1
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Northoff G, Zilio F, Zhang J. Beyond task response-Pre-stimulus activity modulates contents of consciousness. Phys Life Rev 2024; 49:19-37. [PMID: 38492473 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2024.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/03/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024]
Abstract
The current discussion on the neural correlates of the contents of consciousness (NCCc) focuses mainly on the post-stimulus period of task-related activity. This neglects the substantial impact of the spontaneous or ongoing activity of the brain as manifest in pre-stimulus activity. Does the interaction of pre- and post-stimulus activity shape the contents of consciousness? Addressing this gap in our knowledge, we review and converge two recent lines of findings, that is, pre-stimulus alpha power and pre- and post-stimulus alpha trial-to-trial variability (TTV). The data show that pre-stimulus alpha power modulates post-stimulus activity including specifically the subjective features of conscious contents like confidence and vividness. At the same time, alpha pre-stimulus variability shapes post-stimulus TTV reduction including the associated contents of consciousness. We propose that non-additive rather than merely additive interaction of the internal pre-stimulus activity with the external stimulus in the alpha band is key for contents to become conscious. This is mediated by mechanisms on different levels including neurophysiological, neurocomputational, neurodynamic, neuropsychological and neurophenomenal levels. Overall, considering the interplay of pre-stimulus intrinsic and post-stimulus extrinsic activity across wider timescales, not just evoked responses in the post-stimulus period, is critical for identifying neural correlates of consciousness. This is well in line with both processing and especially the Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC).
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Affiliation(s)
- Georg Northoff
- University of Ottawa, Institute of Mental Health Research at the Royal Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Canada.
| | - Federico Zilio
- Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Jianfeng Zhang
- Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
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2
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Chis-Ciure R, Melloni L, Northoff G. A measure centrality index for systematic empirical comparison of consciousness theories. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 161:105670. [PMID: 38615851 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2024] [Revised: 03/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024]
Abstract
Consciousness science is marred by disparate constructs and methodologies, making it challenging to systematically compare theories. This foundational crisis casts doubts on the scientific character of the field itself. Addressing it, we propose a framework for systematically comparing consciousness theories by introducing a novel inter-theory classification interface, the Measure Centrality Index (MCI). Recognizing its gradient distribution, the MCI assesses the degree of importance a specific empirical measure has for a given consciousness theory. We apply the MCI to probe how the empirical measures of the Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNW), Integrated Information Theory (IIT), and Temporospatial Theory of Consciousness (TTC) would fare within the context of the other two. We demonstrate that direct comparison of IIT, GNW, and TTC is meaningful and valid for some measures like Lempel-Ziv Complexity (LZC), Autocorrelation Window (ACW), and possibly Mutual Information (MI). In contrast, it is problematic for others like the anatomical and physiological neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) due to their MCI-based differential weightings within the structure of the theories. In sum, we introduce and provide proof-of-principle of a novel systematic method for direct inter-theory empirical comparisons, thereby addressing isolated evolution of theories and confirmatory bias issues in the state-of-the-art neuroscience of consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Chis-Ciure
- New York University (NYU), New York, USA; International Center for Neuroscience and Ethics (CINET), Tatiana Foundation, Madrid, Spain; Wolfram Physics Project, USA.
| | - Lucia Melloni
- Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Georg Northoff
- University of Ottawa, Institute of Mental Health Research at the Royal Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Canada
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3
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Dhakal K, Rosenthal ES, Kulpanowski AM, Dodelson JA, Wang Z, Cudemus-Deseda G, Villien M, Edlow BL, Presciutti AM, Januzzi JL, Ning M, Taylor Kimberly W, Amorim E, Brandon Westover M, Copen WA, Schaefer PW, Giacino JT, Greer DM, Wu O. Increased task-relevant fMRI responsiveness in comatose cardiac arrest patients is associated with improved neurologic outcomes. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 2024; 44:50-65. [PMID: 37728641 PMCID: PMC10905635 DOI: 10.1177/0271678x231197392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Revised: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023]
Abstract
Early prediction of the recovery of consciousness in comatose cardiac arrest patients remains challenging. We prospectively studied task-relevant fMRI responses in 19 comatose cardiac arrest patients and five healthy controls to assess the fMRI's utility for neuroprognostication. Tasks involved instrumental music listening, forward and backward language listening, and motor imagery. Task-specific reference images were created from group-level fMRI responses from the healthy controls. Dice scores measured the overlap of individual subject-level fMRI responses with the reference images. Task-relevant responsiveness index (Rindex) was calculated as the maximum Dice score across the four tasks. Correlation analyses showed that increased Dice scores were significantly associated with arousal recovery (P < 0.05) and emergence from the minimally conscious state (EMCS) by one year (P < 0.001) for all tasks except motor imagery. Greater Rindex was significantly correlated with improved arousal recovery (P = 0.002) and consciousness (P = 0.001). For patients who survived to discharge (n = 6), the Rindex's sensitivity was 75% for predicting EMCS (n = 4). Task-based fMRI holds promise for detecting covert consciousness in comatose cardiac arrest patients, but further studies are needed to confirm these findings. Caution is necessary when interpreting the absence of task-relevant fMRI responses as a surrogate for inevitable poor neurological prognosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiran Dhakal
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Eric S Rosenthal
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Annelise M Kulpanowski
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Jacob A Dodelson
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Zihao Wang
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Gaston Cudemus-Deseda
- Department of Cardiac Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Marjorie Villien
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Brian L Edlow
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Alexander M Presciutti
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Health Outcomes and Interdisciplinary Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - James L Januzzi
- Department of Medicine, Cardiology Division, Massachusetts General Hospital and Baim Institute for Clinical Research, Boston, MA, USA
| | - MingMing Ning
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - W Taylor Kimberly
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Edilberto Amorim
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - William A Copen
- Department of Radiology, Neuroradiology Division, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Pamela W Schaefer
- Department of Radiology, Neuroradiology Division, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Joseph T Giacino
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - David M Greer
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ona Wu
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
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4
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Müller EJ, Munn BR, Redinbaugh MJ, Lizier J, Breakspear M, Saalmann YB, Shine JM. The non-specific matrix thalamus facilitates the cortical information processing modes relevant for conscious awareness. Cell Rep 2023; 42:112844. [PMID: 37498741 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The neurobiological mechanisms of arousal and anesthesia remain poorly understood. Recent evidence highlights the key role of interactions between the cerebral cortex and the diffusely projecting matrix thalamic nuclei. Here, we interrogate these processes in a whole-brain corticothalamic neural mass model endowed with targeted and diffusely projecting thalamocortical nuclei inferred from empirical data. This model captures key features seen in propofol anesthesia, including diminished network integration, lowered state diversity, impaired susceptibility to perturbation, and decreased corticocortical coherence. Collectively, these signatures reflect a suppression of information transfer across the cerebral cortex. We recover these signatures of conscious arousal by selectively stimulating the matrix thalamus, recapitulating empirical results in macaque, as well as wake-like information processing states that reflect the thalamic modulation of large-scale cortical attractor dynamics. Our results highlight the role of matrix thalamocortical projections in shaping many features of complex cortical dynamics to facilitate the unique communication states supporting conscious awareness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eli J Müller
- Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Centre for Complex Systems, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; School of Computer Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
| | - Brandon R Munn
- Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Centre for Complex Systems, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | | | - Joseph Lizier
- Centre for Complex Systems, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; School of Computer Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | | | - Yuri B Saalmann
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA; Wisconsin National Primate Research Centre, Madison, WI, USA
| | - James M Shine
- Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Centre for Complex Systems, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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5
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Dai R, Larkin TE, Huang Z, Tarnal V, Picton P, Vlisides PE, Janke E, McKinney A, Hudetz AG, Harris RE, Mashour GA. Classical and non-classical psychedelic drugs induce common network changes in human cortex. Neuroimage 2023; 273:120097. [PMID: 37031827 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2022] [Revised: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The neurobiology of the psychedelic experience is not fully understood. Identifying common brain network changes induced by both classical (i.e., acting at the 5-HT2 receptor) and non-classical psychedelics would provide mechanistic insight into state-specific characteristics. We analyzed whole-brain functional connectivity based on resting-state fMRI data in humans, acquired before and during the administration of nitrous oxide, ketamine, and lysergic acid diethylamide. We report that, despite distinct molecular mechanisms and modes of delivery, all three psychedelics reduced within-network functional connectivity and enhanced between-network functional connectivity. More specifically, all three drugs increased connectivity between right temporoparietal junction and bilateral intraparietal sulcus as well as between precuneus and left intraparietal sulcus. These regions fall within the posterior cortical "hot zone," posited to mediate the qualitative aspects of experience. Thus, both classical and non-classical psychedelics modulate networks within an area of known relevance for consciousness, identifying a biologically plausible candidate for their subjective effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Dai
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Michigan Psychedelic Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States
| | - Tony E Larkin
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States
| | - Zirui Huang
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Michigan Psychedelic Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States
| | - Vijay Tarnal
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Michigan Psychedelic Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States
| | - Paul Picton
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Michigan Psychedelic Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States
| | - Phillip E Vlisides
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Michigan Psychedelic Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States
| | - Ellen Janke
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Michigan Psychedelic Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States
| | - Amy McKinney
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States
| | - Anthony G Hudetz
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Michigan Psychedelic Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States
| | - Richard E Harris
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Michigan Psychedelic Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States.
| | - George A Mashour
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Michigan Psychedelic Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Department of Pharmacology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States.
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6
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Klar P, Çatal Y, Langner R, Huang Z, Northoff G. Scale-free dynamics in the core-periphery topography and task alignment decline from conscious to unconscious states. Commun Biol 2023; 6:499. [PMID: 37161021 PMCID: PMC10170069 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04879-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Scale-free physiological processes are ubiquitous in the human organism. Resting-state functional MRI studies observed the loss of scale-free dynamics under anesthesia. In contrast, the modulation of scale-free dynamics during task-related activity remains an open question. We investigate scale-free dynamics in the cerebral cortex's unimodal periphery and transmodal core topography in rest and task states during three conscious levels (awake, sedation, and anesthesia) complemented by computational modelling (Stuart-Landau model). The empirical findings demonstrate that the loss of the brain's intrinsic scale-free dynamics in the core-periphery topography during anesthesia, where pink noise transforms into white noise, disrupts the brain's neuronal alignment with the task's temporal structure. The computational model shows that the stimuli's scale-free dynamics, namely pink noise distinguishes from brown and white noise, also modulate task-related activity. Together, we provide evidence for two mechanisms of consciousness, temporo-spatial nestedness and alignment, suggested by the Temporo-Spatial Theory of Consciousness (TTC).
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Klar
- Medical Faculty, C. & O. Vogt-Institute for Brain Research, Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
| | - Yasir Çatal
- The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research & University of Ottawa. Brain and Mind Research Institute, Centre for Neural Dynamics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, 145 Carling Avenue, Rm. 6435, Ottawa, ON, K1Z 7K4, Canada
| | - Robert Langner
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain & Behaviour (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Zirui Huang
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
- Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Georg Northoff
- The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research & University of Ottawa. Brain and Mind Research Institute, Centre for Neural Dynamics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, 145 Carling Avenue, Rm. 6435, Ottawa, ON, K1Z 7K4, Canada
- Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, Hangzhou Normal University, Tianmu Road 305, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, 310013, China
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7
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Li X, Kaur Y, Wilhelm O, Reuter M, Montag C, Sommer W, Zhou C, Hildebrandt A. Resting-state brain signal complexity discriminates young healthy APOE e4 carriers from non-e4 carriers. Eur J Neurosci 2023; 57:854-866. [PMID: 36656069 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
It is well established that the e4 allele of the APOE gene is associated with impaired brain functionality and cognitive decline in humans at elder age. However, it is controversial whether and how the APOE e4 allele is associated with superior brain function among young healthy individuals, thus indicates a case of antagonistic pleiotropy of APOE e4 allele. Signal complexity is a critical aspect of brain activity that has been associated with brain function. In this study, the multiscale entropy (MSE) of resting-state EEG signals among a sample of young healthy adults (N = 260) as an indicator of brain signal complexity was investigated. It was of interest whether MSE differs across APOE genotype groups while age and education level were controlled for and whether the APOE genotype effect on MSE interacts with MSE time scale, as well as EEG recording condition. Results of linear mixed models indicate overall larger MSE in APOE e4 carriers. This genotype-dependent difference is larger at high as compared with low time scales. The interaction effect between APOE genotype and recording condition indicates increased between-state MSE change in young healthy APOE e4 carriers as compared with non-carriers. Because higher complexity is commonly taken to be associated with better cognitive functioning, the present results complement previous findings and therefore point to a pleiotropic spectrum of the APOE gene polymorphism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaojing Li
- Chinese Academy of Disability Data Science, Nanjing Normal University of Special Education, Nanjing, China.,Department of Physics, Centre for Nonlinear Studies, Institute of Computational and Theoretical Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong.,Department of Psychology, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Yadwinder Kaur
- Department of Psychology, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | | | - Martin Reuter
- Centre for Economics and Neuroscience, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.,Department of Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Christian Montag
- Department of Psychology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.,The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Werner Sommer
- Department of Physics, Centre for Nonlinear Studies, Institute of Computational and Theoretical Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong.,Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Changsong Zhou
- Department of Physics, Centre for Nonlinear Studies, Institute of Computational and Theoretical Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong
| | - Andrea Hildebrandt
- Department of Psychology, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany.,Research Center Neurosensory Science, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
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8
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Abstract
