Selection of Publication with Some Short Commentaries

Prof. Dr. Ernst Pöppel

• E. Pöppel: Signifikanz-Artefakte in der experimentellen Parapsychologie. (Artefacts of significance in experimental parapsychology). Zeitschrift für Parapsychologie und Grenzgebiete der Psychologie 10 (1967) 63-72
  Because of statistical dependencies the card guessing technique to investigate extra-sensory perception (ESP) can lead to statistical artefacts, that have been wrongly interpreted as proof for paranormal  phenomena.
• E. Pöppel: Oszillatorische Komponenten in Reaktionszeiten. (Oscillatory components in reaction times). Naturwissenschaften 55 (1968) 449-450
  In experiments on choice reaction time using visual and auditory stimuli, response histograms show multimodal distributions indicating an underlying  oscillatory process in the 40 Hz-domain.
• E. Pöppel: Desynchronisationen circadianer Rhythmen innerhalb einer isolierten Gruppe. (Desynchronization of circadian rhythms in an isolated group).  Pflügers Archiv 299 (1968) 364-370
  A group of four young adults lived for 3 weeks in complete isolation; social synchronisation of the circadian rhythms was observed in the rest-activity cycle; however, one subject showed an internal desynchronisation under these conditions with a slightly shorter rhythm for temperature regulation and kidney functions which was expressed in a beat phenomenon.
• E. Pöppel: Excitability cycles in central intermittency. Psycholog. Forschung 34 (1970) 1-9
  Visual and auditory stimuli apparently entrain an oscillatory process in choice reactions tasks which can be interpreted as a stimulus locked relaxation oscillator.
• E. Pöppel: H. Giedke: Diurnal variation of time perception. Psychologische Forschung 34 (1970) 182-198
  The production of short time intervals shows a dependency on the time of day with longer productions in the morning and in the evening.

• Pöppel: Oscillations as possible basis for time perception. Studium Generale 24 (1971) 85-107. Reprint in: J.T. Fraser (Ed.): "The study of time", Springer, Berlin (1972) 219-241
  This overview on temporal perception in the short-term (milliseconds to seconds) and long-term range (24 hours) summarizes observations supporting the notion of oscillatory components in temporal processing. In addition, the different experimental techniques for time estimation are described.
• E. Pöppel: Comment on "Visual system's view of acoustic space". Nature 243 (1973) 231
  As the visual field is mapped into the visual cortex with respect to retinal coordinates, a mapping of auditory receptive fields indicating locations in auditory space cannot correspond directly to the map of the visual field in organisms with lateral eye movements as auditory mapping is related to head coordinate. Thus, a remapping has to take place to match the two coordinate systems.
• E. Pöppel: Fortification illusion during an attack of ophthalmic migraine. Implications for the human visual cortex. Naturwissenschaften 60 (1973) 554-555
  Other than visual after-images fortification illusions during ophthalmic migraine cannot not be projected onto a visual surface; they remain free-floating in visual space un-attached to any surface.
• E. Pöppel, R. Held, D. Frost: Residual visual function after brain wounds involving the central visual pathways in man. Nature 243 (1973) 295-296
  Patients with lesions to the primary visual projection system were believed to be absolutely blind within the affected regions of the visual field. This appeared to be implausible taking into account observations from non-human primates. It was shown that residual visual capacities like orienting to visual stimuli are still available without conscious representation. This phenomena has been referred to by Weiskrantz and colleagues as “blindsight”.
• E. Pöppel, L.O. Harvey, Jr.: Light-difference threshold and subjective brightness in the periphery of the visual field. Psychologische Forschung 36 (1973) 145-161
  The structure of the visual field with respect to increment threshold is described in detail. The perifoveal region is surrounded by a plateau of constant sensitivity. Apparent brightness of visual stimuli is directly related to physical intensity of the stimuli and not to threshold sensitivity.

