Auflösen von Grenzen der Disziplinen?

Podiumsdiskussion am Collegium Generale zur Thematik: Am Limit? Grenzen in den Wissenschaften heute. Teilnehmer: Prof. Dr. Gern Folkers, Direktor, Collegium Helveticum Prof. Dr. Angela Kalt, stv. Direktorin, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds Prof. Dr. Pasqualina Perrig-Chiello, Präsidentin, Network of Transdisciplinary Research

Neuere Forschungs-Ergebnisse zur nonverbalen Feinabstimmung von TherapeutIn und PatientIn und die Praxis der Beachtung des Nonverbalen

[New research-results on the nonverbal fine-tuning between therapists and patients and the practice of paying attention to the nonverbal channel]

Internet-basierte Selbsthilfe bei Verfolgungsideen - Eine Pilotstudie

Kognitive Interventionen haben sich bei der Behandlung von Schizophrenie als wirksam erwiesen und werden in nationalen Behandlungsleitlinien empfohlen. Viele Patienten mit Schizophrenie-Diagnose haben jedoch keinen Zugang zu ambulanten Psychotherapie-Plätzen nach stationären Klinikaufenthalten. Ein alternativer Zugangsweg zu kognitiven Interventionen sind Online- Selbsthilfe-Programme, welche sich bei anderen psychischen Störungen wie Depression und Angststörungen bereits als effektiv erwiesen haben. Im Rahmen einer Pilotstudie wird ein Symptom-orientiertes, KVT-basiertes Online-Selbsthilfe-Programm für Menschen mit Verfolgungsideen getestet. Das Programm besteht aus acht Einheiten und beinhaltet neben Psychose-bezogenen Inhalten (Störungsmodell, Rückfallprophylaxe, etc.) auch Einheiten zu Selbstwert, Umgang mit Sorgen und Schlafhygiene. Die TeilnehmerInnen werden wöchentlich von klinischen PsychologInnen per eMail kontaktiert (geleitete Selbsthilfe). Primäres Outcome-Maß ist das Ausmaß von Verfolgungswahn (Paranoia Checklist), sekundäre Outcome-Maße beinhalten Abbruchquoten, allgemeine Psychopathologie, Nebenwirkungen und Zufriedenheit. In die aktuell laufende Studie sollen insgesamt N=20 Teilnehmer eingeschlossen werden. Chancen und Einschränkungen von internet-basierter Selbsthilfe bei Psychose werden vor dem Hintergrund der vorläufigen Ergebnisse diskutiert.

Evidence from the real world: N-15 natural abundances reveal enhanced nitrogen use at high plant diversity in Central European grasslands

Complementarity that leads to more efficient resource use is presumed to be a key mechanism explaining positive biodiversity–productivity relationships but has been described solely for experimental set-ups with controlled environmental settings or for very short gradients of abiotic conditions, land-use intensity and biodiversity. Therefore, we analysed plant diversity effects on nitrogen dynamics across a broad range of Central European grasslands. The 15N natural abundance in soil and plant biomass reflects the net effect of processes affecting ecosystem N dynamics. This includes the mechanism of complementary resource utilization that causes a decrease in the 15N isotopic signal. We measured plant species richness, natural abundance of 15N in soil and plants, above-ground biomass of the community and three single species (an herb, grass and legume) and a variety of additional environmental variables in 150 grassland plots in three regions of Germany. To explore the drivers of the nitrogen dynamics, we performed several analyses of covariance treating the 15N isotopic signals as a function of plant diversity and a large set of covariates. Increasing plant diversity was consistently linked to decreased δ15N isotopic signals in soil, above-ground community biomass and the three single species. Even after accounting for multiple covariates, plant diversity remained the strongest predictor of δ15N isotopic signals suggesting that higher plant diversity leads to a more closed nitrogen cycle due to more efficient nitrogen use. Factors linked to increased δ15N values included the amount of nitrogen taken up, soil moisture and land-use intensity (particularly fertilization), all indicators of the openness of the nitrogen cycle due to enhanced N-turnover and subsequent losses. Study region was significantly related to the δ15N isotopic signals indicating that regional peculiarities such as former intensive land use could strongly affect nitrogen dynamics. Synthesis. Our results provide strong evidence that the mechanism of complementary resource utilization operates in real-world grasslands where multiple external factors affect nitrogen dynamics. Although single species may differ in effect size, actively increasing total plant diversity in grasslands could be an option to more effectively use nitrogen resources and to reduce the negative environmental impacts of nitrogen losses.

15 Years of Microstate Research in Schizophrenia - Where Are We? A Meta-Analysis

Schizophrenia patients show abnormalities in a broad range of task demands. Therefore, an explanation common to all these abnormalities has to be sought independently of any particular task, ideally in the brain dynamics before a task takes place or during resting state. For the neurobiological investigation of such baseline states, EEG microstate analysis is particularly well suited, because it identifies subsecond global states of stable connectivity patterns directly related to the recruitment of different types of information processing modes (e.g., integration of top-down and bottom-up information). Meanwhile, there is an accumulation of evidence that particular microstate networks are selectively affected in schizophrenia. To obtain an overall estimate of the effect size of these microstate abnormalities, we present a systematic meta-analysis over all studies available to date relating EEG microstates to schizophrenia. Results showed medium size effects for two classes of microstates, namely, a class labeled C that was found to be more frequent in schizophrenia and a class labeled D that was found to be shortened. These abnormalities may correspond to core symptoms of schizophrenia, e.g., insufficient reality testing and self-monitoring as during auditory verbal hallucinations. As interventional studies have shown that these microstate features may be systematically affected using antipsychotic drugs or neurofeedback interventions, these findings may help introducing novel diagnostic and treatment options.