Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS), especially repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is advancing into different facets of our society- from research and the treatment of medical conditions[6Lefaucheur J.P. Aleman A. Baeken C. Benninger D.H. Brunelin J. Di Lazzaro V. Filipović S.R. Grefkes C. Hasan A. Hummel F.C. Jääskeläinen S.K. Langguth B. Leocani L. Londero A. Nardone R. Nguyen J.P. Nyffeler T. Oliveira-Maia A.J. Oliviero A. Padberg F. Palm U. Paulus W. Poulet E. Quartarone A. Rachid F. Rektorová I. Rossi S. Sahlsten H. Schecklmann M. Szekely D. Ziemann U. Evidence-based guidelines on the therapeutic use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS): An update (2014-2018).Clin Neurophysiol. 2020; 131: 474-528https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CLINPH.2019.11.002Crossref PubMed Scopus (0) Google Scholar, 7Lefaucheur J.P. Antal A. Ayache S.S. Benninger D.H. Brunelin J. Cogiamanian F. Cotelli M. De Ridder D. Ferrucci R. Langguth B. Marangolo P. Mylius V. Nitsche M.A. Padberg F. Palm U. Poulet E. Priori A. Rossi S. Schecklmann M. Vanneste S. Ziemann U. Garcia-Larrea L. Paulus W. Evidence-based guidelines on the therapeutic use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS).Clin Neurophysiol. 2017; 128: 56-92Crossref PubMed Scopus (1144) Google Scholar] to cognitive enhancement in healthy individuals, including the military and 'neurodoping' in sports[1Antal A. Luber B. Brem A.K. Bikson M. Brunoni A.R. Cohen Kadosh R. Dubljević V. Fecteau S. Ferreri F. Flöel A. Hallett M. Hamilton R.H. Herrmann C.S. Lavidor M. Loo C. Lustenberger C. Machado S. Miniussi C. Moliadze V. Nitsche M.A. Rossi S. Rossini P.M. Santarnecchi E. Seeck M. Thut G. Turi Z. Ugawa Y. Venkatasubramanian G. Wenderoth N. Wexler A. Ziemann U. Paulus W. Non-invasive brain stimulation and neuroenhancement.Clin Neurophysiol Pract. 2022; 7: 146-165Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (52) Google Scholar]. The rise of some of the NIBS applications poses ethical considerations and apprehensions concerning its societal consequences[2Antal A. Woods A.J. Knotkova H. Transcranial direct current stimulation ethics and professional conduct.Pract Guid to Transcranial Direct Curr Stimul Princ Proced Appl. 2019; : 407-427https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95948-1_14Crossref Scopus (0) Google Scholar]. In a multicenter study, within ERANET NEURON's 2020 call for Ethical, Legal, and Social Aspects of Neuroscience, we implemented participatory processes to analyze the perspectives, wishes, and fears of different stakeholder groups involved in NIBS, with the goal of shaping its utilization and future development. We used tailored design-based and co-creative workshops[10Wexler A. Specker Sullivan L. Translational Neuroethics: A Vision for a More Integrated, Inclusive, and Impactful Field.AJOB Neurosci. 2023; 14: 388-399https://doi.org/10.1080/21507740.2021.2001078Crossref Scopus (20) Google Scholar] including seven stakeholder groups related to NIBS: 1) patients who received NIBS interventions, 2) clinical practitioners involved in the treatment of patients, 3) students with basic knowledge and experience with NIBS, 4) representatives of NIBS companies building tDCS and TMS devices for research and therapeutic use, 5) tDCS home users using devices self-built or bought online without medical prescription or supervision, 6) policy experts, and 7) philosophers. The qualitative and inductively evaluated results from the workshops were compiled and assessed by 15 experts from the fields of medicine, neuroscience, psychology, law, ethics, philosophy, and innovation management to develop a set of recommendations for policymakers, health authorities, healthcare providers, industry, researchers, and research funding agencies regarding NIBS technologies on a two days expert workshop in April 2023. Here, we highlight the key issues in the field of NIBS and their relevant solutions, which were derived from the expert workshop findings and our previously published recommendations submitted as a white paper to the European Union (EU) Parliament[8Maier MJ, Antal A, Oliviero A, Breuer J, Ramasawmy P, Baeken C, Hölzle K, Paulus W, Rozynska J, Ryan D, Salardi S, Tankisi H, Vidalis T, Zilio F, Northoff G. STIMCODE. 2023. doi:10.24406/PUBLICA-1569.Google Scholar]. Compared to the USA and some non-EU countries, only a few insurance companies reimburse treatments with rTMS and tDCS. In most of the European countries, the treatment should be paid privately. This limits the availability and accessibility of NIBS to underprivileged patients[3Baeken C. Arns M. Brunelin J. Chanes L. Filipcic I. Ganho-Ávila A. Hirnstein M. Rachid F. Sack A.T. O'shea J. D'urso G. Antal A. European reclassification of non-invasive brain stimulation as class III medical devices: A call to action.Brain Stimul. 2023; 16: 564-566https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brs.2023.02.012Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (4) Google Scholar]. Stakeholders encouraged policymakers to ensure equal access to safe and effective NIBS by making it available for both inpatient and outpatient settings, including home-use, and spurring public health insurances to cover the intervention fees. A common wish shared across all the stakeholder groups was the broader administration of tDCS for home use by healthcare authorities and its further development by researchers in academia and industries to make the technology easier to use and more accessible for patients living far from NIBS centers, as well as to reduce the workload of clinical practitioners in hospitals while providing for secure medical data transfer and acquisition. Research funding agencies were prompted to promote this direction and to fund research to ensure better efficacy, maximal safety, user-friendliness, and secure data transmission related to the home-technology. Unfortunately, some companies are currently selling tDCS devices for home use without proven efficacy and safety, while advertising misleading promises[4Coates McCall I. Lau C. Minielly N. Illes J. Owning Ethical Innovation: Claims about Commercial Wearable Brain Technologies.Neuron. 