Consciousness is a multidimensional phenomenon, but key dimensions such as awareness and wakefulness have been described conceptually rather than neurobiologically. We hypothesize that dimensions of consciousness are encoded in multiple neurofunctional dimensions of the brain. We analyze cortical gradients, which are continua of the brain's overarching functional geometry, to characterize these neurofunctional dimensions. We demonstrate that disruptions of human consciousness - due to pharmacological, neuropathological, or psychiatric causes - are associated with a degradation of one or more of the major cortical gradients depending on the state. Network-specific reconfigurations within the multidimensional cortical gradient space are associated with behavioral unresponsiveness of various etiologies, and these spatial reconfigurations correlate with a temporal disruption of structured transitions of dynamic brain states. In this work, we therefore provide a unifying neurofunctional framework for multiple dimensions of human consciousness in both health and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zirui Huang
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA. .,Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
| | - George A Mashour
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.,Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.,Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.,Department of Pharmacology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Anthony G Hudetz
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.,Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.,Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
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9
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Klar P, Çatal Y, Langner R, Huang Z, Northoff G. Scale-free dynamics of core-periphery topography. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 44:1997-2017. [PMID: 36579661 PMCID: PMC9980897 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2022] [Revised: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 12/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The human brain's cerebral cortex exhibits a topographic division into higher-order transmodal core and lower-order unimodal periphery regions. While timescales between the core and periphery region diverge, features of their power spectra, especially scale-free dynamics during resting-state and their mdulation in task states, remain unclear. To answer this question, we investigated the ~1/f-like pink noise manifestation of scale-free dynamics in the core-periphery topography during rest and task states applying infra-slow inter-trial intervals up to 1 min falling inside the BOLD's infra-slow frequency band. The results demonstrate (1) higher resting-state power-law exponent (PLE) in the core compared to the periphery region; (2) significant PLE increases in task across the core and periphery regions; and (3) task-related PLE increases likely followed the task's atypically low event rates, namely the task's periodicity (inter-trial interval = 52-60 s; 0.016-0.019 Hz). A computational model and a replication dataset that used similar infra-slow inter-trial intervals provide further support for our main findings. Altogether, the results show that scale-free dynamics differentiate core and periphery regions in the resting-state and mediate task-related effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Klar
- Medical Faculty, C. & O. Vogt‐Institute for Brain ResearchHeinrich Heine University of DüsseldorfDüsseldorfGermany
| | - Yasir Çatal
- The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research & University of Ottawa. Brain and Mind Research Institute, Centre for Neural Dynamics, Faculty of MedicineUniversity of OttawaOttawaOntarioCanada
| | - Robert Langner
- Institute of Systems NeuroscienceHeinrich Heine University DusseldorfDusseldorfGermany,Institute of Neuroscience and MedicineBrain & Behaviour (INM‐7), Research Centre JülichJülichGermany
| | - Zirui Huang
- Department of AnesthesiologyUniversity of Michigan Medical SchoolAnn ArborMichiganUSA,Center for Consciousness ScienceUniversity of Michigan Medical SchoolAnn ArborMichiganUSA
| | - Georg Northoff
- The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research & University of Ottawa. Brain and Mind Research Institute, Centre for Neural Dynamics, Faculty of MedicineUniversity of OttawaOttawaOntarioCanada,Centre for Cognition and Brain DisordersHangzhou Normal UniversityHangzhouZhejiangChina
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10
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Northoff G. Spatiotemporal Psychopathology - A Novel Approach to Brain and Symptoms. Noro Psikiyatr Ars 2022; 59:S3-S9. [PMID: 36578984 PMCID: PMC9767129 DOI: 10.29399/npa.28146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
How can we characterize psychopathological symptoms and connect them to the brain? Current psychopathological symptoms only focus on either the symptoms themselves or predominantly on the brain. This leaves open their intimate connection. A novel approach, Spatiotemporal Psychopathology, proposes that the brain inner spatiotemporal organisation of its neural activity provides the spatiotemporal organization of the psychopathological symptoms. Specifically, the brains' neuronal topography and dynamic is manifest in a more or less analogous spatiotemporal organisation on the mental level, i.e., mental topography and dynamic. This is strongly supported by various examples including major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and autism. We therefore conclude that Spatiotemporal Psychopathology provides a promising approach to intimately connect brain and symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georg Northoff
- University of Ottawa, Institute of Mental Health Research, Ontario, Canada,Correspondence Address: Georg Northoff, 1145 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, K1L 8K9 Ontario, Canada • E-mail:
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11
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Li S, Chen Y, Ren P, Li Z, Zhang J, Liang X. Highly connected and highly variable: A Core brain network during resting state supports Propofol-induced unconsciousness. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 44:841-853. [PMID: 36217733 PMCID: PMC9842907 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2022] [Revised: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite that leading theories of consciousness make diverging predictions for where and how neural activity gives rise to subjective experience, they all seem to partially agree that the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) require globally integrated brain activity across a network of functionally specialized modules. However, it is not clear yet whether such functional configurations would be able to identify the NCC. We scanned resting-state fMRI data from 21 subjects during wakefulness, propofol-induced sedation, and anesthesia. Graph-theoretical analyses were conducted on awake fMRI data to search for the NCC candidates as brain regions that exhibit both high rich-clubness and high modular variability, which were found to locate in prefrontal and temporoparietal cortices. Another independent data set of 10 highly-sampled subjects was used to validate the NCC distribution at the individual level. Brain module-based dynamic analysis revealed two discrete reoccurring brain states, one of which was dominated by the NCC candidates (state 1), while the other state was predominately composed of primary sensory/motor regions (state 2). Moreover, state 1 appeared to be temporally more stable than state 2, suggesting that the identified NCC members could sustain conscious content as metastable network representations. Finally, we showed that the identified NCC was modulated in terms of functional connectedness and modular variability in response to the loss of consciousness induced by propofol anesthesia. This work offers a framework to search for neural correlates of consciousness by charting the brain network topology and provides new insights into understanding the roles of different regions in underpinning human consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyang Li
- School of Life Science and TechnologyHarbin Institute of TechnologyHarbinChina,Laboratory for Space Environment and Physical SciencesHarbin Institute of TechnologyHarbinChina
| | - Yali Chen
- Department of Anesthesiology, Shanghai Cancer CenterFudan UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Peng Ren
- School of Life Science and TechnologyHarbin Institute of TechnologyHarbinChina
| | - Zhipeng Li
- School of Life Science and TechnologyHarbin Institute of TechnologyHarbinChina,Laboratory for Space Environment and Physical SciencesHarbin Institute of TechnologyHarbinChina
| | - Jun Zhang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Shanghai Cancer CenterFudan UniversityShanghaiChina,Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical CollegeFudan UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Xia Liang
- School of Life Science and TechnologyHarbin Institute of TechnologyHarbinChina,Laboratory for Space Environment and Physical SciencesHarbin Institute of TechnologyHarbinChina
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12
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Abstract
What is the role of the brain's ongoing activity for cognition? The predominant perspectives associate ongoing brain activity with resting state, the default-mode network (DMN), and internally oriented mentation. This triad is often contrasted with task states, non-DMN brain networks, and externally oriented mentation, together comprising a "dual model" of brain and cognition. In opposition to this duality, however, we propose that ongoing brain activity serves as a neuronal baseline; this builds upon Raichle's original search for the default mode of brain function that extended beyond the canonical default-mode brain regions. That entails what we refer to as the "baseline model." Akin to an internal biological clock for the rest of the organism, the ongoing brain activity may serve as an internal point of reference or standard by providing a shared neural code for the brain's rest as well as task states, including their associated cognition. Such shared neural code is manifest in the spatiotemporal organization of the brain's ongoing activity, including its global signal topography and dynamics like intrinsic neural timescales. We conclude that recent empirical evidence supports a baseline model over the dual model; the ongoing activity provides a global shared neural code that allows integrating the brain's rest and task states, its DMN and non-DMN, and internally and externally oriented cognition.