• E. Pöppel W.A. Richards: Light sensitivity in cortical scotomata contralateral to small islands of blindness. Experimental Brain Research 21 (1974) 125-130
  The increase of sensitivity contralateral to small islands of blindness or the blind spot suggests a noncortical inter-hemispheric mirror-symmetric control mechanism of sensitivity throughout the visual field. This mechanism is presumably involved in attentional control.
• E. Pöppel, S.R. Shattuck: Reading in patients with brain wounds involving the central visual pathways. Cortex 10 (1974) 84-88
  Even peripheral injuries in the visual field which do not effect the visual axis have a negative effect on the speed of reading. This observation supports the notion that any injury in the visual pathway has long range effects on cognitive processing like slowing down visual analysis.
• E. Pöppel: Parameter estimation or hypothesis testing in the statistical analysis of biological rhythms? Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society 6 (5) (1975) 511-512
  Using sinusoidal  approximations to biological rhythms in a statistical analysis of  such rhythms may lead to a wrong description of the underlying data-generating process.
• E. Pöppel, D. v. Cramon, H. Backmund: Eccentricity - specific dissociation of visual functions in patients with lesions of the central visual pathways. Nature 256 (1975) 489-490
  Central injuries of the visual pathways effect psychophysical functions in the spared regions of the visual field in a qualitatively different way for perifoveal and more peripheral regions. This observation supports the notion of a functional sub-division of the visual field.
• D. Frost, E. Pöppel: Different programming modes of human saccadic eye movements as a function of stimulus eccentricity: Indications of a functional subdivision of the visual field. Biological Cybernetics 23 (1976) 39-48
  The inhomogenerity of the visual field is reflected in saccadic control; stimuli  up to approx. 10° eccentricity are usually reached by one saccadic eye movement; stimuli with higher eccentricities elicit also a secondary saccade which corrects the preprogrammed undershoot of the first saccade.

• E. Pöppel, R. Held, J.E. Dowling (Eds.): Neuronal mechanisms in visual perception. Neurosciences Research Program Bulletin 15, MIT Press, Cambridge (1977)
  This Bulletin summarizes statements of the participants of a workshop at the NRP. The Bulletin was dedicated to the late Hans-Lukas Teuber who died in 1977. Statements were made by E. Pöppel, D.H. Hubel, L. Weiskrantz, F. Ratliff, W. Singer,  J. Dichgans, N. Bischof, H.B. Barlow,  J. E. Dowling, C. Enroth-Cugell, F.W. Campbell, L. Maffei, P.H. Schiller, R. Held, W. Richards, T.N. Wiesel, M. Stryker, A. Hein, D.C. Marr, T. Poggio, J.D. Cowan.
• J. Zihl, E. Pöppel, D. v. Cramon: Diurnal variation of visual field size in patients with postretinal lesions. Experimental Brain Research 27 (1977) 245-249
  The regions of blindness in patients with injury of the central visual pathways are not stable, but are modulated by the circadian clock presumably reflecting the importance of activation for visual sensitivity.
• W. Singer, J. Zihl, E. Pöppel: Subcortical control of visual thresholds in humans: Evidence for modality-specific and retinotopically organized mechanisms of selective attention. Experimental Brain Research 29 (1977) 173-190
  Selective attention to regions in the periphery of the visual field appears to be modulated by non-callosal pathways between the two hemispheres; even non-consciously available stimuli influence  attentional control (see also ref. 7-9).
• E. Pöppel: Time perception. In: R. Held, H.W. Leibowitz, H.-L. Teuber (Eds.): Handbook of Sensory Physiology. 8. Perception. Springer Verlag, Berlin (1978) 713-729
  This overview summarizes research on temporal phenomena like simultaneity, non-simultaneity, temporal order, the subjective present and duration. It is also indicated that thje research on temporal perception has a long tradition going back to the sixties of the 19th century.
• E. Pöppel, R. Brinkmann, D. v. Cramon, W. Singer: Association and dissociation of visual functions in a case of bilateral occipital lobe infarction.  Archiv für Psychiatrie und Nervenkrankheiten 225 (1978) 1-22
  A patient suffering from tunnel vision after a bilateral occipital lesion shows substantial restitution of function after visual training. A selective slowing down of processes as for instance in binocular rivalry and visual but not auditory reaction time was observed. The patient did not show any „blindsight“.