2019; 102: 728-731https://doi.org/10.1016/J.NEURON.2019.03.026Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF Google Scholar]. The recent non-evidence-based and controversial reclassification of non-medical NIBS devices in the Class III category (same level of risk as invasive brain stimulation devices)[3Baeken C. Arns M. Brunelin J. Chanes L. Filipcic I. Ganho-Ávila A. Hirnstein M. Rachid F. Sack A.T. O'shea J. D'urso G. Antal A. European reclassification of non-invasive brain stimulation as class III medical devices: A call to action.Brain Stimul. 2023; 16: 564-566https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brs.2023.02.012Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (4) Google Scholar] and the tightening of the medical device regulations (MDR) in the EU currently hinder the testing of novel NIBS protocols and increase the administrative burden associated with grant writing and ethical approval. While demanding the reclassification of NIBS to Class IIa (moderate risk), stakeholders and experts in our study also stressed the need for public health authorities to provide trustworthy information about NIBS, backed up by quality research and to ensure that the quality standards of the technology are met through the monitoring of its manufacturing, marketing, and development. Evidence-based quality information from these specific bodies should be used by policymakers to make regulatory decisions regarding NIBS. Moreover, there is a need for an EU-wide certification system and standardized training for healthcare practitioners and researchers, similar to the current certification program in Germany[9Paulus W. Antal A. Claen J. Flöel A. Hasan A. Moliadze V. Padberg F. Schnitzler A. Volkmann J. Ziemann U. Grefkes-Hermann C. Guideline for the DGKN advanced training program Non-invasive brain stimulation for acquisition of the DGKN-certificate for Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS).Klin Neurophysiol. 2023; 54: 168-179https://doi.org/10.1055/A-2071-7668/ID/R20717668-0019/BIBCrossref Google Scholar]. Experts requested the establishment of a governing body for neuroscience and neurotechnology such as NIBS at the EU Level, which would provide specific guidelines for NIBS manufacturers and monitor a pan-European registry for research findings and side/adverse effects of the technology. Currently, the registration of side/adverse effects is well-regulated under the MDR. While the central registration of research/clinical studies is mandatory in numerous countries, the imposition of a regulatory governing body at the EU level might exacerbate bureaucratic impediments at the present stage. A major concern shared by stakeholders was the management and protection of NIBS brain data. Policy experts emphasized that the use of NIBS-related personal data should respect neuro- and mental privacy rights by abiding by the guidelines of the Council on Responsible Innovation and Neurotechnology. Policymakers should also establish a clear definition of brain data, including the limits of its use and access while respecting the current data protection and human rights regulations (EU's General Data Protection Regulation and European Convention on Human Rights), and accounting for the current and upcoming legal developments in the neurorights debate[5Hertz N. Neurorights – Do we Need New Human Rights? A Reconsideration of the Right to Freedom of Thought.Neuroethics. 2023; 16: 1-15https://doi.org/10.1007/S12152-022-09511-0/METRICSCrossref Google Scholar]. While stakeholder engagements can be time-demanding and difficult to coordinate, participants in the final two-day expert meeting highlighted the importance of involving all relevant stakeholders in decision-making and public deliberations to address the medical, social, ethical, political, and legal aspects, including patients and carers, healthcare bodies, insurers, researchers, industries, international/regulatory organizations, ethicists and lawyers. It was also suggested to include all of the relevant stakeholders in therapy planning to deliver optimal and if needed, personalized NIBS treatment for patients. The engagement should consider patients with lived experience, the expertise of nurses in accompaniment and treatment settings, perspectives of medical doctors on therapeutic or technological issues, as well as psychotherapists and physiotherapists for add-on support before, during, and following the NIBS therapy. Compared to other non-pharmacological interventions such as physiotherapy and electroconvulsive therapy, NIBS is relatively young, with its full potential remaining elusive. Despite the evidence-based application of NIBS in many disorders (e.g. major depression), stakeholders encouraged scientists in academia and industry to focus research on determining more reliable therapeutic biomarkers and developing risk/benefit assessment guidelines relating to the use of artificial intelligence in NIBS and the development of personalized precision-based NIBS interventions. They underscored the importance of unraveling currently unknown neuropsychological mechanisms of NIBS (e.g. dose-dependency, combination of NIBS with other methods to increase efficacy and to decrease treatment variability). Furthermore, they highlighted the need for research funding agencies to better promote exchange between academia and the industry through dialogues, conjoint grants, and collaborations as well as open access to data and results, while maintaining data protection regulations. This work was supported within the ERA-NET NEURON framework by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research under Grant number 01GP2124A.