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13
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Northoff G, Zilio F. From Shorter to Longer Timescales: Converging Integrated Information Theory (IIT) with the Temporo-Spatial Theory of Consciousness (TTC). Entropy 2022; 24:270. [PMID: 35205564 PMCID: PMC8871397 DOI: 10.3390/e24020270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Revised: 01/19/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Time is a key element of consciousness as it includes multiple timescales from shorter to longer ones. This is reflected in our experience of various short-term phenomenal contents at discrete points in time as part of an ongoing, more continuous, and long-term ‘stream of consciousness.’ Can Integrated Information Theory (IIT) account for this multitude of timescales of consciousness? According to the theory, the relevant spatiotemporal scale for consciousness is the one in which the system reaches the maximum cause-effect power; IIT currently predicts that experience occurs on the order of short timescales, namely, between 100 and 300 ms (theta and alpha frequency range). This can well account for the integration of single inputs into a particular phenomenal content. However, such short timescales leave open the temporal relation of specific phenomenal contents to others during the course of the ongoing time, that is, the stream of consciousness. For that purpose, we converge the IIT with the Temporo-spatial Theory of Consciousness (TTC), which, assuming a multitude of different timescales, can take into view the temporal integration of specific phenomenal contents with other phenomenal contents over time. On the neuronal side, this is detailed by considering those neuronal mechanisms driving the non-additive interaction of pre-stimulus activity with the input resulting in stimulus-related activity. Due to their non-additive interaction, the single input is not only integrated with others in the short-term timescales of 100–300 ms (alpha and theta frequencies) (as predicted by IIT) but, at the same time, also virtually expanded in its temporal (and spatial) features; this is related to the longer timescales (delta and slower frequencies) that are carried over from pre-stimulus to stimulus-related activity. Such a non-additive pre-stimulus-input interaction amounts to temporo-spatial expansion as a key mechanism of TTC for the constitution of phenomenal contents including their embedding or nesting within the ongoing temporal dynamic, i.e., the stream of consciousness. In conclusion, we propose converging the short-term integration of inputs postulated in IIT (100–300 ms as in the alpha and theta frequency range) with the longer timescales (in delta and slower frequencies) of temporo-spatial expansion in TTC.
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14
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Wolff A, Berberian N, Golesorkhi M, Gomez-Pilar J, Zilio F, Northoff G. Intrinsic neural timescales: temporal integration and segregation. Trends Cogn Sci 2022; 26:159-173. [PMID: 34991988 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2021.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2021] [Revised: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
We are continuously bombarded by external inputs of various timescales from the environment. How does the brain process this multitude of timescales? Recent resting state studies show a hierarchy of intrinsic neural timescales (INT) with a shorter duration in unimodal regions (e.g., visual cortex and auditory cortex) and a longer duration in transmodal regions (e.g., default mode network). This unimodal-transmodal hierarchy is present across acquisition modalities [electroencephalogram (EEG)/magnetoencephalogram (MEG) and fMRI] and can be found in different species and during a variety of different task states. Together, this suggests that the hierarchy of INT is central to the temporal integration (combining successive stimuli) and segregation (separating successive stimuli) of external inputs from the environment, leading to temporal segmentation and prediction in perception and cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annemarie Wolff
- Mind, Brain Imaging, and Neuroethics Research Unit, Institute of Mental Health Research, The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre and University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Nareg Berberian
- Mind, Brain Imaging, and Neuroethics Research Unit, Institute of Mental Health Research, The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre and University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Mehrshad Golesorkhi
- Mind, Brain Imaging, and Neuroethics Research Unit, Institute of Mental Health Research, The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre and University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Javier Gomez-Pilar
- Biomedical Engineering Group, University of Valladolid, Paseo de Belén, 15, 47011 Valladolid, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicia, (CIBER-BBN), Madrid, Spain
| | - Federico Zilio
- Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education, and Applied Psychology, University of Padova, Padua, Italy
| | - Georg Northoff
- Mind, Brain Imaging, and Neuroethics Research Unit, Institute of Mental Health Research, The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre and University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada; Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China; Mental Health Centre, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
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15
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Liu DY, Ju X, Gao Y, Han JF, Li Z, Hu XW, Tan ZL, Northoff G, Song XM. From Molecular to Behavior: Higher Order Occipital Cortex in Major Depressive Disorder. Cereb Cortex 2021; 32:2129-2139. [PMID: 34613359 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2021] [Revised: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 08/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and other regions like the occipital cortex (OC) exhibit abnormal neural activity in major depressive disorder (MDD). Their relationship to specific biochemical, psychophysical, and psychopathological changes remains unclear, though. For that purpose, we focus on a particular subregion in OC, namely middle temporal (MT) visual area that is known to mediate the perception of visual motion. Using high-field 7 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including resting state functional MRI and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) of the blood oxygen level-dependent signal in MT, MT-seeded functional connectivity (FC), and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in MT were investigated. Applying the vision motion psychophysical task, the motion suppression index of subjects was also examined. We demonstrate significantly elevated neural variability (as measured by ALFF) in MT together with decreases in both MT GABA and motion suppression in our MDD sample. Unlike in healthy subjects, MT neural variability no longer modulates the relationship of MT GABA and motion suppression in MDD. MT also exhibits reduction in global inter-regional FC to MPFC in MDD. Finally, elevated MT ALFF relates to specifically retardation in behavior as measured by the Hamilton subscore. Together, MT provides a strong candidate for biomarker in MDD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong-Yu Liu
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310013, China.,Key Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Qiushi Academy for Advanced Studies, College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Xuan Ju
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310013, China
| | - Yuan Gao
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310013, China
| | - Jin-Fang Han
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310013, China
| | - Zhe Li
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310013, China.,Key Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Qiushi Academy for Advanced Studies, College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Xi-Wen Hu
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310013, China
| | - Zhong-Lin Tan
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310013, China
| | - Georg Northoff
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310013, China.,University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa; Ottawa, ON, K1Z 7K4, Canada
| | - Xue Mei Song
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310013, China.,Key Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Qiushi Academy for Advanced Studies, College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
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16
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Golesorkhi M, Gomez-Pilar J, Zilio F, Berberian N, Wolff A, Yagoub MCE, Northoff G. The brain and its time: intrinsic neural timescales are key for input processing. Commun Biol 2021; 4:970. [PMID: 34400800 PMCID: PMC8368044 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02483-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
We process and integrate multiple timescales into one meaningful whole. Recent evidence suggests that the brain displays a complex multiscale temporal organization. Different regions exhibit different timescales as described by the concept of intrinsic neural timescales (INT); however, their function and neural mechanisms remains unclear. We review recent literature on INT and propose that they are key for input processing. Specifically, they are shared across different species, i.e., input sharing. This suggests a role of INT in encoding inputs through matching the inputs' stochastics with the ongoing temporal statistics of the brain's neural activity, i.e., input encoding. Following simulation and empirical data, we point out input integration versus segregation and input sampling as key temporal mechanisms of input processing. This deeply grounds the brain within its environmental and evolutionary context. It carries major implications in understanding mental features and psychiatric disorders, as well as going beyond the brain in integrating timescales into artificial intelligence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehrshad Golesorkhi
- grid.28046.380000 0001 2182 2255School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada ,grid.28046.380000 0001 2182 2255Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics Research Unit, Institute of Mental Health, Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre and University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Javier Gomez-Pilar
