1
|
Wang S, Cushing CA, Lau H, Craske MG, Taschereau-Dumouchel V. Multi-voxel neuro-reinforcement changes resting-state functional connectivity: A pilot study. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2023:2023.11.10.23298400. [PMID: 37986826 PMCID: PMC10659461 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.10.23298400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
Background Multi-voxel neuro-reinforcement has been shown to selectively reduce amygdala reactivity in response to feared stimuli, but the precise mechanisms supporting these effects are still unknown. The current pilot study seeks to identify potential intermediaries of change using functional brain connectivity at rest. Methods Individuals (N = 11) diagnosed with at least two animal subtype specific phobias took part in a double-blind multi-voxel neuro-reinforcement clinical trial targeting one of two phobic animals, with the untargeted animal as placebo control. Changes in whole-brain resting state functional connectivity from pre-treatment to post-treatment were measured using group ICA. These changes were tested to see if they predicted the previously observed decreases in amygdala reactivity in response to images of target phobic animals. Results A common functional connectivity network overlapping with the visual network was identified in resting state data pre-treatment and post-treatment. Significant increases in functional connectivity in this network from pre-treatment to post-treatment were found in higher level visual and cognitive processing regions of the brain. Increases in functional connectivity in these regions also significantly predicted decreases in task-based amygdala reactivity to targeted phobic animals following multi-voxel neuro-reinforcement. Specifically, greater increases of functional connectivity pre-treatment to post-treatment were associated with greater decreases of amygdala reactivity to target phobic stimuli pre-treatment to post-treatment. Conclusions These findings provide preliminary evidence that multi-voxel neuro-reinforcement can induce persisting functional connectivity changes in the brain. Moreover, these changes in functional connectivity were not limited to the direct area of neuro-reinforcement, suggesting neuro-reinforcement may change how the targeted region interacts with other brain regions. Identification of these brain regions represent a first step towards explaining the underlying mechanisms of change in previous multi-voxel neuro-reinforcement studies. Future research should seek to replicate these effects in a larger sample size to further assess their role in the effects observed from multi-voxel neuro-reinforcement.
Collapse
|
2
|
Cushing CA, Peng Y, Anderson Z, Young KS, Bookheimer SY, Zinbarg RE, Nusslock R, Craske MG. Broadening the scope: Multiple functional connectivity networks underlying threat and safety signaling. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.08.16.553609. [PMID: 37645883 PMCID: PMC10462158 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.16.553609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Introduction Threat learning and extinction processes are thought to be foundational to anxiety and fear-related disorders. However, the study of these processes in the human brain has largely focused on a priori regions of interest, owing partly to the ease of translating between these regions in human and non-human animals. Moving beyond analyzing focal regions of interest to whole-brain dynamics during threat learning is essential for understanding the neuropathology of fear-related disorders in humans. Methods 223 participants completed a 2-day Pavlovian threat conditioning paradigm while undergoing fMRI. Participants completed threat acquisition and extinction. Extinction recall was assessed 48 hours later. Using a data-driven group independent component analysis (ICA), we examined large-scale functional connectivity networks during each phase of threat conditioning. Connectivity networks were tested to see how they responded to conditional stimuli during early and late phases of threat acquisition and extinction and during early trials of extinction recall. Results A network overlapping with the default mode network involving hippocampus, vmPFC, and posterior cingulate was implicated in threat acquisition and extinction. Another network overlapping with the salience network involving dACC, mPFC, and inferior frontal gyrus was implicated in threat acquisition and extinction recall. Other networks overlapping with parts of the salience, somatomotor, visual, and fronto-parietal networks were involved in the acquisition or extinction of learned threat responses. Conclusions These findings help confirm previous investigations of specific brain regions in a model-free fashion and introduce new findings of spatially independent networks during threat and safety learning. Rather than being a single process in a core network of regions, threat learning involves multiple brain networks operating in parallel coordinating different functions at different timescales. Understanding the nature and interplay of these dynamics will be critical for comprehensive understanding of the multiple processes that may be at play in the neuropathology of anxiety and fear-related disorders.
Collapse
|
3
|
MacLean MW, Hadid V, Spreng RN, Lepore F. Revealing robust neural correlates of conscious and unconscious visual processing: activation likelihood estimation meta-analyses. Neuroimage 2023; 273:120088. [PMID: 37030413 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2022] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 04/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Our ability to consciously perceive information from the visual scene relies on a myriad of intrinsic neural mechanisms. Functional neuroimaging studies have sought to identify the neural correlates of conscious visual processing and to further dissociate from those pertaining to preconscious and unconscious visual processing. However, delineating what core brain regions are involved in eliciting a conscious percept remains a challenge, particularly regarding the role of prefrontal-parietal regions. We performed a systematic search of the literature that yielded a total of 54 functional neuroimaging studies. We conducted two quantitative meta-analyses using activation likelihood estimation to identify reliable patterns of activation engaged by i. conscious (n = 45 studies, comprising 704 participants) and ii. unconscious (n = 16 studies, comprising 262 participants) visual processing during various task performances. Results of the meta-analysis specific to conscious percepts quantitatively revealed reliable activations across a constellation of regions comprising the bilateral inferior frontal junction, intraparietal sulcus, dorsal anterior cingulate, angular gyrus, temporo-occipital cortex and anterior insula. Neurosynth reverse inference revealed conscious visual processing to be intertwined with cognitive terms related to attention, cognitive control and working memory. Results of the meta-analysis on unconscious percepts revealed consistent activations in the lateral occipital complex, intraparietal sulcus and precuneus. These findings highlight the notion that conscious visual processing readily engages higher-level regions including the inferior frontal junction and unconscious processing reliably recruits posterior regions, mainly the lateral occipital complex.