Numerous complex and multi-faceted ethical questions arise from the innovation of neurotechnologies. Addressing these issues effectively requires the involvement of a diverse range of stakeholders, including patients, treatment providers, home users, scientists and engineers from different disciplines, and industry representatives. Different groups, however, possess varying levels of knowledge and experience regarding the ethical use and innovation of neurotechnologies. Therefore, customized methods are needed to identify their perspectives and ethical concerns. This article aims to introduce practical methods for eliciting ethical questions in the field of neurotechnology, including user journeys, persona approaches, material thinking, scenario building, fictional media contributions, and categorization.

IntroductionCognitive control is a prerequisite for successful, goal-oriented behavior. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is assumed to be a key player in applying cognitive control; however, the neural mechanisms by which this process is accomplished are still unclear.MethodsTo further address this question, an audiovisual Stroop task was used, comprising simultaneously presented pictures and spoken names of actors and politicians. Depending on the task block, participants had to indicate whether they saw the face or heard the name of a politician or an actor (visual vs. auditory blocks). In congruent trials, both stimuli (visual and auditory) belonged to the same response category (actor or politician); in incongruent trials, they belonged to different categories. During this task, activity in sensory target regions was measured via functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and electroencephalography (EEG), respectively. Specifically, fNIRS was used to monitor activity levels within the auditory cortex, while the EEG-based event-related potential of the N170 was considered as a marker of FFA (fusiform face area) involvement. Additionally, we assessed the effects of inhibitory theta-burst stimulation—a specific protocol based on repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)—over the right DLPFC. Non-invasive brain stimulation is one of the few means to draw causal conclusions in human neuroscience. In this case, rTMS was used to temporarily inhibit the right DLPFC as a presumed key player in solving Stroop conflicts in one of two measurement sessions; then, effects were examined on behavioral measures as well as neurophysiological signals reflecting task-related activity in the frontal lobes and sensory cortices.ResultsThe results indicate a central role of the DLPFC in the implementation of cognitive control in terms of a suppression of distracting sensory input in both the auditory cortex and visual system (FFA) in high-conflict situations. Behavioral data confirm a reduced Stroop effect following previous incongruent trials (“Gratton effect”) that was only accomplished with an intact DLPFC (i.e., following placebo stimulation).DiscussionBecause non-invasive brain stimulation is uniquely suited to causally test neuroscientific hypotheses in humans, these data give important insights into some of the mechanisms by which the DLPFC establishes conflict resolution across different sensory modalities.

Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) or transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) have made great progress in recent years and offer boundless potential for the neuroscientific research and treatment of disorders. However, the possible use of NIBS devices for neuro-doping and neuroenhancement in healthy individuals and the military are poorly regulated. The great potentials and diverse applications can have an impact on the future development of the technology and society. This participatory study therefore aims to summarize the perspectives of different stakeholder groups with the help of qualitative workshops. Nine qualitative on-site and virtual workshops were conducted in the study with 91 individuals from seven stakeholder groups: patients, students, do-it-yourself home users of tDCS, clinical practitioners, industry representatives, philosophers, and policy experts. The co-creative and design-based workshops were tailored to each group to document the wishes, fears, and general comments of the participants. The outlooks from each group were collected in written form and summarized into different categories. The result is a comprehensive overview of the different aspects that need to be considered in the field of NIBS. For example, several groups expressed the wish for home-based tDCS under medical supervision as a potential therapeutic intervention and discussed the associated technical specifications. Other topics that were addressed were performance enhancement for certain professional groups, training requirements for practitioners, and questions of agency, among others. This qualitative participatory research highlights the potential of tDCS and repetitive TMS as alternative therapies to medication, with fewer adverse effects and home-based use for tDCS. The ethical and societal impact of the abuse of NIBS for non-clinical use must be considered for policy-making and regulation implementations. This study adds to the neuroethical debate on the responsible use and application of NIBS technologies, taking into consideration the different perspectives of important stakeholders in the field.

BackgroundSocial acceptance presents a major challenge for Germany's transition to green energy. As a power-to-x technology, green hydrogen is set to become a key component of a future sustainable energy system. With a view to averting conflicts like those surrounding wind energy, we have investigated social acceptance of green hydrogen at an early stage in its implementation, before wider rollout. Our study uses a mixed-method approach, wherein semi-structured interviews (n = 24) and two participatory workshops (n = 51) in a selected region in central Germany serve alongside a representative survey (n = 2054) as the basis for both understanding social attitudes and reaching generalisable conclusions.ResultsOverall, it is possible to observe both a marked lack of knowledge and a large degree of openness towards green hydrogen and its local use, along with high expectations regarding environmental and climate protection. We reach three key conclusions. First, acceptance of green hydrogen relies on trust in science, government, the media, and institutions that uphold distributive justice, with consideration for regional values playing a vital role in establishing said trust. Second, methodologically sound participatory processes can promote acceptance, and active support in particular. Third, recurrent positive participatory experiences can effectively foster trust.ConclusionsAccordingly, we argue that trust should be strengthened on a structural level, and that green hydrogen acceptance should be understood as a matter of responsible innovation. As the first empirical investigation into social acceptance of green hydrogen, and by conceptually interlinking acceptance research and responsible innovation, this study constitutes an important contribution to existing research.