- grid.5239.d0000 0001 2286 5329Biomedical Engineering Group, University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain ,grid.413448.e0000 0000 9314 1427Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina, (CIBER-BBN), Madrid, Spain
| | - Federico Zilio
- grid.5608.b0000 0004 1757 3470Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology, University of Padova, Padua, Italy
| | - Nareg Berberian
- grid.28046.380000 0001 2182 2255Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics Research Unit, Institute of Mental Health, Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre and University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Annemarie Wolff
- grid.28046.380000 0001 2182 2255Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics Research Unit, Institute of Mental Health, Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre and University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Mustapha C. E. Yagoub
- grid.28046.380000 0001 2182 2255School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Georg Northoff
- grid.28046.380000 0001 2182 2255Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics Research Unit, Institute of Mental Health, Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre and University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada ,grid.410595.c0000 0001 2230 9154Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China ,grid.13402.340000 0004 1759 700XMental Health Centre, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang China
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17
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Wolff A, Chen L, Tumati S, Golesorkhi M, Gomez-Pilar J, Hu J, Jiang S, Mao Y, Longtin A, Northoff G. Prestimulus dynamics blend with the stimulus in neural variability quenching. Neuroimage 2021; 238:118160. [PMID: 34058331 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Revised: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 05/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Neural responses to the same stimulus show significant variability over trials, with this variability typically reduced (quenched) after a stimulus is presented. This trial-to-trial variability (TTV) has been much studied, however how this neural variability quenching is influenced by the ongoing dynamics of the prestimulus period is unknown. Utilizing a human intracranial stereo-electroencephalography (sEEG) data set, we investigate how prestimulus dynamics, as operationalized by standard deviation (SD), shapes poststimulus activity through trial-to-trial variability (TTV). We first observed greater poststimulus variability quenching in those real trials exhibiting high prestimulus variability as observed in all frequency bands. Next, we found that the relative effect of the stimulus was higher in the later (300-600ms) than the earlier (0-300ms) poststimulus period. Lastly, we replicate our findings in a separate EEG dataset and extend them by finding that trials with high prestimulus variability in the theta and alpha bands had faster reaction times. Together, our results demonstrate that stimulus-related activity, including its variability, is a blend of two factors: 1) the effects of the external stimulus itself, and 2) the effects of the ongoing dynamics spilling over from the prestimulus period - the state at stimulus onset - with the second dwarfing the influence of the first.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annemarie Wolff
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, Canada.
| | - Liang Chen
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Wulumuqi Middle Rd, Shanghai, China.
| | - Shankar Tumati
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Mehrshad Golesorkhi
- School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Javier Gomez-Pilar
- Biomedical Engineering Group, Higher Technical School of Telecommunications Engineering, University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red-Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina, (CIBER-BBN), Spain
| | - Jie Hu
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Wulumuqi Middle Rd, Shanghai, China
| | - Shize Jiang
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Wulumuqi Middle Rd, Shanghai, China
| | - Ying Mao
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Wulumuqi Middle Rd, Shanghai, China
| | - André Longtin
- Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada; Physics Department, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Georg Northoff
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, Canada; Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
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18
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Basso MA, Frey S, Guerriero KA, Jarraya B, Kastner S, Koyano KW, Leopold DA, Murphy K, Poirier C, Pope W, Silva AC, Tansey G, Uhrig L. Using non-invasive neuroimaging to enhance the care, well-being and experimental outcomes of laboratory non-human primates (monkeys). Neuroimage 2020; 228:117667. [PMID: 33359353 PMCID: PMC8005297 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2020] [Revised: 12/16/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Over the past 10-20 years, neuroscience witnessed an explosion in the use of non-invasive imaging methods, particularly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to study brain structure and function. Simultaneously, with access to MRI in many research institutions, MRI has become an indispensable tool for researchers and veterinarians to guide improvements in surgical procedures and implants and thus, experimental as well as clinical outcomes, given that access to MRI also allows for improved diagnosis and monitoring for brain disease. As part of the PRIMEatE Data Exchange, we gathered expert scientists, veterinarians, and clinicians who treat humans, to provide an overview of the use of non-invasive imaging tools, primarily MRI, to enhance experimental and welfare outcomes for laboratory non-human primates engaged in neuroscientific experiments. We aimed to provide guidance for other researchers, scientists and veterinarians in the use of this powerful imaging technology as well as to foster a larger conversation and community of scientists and veterinarians with a shared goal of improving the well-being and experimental outcomes for laboratory animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- M A Basso
- Fuster Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences UCLA Los Angeles CA 90095 USA
| | - S Frey
- Rogue Research, Inc. Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - K A Guerriero
- Washington National Primate Research Center University of Washington Seattle, WA USA
| | - B Jarraya
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM, CEA, NeuroSpin center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France; Université Paris-Saclay, UVSQ, Foch hospital, Paris, France
| | - S Kastner
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute & Department of Psychology Princeton University Princeton, NJ USA
| | - K W Koyano
- National Institute of Mental Health NIH Bethesda MD 20892 USA
| | - D A Leopold
- National Institute of Mental Health NIH Bethesda MD 20892 USA
| | - K Murphy
- Biosciences Institute and Centre for Behaviour and Evolution, Faculty of Medical Sciences Newcastle University Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH United Kingdom UK
| | - C Poirier
- Biosciences Institute and Centre for Behaviour and Evolution, Faculty of Medical Sciences Newcastle University Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH United Kingdom UK
| | - W Pope
- Department of Radiology UCLA Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
| | - A C Silva
- Department of Neurobiology University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA 15261 USA
| | - G Tansey
- National Eye Institute NIH Bethesda MD 20892 USA
| | - L Uhrig
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM, CEA, NeuroSpin center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France
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19
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Tanabe S, Huang Z, Zhang J, Chen Y, Fogel S, Doyon J, Wu J, Xu J, Zhang J, Qin P, Wu X, Mao Y, Mashour GA, Hudetz AG, Northoff G. Altered Global Brain Signal during Physiologic, Pharmacologic, and Pathologic States of Unconsciousness in Humans and Rats. Anesthesiology 2020; 132:1392-406. [PMID: 32205548 DOI: 10.1097/ALN.0000000000003197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Consciousness is supported by integrated brain activity across widespread functionally segregated networks. The functional magnetic resonance imaging-derived global brain signal is a candidate marker for a conscious state, and thus the authors hypothesized that unconsciousness would be accompanied by a loss of global temporal coordination, with specific patterns of decoupling between local regions and global activity differentiating among various unconscious states. METHODS Functional magnetic resonance imaging global signals were studied in physiologic, pharmacologic, and pathologic states of unconsciousness in human natural sleep (n = 9), propofol anesthesia (humans, n = 14; male rats, n = 12), and neuropathological patients (n = 21). The global signal amplitude as well as the correlation between global signal and signals of local voxels were quantified. The former reflects the net strength of global temporal coordination, and the latter yields global signal topography. RESULTS A profound reduction of global signal amplitude was seen consistently across the various unconscious states: wakefulness (median [1st, 3rd quartile], 0.46 [0.21, 0.50]) versus non-rapid eye movement stage 3 of sleep (0.30 [0.24, 0.32]; P = 0.035), wakefulness (0.36 [0.31, 0.42]) versus general anesthesia (0.25 [0.21, 0.28]; P = 0.001), healthy controls (0.30 [0.27, 0.37]) versus unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (0.22 [0.15, 0.24]; P < 0.001), and low dose (0.07 [0.06, 0.08]) versus high dose of propofol (0.04 [0.03, 0.05]; P = 0.028) in rats. Furthermore, non-rapid eye movement stage 3 of sleep was characterized by a decoupling of sensory and attention networks from the global network. General anesthesia and unresponsive wakefulness syndrome were characterized by a dissociation of the majority of functional networks from the global network. This decoupling, however, was dominated by distinct neuroanatomic foci (e.g., precuneus and anterior cingulate cortices). CONCLUSIONS The global temporal coordination of various modules across the brain may distinguish the coarse-grained state of consciousness versus unconsciousness, while the relationship between the global and local signals may define the particular qualities of a particular unconscious state.