• J. Zihl, P. Lissy, E. Pöppel: Brightness perception in the visual field: Effects of retinal position and adaptation level. Psychological Research 41 (1980) 297-304
  Constancy of brightness throughout the visual field is only true for photopic adaptation conditions. During dark adaptation apparent brightness is reduced in the visual axis. Thus, different  presumably retinal mechanisms are active with respect to brightness perception under photopic and scotopic conditions.
• E. Pöppel (Ed.): Neuronal mechanisms in visual restitution. Human Neurobiology 1, Springer International, Heidelberg (1982)
  This special issue summarizes the state of art in research on visual restitution after brain injury.
• E. Pöppel: Lust und Schmerz. Grundlagen menschlichen Erlebens und Verhaltens (Pleasure and Pain. Bases of human experience and behaviour). Verlag Severin & Siedler, Berlin (1982)
  This book has been written in German for the general public stressing the classical  notion (going back to antiquity) that every subjective phenomenon in embedded within a frame of emotional evaluation, in particular „pleasure and pain“).
• K.J. Miescke, E. Pöppel: A nonparametric procedure to detect periods in time series. Stochastic Processes and their Applications 13 (1982) 319-325
  A new mathematical tool is described to detect instationarities in time series; in particular rhythmic components with only a small number of periods can be detected even allowing the application of inferential statistics.
• F. Turner, E. Pöppel: The neural lyre: Poetic meter, the brain and time. Poetry, August (1983) 277-309
  Verse lines in poetry use the subjective present of approx. 3 seconds.

• E. Pöppel: Bridging a neuronal gap: Perceptual completion across a cortical scotoma is dependent on stimulus motion. Naturwissenschaften 72 (1985) 599
  A patient with a wedge-shaped area of blindness pointing towards the fovea shows perceptual completion across the scotoma for moving, but not for stationary visual stimuli. Blindsight is “deblinded” with this paradigm.
• E. Pöppel: Grenzen des Bewußtseins. Über Wirklichkeit und Welterfahrung . (Limits  of Consciousness. On Reality and Experience of the World).  Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart (1985), 2. Auflage (1988) (Translations.: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Farsi, Japanese, Chinese).
  A book in German written for the general public emphasizing the limits of perception and cognition due to the evolutionary heritage of humans.
• T. Roenneberg, E. Pöppel: Topographical distribution of the summation property of Y-ganglion cells in the cat retina. Experimental Brain Research 59 (1985) 1-9
  Summation properties of retinal ganglion cells were found to be dependent on retinal eccentricity; this phenomena is believed to be related to the constancy of brightness throughout the visual field
• P. Stoerig, M. Hübner, E. Pöppel: Signal detection analysis of residual vision in a field defect due to a post-geniculate lesion. Neuropsychologia 23 (1985) 589-599
  Using a new method, i.e. the signal detection paradigm, residual vision (or  „blindsight“) is verified as a valid phenomenon

• E. Pöppel: Long-range colour-generating interactions across the retina. Nature 320 (1986) 523-525
  Colour induction using the after-image paradigm is not a cortical but a retinal phenomena as regions of the visual field that no longer have a cortical representation affect the hue of the induced colour. The observations imply the existence of a retinal lateral network which is selective to different spectral components.
• E. Pöppel, N. Logothetis: Neuronal oscillations in the human brain. Naturwissenschaften 73 (1986) 267-268
  The initiation of pursuit eye movements is discontinuous in nature suggesting that stimuli initiate a neuronal relaxation obscillation with a period of approx. 30 ms