Collapse
|
4
|
Intrinsic brain dynamics in the Default Mode Network predict involuntary fluctuations of visual awareness. Nat Commun 2022; 13:6923. [PMID: 36376303 PMCID: PMC9663583 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34410-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Brain activity is intrinsically organised into spatiotemporal patterns, but it is still not clear whether these intrinsic patterns are functional or epiphenomenal. Using a simultaneous fMRI-EEG implementation of a well-known bistable visual task, we showed that the latent transient states in the intrinsic EEG oscillations can predict upcoming involuntarily perceptual transitions. The critical state predicting a dominant perceptual transition was characterised by the phase coupling between the precuneus (PCU), a key node of the Default Mode Network (DMN), and the primary visual cortex (V1). The interaction between the lifetime of this state and the PCU- > V1 Granger-causal effect is correlated with the perceptual fluctuation rate. Our study suggests that the brain's endogenous dynamics are phenomenologically relevant, as they can elicit a diversion between potential visual processing pathways, while external stimuli remain the same. In this sense, the intrinsic DMN dynamics pre-empt the content of consciousness.
Collapse
|
5
|
The Effects of Spatial Attention Focus and Visual Awareness on the Processing of Fearful Faces: An ERP Study. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12070823. [PMID: 35884630 PMCID: PMC9313043 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12070823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous research on the relationship between attention and emotion processing have focused essentially on consciously-viewed, supraliminal stimuli, while the attention-emotion interplay remains unexplored in situations where visual awareness is restricted. Here, we presented participants with face pairs in a backward masking paradigm and examined the electrophysiological activity in response to fearful and neutral expressions under different conditions of attention (spatially attended vs. unattended) and stimulus visibility (subliminal vs. supraliminal). We found an enhanced N2 (visual awareness negativity -VAN-) and an enhanced P3 for supraliminal compared to subliminal faces. The VAN, indexing the early perceptual awareness, was enhanced when the faces were spatially attended compared to when they were unattended, showing that the VAN does not require spatial attention focus but can be enhanced by it. Fearful relative to neutral expressions enhanced the early neural activity (N2) regardless of spatial attention but only in the supraliminal viewing condition. However, fear-related enhancements on later neural activity (P3) were found when stimuli were both attended and presented supraliminally. These findings suggest that visual awareness is needed for emotion processing during both early and late stages. Spatial attention is required for emotion processing at the later stage but not at the early stage.
Collapse
|
6
|
Abstract
This article argues that consciousness has a logically sound, explanatory framework, different from typical accounts that suffer from hidden mysticism. The article has three main parts. The first describes background principles concerning information processing in the brain, from which one can deduce a general, rational framework for explaining consciousness. The second part describes a specific theory that embodies those background principles, the Attention Schema Theory. In the past several years, a growing body of experimental evidence-behavioral evidence, brain imaging evidence, and computational modeling-has addressed aspects of the theory. The final part discusses the evolution of consciousness. By emphasizing the specific role of consciousness in cognition and behavior, the present approach leads to a proposed account of how consciousness may have evolved over millions of years, from fish to humans. The goal of this article is to present a comprehensive, overarching framework in which we can understand scientifically what consciousness is and what key adaptive roles it plays in brain function.
Collapse
|
7
|
Salgado-Pineda P, Fuentes-Claramonte P, Spanlang B, Pomes A, Landin-Romero R, Portillo F, Bosque C, Franquelo JC, Teixido C, Sarró S, Salvador R, Pomarol-Clotet E. Neural correlates of disturbance in the sense of agency in schizophrenia: An fMRI study using the 'enfacement' paradigm. Schizophr Res 2022; 243:395-401. [PMID: 34218983 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2021.06.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Revised: 05/26/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
An altered sense of self-awareness and agency has been proposed to underlie symptoms of schizophrenia. In this study, we used the enfacement illusion paradigm - in which perception of another person's face leads to changes in perception of one's own peri-personal space - to examine the brain correlates of the sense of agency and its potential disruption in schizophrenia. Thirty-three schizophrenic patients and 27 healthy controls underwent fMRI scanning during performance of a task designed to elicit the enfacement illusion. Activations were examined using whole-brain analysis and also in an a priori identified region of interest (ROI) in the temporoparietal junction (TPJ), a region that has been described as involved in self/other differentiation and sense of agency. Both groups showed a pattern of cortical activation involving the pre and postcentral cortex, Rolandic operculum, insula, parietal, temporal and occipital cortex bilaterally as well as TPJ (but only right-side in patients). Examination of the TPJ ROI revealed significantly reduced activation on the left in the patients that was associated with poorer insight. The findings suggest brain functional abnormality in schizophrenia related to the formation or maintenance of processes related to self and/or agency. Decreased function in the TPJ may have a role in the impaired insight seen in patients with the disorder.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pilar Salgado-Pineda
- FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries Research Foundation, Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Barcelona, Spain.
