Classical and instrumental conditioning of brain-communication and neuronal connectivity
Final Report Abstract
The aim of the project was to try to solve the following problems: a) Interruption of the hypothesized “extinction of thinking” and instrumental learning of brain commimication in complete paralysis. b) Effects of instrumental learning and self-regulation of local brain connectivity on behavior and cognition in healthy populations as well as in behavioral and neurological disorders. c) Emotional brain communication with pre-verbal infants. Aim (a) was successfully achieved and has been documented in a large number of publications as well as in a popular book (“Dein Gehirn weiss mehr als Du denkst”.) More than 100.000 copies of this book, which has been translated into English, Czech and Italian, and which contains an acknowledgement to the DFG, have been sold. Aim (b) was also achieved and documented in as far as it concerns learning and self-control of brain connectivity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and Magnetoencephalography (MEG); a number of experiments manipulating neuroelectric brain connectivity were published. Aim (c) emotional brain communication with pre-verbal infants has since been discontinued. The results of the relevant experiment are submitted. Since 2012 up to the time of this report, 62 scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals, 20 book chapters and a popular book on this project in four languages (German, English, Czech, Italian) have been made available, all of which acknowledge the DFG and this project. The public dissemination of the project includes articles in newspapers, magazines (ZEIT, The Economist etc.), TV, many radio interviews worldwide, several videos on YouTube and electronic media coverage.