BACKGROUND:Cognitive control is thought to be necessary for forgiveness processes.MATERIALS AND METHODS:To examine this correlation, highly impulsive participants, who often fail to inhibit feelings of revenge, received activating theta burst stimulation (TBS) of a classical cognitive control region of the brain, the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC). For testing forgiveness ability participants received verum TBS versus sham TBS in a randomized, double-blinded, within-subjects design. In both sessions, they first learned that there are fair and unfair opponents in an ultimatum game, and subsequently played a dictator game with reversed roles with the option to revenge or forgive the opponents from the previous game.RESULTS:Contrary to our hypothesis, activating TBS did not increase forgiving behavior toward unfair opponents. However, it increased the generosity toward previously fair opponents.CONCLUSION:As an explanation it is discussed that the TBS can only affect "cold" emotions such as greed, but not the "hot" emotions such as anger.

Successful emotion regulation plays a key role in psychological health and well-being. This study examines (1) whether cognitive control and corresponding neural connectivity are associated with emotion regulation and (2) to what extent external instructions can improve emotion regulation in individuals with low vs. high cognitive control capacity. For this, emotion regulation capabilities and the impact of emotion regulation on a subsequent emotional Stroop task was tested in participants with low ( N = 25) vs. high impulsivity ( N = 32). The classification according to impulsivity is based upon the stable correlation between high impulsivity and reduced cognitive control capacity. A negative emotion inducing movie scene was presented with the instruction to either suppress or allow all emotions that arose. This was followed by an emotional Stroop task. Electromyography (EMG) over the corrugator supercilii was used to assess the effects of emotion regulation. Neurophysiological mechanisms were measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy over frontal brain areas. While EMG activation was low in the low-impulsive group independent of instruction, high-impulsive participants showed increased EMG activity when they were not explicitly instructed to suppress arising emotions. Given the same extent of functional connectivity within frontal lobe networks, the low-impulsive participants controlled their emotions better (less EMG activation) than the high-impulsive participants. In the Stroop task, the low-impulsive subjects performed significantly better. The emotion regulation condition had no significant effect on the results. We conclude that the cognitive control network is closely associated with emotion regulation capabilities. Individuals with high cognitive control show implicit capabilities for emotion regulation. Individuals with low cognitive control require external instructions (= explicit emotion regulation) to achieve similarly low expressions of emotionality. Implications for clinical applications aiming to improve emotion regulation are discussed.

Exposure therapy is a well-studied and highly efficacious treatment for phobic disorders. Although the neurobiological model of fear is well underpinned by various studies, the mechanisms of exposure therapy are still under discussion. Partly, this is due to the fact that most neurophysiological methods like fMRI are not able to be used in the natural therapeutic settings.The current study used in situ measurements of cortical blood oxygenation (O2Hb) during exposure therapy by means of functional near-infrared spectroscopy. 37 subjects (N = 30 completers) underwent exposure therapy during 5 adapted sessions in which subjects were exposed to Tegenaria Domestica (domestic house spider – experimental condition) and Dendrobaena Veneta/ Eisenaia hortensis (red earthworm – control condition).Compared to the control condition, patients showed higher O2Hb levels in the anticipation and exposure phase of spider exposure in areas of the cognitive control network (CCN). Further, significant decreases in O2Hb were observed during the session accompanied by reductions in fear related symptoms. However, while symptoms decreased in a linear quadratic manner, with higher reductions in the beginning of the session, CCN activity decreased linearly. Further, higher anxiety at the beginning of session one was associated with increased O2Hb in the CCN. This association decreased within the following sessions.The current study sheds light on the neuronal mechanisms of exposure therapy. The results are discussed in light of a phase model of exposure therapy that posits a role of cognitive control in the beginning and routine learning at the end of the therapy session.