| | - P Fuentes-Claramonte
- FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries Research Foundation, Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Bernhard Spanlang
- Event Lab, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Institute of Neuroscience of the University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Virtual Bodyworks S.L., Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ausias Pomes
- Event Lab, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Accenture, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ramón Landin-Romero
- FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries Research Foundation, Barcelona, Spain; The University of Sydney, Brain & Mind Centre, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Sydney,NSW, Australia
| | | | - Clara Bosque
- Benito Menni Complex Assistencial en Salut Mental, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Cristina Teixido
- Hospital Mare de Dèu de la Mercé, Unitat Polivalent Barcelona Nord, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Salvador Sarró
- FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries Research Foundation, Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Raymond Salvador
- FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries Research Foundation, Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Edith Pomarol-Clotet
- FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries Research Foundation, Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Barcelona, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Aflalo T, Zhang C, Revechkis B, Rosario E, Pouratian N, Andersen RA. Implicit mechanisms of intention. Curr Biol 2022; 32:2051-2060.e6. [PMID: 35390282 PMCID: PMC9090994 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.03.047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Revised: 02/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
High-level cortical regions encode motor decisions before or even absent awareness, suggesting that neural processes predetermine behavior before conscious choice. Such early neural encoding challenges popular conceptions of human agency. It also raises fundamental questions for brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) that traditionally assume that neural activity reflects the user's conscious intentions. Here, we study the timing of human posterior parietal cortex single-neuron activity recorded from implanted microelectrode arrays relative to the explicit urge to initiate movement. Participants were free to choose when to move, whether to move, and what to move, and they retrospectively reported the time they felt the urge to move. We replicate prior studies by showing that posterior parietal cortex (PPC) neural activity sharply rises hundreds of milliseconds before the reported urge. However, we find that this "preconscious" activity is part of a dynamic neural population response that initiates much earlier, when the participant first chooses to perform the task. Together with details of neural timing, our results suggest that PPC encodes an internal model of the motor planning network that transforms high-level task objectives into appropriate motor behavior. These new data challenge traditional interpretations of early neural activity and offer a more holistic perspective on the interplay between choice, behavior, and their neural underpinnings. Our results have important implications for translating BMIs into more complex real-world environments. We find that early neural dynamics are sufficient to drive BMI movements before the participant intends to initiate movement. Appropriate algorithms ensure that BMI movements align with the subject's awareness of choice.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tyson Aflalo
- California Institute of Technology, Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, 1200 E California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USA; California Institute of Technology, Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Brain-Machine Interface Center, 1200 E California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
| | - Carey Zhang
- California Institute of Technology, Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, 1200 E California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Boris Revechkis
- California Institute of Technology, Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, 1200 E California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Emily Rosario
- Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Rehabilitation, 255 E Bonita Ave, Pomona, CA 91767, USA
| | - Nader Pouratian
- University of California, Los Angeles, Geffen School of Medicine, 10833 Le Conte Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Richard A Andersen
- California Institute of Technology, Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, 1200 E California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USA; California Institute of Technology, Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Brain-Machine Interface Center, 1200 E California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Morris TP, Kucyi A, Anteraper SA, Geddes MR, Nieto-Castañon A, Burzynska A, Gothe NP, Fanning J, Salerno EA, Whitfield-Gabrieli S, Hillman CH, McAuley E, Kramer AF. Resting state functional connectivity provides mechanistic predictions of future changes in sedentary behavior. Sci Rep 2022; 12:940. [PMID: 35042916 PMCID: PMC8766514 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-04738-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 12/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Sedentary behaviors are increasing at the cost of millions of dollars spent in health care and productivity losses due to physical inactivity-related deaths worldwide. Understanding the mechanistic predictors of sedentary behaviors will improve future intervention development and precision medicine approaches. It has been posited that humans have an innate attraction towards effort minimization and that inhibitory control is required to overcome this prepotent disposition. Consequently, we hypothesized that individual differences in the functional connectivity of brain regions implicated in inhibitory control and physical effort decision making at the beginning of an exercise intervention in older adults would predict the change in time spent sedentary over the course of that intervention. In 143 healthy, low-active older adults participating in a 6-month aerobic exercise intervention (with three conditions: walking, dance, stretching), we aimed to use baseline neuroimaging (resting state functional connectivity of two a priori defined seed regions), and baseline accelerometer measures of time spent sedentary to predict future pre-post changes in objectively measured time spent sedentary in daily life over the 6-month intervention. Our results demonstrated that functional connectivity between (1) the anterior cingulate cortex and the supplementary motor area and (2) the right anterior insula and the left temporoparietal/temporooccipital junction, predicted changes in time spent sedentary in the walking group. Functional connectivity of these brain regions did not predict changes in time spent sedentary in the dance nor stretch and tone conditions, but baseline time spent sedentary was predictive in these conditions. Our results add important knowledge toward understanding mechanistic associations underlying complex out-of-session sedentary behaviors within a walking intervention setting in older adults.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Timothy P Morris
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, 435 ISEC, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, 02115, USA.
| | - Aaron Kucyi
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, 435 ISEC, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, 02115, USA
| | - Sheeba Arnold Anteraper
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, 435 ISEC, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, 02115, USA
| | - Maiya Rachel Geddes
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, USA
| | - Alfonso Nieto-Castañon
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, 435 ISEC, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, 02115, USA
| | - Agnieszka Burzynska
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, USA
| | - Neha P Gothe
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Urbana, USA
- Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Jason Fanning
- Department of Health and Exercise Sciences, Wake Forrest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Salerno
- Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, 435 ISEC, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, 02115, USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Charles H Hillman
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, 435 ISEC, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, 02115, USA
- Department of Physical Therapy, Movement, and Rehabilitation Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Edward McAuley
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Urbana, USA
- Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Arthur F Kramer
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, 435 ISEC, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, 02115, USA
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Urbana, USA