• E. Pöppel, Th. Steinbach: Selective vulnerability of the two cerebral hemispheres under alcohol. Naturwissenschaften 73 (1986) 327-32
  Temporal processing is selectively impaired for the two hemispheres, the left one suffering more for processing of auditory, the right one more for processing visual stimuli. The selective advantage of the two hemispheres disappears under alcohol.
• P. Stoerig, E. Pöppel: Eccentricity-dependent residual target-detection in visual field defects. Experimental Brain Research 64 (1986) 469-475
  Residual vision (“blindsight”) is not homogeneously distributed throughout the visual field.
• Ch. Madler, E. Pöppel: Auditory evoked potentials indicate the loss of neuronal oscillations during general anaesthesia. Naturwissenschaften 74 (1987) 42-43
  The 40 Hz- oscillatory components in the auditory evoked potential and its disappearance under anaesthesia can be used to monitor conscious awareness under such anaesthesia. Other than for sleep patients report under this physiological state that apparently no time has passed.
• M. Schleidt, I. Eibl-Eibesfeldt, E. Pöppel: A universal constant in temporal segmentation of human short-term behavior. Naturwissenschaften 74 (1987) 289-290
  The duration of intentional acts is found to last preferentially 2 to 3 seconds; subjects from stone-age cultures behave in a similar way as  members of higher developed cultures pointing to the universality of temporal segmentation in movement control.
• E. Pöppel, P. Stoerig, N. Logothetis, W. Fries, K.P. Boergen, W. Örtel, J. Zihl: Plasticity and rigidity in the representation of the human visual field. Experimental Brain Research 68 (1987) 445-448
  A patient having suffering from squint since birth shows rigidity of visual field representation after a partial unilateral occipital lobe injury, but plasticity with respect to oculomotor control for the squinting eye as lateral eye movements are programmed with respect to a functional pseudofovea. This dissociation poses new problems for sensorimotor integration.

• E. Pöppel: Size constancy and oculomotor modulation of perifoveal light-difference threshold. Naturwissenschaften 75 (1988) 463-465
  It is suggested that size constancy results from a transformation of a coordinate system presumably in extrastriate areas using information from the extraocular muscles; thus, size constancy does not result from a recalibration of the perceived objects themselves but is of presemantic nature.
• E. Pöppel: The measurement of music and the cerebral clock: A new theory. Leonardo 22 (1989) 83-89
  Temporal processing of the human brain provides frames of reference for musical expression and production. In particular, musical motifs are most often found to correspond temporally to the subjective present of approximately three seconds.
• E. Pöppel: Taxonomy of the subjective: An evolutionary perspective. In: J.W. Brown (Ed.): Neuropsychology of visual Perception. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, N. J., USA (1989) 219-232
  In a new taxonomy of functions based on neuropsychological observations a distinction is made between “what-functions” representing the content  of consciousness and “how-functions”  representing the logistics of neuronal processing (like temporal control or activation). Both functional domains are necessary and sufficient for cognition.
• E. Pöppel, K. Schill, N. v.Steinbüchel: Sensory integration within temporally neutral system states: A hypothesis. Naturwissenschaften 77 (1990) 89-91
  Because transduction time in the retinal receptor is much longer than in the auditory receptor, a “horizon of simultaneity” at a distance of approx. 10 m can be hypothesized where sound travel time matches retinal transduction time. For visual/auditory integration temporal system states might serve intermodal integration for any distance of objects using neuronal oscillation in the 40-Hz-domain.
• E. Pöppel, K. Schill, N. v. Steinbüchel: Multistable states in intrahemispheric learning of a sensorimotor task. NeuroReport 1 (1990) 69-72
  Intrahemispheric learning in a paradigm of choice-reaction time shows multimodal response histograms where a later component gradually disappears, the first one being locked to a specific temporal window. Choice appears to be embedded in a temporally discrete process in non-automated situations.