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Northoff G, Lamme V. Neural signs and mechanisms of consciousness: Is there a potential convergence of theories of consciousness in sight? Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 118:568-587. [PMID: 32783969 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.07.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2020] [Revised: 07/03/2020] [Accepted: 07/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Various theories for the neural basis of consciousness have been proposed, suggesting a diversity of neural signs and mechanisms. We ask to what extent this diversity is real, or whether many theories share the same basic ideas with a potential for convergence towards a more unified theory of the neural basis of consciousness. For that purpose, we review and compare the various neural signs, measures, and mechanisms proposed in the different theories. We demonstrate that different theories focus on neural signs and measures of distinct aspects of neural activity including stimulus-related, prestimulus, and resting state activity as well as on distinct features of consciousness. Therefore, the various mechanisms proposed in the different theories may, in part, complement each other. Together, we provide insight into the shared basis and convergences (and, in part, discrepancies) of the different theories of consciousness. We conclude that the different theories concern distinct aspects of both neural activity and consciousness which, as we suppose, may be integrated and nested within the brain's overall temporo-spatial dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georg Northoff
- Mental Health Center, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics, Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada; Centre for Research Ethics & Bioethics, University of Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Victor Lamme
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition (ABC), Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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21
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Huang Z, Zhang J, Wu J, Mashour GA, Hudetz AG. Temporal circuit of macroscale dynamic brain activity supports human consciousness. Sci Adv 2020; 6:eaaz0087. [PMID: 32195349 PMCID: PMC7065875 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz0087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2019] [Accepted: 12/16/2019] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
The ongoing stream of human consciousness relies on two distinct cortical systems, the default mode network and the dorsal attention network, which alternate their activity in an anticorrelated manner. We examined how the two systems are regulated in the conscious brain and how they are disrupted when consciousness is diminished. We provide evidence for a "temporal circuit" characterized by a set of trajectories along which dynamic brain activity occurs. We demonstrate that the transitions between default mode and dorsal attention networks are embedded in this temporal circuit, in which a balanced reciprocal accessibility of brain states is characteristic of consciousness. Conversely, isolation of the default mode and dorsal attention networks from the temporal circuit is associated with unresponsiveness of diverse etiologies. These findings advance the foundational understanding of the functional role of anticorrelated systems in consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zirui Huang
- Center for Consciousness Science, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Jun Zhang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, PR China
| | - Jinsong Wu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, PR China
| | - George A. Mashour
- Center for Consciousness Science, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Anthony G. Hudetz
- Center for Consciousness Science, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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Wang S, Li Y, Qiu S, Zhang C, Wang G, Xian J, Li T, He H. Reorganization of rich-clubs in functional brain networks during propofol-induced unconsciousness and natural sleep. Neuroimage Clin 2020; 25:102188. [PMID: 32018124 PMCID: PMC6997627 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2019] [Revised: 12/31/2019] [Accepted: 01/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND General anesthesia (GA) provides an invaluable experimental tool to understand the essential neural mechanisms underlying consciousness. Previous neuroimaging studies have shown the functional integration and segregation of brain functional networks during anesthetic-induced alteration of consciousness. However, the organization pattern of hubs in functional brain networks remains unclear. Moreover, comparisons with the well-characterized physiological unconsciousness can help us understand the neural mechanisms of anesthetic-induced unconsciousness. METHODS Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed during wakefulness, mild propofol-induced sedation (m-PIS), and deep PIS (d-PIS) with clinical unconsciousness on 8 healthy volunteers and wakefulness and natural sleep on 9 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers. Large-scale functional brain networks of each volunteer were constructed based on 160 regions of interest. Then, rich-club organizations in brain functional networks and nodal properties (nodal strength and efficiency) were assessed and analyzed among the different states and groups. RESULTS Rich-clubs in the functional brain networks were reorganized during alteration of consciousness induced by propofol. Firstly, rich-club nodes were switched from the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), angular gyrus, and anterior and middle insula to the inferior parietal lobule (IPL), inferior parietal sulcus (IPS), and cerebellum. When sedation was deepened to unconsciousness, the rich-club nodes were switched to the occipital and angular gyrus. These results suggest that the rich-club nodes were switched among the high-order cognitive function networks (default mode network [DMN] and fronto-parietal network [FPN]), sensory networks (occipital network [ON]), and cerebellum network (CN) from consciousness (wakefulness) to propofol-induced unconsciousness. At the same time, compared with wakefulness, local connections were switched to rich-club connections during propofol-induced unconsciousness, suggesting a strengthening of the overall information commutation of networks. Nodal efficiency of the anterior and middle insula and ventral frontal cortex was significantly decreased. Additionally, from wakefulness to natural sleep, a similar pattern of rich-club reorganization with propofol-induced unconsciousness was observed: rich-club nodes were switched from the DMN (including precuneus and PCC) to the sensorimotor network (SMN, including part of the frontal and temporal gyrus). Compared with natural sleep, nodal efficiency of the insula, frontal gyrus, PCC, and cerebellum significantly decreased during propofol-induced unconsciousness. CONCLUSIONS Our study demonstrated that the rich-club reorganization in functional brain networks is characterized by switching of rich-club nodes between the high-order cognitive and sensory and motor networks during propofol-induced alteration of consciousness and natural sleep. These findings will help understand the common neurological mechanism of pharmacological and physiological unconsciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shengpei Wang
- Research Center for Brain-inspired Intelligence and National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yun Li
- Department of Anesthesia, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Shuang Qiu
- Research Center for Brain-inspired Intelligence and National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Chuncheng Zhang
- Research Center for Brain-inspired Intelligence and National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Guyan Wang
- Department of Anesthesia, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Junfang Xian
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Tianzuo Li
- Department of Anesthesia, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
| | - Huiguang He
- Research Center for Brain-inspired Intelligence and National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
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Northoff G, Tsuchiya N, Saigo H. Mathematics and the Brain: A Category Theoretical Approach to Go Beyond the Neural Correlates of Consciousness. Entropy 2019; 21:1234. [DOI: 10.3390/e21121234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Consciousness is a central issue in neuroscience, however, we still lack a formal framework that can address the nature of the relationship between consciousness and its physical substrates. In this review, we provide a novel mathematical framework of category theory (CT), in which we can define and study the sameness between different domains of phenomena such as consciousness and its neural substrates. CT was designed and developed to deal with the relationships between various domains of phenomena. We introduce three concepts of CT which include (i) category; (ii) inclusion functor and expansion functor; and, most importantly, (iii) natural transformation between the functors. Each of these mathematical concepts is related to specific features in the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC). In this novel framework, we will examine two of the major theories of consciousness, integrated information theory (IIT) of consciousness and temporospatial theory of consciousness (TTC). We conclude that CT, especially the application of the notion of natural transformation, highlights that we need to go beyond NCC and unravels questions that need to be addressed by any future neuroscientific theory of consciousness.