Teams of mobile robots will play a crucial role in future missions to explore the surfaces of extraterrestrial bodies. Setting up infrastructure and taking scientific samples are expensive tasks when operating in distant, challenging, and unknown environments. In contrast to current single-robot space missions, future heterogeneous robotic teams will increase efficiency via enhanced autonomy and parallelization, improve robustness via functional redundancy, as well as benefit from complementary capabilities of the individual robots. In this letter, we present our heterogeneous robotic team, consisting of flying and driving robots that we plan to deploy on scientific sampling demonstration missions at a Moon-analogue site on Mt. Etna, Sicily, Italy in 2021 as part of the ARCHES project. We describe the robots’ individual capabilities and their roles in two mission scenarios. We then present components and experiments on important tasks therein: automated task planning, high-level mission control, spectral rock analysis, radio-based localization, collaborative multi-robot 6D SLAM in Moon-analogue and Mars-like scenarios, and demonstrations of autonomous sample return.

Air density changes depending on the local atmosphere and affects the rotor thrust of flying robots. This effect has to be compensated by the flight controller in order to realize precise tracking of a desired trajectory. So far, the influence of the air density has been disregarded or only considered implicitly in the control of flying robots. In this work, a nonlinear adaptive control approach is presented. It explicitly considers the air density in the dynamical model and enables air density estimation and tracking control under changing atmospheric conditions and with added payload. Furthermore, the estimated air density is used to enhance the accuracy of a state-of-the-art external wrench estimator. The adaptive control approach is evaluated in simulations and experiments with a quadrocopter and a coaxial hexacopter.

Depressive rumination is considered a prominent risk factor for the occurrence, severity, and duration of depressive episodes. A variety of treatment options have been developed to treat depressive rumination of which mindfulness based programs are especially promising. In the current study, we investigated the neural underpinnings of a short mindfulness intervention and mindful emotion regulation in high and low trait ruminators in an ecologically valid environment using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Participants were randomly assigned to a mindfulness instruction (MT) group or an instructed thinking (IT) group. Participants in the MT group were trained to either focus their attention mindfully on their breath or their emotions, while the IT group focused their attention on the past or future. Afterwards, all participants underwent an emotion regulation paradigm in which they either watched negative or neutral movie clips. During both paradigms cortical hemodynamic changes were assessed by means of fNIRS. Participants in the MT group showed lower activity in the cognitive control network (CCN) during the focus on breath condition in comparison to the focus on emotion condition. Additionally, oxygenated hemoglobin in the MT group tended to be lower than in the IT group. Further, self-reports of emotional distress during the instruction paradigm were reduced in the MT group. During the emotion regulation paradigm, we observed reduced emotional reactivity in terms of emotional distress and avoidance in the MT group in comparison to the IT group. Furthermore, on a neural level, we observed higher CCN activity in the MT group in comparison to the IT group. We did not find any effect of rumination, neither on the intervention nor on the emotion regulation task. The results of this pilot study are discussed in light of the present literature on the neural correlates of mindfulness based interventions in rumination and emphasize the use of fNIRS to track neural changes in situ over the course of therapy.

We introduce a prototype flying platform for planetary exploration: autonomous robot design for extraterrestrial applications (ARDEA). Communication with unmanned missions beyond Earth orbit suffers from time delay, thus a key criterion for robotic exploration is a robot's ability to perform tasks without human intervention. For autonomous operation, all computations should be done on‐board and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) should not be relied on for navigation purposes. Given these objectives ARDEA is equipped with two pairs of wide‐angle stereo cameras and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) for robust visual‐inertial navigation and time‐efficient, omni‐directional 3D mapping. The four cameras cover a 240∘ vertical field of view, enabling the system to operate in confined environments such as caves formed by lava tubes. The captured images are split into several pinhole cameras, which are used for simultaneously running visual odometries. The stereo output is used for simultaneous localization and mapping, 3D map generation and collision‐free motion planning. To operate the vehicle efficiently for a variety of missions, ARDEA's capabilities have been modularized into skills which can be assembled to fulfill a mission's objectives. These skills are defined generically so that they are independent of the robot configuration, making the approach suitable for different heterogeneous robotic teams. The diverse skill set also makes the micro aerial vehicle (MAV) useful for any task where autonomous exploration is needed. For example terrestrial search and rescue missions where visual navigation in GNSS‐denied indoor environments is crucial, such as partially collapsed man‐made structures like buildings or tunnels. We have demonstrated the robustness of our system in indoor and outdoor field tests.