• T. Radil, J. Mates, J. Ilmberger, E. Pöppel: Stimulus anticipation in following rhythmic acoustical patterns by tapping. Experientia 46 (1990) 762-763
  The synchronisation of regular tapping movements to a constant sequence of tones is characterised by an anticipation of the sounds by some tens of milliseconds.
• E. Pöppel, E. Ruhnau, K. Schill, N. v. Steinbüchel: A hypothesis concerning timing in the brain. In: H. Haken, M. Stadler (Eds.): Synergetics of Cognition. Springer Series in Synergetics 45. Springer Verlag Berlin/Heidelberg (1990) 144-149
  Temporal processing in the brain is hierarchically organized; different mechanisms are important for the transitions from simultaneity to non-simultaneity to temporal order to subjective present and to the estimation of duration. Each next step requires successful processing on the lower processing levels.
• Ch. Madler, I. Keller, D. Schwender, E. Pöppel: Sensory information processing during general anaesthesia: The effect of isoflurane on auditory evoked neuronal oscillations. British Journal of Anaesthesia 66 (1991) 81-87
  The general anaesthetic isoflurance results is a suppression of auditory evoked oscillations in the mid-latency range. Brain-stem can still be observed under these conditions suggesting that the oscillatory components are normally implemented at a higher level of processing presumably in a thalamo-cortical network.
• E. Ruhnau, E. Pöppel: Adirectional temporal zones in quantum physics and brain physiology. International Journal of Theoretical Physics 30 (1991) 1083-1090
  The conceptual similarity of „time zones“ in quantum physics and brain physiology is discussed. In particular, it is argued that a deeper understanding of the concept of time in physics can be reached if observations and theoretical ideas in brain physiology are appreciated.
• E. Pöppel, L. Chen, H. Glünder, U. Mitzdorf, E. Ruhnau, K. Schill, N. v. Steinbüchel: Temporal and spatial constraints for mental modelling. In: V.P. Bhatkar, K.M. Rege (Eds.): Frontiers in knowledge-based computing. 3.Conference on Knowlegde-Based Computer Systems. Narosa Publishing House, New Delhi (1991) 57-68
  To mathematically model cognitive processes different processes in temporal and spatial binding are described. Pre-semantic and semantic (“top-down”) binding processes have to be distinguished.

• Th. Steinbach, G. v. Dreden, E. Pöppel: Long-term training in a choice reaction time task reveals different learning characteristics for the visual and auditory system. Naturwissenschaften 78 (1991) 185-187
  In cognitive science, choice reaction time (CRT) has become a major indicator for mental processes and their underlying neuronal processes. It is shown that CRT reaches a plateau of performance only after many thousand trials. Thus, experiments using CRT as indicator are usually performed under non-stationary conditions.
• N.v. Steinbüchel, D.v. Cramon, E. Pöppel (Eds.): Neuropsychological Rehabilitation. Springer Verlag, Berlin/Heidelberg (1992)
  This book summarizes the state of art on a theoretical and practical level for restoration of function in patients with brain injury.
• N. Podvigin, H. Jokeit, E. Pöppel, A. Chizh, N. Kiselyeva: Stimulus dependent oscillatory activity in the lateral geniculate body of the cat. Naturwissenschaften 79 (1992) 428-431
  Oscillatory components in the gamma-range can already be seen at the geniculate level. The oscillations are stimulus triggered. Possibly, basic features of images like a homogeneous surface or connectivities are already constructed at the geniculate level.
• D. Schwender, Ch. Madler, S. Klasing, K. Peter, E. Pöppel: Do auditory evoked potentials measure depth of anaesthesia? Theoretical Surgery 8 (1993) 29-37
  The disappearance of the oscillatory component in the mid-latency range of the auditory evoked potential when general anaesthetics are given suggests to use this phenomenon as a reliable indicator for the depth of anaesthesia. Other than in regular sleep patients in these physiological state have no experience at all of time having passed.
• U. Engler, J. Zihl, E. Pöppel: Incongruity of homonymous visual field defects. Clinical Vision Science 8 (1993) 355-363
  After lesions to visual cortex, hemianopic areas in the visual field are said to be homogeneous. This is incorrect on the level of detail. Hemianopic areas are usually smaller in the temporal visual field. Possibly, a larger degree of divergence in projection from ganglion cells representing the temporal visual field  (i.e. nasal retina) account for this fact.