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Bachmann T. Representational 'touch' and modulatory 'retouch'-two necessary neurobiological processes in thalamocortical interaction for conscious experience. Neurosci Conscious 2021; 2021:niab045. [PMID: 34925911 PMCID: PMC8672242 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niab045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2021] [Revised: 11/16/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Theories of consciousness using neurobiological data or being influenced by these data have been focused either on states of consciousness or contents of consciousness. These theories have occasionally used evidence from psychophysical phenomena where conscious experience is a dependent experimental variable. However, systematic catalog of many such relevant phenomena has not been offered in terms of these theories. In the perceptual retouch theory of thalamocortical interaction, recently developed to become a blend with the dendritic integration theory, consciousness states and contents of consciousness are explained by the same mechanism. This general-purpose mechanism has modulation of the cortical layer-5 pyramidal neurons that represent contents of consciousness as its core. As a surplus, many experimental psychophysical phenomena of conscious perception can be explained by the workings of this mechanism. Historical origins and current views inherent in this theory are presented and reviewed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Talis Bachmann
- Department of Penal Law, Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Law, University of Tartu (Tallinn Branch), Kaarli puiestee 3, Tallinn 10119, Estonia
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Lamichhane B, Jayasekera D, Jakes R, Ray WZ, Leuthardt EC, Hawasli AH. Functional Disruptions of the Brain in Low Back Pain: A Potential Imaging Biomarker of Functional Disability. Front Neurol 2021; 12:669076. [PMID: 34335444 PMCID: PMC8317987 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2021.669076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic low back pain (LBP) is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. While LBP research has largely focused on the spine, many studies have demonstrated a restructuring of human brain architecture accompanying LBP and other chronic pain states. Brain imaging presents a promising source for discovering noninvasive biomarkers that can improve diagnostic and prognostication outcomes for chronic LBP. This study evaluated graph theory measures derived from brain resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) as prospective noninvasive biomarkers of LBP. We also proposed and tested a hybrid feature selection method (Enet-subset) that combines Elastic Net and an optimal subset selection method. We collected resting-state functional MRI scans from 24 LBP patients and 27 age-matched healthy controls (HC). We then derived graph-theoretical features and trained a support vector machine (SVM) to classify patient group. The degree centrality (DC), clustering coefficient (CC), and betweenness centrality (BC) were found to be significant predictors of patient group. We achieved an average classification accuracy of 83.1% (p < 0.004) and AUC of 0.937 (p < 0.002), respectively. Similarly, we achieved a sensitivity and specificity of 87.0 and 79.7%. The classification results from this study suggest that graph matrices derived from rsFC can be used as biomarkers of LBP. In addition, our findings suggest that the proposed feature selection method, Enet-subset, might act as a better technique to remove redundant variables and improve the performance of the machine learning classifier.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bidhan Lamichhane
- Department of Neurosurgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Dinal Jayasekera
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis McKelvey School of Engineering, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Rachel Jakes
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis McKelvey School of Engineering, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Wilson Z Ray
- Department of Neurosurgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis McKelvey School of Engineering, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Eric C Leuthardt
- Department of Neurosurgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis McKelvey School of Engineering, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Ammar H Hawasli
- Department of Neurosurgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States.,Meritas Health Neurosurgery, North Kansas City, MO, United States
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Abstract
The attention schema theory posits a specific relationship between subjective awareness and attention, in which awareness is the control model that the brain uses to aid in the endogenous control of attention. In previous experiments, we developed a behavioral paradigm in human subjects to manipulate awareness and attention. The paradigm involved a visual cue that could be used to guide attention to a target stimulus. In task 1, subjects were aware of the cue, but not aware that it provided information about the target. The cue measurably drew exogenous attention to itself. In addition, implicitly, the subjects' endogenous attention mechanism used the cue to help shift attention to the target. In task 2, subjects were no longer aware of the cue. The cue still measurably drew exogenous attention to itself, yet without awareness of the cue, the subjects' endogenous control mechanism was no longer able to use the cue to control attention. Thus, the control of attention depended on awareness. Here, we tested the two tasks while scanning brain activity in human volunteers. We predicted that the right temporoparietal junction (TPJ) would be active in relation to the process in which awareness helps control attention. This prediction was confirmed. The right TPJ was active in relation to the effect of the cue on attention in task 1; it was not measurably active in task 2. The difference was significant. In our interpretation, the right TPJ is involved in an interaction in which awareness permits the control of attention.
Collapse
|
13
|
Hoffman RM, Embury CM, Lew BJ, Heinrichs-Graham E, Wilson TW, Kurz MJ. Cortical oscillations that underlie visual selective attention are abnormal in adolescents with cerebral palsy. Sci Rep 2021; 11:4661. [PMID: 33633169 PMCID: PMC7907343 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-83898-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Adolescence is a critical period for the development and refinement of several higher-level cognitive functions, including visual selective attention. Clinically, it has been noted that adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP) may have deficits in selectively attending to objects within their visual field. This study aimed to evaluate the neural oscillatory activity in the ventral attention network while adolescents with CP performed a visual selective attention task. Adolescents with CP (N = 14; Age = 15.7 ± 4 years; MACS I-III; GMFCS I-IV) and neurotypical (NT) adolescents (N = 21; Age = 14.3 ± 2 years) performed the Eriksen flanker task while undergoing magnetoencephalographic (MEG) brain imaging. The participants reported the direction of a target arrow that was surrounded by congruent or incongruent flanking arrows. Compared with NT adolescents, adolescents with CP had slower responses and made more errors regarding the direction of the target arrow. The MEG results revealed that adolescents with CP had stronger alpha oscillations in the left insula when the flanking arrows were incongruent. Furthermore, participants that had more errors also tended to have stronger alpha oscillatory activity in this brain region. Altogether these results indicate that the aberrant activity seen in the left insula is associated with diminished visual selective attention function in adolescents with CP.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rashelle M Hoffman
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, 14000 Boys Town Hospital Road, Boys Town, NE, 68010, USA.,Department of Physical Therapy, Munroe-Meyer Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Christine M Embury
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, 14000 Boys Town Hospital Road, Boys Town, NE, 68010, USA
| | - Brandon J Lew
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, 14000 Boys Town Hospital Road, Boys Town, NE, 68010, USA
| | - Elizabeth Heinrichs-Graham
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, 14000 Boys Town Hospital Road, Boys Town, NE, 68010, USA
| | - Tony W Wilson
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, 14000 Boys Town Hospital Road, Boys Town, NE, 68010, USA
| | - Max J Kurz
