual) or thumb- away ( non- habitual) grips to rotate a handle to a given target position. Reaction and reach times were shorter for the habitual compared to the non- habitual mode indicating that the habitual mode requires less cognitive processing effort than the non- habitual mode. Neural processes for action execution ( measured by event-related potentials ( ERPs)) differed between habitual and non-habitual conditions. We found differential activity between habitual and non- habitual conditions in left and right frontal areas from -600 to 200 ms time- locked to reaching the target position. No differential neural activity could be traced for the specification of the grip. The results suggested that the frontal negativity reflected increased difficulty in movement precision control in the non- habitual mode compared to the habitual mode during the homing in phase of grasp and rotation actions

Expression and glucocorticoid-dependent regulation of the stressinducible protein DRR1 in the mouse adult brain

Identifying molecular targets that are able to buffer the consequences of stress and therefore restore brain homeostasis is essential to develop treatments for stress-related disorders. Down-regulated in renal cell carcinoma 1 (DRR1) is a unique stress-induced protein in the brain and has been recently proposed to modulate stress resilience. Interestingly, DRR1 shows a prominent expression in the limbic system of the adult mouse. Here, we analyzed the neuroanatomical and cellular expression patterns of DRR1 in the adult mouse brain using in situ hybridization, immunofluorescence and Western blot. Abundant expression of DRR1 mRNA and protein was confirmed in the adult mouse brain with pronounced differences between distinct brain regions. The strongest DRR1 signal was detected in the neocortex, the CA3 region of the hippocampus, the lateral septum and the cerebellum. DRR1 was also present in circumventricular organs and its connecting regions. Additionally, DRR1 was present in non-neuronal tissues like the choroid plexus and ependyma. Within cells, DRR1 protein was distributed in a punctate pattern in several subcellular compartments including cytosol, nucleus as well as some pre- and postsynaptic specializations. Glucocorticoid receptor activation (dexamethasone 10 mg/kg s.c.) induced DRR1 expression throughout the brain, with particularly strong induction in white matter and fiber tracts and in membrane-rich structures. This specific expression pattern and stress modulation of DRR1 point to a role of DRR1 in regulating how cells sense and integrate signals from the environment and thus in restoring brain homeostasis after stressful challenges

Expression and glucocorticoid-dependent regulation of the stress-inducible protein DRR1 in the mouse adult brain

Identifying molecular targets that are able to buffer the consequences of stress and therefore restore brain homeostasis is essential to develop treatments for stress-related disorders. Down-regulated in renal cell carcinoma 1 (DRR1) is a unique stress-induced protein in the brain and has been recently proposed to modulate stress resilience. Interestingly, DRR1 shows a prominent expression in the limbic system of the adult mouse. Here, we analyzed the neuroanatomical and cellular expression patterns of DRR1 in the adult mouse brain using in situ hybridization, immunofluorescence and Western blot. Abundant expression of DRR1 mRNA and protein was confirmed in the adult mouse brain with pronounced differences between distinct brain regions. The strongest DRR1 signal was detected in the neocortex, the CA3 region of the hippocampus, the lateral septum and the cerebellum. DRR1 was also present in circumventricular organs and its connecting regions. Additionally, DRR1 was present in non-neuronal tissues like the choroid plexus and ependyma. Within cells, DRR1 protein was distributed in a punctate pattern in several subcellular compartments including cytosol, nucleus as well as some pre- and postsynaptic specializations. Glucocorticoid receptor activation (dexamethasone 10\ua0mg/kg s.c.) induced DRR1 expression throughout the brain, with particularly strong induction in white matter and fiber tracts and in membrane-rich structures. This specific expression pattern and stress modulation of DRR1 point to a role of DRR1 in regulating how cells sense and integrate signals from the environment and thus in restoring brain homeostasis after stressful challenges

Event-Related Brain Potentials for Goal-Related Power Grips

Westerholz J, Schack T, Koester D. Event-Related Brain Potentials for Goal-Related Power Grips. PLoS ONE. 2013;8(7): e68501.Recent research has shown that neurophysiological activation during action planning depends on the orientation to initial or final action goals for precision grips. However, the neural signature for a distinct class of grasping, power grips, is still unknown. The aim of the present study was to differentiate between cerebral activity, by means of event-related potentials (ERPs), and its temporal organization during power grips executed with an emphasis on either the initial or final parts of movement sequences. In a grasp and transportation task, visual cues emphasized either the grip (the immediate goal) or the target location (the final goal). ERPs differed between immediate and final goal-cued conditions, suggesting different means of operation dependent on goal-relatedness. Differences in mean amplitude occurred earlier for power grips than for recently reported precision grips time-locked to grasping over parieto-occipital areas. Time-locked to final object placement, differences occurred within a similar time window for power and precision grips over frontal areas. These results suggest that a parieto-frontal network of activation is of crucial importance for grasp planning and execution. Our results indicate that power grip preparation and execution for goal-related actions are controlled by similar neural mechanisms as have been observed during precision grips, but with a distinct temporal pattern

Die Erfassung der Bauteilschaedigung betriebsfester Systeme, ein Mikrorechner gefuehrtes On-Line Verfahren

TIB: RN 7998 (1985,2) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman

Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting in the Food Industry – Comparison of Co-operatives and Investor-owned Dairies

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a central issue in the dairy industry. While it is well established that each company in a chain contributes to that chain's CSR, the role of co-operatives as a predominant organizational form has been understudied. Due to specific characteristics of co-operatives, one may hypothesize that these member-based dairies put a higher value on sustainability than investor-owned dairy firms. No previous study deals explicitly with the contents of CSR reports in the dairy industry, differentiating between co-operative and investor-owned dairies. We adapt an existing set of criteria to examine CSR reports from 13 German dairies and complete the picture by analyzing their websites. A comparison of formal, quality-related, and content-related criteria suggests that co-operative dairies report in a higher quality and more extensively about sustainability. The results provide first insights into organizational form-specific differences in sustainability reporting. Our findings highlight areas in which dairy companies can become more sustainable

The what-decision in manual action: ERPs for free choice versus specified overt goal-related grasping

Westerholz J, Schack T, Koester D. The what-decision in manual action: ERPs for free choice versus specified overt goal-related grasping. Neuroscience Letters. 2014;575:85-90.This study explored the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the what-decision of planning and execution of an overt goal-related manual action. We aimed to differentiate cerebral activity, by means of event-related potentials (ERPs), between predominantly self-regulated and instructed actions. In a bar-transport task, participants were given free or specified choices about the initial grip and/or final goal. The ERPs for action execution differed between free- and specified-goal conditions, but not between free- and specified-grasp conditions. We found differential activity for the goal specification in mid-frontal, mid-central, and mid-parietal regions from -1100 to -700 ms and -500 to 0 ms time-locked to grasping and in anterior right regions from -1900 to -1400 ms time-locked to movement end. There was no differential activity for grasp specifications. These results indicated that neural activity differed between free and specified actions, but only for goal conditions, suggesting different ways of operation dependent on goal-relatedness. To our knowledge, this was the first study to differentiate cerebral activity and its temporal organization underlying the what-decision involved in overt goal-related actions. Our results support the ideomotor theory by showing that neural processes underlying action preparation and execution depend on the anticipated action goal. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Neural mechanisms underlying power grips in goal-directed actions

Westerholz J, Schack T, Koester D. Neural mechanisms underlying power grips in goal-directed actions. In: Riemann R, ed. 48. Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Psychologie (DGPs). Lengerich: Pabst Science Publishers; 2012: 36