98
(Del Percio et al., 2009); (viii) finally, cortical activity during 
the judgment of sporting observed actions was lower in élite 
karate athletes and rhythmic gymnasts than in non-athletes 
(Babiloni et al., 2009, 2010). These results indicate that the 
analysis of EEG is a powerful approach to study cognitive-
motor processes in élite athletes when compared to amateur 
athletes and non-athletes. Furthermore, they indicate that 
in élite athletes, the task-related involvement of cognitive-
motor cortical systems is more complex than that predicted 
by the “neural efficiency” hypothesis, namely the idea of 
spatially selective event-related cortical activation in experts. 
In reality, some nodes of cortical systems might reflect the 
“neural efficiency” as a function of task features, kind of 
athletes, and side of movements. In contrast, other nodes of 
these systems might reflect other mechanisms underlying 
an intensive activation. Future longitudinal studies should 
address crucial issues about cortical plasticity in élite athletes 
and to training procedures able to strengthen it.
Neurocognitive Basis of Schizophrenia
Grega Repovš
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts, Department of 
Psychology, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 
e-mail: grega.repovs@psy.ff.uni-lj.si
Schizophrenia is a debilitating mental disease that affects 
about 1% of adult population worldwide. While best known 
for and primarily diagnosed based on positive symptoms, 
such as halucinations and delusions, schizophrenia also 
significantly affects cognitive abilities including cognitive 
control and working memory, dysfunctions that prove 
resistant to currently available medication and significantly 
predict long-term outcome of the disease. Recent findings 
employing neuroimaging, pharmacological challenge, 
and computational modelling provide novel insights into 
dysfunctional integration of brain function and suggest 
possible mechanisms underlying the disease. These insights 
will hopefully lead to better understanding of the disease 
and its progress, support diagnosis, and enable more focused 
search for and testing of novel drugs.
Dr. Google, what is wrong with me? – the effect 
of health-related internet use on users’ mental 
health
Nataša Jokić-Begić
University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, 
Department of Psychology, Zagreb, Croatia, 
e-mail: njbegic@ffzg.hr 
The beliefs people hold about their symptoms, which are 
at least partly formed by information found on-line, affect 
their emotions and health related behaviors. In the general 
population, between 40 and 70 percent of us search for health 
information via the internet. Access to the internet costs little; 
online information is easy to access and quick to obtain; there 
are no bureaucratic hurdles, referral letters or waiting lists; and 
the anonymity of the internet allows us to make any kind of 
inquiry without feeling embarrassed. This shift from relying 
on physicians, medical textbooks, encyclopedias or popular 
health journals for health information to the use of a medium 
as simple and ubiquitous as the internet is likely to have a 
variety of consequences, both positive and negative.  For 
many individuals, this searching behavior is driven by a 
desire to better understand their, or someone else’s, medical 
experience and often leads to a sense of relief. On the other 
hand, for more than one third of people searching for medical 
information on the internet, it leads to increased health 
anxiety. Health anxiety can be defined as ‘‘a persistent fear 
of illness or disease that often involves the misinterpretation 
of bodily symptoms as signs of serious illness’’.  Regrettably, 
numerous studies have indicated that, for the most part, the 
quality of the content (evidence-based health information) on 
health, mental health and addiction websites targeted towards 
laypersons is poor. Using a combination of theoretical models, 
empirical data and clinical experience, this address will 
attempt to demonstrate the positive and negative influences 
that new information technology have on health-related 
behavior, with particular emphasis on the type and quality 
of mental health information available on the internet. The 
influence of the internet on behavior will be discussed using 
cognitive models of health behavior.
Cognitive enhancement with cognitive training
Vojko Kavčič
Wayne State University, Institute of gerontology, Detroit, 
Michigan, USA, e-mail: voykok@gmail.com 
In the context of the rapid increase in longevity and considerable 
expansion of the share of elderly in the general population, it 
is essential not only to understand but also to prevent age-
related cognitive decline. Cognitive decline and impairment 
are amongst the most feared and costly aspects of aging. Thus, 
slowing cognitive decline can provide considerable health 
care cost savings as the population ages at state, regional 
and personal level. In response to this growing interest in 
cognitive performance and/or prevention of cognitive decline, 
there has been a surge in research on cognitive enhancement, 
primarily via cognitive training. Intense interest has therefore 
focused on the potential of cognition-based interventions 
in older adults, especially computerized cognitive training 
(CCT). CCT involves structured practice on standardized 
and cognitively challenging tasks, and has several advantages 
over traditional drill and practice methods, including visually 
appealing interfaces, efficient and scalable delivery, and the 
ability to constantly adapt training content and difficulty to 
individual performance. In this presentation I will describe 
basic principles of cognitive training, demonstrate the utility 
of CCT using virtual maze navigation task in our study with 
older adult men (e.g., efficacy, durability, generalizability), 
and discuss future directions of our CCT with virtual maze 
navigation.
Plenarna predavanja / Keynotes