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, 14000 Boys Town Hospital Road, Boys Town, NE, 68010, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Maier A, Tsuchiya N. Growing evidence for separate neural mechanisms for attention and consciousness. Atten Percept Psychophys 2021; 83:558-576. [PMID: 33034851 PMCID: PMC7886945 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-020-02146-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Our conscious experience of the world seems to go in lockstep with our attentional focus: We tend to see, hear, taste, and feel what we attend to, and vice versa. This tight coupling between attention and consciousness has given rise to the idea that these two phenomena are indivisible. In the late 1950s, the honoree of this special issue, Charles Eriksen, was among a small group of early pioneers that sought to investigate whether a transient increase in overall level of attention (alertness) in response to a noxious stimulus can be decoupled from conscious perception using experimental techniques. Recent years saw a similar debate regarding whether attention and consciousness are two dissociable processes. Initial evidence that attention and consciousness are two separate processes primarily rested on behavioral data. However, the past couple of years witnessed an explosion of studies aimed at testing this conjecture using neuroscientific techniques. Here we provide an overview of these and related empirical studies on the distinction between the neuronal correlates of attention and consciousness, and detail how advancements in theory and technology can bring about a more detailed understanding of the two. We argue that the most promising approach will combine ever-evolving neurophysiological and interventionist tools with quantitative, empirically testable theories of consciousness that are grounded in a mathematically formalized understanding of phenomenology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Maier
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
| | - Naotsugu Tsuchiya
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health & School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing, and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
- Advanced Telecommunications Research Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, 2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto, 619-0288, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Knotts JD, Michel M, Odegaard B. Defending subjective inflation: an inference to the best explanation. Neurosci Conscious 2020; 2020:niaa025. [PMID: 33343930 PMCID: PMC7734437 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niaa025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Revised: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
In a recent opinion piece, Abid (2019) criticizes the hypothesis that subjective inflation may partly account for apparent phenomenological richness across the visual field and outside the focus of attention. In response, we address three main issues. First, we maintain that inflation should be interpreted as an intraperceptual-and not post-perceptual-phenomenon. Second, we describe how inflation may differ from filling-in. Finally, we contend that, in general, there is sufficient evidence to tip the scales toward intraperceptual interpretations of visibility and confidence judgments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J D Knotts
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 502 Portola Plaza Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Matthias Michel
- Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street London WC2A 2AE, UK
- Consciousness, Cognition & Computation Group, Centre for Research in Cognition & Neurosciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 50 avenue F.D. Roosevelt CP191 B–1050, Bruxelles, Belgium
| | - Brian Odegaard
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, 945 Center Dr. P.O. Box 112250 Gainesville, FL 32603, USA
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Davidson MJ, Mithen W, Hogendoorn H, van Boxtel JJA, Tsuchiya N. The SSVEP tracks attention, not consciousness, during perceptual filling-in. eLife 2020; 9:e60031. [PMID: 33170121 PMCID: PMC7682990 DOI: 10.7554/elife.60031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Accepted: 11/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Research on the neural basis of conscious perception has almost exclusively shown that becoming aware of a stimulus leads to increased neural responses. By designing a novel form of perceptual filling-in (PFI) overlaid with a dynamic texture display, we frequency-tagged multiple disappearing targets as well as their surroundings. We show that in a PFI paradigm, the disappearance of a stimulus and subjective invisibility is associated with increases in neural activity, as measured with steady-state visually evoked potentials (SSVEPs), in electroencephalography (EEG). We also find that this increase correlates with alpha-band activity, a well-established neural measure of attention. These findings cast doubt on the direct relationship previously reported between the strength of neural activity and conscious perception, at least when measured with current tools, such as the SSVEP. Instead, we conclude that SSVEP strength more closely measures changes in attention.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J Davidson
- School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science, Monash UniversityMelbourneAustralia
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, University of OxfordOxfordUnited Kingdom
| | - Will Mithen
- School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science, Monash UniversityMelbourneAustralia
| | - Hinze Hogendoorn
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of MelbourneMelbourneAustralia
| | - Jeroen JA van Boxtel
- Discipline of Psychology, Faculty of Health, University of CanberraCanberraAustralia
| | - Naotsugu Tsuchiya
- School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science, Monash UniversityMelbourneAustralia
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science, Monash UniversityMelbourneAustralia
- Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT)SuitaJapan
- Advanced Telecommunications Research Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, 2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gunKyotoJapan
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Kim DY, Jung EK, Zhang J, Lee SY, Lee JH. Functional magnetic resonance imaging multivoxel pattern analysis reveals neuronal substrates for collaboration and competition with myopic and predictive strategic reasoning. Hum Brain Mapp 2020; 41:4314-4331. [PMID: 32633451 PMCID: PMC7502831 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2020] [Revised: 06/20/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Competition and collaboration are strategies that can be used to optimize the outcomes of social interactions. Research into the neuronal substrates underlying these aspects of social behavior has been limited due to the difficulty in distinguishing complex activation via univariate analysis. Therefore, we employed multivoxel pattern analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging to reveal the neuronal activations underlying competitive and collaborative processes when the collaborator/opponent used myopic/predictive reasoning. Twenty‐four healthy subjects participated in 2 × 2 matrix‐based sequential‐move games. Searchlight‐based multivoxel patterns were used as input for a support vector machine using nested cross‐validation to distinguish game conditions, and identified voxels were validated via the regression of the behavioral data with bootstrapping. The left anterior insula (accuracy = 78.5%) was associated with competition, and middle frontal gyrus (75.1%) was associated with predictive reasoning. The inferior/superior parietal lobules (84.8%) and middle frontal gyrus (84.7%) were associated with competition, particularly in trials with a predictive opponent. The visual/motor areas were related to response time as a proxy for visual attention and task difficulty. Our results suggest that multivoxel patterns better represent the neuronal substrates underlying the social cognition of collaboration and competition intermixed with myopic and predictive reasoning than do univariate features.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dong-Youl Kim
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Eun Kyung Jung
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Jun Zhang
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Soo-Young Lee
- Department of Electrical Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon, South Korea.,Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Jong-Hwan Lee
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Bachmann T. Commentary: Decoding across sensory modalities reveals common supramodal signatures of conscious perception. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:195. [PMID: 32595462 PMCID: PMC7300254 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2020] [Accepted: 04/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
|
19
|
Wilterson AI, Kemper CM, Kim N, Webb TW, Reblando AMW, Graziano MSA. Attention control and the attention schema theory of consciousness. Prog Neurobiol 2020; 195:101844. [PMID: 32497564 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2020.101844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2019] [Revised: 04/14/2020] [Accepted: 05/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