Specific phobia is associated with aberrant brain activation in confrontation paradigms with phobic stimuli. In previous EEG research enhanced event-related potentials (ERPs) in the late-positive potential (LPP) window have been observed. Further, studies with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and fMRI suggest that spider phobia is associated with enhanced activation within cortical and subcortical areas. In the current study we investigated the neuronal correlates of spider phobia in a combined fNIRS–EEG study. To this end, 37 spider phobic patients (PP) and 32 healthy controls (HC) underwent a symptom provocation paradigm during which subjects watched video clips of spiders and domestic animals (confrontation phase) after being primed on the content of the video (anticipation phase). Simultaneously, fNIRS, EEG, electromyography (EMG), electrocardiography and behavioral measures were assessed. Results showed increased LPP amplitudes, increased hemodynamic responses in the cognitive control network, and increased EMG activity and heart rate during spider conditions in PP in comparison to HC. Furthermore, in behavioral ratings PP showed higher emotional distress and avoidance. Behavioral ratings, fNIRS and EEG data showed positive correlations on a between-subject as well as on a within-subject level. Our results merge the existing data on neurophysiological correlates of phobic stimulus processing in hemodynamic and electrophysiological research and extend those of static visual material (pictures) to dynamic visual material (videos).

Objectives: Excessive bodybuilding as a pathological syndrome has been classified based on two different theories: bodybuilding as dependency or as muscle dysmorphic disorder (MDD). This study is a first attempt to find psychophysiological data supporting one of these classifications.Methods: Twenty-four participants (bodybuilders vs healthy controls) were presented with pictures of bodies, exercise equipment or general reward stimuli in a control or experimental condition, and were measured with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Higher activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) while watching bodies and training equipment in the experimental condition (muscular bodies and bodybuilding-typical equipment) would be an indicator for the addiction theory. Higher activation in motion-related areas would be an indicator for the MDD theory.Results: We found no task-related differences between the groups in the DLPFC and OFC, but a significantly higher activation in bodybuilders in the primary somatosensory cortex (PSC) and left-hemispheric supplementary motor area (SMA) while watching body pictures (across conditions) as compared to the control group.Conclusions: These neurophysiological results could be interpreted as a first evidence for the MDD theory of excessive bodybuilding.

The ability to reconcile is a key factor for a cooperative and successful life. Among the many factors that have an impact on how people negotiate social contracts, poor cognitive control (which is inversely linked to impulsivity) may exert negative effects on forgiveness. To investigate the neurobiological basis of this proposition, subjects with high vs. low impulsivity scores completed an ultimatum game (UG) and a dictator game (DG). First, the participants played an UG where they had to accept or reject offers from fair or unfair opponents. Afterward, the roles changed, and a DG was played. Here, subjects had the opportunity to forgive or take revenge on unfair opponents by the allocation of a fair/unfair amount of money. During this task, activity of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) was assessed via functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Highly impulsive subjects were significantly more revenge-seeking than individuals with a low impulsivity. This behavioral difference was reflected in the activation pattern of the left DLPFC, where higher activation in trials with unfair opponents was found, but only in the highly impulsive group. This result is discussed as an indicator of more revenge-driven behavior in highly impulsive individuals, since activity in the left DLPFC is associated with retaliation.