• E. Pöppel: Taxonomy of subjective phenomena: A neuropsychological basis of functional assessment of ischemic or traumatic brain lesions. Acta Neurochirurgica, Suppl. 57 (1993) 123-129
  Taking a neuropsychological approach using interindividual constancy of functional losses after circumscribed lesions, a taxonomy of functions is developed that distinguishes between content-functions (like percepts) and logistical functions (like temporal organization).
• N. v. Steinbüchel, E. Pöppel: Domains of rehabilitation: a theoretical perspective. Behavioural Brain Research 56 (1993) 1-10
  Based on a taxonomy of functions distinguishing „what- and how-functions“ an algorithm is developed for different disease entities and derived rehabilitation, restitution or restoration of functions. These considerations may be important for tue „International Classification of Function“ (ICF).
• J. Mates, U. Müller, T. Radil, E. Pöppel: Temporal integration in sensorimotor synchronization. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 6 (1994) 332-340
  In sensimotor synchronization auditory stimuli can be anticipated by a movement with high temporal precision only within a time window of 2 to 3 seconds. If the interstimulus interval  of a regular sequence of stimuli becomes longer it is only possible to synchronize  by reaction or to allow a high temporal variability of the responses.
• E. Pöppel: Temporal mechanisms in perception. International Review of Neurobiology 37 (1994) 185-202
  An overview of different temporal experiences is provided, and some relations of temporal experience to the arts are discussed.
• U. Mitzdorf, B.-H. Li, E. Pöppel: Mass-action view of single-cell responses tostimulation of the receptive field and/or beyond: exemplification with data from the rabbit primary visual cortex. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology 92 (1994) 442-455.
  Neuronal processing of local visual stimuli on the cortical level is characterized  by a distributed network activity.

• D. Schwender, Ch. Madler, S. Klasing, K. Peter, E. Pöppel: Anesthetic control of 40-Hz brain activity and implicit memory. Consciousness and Cognition 3 (1994) 129-147
  In complete anaesthesia which can be seen if the 40 Hz component of the auditory evoked potential is not completely suppressed, results in storage of information during this stage which, however, may remain implicit (which does not imply that it may not effect the subjective state of the patient).
• K. Rubia, U. Schuri, D.Y. von Cramon, E. Pöppel: Time estimation as a neuronal network property: a lesion study. Neuroreport 8 (1997) 1273-127
  Lesions in subcortical regions may result in a remarkable slowing down or speeding up of temporal experience if simply counting in a regular way is used as an experimental paradigm. The result suggests that learned temporal behaviour like counting might be controlled by two control mechanisms with different eigen-values which under normal conditions are masked.
• E. Pöppel: A hierarchical model of temporal perception. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 1 (2) (1997)
  Experimental evidence suggests an operational hierarchy of temporal experiences linking subjective phenomena like simultaneity, succession, subjective present an duration. In particular, the importance of neuronal mechanisms are stressed that allow for reduction of complexity in the temporal domain of 30 to 40 ms, and that allow the construction of a temporal platform of 2 to 3 seconds as a basic of cognitive processes.
• E. Szelag, N. v. Steinbüchel, E. Pöppel: Temporal processing disorders in patients with Broca's aphasia. Neuroscience Letters 235 (1997) 33-36
  Patients with Broca’s aphasia loose their capability of presemantic temporal integration. Such patients have to rely on consciously controlled integration activities. It can be argued that the loss of effortless temporal integration could be basic to the linguistic problems of these patients.
• E. Szelag, K.Rymarczyk, E.Pöppel: Conscious control of movements: Increase of temporal precision in voluntarily delayed actios. Acta Neurobiol. Exp. 61(2001) 175-179
  If one has to react to a stimulus not as fast as possible, but with a preselected delay, the variance of the responses becomes much smaller for delay times of roughly  half a second and longer. It can be argued that voluntary monitoring of a movement requires  a longer time delay with respect to a stimulus, and that under such control temporal precision is – counterintuitively-enhanced.