In the attention schema theory (AST), the brain constructs a schematic, simplified model of attention. The model is associated with three cognitive processes: a model of one's own attention contributes to the endogenous control of attention, a model of the attention of others contributes to theory of mind, and the contents of these models leads to the common human claim that we contain a non-physical consciousness or awareness inside us. Because AST is a control-engineering style theory, it can make specific predictions in complex situations. Here, over six experiments, we examined interactions between attention and awareness to test predictions of AST. Participants performed a visual task in which a cue stimulus affected their attention, as measured by their reactions to a subsequent target stimulus. The task measured both exogenous attention drawn to the cue and endogenous attention directed to a target location predicted by the cue. When participants were not aware that the cue predicted the target, both exogenous and endogenous attention effects remained. In contrast, when participants were not visually aware of the cue itself, the exogenous attention effect remained and the endogenous effect was impaired. In an additional two experiments, when participants learned an implicit shift of attention, the learning generalized from trained spatial locations to adjacent, untrained locations. Each of these findings matched predictions of AST. The results support the interpretation that attention control relies partly on an internal model that is responsible for claims of awareness.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew I Wilterson
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, United States
| | - Casey M Kemper
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, United States
| | - Noah Kim
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, United States
| | - Taylor W Webb
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
| | | | - Michael S A Graziano
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Graziano MSA, Guterstam A, Bio BJ, Wilterson AI. Toward a standard model of consciousness: Reconciling the attention schema, global workspace, higher-order thought, and illusionist theories. Cogn Neuropsychol 2019; 37:155-172. [PMID: 31556341 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2019.1670630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Here we examine how people's understanding of consciousness may have been shaped by an implicit theory of mind. This social cognition approach may help to make sense of an apparent divide between the physically incoherent consciousness we think we have and the complex, rich, but mechanistic consciousness we may actually have. We suggest this approach helps reconcile some of the current cognitive neuroscience theories of consciousness. We argue that a single, coherent explanation of consciousness is available and has been for some time, encompassing the views of many researchers, but is not yet recognized. It is obscured partly by terminological differences, and partly because researchers view isolated pieces of it as rival theories. It may be time to recognize that a deeper, coherent pool of ideas, a kind of standard model, is available to explain multiple layers of consciousness and how they relate to specific networks within the brain.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael S A Graziano
- Department of Psychology and Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Arvid Guterstam
- Department of Psychology and Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Branden J Bio
- Department of Psychology and Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Andrew I Wilterson
- Department of Psychology and Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Patel GH, Sestieri C, Corbetta M. The evolution of the temporoparietal junction and posterior superior temporal sulcus. Cortex 2019; 118:38-50. [PMID: 30808550 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.01.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2018] [Revised: 01/04/2019] [Accepted: 01/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The scale at which humans can handle complex social situations is massively increased compared to other animals. However, the neural substrates of this scaling remain poorly understood. In this review, we discuss how the expansion and rearrangement of the temporoparietal junction and posterior superior temporal sulcus (TPJ-pSTS) may have played a key role in the growth of human social abilities. Comparing the function and anatomy of the TPJ-pSTS in humans and macaques, which are thought to be separated by 25 million years of evolution, we find that the expansion of this region in humans has shifted the architecture of the dorsal and ventral processing streams. The TPJ-pSTS contains areas related to face-emotion processing, attention, theory of mind operations, and memory; its expansion has allowed for the elaboration and rearrangement of the cortical areas contained within, and potentially the introduction of new cortical areas. Based on the arrangement and the function of these areas in the human, we propose that the TPJ-pSTS is the basis of a third frontoparietal processing stream that underlies the increased social abilities in humans. We then describe a model of how the TPJ-pSTS areas interact as a hub that coordinates the activities of multiple brain networks in the exploration of the complex dynamic social scenes typical of the human social experience.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gaurav H Patel
- Columbia University, USA; New York State Psychiatric Institute, USA.
| | | | - Maurizio Corbetta
- University of Padova, Italy; Washington University School of Medicine, USA
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Penner J, Osuch EA, Schaefer B, Théberge J, Neufeld RWJ, Menon RS, Rajakumar N, Williamson PC. Temporoparietal Junction Functional Connectivity in Early Schizophrenia and Major Depressive Disorder. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 2:2470547018815232. [PMID: 32440588 PMCID: PMC7219936 DOI: 10.1177/2470547018815232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2018] [Accepted: 11/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Background The temporoparietal junction (TPJ) has been linked to lower-level attentional
and higher-level social processing, both of which are affected in
schizophrenia (SZ) and major depressive disorder (MDD). We examined resting
functional connectivity of bilateral anterior and posterior TPJ in SZ and
MDD to evaluate potential anomalies in each disorder and differences between
disorders. Methods Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired from
24 patients with SZ, 24 patients with MDD, and 24 age-matched healthy
controls. We performed seed-based functional connectivity analyses with seed
regions in bilateral anterior and posterior TPJ, covarying for gender and
smoking. Results SZ had reduced connectivity versus controls between left anterior TPJ and
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC);
between left posterior TPJ and middle cingulate cortex, left dorsal PFC, and
right lateral PFC; between right anterior TPJ and bilateral PCC; and between
right posterior TPJ and middle cingulate cortex, left posterior insula, and
right insula. MDD had reduced connectivity versus controls between left
posterior TPJ and right dlPFC and between right posterior TPJ and PCC and
dlPFC. SZ had reduced connectivity versus MDD between right posterior TPJ
and left fusiform gyrus and right superior-posterior temporal cortex. Conclusion Functional connectivity to the TPJ was demonstrated to be disrupted in both
SZ and MDD. However, TPJ connectivity may differ in these disorders with
reduced connectivity in SZ versus MDD between TPJ and posterior brain
regions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jacob Penner
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Imaging Division, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON, Canada.,First Episode Mood and Anxiety Program, London Health Sciences Centre, London, ON, Canada
| | - Elizabeth A Osuch
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Imaging Division, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON, Canada.,First Episode Mood and Anxiety Program, London Health Sciences Centre, London, ON, Canada.,Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Betsy Schaefer
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Jean Théberge
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Imaging Division, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON, Canada.,Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Richard W J Neufeld
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Neuroscience Program, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Ravi S Menon
- Imaging Division, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON, Canada.,Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping, Robarts Research Institute, London, ON, Canada
| | - Nagalingam Rajakumar
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Peter C Williamson