In order to act in a socially acceptable way, the ability to forgive is indispensable. It has been suggested that forgiveness relies on cognitive control, more specifically inhibition. In this study, we combined an ultimatum game (UG) and a dictator game (DG) with inhibitory, continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS; verum vs. placebo, within-subjects design) of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) to investigate the effect of reduced cognitive control on forgiveness. To this end, participants played an UG against fair and unfair opponents, where they had to accept or reject (fair and unfair) monetary offers, and then received a cTBS prior to playing a DG against the same opponents with reversed roles. The participants now had the possibility to forgive the unfair opponents (allocation of a fair amount of money) or to take revenge whereby the cTBS effects were assessed with functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Following verum cTBS, participants allocated significantly less money to their unfair opponents than in the placebo cTBS condition. Also, reaction times (RTs) differed significantly between verum and placebo cTBS for unfair opponents (higher RTs following verum stimulation) but not for fair opponents. These results strongly indicate that cognitive control is a fundamental requirement for overcoming unwanted emotional responses.

This paper presents an architecture for Automated Valet Parking (AVP) connected to cloud-based IoT services and mobile user interfaces. The goal is to enable AVP services for automatic vehicles. From the user perspective, automatic car drop-off and pick-up are activated via smart phone application, and the user will be able to continuously monitor the vehicle status together with additional services as cleaning or recharge during the parking phase. Further, the IoT platform allows the integration of live services that will interact with automatic driving and parking. As an example, the presented AVP setup includes the operation of service drones to automatically guide a vehicle to the best parking spot. The demonstration in this paper comprises a parking car and a micro aerial vehicle (MAV) connected in real-time through the IoT platform as well as the smart phone application where the car is controlled and supervised.

This paper is devoted to the study of multirotor Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) with fixed-pitch propellers and bidirectional thrust vector. The latter is realized by using dedicated motor controllers, which allow to invert the propellers' direction of rotation during flight (so-called 3D mode), and almost or fully symmetric propellers. We present a unified modeling, controller design, and control allocation approach that accounts for bidirectional thrust. Suitable propellers with the ability to produce thrust and torque in both directions are compared and their parameters are identified through a static thrust test. Furthermore, we discuss applications of bidirectional thrust, like inverted flight or surface slip reduction, which are impossible to realize with common unidirectional thrust vehicles. We generate suitable flight trajectories and evaluate our unified approach in experiments with a custom-built quadrotor.

In the current study, we investigate the neuronal correlates of the Attention Training Technique (ATT), a psychotherapeutic intervention used in metacognitive therapy to enhance flexible cognitive control and ameliorate rumination. We adapted the ATT in a neuroscientific attention paradigm in order to investigate the effects of its components: selective attention, attention switching and divided attention in comparison to a control task. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy was used to measure changes in blood oxygenation of fronto-lateral and parietal cortical areas. Furthermore, subjects rated their task performance, effort and attention drifts in each task condition. We observed increased blood oxygenation in the right inferior frontal gyrus, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and superior parietal lobule during the ATT conditions in comparison to the control condition. Additionally, subjective effort was associated with blood oxygenation in the right inferior prefrontal cortex. Our results are consistent with the theoretical underpinnings of the ATT suggesting that the ATT's mechanism of change lies in the training of areas of the cognitive control network and dorsal attention network. Aberrant functioning of both networks has been shown to be related to depression and rumination.

A significant barrier regarding a successful implementation of fenceless robot cells into manufacturing areas with humans is given by the inefficiency due to safety requirements. Robot motions have to be slowed down so that an unexpected collision with a human does not result in human injuries. This velocity reduction leads to longer cycle times and, hence, fenceless robot cells turn out as uneconomic. In this paper, a new approach for human-robot collaboration in assembly tasks is presented. For a better performance of the robot, methods are investigated on how the robot can exploit a maximum performance while maintaining the safety of collaborating humans. For this purpose, the kinematics and dynamics of a human arm are described by a control-oriented dynamic model to determine its capability and reachability. Successful experiments validate the dynamic model as well as a corresponding projection approach for calculating possible movements of the human arm that may lead to a collision with the robot. Finally, this information is used to calculate an admissible path velocity that minimizes the danger of human injuries.