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Campbell JM, Huang Z, Zhang J, Wu X, Qin P, Northoff G, Mashour GA, Hudetz AG. Pharmacologically informed machine learning approach for identifying pathological states of unconsciousness via resting-state fMRI. Neuroimage 2020; 206:116316. [PMID: 31672663 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2019] [Revised: 09/09/2019] [Accepted: 10/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Determining the level of consciousness in patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC) remains challenging. To address this challenge, resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) has been widely used for detecting the local, regional, and network activity differences between DOC patients and healthy controls. Although substantial progress has been made towards this endeavor, the identification of robust rs-fMRI-based biomarkers for level of consciousness is still lacking. Recent developments in machine learning show promise as a tool to augment the discrimination between different states of consciousness in clinical practice. Here, we investigated whether machine learning models trained to make a binary distinction between conscious wakefulness and anesthetic-induced unconsciousness would then be capable of reliably identifying pathologically induced unconsciousness. We did so by extracting rs-fMRI-based features associated with local activity, regional homogeneity, and interregional functional activity in 44 subjects during wakefulness, light sedation, and unresponsiveness (deep sedation and general anesthesia), and subsequently using those features to train three distinct candidate machine learning classifiers: support vector machine, Extra Trees, artificial neural network. First, we show that all three classifiers achieve reliable performance within-dataset (via nested cross-validation), with a mean area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.95, 0.92, and 0.94, respectively. Additionally, we observed comparable cross-dataset performance (making predictions on the DOC data) as the anesthesia-trained classifiers demonstrated a consistent ability to discriminate between unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS/VS) patients and healthy controls with mean AUC's of 0.99, 0.94, 0.98, respectively. Lastly, we explored the potential of applying the aforementioned classifiers towards discriminating intermediate states of consciousness, specifically, subjects under light anesthetic sedation and patients diagnosed as having a minimally conscious state (MCS). Our findings demonstrate that machine learning classifiers trained on rs-fMRI features derived from participants under anesthesia have potential to aid the discrimination between degrees of pathological unconsciousness in clinical patients.
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25
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Northoff G, Tumati S. "Average is good, extremes are bad" - Non-linear inverted U-shaped relationship between neural mechanisms and functionality of mental features. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 104:11-25. [PMID: 31251964 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.06.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2019] [Revised: 06/18/2019] [Accepted: 06/20/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Traditionally, studies emphasize differences in neural measures between pathological and healthy groups, assuming a binary distinction between the groups, and a linear relationship between neural measures and symptoms. Here, we present four examples that show a continuous relation across the divide of normal and pathological states between neural measures and mental functions. This relation can be characterized by a non-linear inverted-U shaped curve. Along this curve, mid-range or average expression of a neural measure is associated with optimal function of a mental feature (in healthy states), whereas extreme expression, either high or low, is associated with sub-optimal function, and occurs in different neural disorders. Neural expression between the optimal or intermediate and pathological or extreme values is associated with sub-optimal function and at-risk mental states. Thus, this model of neuro-mental relationship can be summarized as "average is good, extremes are bad". By focussing on neuro-mental relationships, this model can facilitate the transition of psychiatry from a categorical to a dimensional and individualized approach needed in the era of precision medicine.
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26
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Northoff G, Wainio-Theberge S, Evers K. Is temporo-spatial dynamics the "common currency" of brain and mind? In Quest of "Spatiotemporal Neuroscience". Phys Life Rev 2019; 33:34-54. [PMID: 31221604 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2019.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2019] [Accepted: 05/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Neuroscience has made considerable progress in unraveling the neural correlates of mental phenomena like self, consciousness, and perception. However, the "common currency" shared between neuronal and mental activity, brain and mind, remains yet unclear. In this article, we propose that the dynamics of time and space provides a "common currency" that connects neuronal and mental features. Time and space are here understood in a dynamic context (as in contemporary physics): that is, in terms of the way the brain's spontaneous activity constructs its spatial and temporal relationships, for instance in terms of functional connectivity and different frequencies of fluctuations. Recruiting recent empirical evidence, we show that the different ways in which the spontaneous activity constructs its "inner time and space" are manifested in distinct mental features. Specifically, we demonstrate how spatiotemporal mechanisms like spatiotemporal repertoire, integration, and speed yield mental features like consciousness, self, and time speed perception. The focus on the brain's spatiotemporal mechanisms entails what we describe as "Spatiotemporal Neuroscience". Spatiotemporal Neuroscience conceives neuronal activity in terms of its temporo-spatial dynamics rather than its various functions (e.g., cognitive, affective, social, etc.) as in other branches of neuroscience (as distinguished from Cognitive, Affective, Cultural, Social, etc. Neuroscience). That allows Spatiotemporal Neuroscience to take into view the so-called 'spatio-temporality' of mental features including their non-causal, intrinsic and transformative relationship with neuronal features. In conclusion, Spatiotemporal Neuroscience opens the door to investigate and ultimately reveal the brain's own temporo-spatial dynamics as the hitherto missing "common currency" of neuronal and mental features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georg Northoff
- Mental Health Center, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics, Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada; Centre for Research Ethics & Bioethics, University of Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden. http://www.georgnorthoff.com
| | - Soren Wainio-Theberge
- Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics, Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Kathinka Evers
- Centre for Research Ethics & Bioethics, University of Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden
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27
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Wolff A, de la Salle S, Sorgini A, Lynn E, Blier P, Knott V, Northoff G. Atypical Temporal Dynamics of Resting State Shapes Stimulus-Evoked Activity in Depression-An EEG Study on Rest-Stimulus Interaction. Front Psychiatry 2019; 10:719. [PMID: 31681034 PMCID: PMC6803442 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2019] [Accepted: 09/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a complex psychiatric disorder characterized by changes in both resting state and stimulus-evoked activity. Whether resting state changes are carried over to stimulus-evoked activity, however, is unclear. We conducted a combined rest (3 min) and task (three-stimulus auditory oddball paradigm) EEG study in n=28 acute depressed MDD patients, comparing them with n=25 healthy participants. Our focus was on the temporal dynamics of both resting state and stimulus-evoked activity for which reason we measured peak frequency (PF), coefficient of variation (CV), Lempel-Ziv complexity (LZC), and trial-to-trial variability (TTV). Our main findings are: i) atypical temporal dynamics in resting state, specifically in the alpha and theta bands as measured by peak frequency (PF), coefficient of variation (CV) and power; ii) decreased reactivity to external deviant stimuli as measured by decreased changes in stimulus-evoked variance and complexity-TTV, LZC, and power and frequency sliding (FS and PS); iii) correlation of stimulus related measures (TTV, LZC, PS, and FS) with resting state measures. Together, our findings show that resting state dynamics alone are atypical in MDD and, even more important, strongly shapes the dynamics of subsequent stimulus-evoked activity. We thus conclude that MDD can be characterized by an atypical temporal dynamic of its rest-stimulus interaction; that, in turn, makes it difficult for depressed patients to react to relevant stimuli such as the deviant tone in our paradigm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annemnarie Wolff