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Imaging Division, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON, Canada.,Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Anhøj S, Ødegaard Nielsen M, Jensen MH, Ford K, Fagerlund B, Williamson P, Glenthøj B, Rostrup E. Alterations of Intrinsic Connectivity Networks in Antipsychotic-Naïve First-Episode Schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 2018; 44:1332-1340. [PMID: 29373756 PMCID: PMC6192505 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbx171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The investigation of large-scale intrinsic connectivity networks in antipsychotic-naïve first-episode schizophrenia increases our understanding of system-level cerebral dysfunction in schizophrenia while enabling control of confounding effects of medication and disease progression. Reports on functional connectivity in antipsychotic-naïve patients have been mixed and the relation between network alterations, psychopathology and cognition is unclear. METHODS A total number of 47 patients with first-episode schizophrenia who had never received antipsychotic medication and 47 healthy controls were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging under resting conditions. Main outcome measures were differences in functional connectivity between groups and the relationship between network alterations, psychopathology and cognition. RESULTS Altered connectivity was found between right central executive network (CEN) and right ventral attention network (VAN) (patients > controls, P = .001), left CEN and left VAN (P = .002), and between posterior default mode network and auditory network (P = .006). Association between network connectivity and clinical characteristics was found as interactions between the effects of group and sustained attention (P = .005) and between group and processing speed (P = .007) on the connectivity between right CEN and right VAN. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that the early phase of schizophrenia is characterized by increased connectivity between fronto-parietal networks suggested to be involved in the control of cognitive and sensory functions. Moreover, the present study suggests that the problem of not disengaging the VAN leads to difficulties with attention and possibly subjective awareness.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Simon Anhøj
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, University of Copenhagen, Denmark,Functional Imaging Unit, Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Rigshospitalet Glostrup, Denmark,To whom correspondence should be addressed; Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Nordre Ringvej 29-67, 2600 Glostrup, Denmark; tel: 4523-837-790, fax: 0045 38640443 e-mail:
| | - Mette Ødegaard Nielsen
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Maria Høj Jensen
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kristin Ford
- Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London Health Science Centre, University Hospital, Canada
| | - Birgitte Fagerlund
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Peter Williamson
- Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London Health Science Centre, University Hospital, Canada
| | - Birte Glenthøj
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Egill Rostrup
- Functional Imaging Unit, Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Rigshospitalet Glostrup, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Bachmann T. Visual masking: Contributions from and comments on Bruce Bridgeman. Conscious Cogn 2018; 64:13-18. [DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2018.04.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2018] [Revised: 03/26/2018] [Accepted: 04/24/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
|
25
|
Morales J, Mouradi Y, Sergent C, Block N, Taschereau-Dumouchel V, Rosenthal D, Grimaldi P, Lau H. Measuring away an attentional confound? Neurosci Conscious 2018; 2017:nix018. [PMID: 30042850 PMCID: PMC6007151 DOI: 10.1093/nc/nix018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2017] [Revised: 06/06/2017] [Accepted: 06/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
A recent fMRI study by Webb et al. (Cortical networks involved in visual awareness independent of visual attention, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016;113:13923–28) proposes a new method for finding the neural correlates of awareness by matching attention across awareness conditions. The experimental design, however, seems at odds with known features of attention. We highlight logical and methodological points that are critical when trying to disentangle attention and awareness.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Morales
- Department of Philosophy, Columbia University, New York, USA
| | | | - Claire Sergent
- Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception, Université Paris Descartes et Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, France
| | - Ned Block
- Department of Philosophy, New York University, New York, USA
| | | | - David Rosenthal
- Philosophy Program and Concentration in Cognitive Science, Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, USA
| | - Piercesare Grimaldi
- Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Neurobiology, UCLA, California, USA.,The Semel Institute for Neuroscience, UCLA, California, USA
| | - Hakwan Lau
- Department of Psychology, UCLA, California, USA.,Brain Research Institute, UCLA, California, USA
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Graziano MSA. The temporoparietal junction and awareness. Neurosci Conscious 2018; 2018:niy005. [PMID: 30042858 PMCID: PMC6007131 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niy005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2017] [Revised: 02/12/2018] [Accepted: 02/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual attention and awareness can be experimentally separated. In a recent study (Webb et al., Cortical networks involved in visual awareness independently of visual attention. Proc Natl Acad USA 2016a;113:13923-8), we suggested that awareness was associated with activity in a set of cortical networks that overlap the temporoparietal junction. In a comment, Morales et al. (Measuring away an attentional confound? Neurosci Conscious 2017;3:doi:10.1093/nc/nix018) suggested that we had imperfectly controlled attention thereby jeopardizing the experimental logic. Though we agree that attention behaves differently in the presence and absence of awareness, we argue it is still possible to roughly equate the level of attention between aware and unaware conditions, and that an imbalance in attention probably does not explain our experimental results.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael S A Graziano
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Perceptual averaging of facial expressions requires visual awareness and attention. Conscious Cogn 2018; 62:110-126. [PMID: 29573970 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2018.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2017] [Revised: 12/27/2017] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Humans, as highly social animals, are regularly exposed to the faces of conspecifics-often more than one at a time. This feature of social living is important for understanding face perception, not just because it means that information from faces is available in bulk, but also because it changes the way individuals are perceived. For instance, when two faces are seen nearby one another, they tend to look like each other. This phenomenon of perceptual averaging is robust when both faces are seen and attended. But in everyday life, some faces may not receive the full benefit of attention, or they may not be visible at all. We evaluated whether perceptual averaging of relatively complex and simple information on faces, including facial expression and head orientation, can still occur even in these circumstances. In particular, we used object-substitution masking (OSM) and a dual-task designed to disrupt visual awareness and attention, respectively, during evaluations of briefly presented face pairs. Disruptions of awareness or attention eliminated averaging of facial expression, whereas orientation averaging persisted in spite of these challenges. These results demonstrate boundary conditions for the process of perceptual averaging. More generally, they provide insight into how the visual system processes multitudes of objects, both simple and complex, both with and without attention and awareness.
Collapse
|
28
|
Abstract
Most people have an intrinsic spatial bias—many are better at processing objects to the left, whereas some are biased to the right. Here, we found that this subtle bias in one’s own awareness is mirrored in one’s ability to process what is likely to be in other people’s minds. If you are biased toward processing your own right side of space, then you may be faster at recognizing when someone else processes an object to his or her right side. One possible interpretation is that we process the space around us, and understand how others process the space around them, using at least partially shared mechanisms. Many people show a left-right bias in visual processing. We measured spatial bias in neurotypical participants using a variant of the line bisection task. In the same participants, we measured performance in a social cognition task. This theory-of-mind task measured whether each participant had a processing-speed bias toward the right of, or left of, a cartoon agent about which the participant was thinking. Crucially, the cartoon was rotated such that what was left and right with respect to the cartoon was up and down with respect to the participant. Thus, a person’s own left-right bias could not align directly onto left and right with respect to the cartoon head. Performance on the two tasks was significantly correlated. People who had a natural bias toward processing their own left side of space were quicker to process how the cartoon might think about objects to the left side of its face, and likewise for a rightward bias. One possible interpretation of these results is that the act of processing one’s own personal space shares some of the same underlying mechanisms as the social cognitive act of reconstructing someone else’s processing of their space.