• N. F. Podvigin, T. V. Bagaeva, E. V. Boykova, A. A. Zargarov, D. N. Podvigina, E. Pöppel: Three bands of oscillatory activity in the lateral geniculate nucleus of the cat visual system. Neuroscience Letters 361 (2004) 83-85
  Evoked neuronal responses by visual stimuli in the lateral geniculate nucleus show different frequencies which are numerically linked with each other in the relationship of 1:2:3m the basic frequency being close to 30 Hz. This temporal mechanism may provide a frame for the so-called binding processes at the cortical level.
• E. Szelag, J. Kowalska, T. Galkowski, E. Pöppel: Temporal processing deficits in high-functioning children with  autism. British Journal of Psychology 95 (2004) 269-282.
  In a reproduction task of temporal intervals autistic children have a tendency to reproduce any interval between one to five seconds with three seconds. Apparently, there is a weakness in temporal modulation. These results provide also a view towards „eigen-operations“ of the brain with respect to temporal integration.
• E. Pöppel: Complementarity as a generative principle in visual perception. Visual Cognition 12 (2005) 665-670
  It is claimed that in visual processing both bottom-up and top-down processes have to be integrated. In a commentary to Lin Chen’s theory of topological invariants complementarity as a generative (not descriptive) principle is stressed, i.e. such topological invariants and local features have to be united to allow the neuronal construction of a visual image.
• E. Pöppel: Der Rahmen. Ein Blick des Gehirns auf unser Ich. (The Frame. A View of the Brain towards our Self.) Hanser-Verlag München 2006
  This book written in German for the general public summarizes some basic convictions of the author in the field of cognitive neuroscience and psychology. An attempt has been made to write a book in a similar way as science is actually done, at least by the author, for instance by harvesting serendipity. The main scientific content refers to complementarity as a generative principle.
• K. Tanida, E. Pöppel: A hierarchical model of operational anticipation windows in driving an automobile. Cognitive Processing 7 (2006) 275-287
  Any human activity is goal-oriented which can be nicely demonstrated by “driving an automobile”. In a new model, five different layers of neuronal and mental operations are interlinked and which are connected in a bi-directional way. The highest level represents a strategic decision, it follows a tactical and on a smaller time-scale an operational level. The two lowest levels represent neuronal mechanisms to detect relevant information, and to integrate them on the next level into temporal windows of decision with a duration of approximately three seconds.

• R. Ilg, K. Vogeley, Th. Goschke, A. Bolte, J. Shah, E. Pöppel, G. Fink: Neuronal processes underlying intuitive coherence judgements as revealed by fMRI on a semantic judgment task. NeuroImage 38 (2007) 228-238
  Intuitive decisions compared to explicit decisions show a stronger involvement  of those areas in the brain which are linked to emotional evaluations and personal identity. This result may explain why intuitive decisions result in more trust in a decision.
• Y. Bao, E. Pöppel: Two spatially separated attention systems in the visual field: evidence from inhibition of return. Cognitive Processing 8 (2007) 37-44
  The visual field can be sub-divided in at least two different operating systems, one up to approximately ten degrees visual angle, and another one beyond. Sub-cortical projections to the superior colliculus play an important role in this sub-division. A new model for attentional control is presented including cortical and sub-cortical processes using data from experiments on „inhibition of return“.
• Y. Miyake, Y. Onishi, E. Pöppel: Two types of anticipatory-timing mechanisms in synchronization tapping. In: N. Osaka,  I. Rentschler,  I. Biederman (Eds.): Object Recognition, Attention, and Action. Springer Verlag (2007) 231-244
  Humans integrate information in a time window of approx. 3 seconds and generate a state of awareness that can be referrred to as „subjective present“. An anticipatory timing mechanism is closely related to this type of temporal integration, and new experimental findings suggest that this time window is characterized by a dual process of integration.
• E. Pöppel: Zum Entscheiden geboren. Hirnforschung für Manager. (Born to decide. Brain science for manager). Hanser-Verlag  München 2008
  This book written in German for the general public describes in ten chapters some basic concepts from the neurosciences to better understand decision processes.   
• E. Pöppel: Pre-semantically defined temporal windows for cognitive processing. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 364 (2009) 1887-1896
  Temporal integration of successive  information is suggested to use pre-semantically defined temporal windows in the range of some tens of milliseconds and of approximately two to three seconds. Thus, temporal integration is of complementary nature, using both a temporal stage as a logistic function and information as a content function.