<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><xml><records><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Tan, Gansheng</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Adams, Josh</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Donovan, Kara</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Demarest, Phillip</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Willie, Jon T</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Brunner, Peter</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Gorlewicz, Jenna L</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Leuthardt, Eric C</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Does vibrotactile stimulation of the auricular vagus nerve enhance working memory? A behavioral and physiological investigation.</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Brain Stimul</style></secondary-title><alt-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Brain Stimul</style></alt-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Adult</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Female</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Galvanic Skin Response</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Humans</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Male</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Memory, Short-Term</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Pupil</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Vagus Nerve</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Vagus Nerve Stimulation</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Vibration</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Young Adult</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2024</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2024 Mar-Apr</style></date></pub-dates></dates><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">17</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">460-468</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;BACKGROUND: &lt;/b&gt;Working memory is essential to a wide range of cognitive functions and activities. Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is a promising method to improve working memory performance. However, the feasibility and scalability of electrical stimulation are constrained by several limitations, such as auricular discomfort and inconsistent electrical contact.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;OBJECTIVE: &lt;/b&gt;We aimed to develop a novel and practical method, vibrotactile taVNS, to improve working memory. Further, we investigated its effects on arousal, measured by skin conductance and pupil diameter.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;METHOD: &lt;/b&gt;This study included 20 healthy participants. Behavioral response, skin conductance, and eye tracking data were concurrently recorded while the participants performed N-back tasks under three conditions: vibrotactile taVNS delivered to the cymba concha, earlobe (sham control), and no stimulation (baseline control).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;RESULTS: &lt;/b&gt;In 4-back tasks, which demand maximal working memory capacity, active vibrotactile taVNS significantly improved the performance metric d compared to the baseline but not to the sham. Moreover, we found that the reduction rate of d with increasing task difficulty was significantly smaller during vibrotactile taVNS sessions than in both baseline and sham conditions. Arousal, measured as skin conductance and pupil diameter, declined over the course of the tasks. Vibrotactile taVNS rescued this arousal decline, leading to arousal levels corresponding to optimal working memory levels. Moreover, pupil diameter and skin conductance level were higher during high-cognitive-load tasks when vibrotactile taVNS was delivered to the concha compared to baseline and sham.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;CONCLUSION: &lt;/b&gt;Our findings suggest that vibrotactile taVNS modulates the arousal pathway and could be a potential intervention for enhancing working memory.&lt;/p&gt;</style></abstract><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2</style></issue></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Xie, Tao</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Adamek, Markus</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Cho, Hohyun</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Adamo, Matthew A</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Ritaccio, Anthony L</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Willie, Jon T</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Brunner, Peter</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Kubanek, Jan</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Graded decisions in the human brain.</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Nat Commun</style></secondary-title><alt-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Nat Commun</style></alt-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Adult</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Brain</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Choice Behavior</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Decision Making</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Female</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Humans</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Male</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Parietal Lobe</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Uncertainty</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Young Adult</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2024</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2024 May 21</style></date></pub-dates></dates><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">15</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">4308</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">&lt;p&gt;Decision-makers objectively commit to a definitive choice, yet at the subjective level, human decisions appear to be associated with a degree of uncertainty. Whether decisions are definitive (i.e., concluding in all-or-none choices), or whether the underlying representations are graded, remains unclear. To answer this question, we recorded intracranial neural signals directly from the brain while human subjects made perceptual decisions. The recordings revealed that broadband gamma activity reflecting each individual's decision-making process, ramped up gradually while being graded by the accumulated decision evidence. Crucially, this grading effect persisted throughout the decision process without ever reaching a definite bound at the time of choice. This effect was most prominent in the parietal cortex, a brain region traditionally implicated in decision-making. These results provide neural evidence for a graded decision process in humans and an analog framework for flexible choice behavior.&lt;/p&gt;</style></abstract><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">1</style></issue></record></records></xml>