How Social Exclusion, Embitterment, and Conspiracy Beliefs Mediate Individual's Intention to Vaccination against COVID-19: Results from a Moderated Serial Mediation Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: As Switzerland faced the "second wave" of COVID-19 incidences, a discussion of a potential vaccine against the virus emerged. While some individuals accept vaccines, others challenge or refuse to be vaccinated, a phenomena called vaccine hesitancy. Here, trust plays a vital role in vaccination intention. Embitterment not only goes along with the sense of being treated unjust but also innates a distrust in others. Thus, embitterment may influence individuals' vaccination intention against COVID-19. In the present study, we investigate how feelings of being socially excluded and the perceived negative impact of the pandemic are associated with embitterment and in turn, how embitterment is related to individuals' vaccination intention and the tendency to hold COVID-19-related conspiracy beliefs (CCBs). This is in regard of the perceived communication style by the government. METHOD: A convenience sample of 281 individuals completed an online survey developed on Qualtrics. In this cross-sectional, nonexperimental designed study, indirect effects of a moderated serial mediation were analyzed using Jamm (Jamovi, Version 0.9; 2019). RESULTS: Results indicated that embitterment went along with increased feelings of social exclusion (ß = 0.45, p < 0.001). Further, individuals high in embitterment generally indicated a higher vaccination intention against COVID-19 (ß = 0.15, p < 0.01). However, embittered individuals holding CCBs had a decreased vaccination intention against COVID-19 (ß = -0.71, p < 0.001). Thus, whether or not embittered individuals develop CCBs might be a crucial determinant for their vaccination intention. Noteworthy, the relationship between embitterment and the tendency to hold CCBs was reinforced by the notion of an unsatisfactory style of communication by the government. CONCLUSION: Taken together, results suggest that embitterment not only plays a relevant role in vaccination intention against COVID-19 but also for the susceptibility to engage in conspiracy beliefs.

Effects of Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation Over the Left Dlpfc on Mother Tongue and Second Language Production In Late Bilinguals: A Behavioral and ERP Study.

Clinical, neuroimaging, and non-invasive brain stimulation studies have associated the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) with the multilingual language control system. Here, we investigated if this role is increased during the processing of the non-dominant language due to the higher cognitive/attentional demands. We used an inhibitory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) protocol over the left DLPFC and investigated the behavioral and electrophysiological effects on (i) picture naming in the mother tongue and second language, (ii) forward and backward translation and (iii) non-verbal inhibition. To this end, we compared the effects of inhibitory rTMS (cTBS) vs sham-rTMS using a single-blind within-subject design including 22 late bilinguals. Behaviorally, response times were longer after cTBS compared to sham-rTMS in the picture naming task independent of language, while response times were not affected for the word translation task. These results were mirrored on the electrophysiological level showing an effect of stimulation in the picture naming task starting at 547 ms post-stimulus onset, but not in the translation task. This late time range is likely associated with processes of conflict resolution and initiation of the articulation of the word rather than processes related to lexical selection or language switching. For the non-verbal inhibition task, behavioral outcome was not affected despite electrophysiological stimulation-induced changes. Overall, the results suggest that the DLPFC plays a role in top-down cognitive control in language production, but that this role is not increased with higher cognitive demand such as naming in a second language or in language switching during word translation.

Effects of theta burst stimulation over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex on language switching - A behavioral and ERP study.

This study investigated the role of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in language switching using theta burst stimulation (TBS) and electroencephalography in late bilinguals. After a sham-controlled baseline, participants received either excitatory or inhibitory TBS over the left DLPFC before conducting picture naming tasks in pure language blocks and a language switching block, as well as a nonverbal switching task. On the behavioral level, we found no effect of TBS. However, the ERP-analysis revealed an effect of Stimulation for the picture naming tasks, characterized by alterations in the left DLPFC at 20-72 ms, and in networks associated with conflict resolution and self-monitoring at 533-600 ms. As we did not find an interaction between Stimulation and Block (switching vs non-switching), prefrontal stimulation did not specifically modulate interlanguage control. The left DLPFC might rather be involved in enhancingmaintenance of task demands and self-monitoring during language production in both mono- and bilingual contexts.

Effects of Prefrontal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Lexical Access in Chronic Poststroke Aphasia.

BACKGROUND: A successful interplay between prefrontal and domain-specific language areas is critical for language processing. Previous studies involving people with aphasia have shown that executive control processes might act on lexical-semantic representations during retrieval. Modulating the prefrontal control network by means of noninvasive brain stimulation might, therefore, improve lexical access in people with aphasia. OBJECTIVE: The present study investigates the effects of prefrontal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on lexical access in chronic poststroke aphasia. METHODS: We report data of 14 participants with chronic poststroke aphasia. We used a sham-tDCS (S-tDCS) controlled and double-blind within-subjects design. Performances in picture naming, verbal fluency, and word repetition were assessed immediately after stimulation. RESULTS: As compared with S-tDCS, anodal tDCS (A-tDCS) improved verbal fluency as well as the speed of naming high frequency words, but not word repetition. CONCLUSION: The results of our study suggest that the brain network dedicated to lexical retrieval processing can be facilitated by A-tDCS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. This finding supports the notion that strengthening executive control functions after stroke could complement speech and language-focused therapy.