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Sara de la Salle
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Alana Sorgini
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Emma Lynn
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Pierre Blier
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Verner Knott
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Georg Northoff
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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28
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Wolff A, Di Giovanni DA, Gómez-Pilar J, Nakao T, Huang Z, Longtin A, Northoff G. The temporal signature of self: Temporal measures of resting-state EEG predict self-consciousness. Hum Brain Mapp 2018; 40:789-803. [PMID: 30288845 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2018] [Revised: 09/11/2018] [Accepted: 09/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The self is the core of our mental life. Previous investigations have demonstrated a strong neural overlap between self-related activity and resting state activity. This suggests that information about self-relatedness is encoded in our brain's spontaneous activity. The exact neuronal mechanisms of such "rest-self containment," however, remain unclear. The present EEG study investigated temporal measures of resting state EEG to relate them to self-consciousness. This was obtained with the self-consciousness scale (SCS) which measures Private, Public, and Social dimensions of self. We demonstrate positive correlations between Private self-consciousness and three temporal measures of resting state activity: scale-free activity as indexed by the power-law exponent (PLE), the auto-correlation window (ACW), and modulation index (MI). Specifically, higher PLE, longer ACW, and stronger MI were related to higher degrees of Private self-consciousness. Finally, conducting eLORETA for spatial tomography, we found significant correlation of Private self-consciousness with activity in cortical midline structures such as the perigenual anterior cingulate cortex and posterior cingulate cortex. These results were reinforced with a data-driven analysis; a machine learning algorithm accurately predicted an individual as having a "high" or "low" Private self-consciousness score based on these measures of the brain's spatiotemporal structure. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that Private self-consciousness is related to the temporal structure of resting state activity as featured by temporal nestedness (PLE), temporal continuity (ACW), and temporal integration (MI). Our results support the hypothesis that self-related information is temporally contained in the brain's resting state. "Rest-self containment" can thus be featured by a temporal signature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annemarie Wolff
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Daniel A Di Giovanni
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Javier Gómez-Pilar
- Biomedical Engineering Group, Higher Technical School of Telecommunications Engineering, University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
| | - Takashi Nakao
- Department of Psychology, Graduate School of Education, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Zirui Huang
- Center for Consciousness Science, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - André Longtin
- Physics Department, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.,Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Georg Northoff
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, Canada.,Mental Health Centre, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
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29
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Huang Z, Vlisides PE, Tarnal VC, Janke EL, Keefe KM, Collins MM, McKinney AM, Picton P, Harris RE, Mashour GA, Hudetz AG. Brain imaging reveals covert consciousness during behavioral unresponsiveness induced by propofol. Sci Rep 2018; 8:13195. [PMID: 30181567 PMCID: PMC6123455 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-31436-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2018] [Accepted: 08/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Detecting covert consciousness in behaviorally unresponsive patients by brain imaging is of great interest, but a reproducible model and evidence from independent sources is still lacking. Here we demonstrate the possibility of using general anesthetics in a within-subjects study design to test methods or statistical paradigms of assessing covert consciousness. Using noninvasive neuroimaging in healthy volunteers, we identified a healthy study participant who was able to exhibit the specific fMRI signatures of volitional mental imagery while behaviorally unresponsive due to sedation with propofol. Our findings reveal a novel model that may accelerate the development of new approaches to reproducibly detect covert consciousness, which is difficult to achieve in patients with heterogeneous and sometimes clinically unstable neuropathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zirui Huang
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
- Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
| | - Phillip E Vlisides
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Vijaykumar C Tarnal
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Ellen L Janke
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Kelley M Keefe
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Margaret M Collins
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Amy M McKinney
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Paul Picton
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Richard E Harris
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - George A Mashour
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Anthony G Hudetz
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
- Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
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30
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Huang Z, Zhang J, Wu J, Liu X, Xu J, Zhang J, Qin P, Dai R, Yang Z, Mao Y, Hudetz AG, Northoff G. Disrupted neural variability during propofol-induced sedation and unconsciousness. Hum Brain Mapp 2018; 39:4533-4544. [PMID: 29974570 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2017] [Revised: 06/04/2018] [Accepted: 06/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Variability quenching is a widespread neural phenomenon in which trial-to-trial variability (TTV) of neural activity is reduced by repeated presentations of a sensory stimulus. However, its neural mechanism and functional significance remain poorly understood. Recurrent network dynamics are suggested as a candidate mechanism of TTV, and they play a key role in consciousness. We thus asked whether the variability-quenching phenomenon is related to the level of consciousness. We hypothesized that TTV reduction would be compromised during reduced level of consciousness by propofol anesthetics. We recorded functional magnetic resonance imaging signals of resting-state and stimulus-induced activities in three conditions: wakefulness, sedation, and unconsciousness (i.e., deep anesthesia). We measured the average (trial-to-trial mean, TTM) and variability (TTV) of auditory stimulus-induced activity under the three conditions. We also examined another form of neural variability (temporal variability, TV), which quantifies the overall dynamic range of ongoing neural activity across time, during both the resting-state and the task. We found that (a) TTM deceased gradually from wakefulness through sedation to anesthesia, (b) stimulus-induced TTV reduction normally seen during wakefulness was abolished during both sedation and anesthesia, and (c) TV increased in the task state as compared to resting-state during both wakefulness and sedation, but not anesthesia. Together, our results reveal distinct effects of propofol on the two forms of neural variability (TTV and TV). They imply that the anesthetic disrupts recurrent network dynamics, thus prevents the stabilization of cortical activity states. These findings shed new light on the temporal dynamics of neuronal variability and its alteration during anesthetic-induced unconsciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zirui Huang
- Department of Anesthesiology and Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Jun Zhang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Jinsong Wu
- Neurological Surgery Department, Huashan Hospital, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaoge Liu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Jianghui Xu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Jianfeng Zhang
- College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Pengmin Qin
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Rui Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhong Yang
- Department of Radiology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Ying Mao
- Neurological Surgery Department, Huashan Hospital, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Anthony G Hudetz
- Department of Anesthesiology and Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Georg Northoff
- Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.,Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.,Mental Health Centre, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China
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