Collapse
|
29
|
Graziano MSA. The Attention Schema Theory: A Foundation for Engineering Artificial Consciousness. Front Robot AI 2017. [DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2017.00060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
|
30
|
Stock AK, Dajkic D, Köhling HL, von Heinegg EH, Fiedler M, Beste C. Humans with latent toxoplasmosis display altered reward modulation of cognitive control. Sci Rep 2017; 7:10170. [PMID: 28860577 PMCID: PMC5579228 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-10926-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2017] [Accepted: 08/17/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Latent infection with Toxoplasma gondii has repeatedly been shown to be associated with behavioral changes that are commonly attributed to a presumed increase in dopaminergic signaling. Yet, virtually nothing is known about its effects on dopamine-driven reward processing. We therefore assessed behavior and event-related potentials in individuals with vs. without latent toxoplasmosis performing a rewarded control task. The data show that otherwise healthy young adults with latent toxoplasmosis show a greatly diminished response to monetary rewards as compared to their non-infected counterparts. While this selective effect eliminated a toxoplasmosis-induced speed advantage previously observed for non-rewarded behavior, Toxo-positive subjects could still be demonstrated to be superior to Toxo-negative subjects with respect to response accuracy. Event-related potential (ERP) and source localization analyses revealed that this advantage during rewarded behavior was based on increased allocation of processing resources reflected by larger visual late positive component (LPC) amplitudes and associated activity changes in the right temporo-parietal junction (BA40) and left auditory cortex (BA41). Taken together, individuals with latent toxoplasmosis show superior behavioral performance in challenging cognitive control situations but may at the same time have a reduced sensitivity towards motivational effects of rewards, which might be explained by the presumed increase in dopamine.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ann-Kathrin Stock
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine of the TU Dresden, Schubertstr. 42, 01307, Dresden, Germany.
| | - Danica Dajkic
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine of the TU Dresden, Schubertstr. 42, 01307, Dresden, Germany
| | - Hedda Luise Köhling
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Virchowstr. 179, 45147, Essen, Germany
| | - Evelyn Heintschel von Heinegg
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Virchowstr. 179, 45147, Essen, Germany
| | - Melanie Fiedler
- Institute of Virology, University Hospital, University of Duisburg-Essen, Virchowstr. 179, 45147, Essen, Germany
| | - Christian Beste
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine of the TU Dresden, Schubertstr. 42, 01307, Dresden, Germany.,Experimental Neurobiology, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Vernet M, Japee S, Lokey S, Ahmed S, Zachariou V, Ungerleider LG. Endogenous visuospatial attention increases visual awareness independent of visual discrimination sensitivity. Neuropsychologia 2017; 128:297-304. [PMID: 28807647 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.08.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2017] [Accepted: 08/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Visuospatial attention often improves task performance by increasing signal gain at attended locations and decreasing noise at unattended locations. Attention is also believed to be the mechanism that allows information to enter awareness. In this experiment, we assessed whether orienting endogenous visuospatial attention with cues differentially affects visual discrimination sensitivity (an objective task performance) and visual awareness (the subjective feeling of perceiving) during the same discrimination task. Gabor patch targets were presented laterally, either at low contrast (contrast stimuli) or at high contrast embedded in noise (noise stimuli). Participants reported their orientation either in a 3-alternative choice task (clockwise, counterclockwise, unknown) that allowed for both objective and subjective reports, or in a 2-alternative choice task (clockwise, counterclockwise) that provided a control for objective reports. Signal detection theory models were fit to the experimental data: estimated perceptual sensitivity reflected objective performance; decision criteria, or subjective biases, were a proxy for visual awareness. Attention increased sensitivity (i.e., improved objective performance) for the contrast, but not for the noise stimuli. Indeed, with the latter, attention did not further enhance the already high target signal or reduce the already low uncertainty on its position. Interestingly, for both contrast and noise stimuli, attention resulted in more liberal criteria, i.e., awareness increased. The noise condition is thus an experimental configuration where people think they see the targets they attend to better, even if they do not. This could be explained by an internal representation of their attentional state, which influences awareness independent of objective visual signals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marine Vernet
- Section on Neurocircuitry, Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, NIMH/NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA.
| | - Shruti Japee
- Section on Neurocircuitry, Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, NIMH/NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Savannah Lokey
- Section on Neurocircuitry, Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, NIMH/NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Sara Ahmed
- Section on Neurocircuitry, Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, NIMH/NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Valentinos Zachariou
- Section on Neurocircuitry, Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, NIMH/NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Leslie G Ungerleider
- Section on Neurocircuitry, Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, NIMH/NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Tallon-Baudry C, Campana F, Park HD, Babo-Rebelo M. The neural monitoring of visceral inputs, rather than attention, accounts for first-person perspective in conscious vision. Cortex 2017; 102:139-149. [PMID: 28651745 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.05.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2017] [Revised: 05/02/2017] [Accepted: 05/24/2017] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Why should a scientist whose aim is to unravel the neural mechanisms of perception consider brain-body interactions seriously? Brain-body interactions have traditionally been associated with emotion, effort, or stress, but not with the "cold" processes of perception and attention. Here, we review recent experimental evidence suggesting a different picture: the neural monitoring of bodily state, and in particular the neural monitoring of the heart, affects visual perception. The impact of spontaneous fluctuations of neural responses to heartbeats on visual detection is as large as the impact of explicit manipulations of spatial attention in perceptual tasks. However, we propose that the neural monitoring of visceral inputs plays a specific role in conscious perception, distinct from the role of attention. The neural monitoring of organs such as the heart or the gut would generate a subject-centered reference frame, from which the first-person perspective inherent to conscious perception can develop. In this view, conscious perception results from the integration of visual content with first-person perspective.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Catherine Tallon-Baudry
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, Département d'études cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS), PSL Research University, INSERM, Paris, France.
| | - Florence Campana
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, Département d'études cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS), PSL Research University, INSERM, Paris, France; The Dynamic Perception Lab, Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Hyeong-Dong Park
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, Département d'études cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS), PSL Research University, INSERM, Paris, France; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Mariana Babo-Rebelo
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, Département d'études cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS), PSL Research University, INSERM, Paris, France
| |
Collapse
|