The Future Orientation of Past Memory: The Role of BA 10 in Prospective and Retrospective Retrieval Modes

Memories or decisions? Bridging accounts of frontopolar function

Frontopolar cortex (FPC), for a long time elusive to functional description, is now associated with a wide range of cognitive processes. Prominent accounts of FPC function emerged from studies of memory (e.g., episodic and prospective memory; EM and PM, respectively) and of executive function (e.g., planning, multi-tasking, relational reasoning, cognitive branching, etc). In recent years, FPC function has begun to be described within the context of value-based decision making in terms of monitoring the value of alternatives and optimizing cognitive resources to balance the explore/exploit dilemma in the face of volatile environments. In this perspective, we propose that the broad counterfactual inference and behavioural flexibility account can help re-interpret findings from EM and PM studies and offer an explanatory bridge between the memory and executive function accounts. More specifically, we propose that counterfactual value monitoring in FPC modulates the reallocation of cognitive resources between present and past information and contributes to efficient episodic and prospective retrieval by concurrently assessing the value of competing memories in relation to the decision at hand and proactively evaluating future potential scenarios to anticipate optimal engagement of intentions.

Daily Affect and Daily Prospective Memory in People after Stroke and Their Partners: The Moderating Role of Resting Heart Rate

INTRODUCTION

Experimental research suggests that affect may influence prospective memory performance, but real-life evidence on affect-prospective memory associations is limited. Moreover, most studies have examined the valence dimension of affect in understanding the influence of affect on cognitive performance in daily life, with insufficient consideration of the arousal dimension. To maximize ecological validity, the current study examined the relationships between daily affect and daily prospective memory using repeated daily assessments and the role of resting heart rate on these relationships. We examined both valence and arousal of daily affect by categorizing affect into four dimensions: high-arousal positive affect, low-arousal positive affect, high-arousal negative affect, and low-arousal negative affect.

METHOD

We examined existing data collected from community-dwelling couples, of which at least one partner had a stroke history. The analytic sample included 111 adults (Mage = 67.46 years, SD = 9.64; 50% women) who provided 1,274 days of data. Among the participants, 58 were living with the effects of a stroke and 53 were partners. Participants completed daily event-based prospective memory tasks (in morning and/or evening questionnaires), reported daily affect in the evening, and wore a wrist-based Fitbit device to monitor resting heart rate over 14 consecutive days.

RESULTS

Results from multilevel models show that, within persons, elevated high-arousal negative affect was associated with worse daily prospective memory performance. In addition, lower resting heart rate attenuated the inverse association between high-arousal negative affect and lowered prospective memory performance. We did not find significant associations of high- or low-arousal positive affect and low-arousal negative affect with daily prospective memory.

DISCUSSION

Our findings are in line with the resource allocation model and the cue-utilization hypothesis in that high-arousal negative affect is detrimental to daily prospective memory performance. Lower resting heart rate may buffer individuals' prospective memory performance from the influence of high-arousal negative affect. These findings are consistent with the neurovisceral integration model on heart-brain connections, highlighting the possibility that cardiovascular fitness may help maintain prospective memory into older adulthood.

The human posterior parietal cortex: effective connectome, and its relation to function

The effective connectivity between 21 regions in the human posterior parietal cortex, and 360 cortical regions was measured in 171 Human Connectome Project (HCP) participants using the HCP atlas, and complemented with functional connectivity and diffusion tractography. Intraparietal areas LIP, VIP, MIP, and AIP have connectivity from early cortical visual regions, and to visuomotor regions such as the frontal eye fields, consistent with functions in eye saccades and tracking. Five superior parietal area 7 regions receive from similar areas and from the intraparietal areas, but also receive somatosensory inputs and connect with premotor areas including area 6, consistent with functions in performing actions to reach for, grasp, and manipulate objects. In the anterior inferior parietal cortex, PFop, PFt, and PFcm are mainly somatosensory, and PF in addition receives visuo-motor and visual object information, and is implicated in multimodal shape and body image representations. In the posterior inferior parietal cortex, PFm and PGs combine visuo-motor, visual object, and reward input and connect with the hippocampal system. PGi in addition provides a route to motion-related superior temporal sulcus regions involved in social interactions. PGp has connectivity with intraparietal regions involved in coordinate transforms and may be involved in idiothetic update of hippocampal visual scene representations.

The human posterior cingulate, retrosplenial, and medial parietal cortex effective connectome, and implications for memory and navigation

The human posterior cingulate, retrosplenial, and medial parietal cortex are involved in memory and navigation. The functional anatomy underlying these cognitive functions was investigated by measuring the effective connectivity of these Posterior Cingulate Division (PCD) regions in the Human Connectome Project-MMP1 atlas in 171 HCP participants, and complemented with functional connectivity and diffusion tractography. First, the postero-ventral parts of the PCD (31pd, 31pv, 7m, d23ab, and v23ab) have effective connectivity with the temporal pole, inferior temporal visual cortex, cortex in the superior temporal sulcus implicated in auditory and semantic processing, with the reward-related vmPFC and pregenual anterior cingulate cortex, with the inferior parietal cortex, and with the hippocampal system. This connectivity implicates it in hippocampal episodic memory, providing routes for "what," reward and semantic schema-related information to access the hippocampus. Second, the antero-dorsal parts of the PCD (especially 31a and 23d, PCV, and also RSC) have connectivity with early visual cortical areas including those that represent spatial scenes, with the superior parietal cortex, with the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex, and with the hippocampal system. This connectivity implicates it in the "where" component for hippocampal episodic memory and for spatial navigation. The dorsal-transitional-visual (DVT) and ProStriate regions where the retrosplenial scene area is located have connectivity from early visual cortical areas to the parahippocampal scene area, providing a ventromedial route for spatial scene information to reach the hippocampus. These connectivities provide important routes for "what," reward, and "where" scene-related information for human hippocampal episodic memory and navigation. The midcingulate cortex provides a route from the anterior dorsal parts of the PCD and the supracallosal part of the anterior cingulate cortex to premotor regions.

Dissociating sub-processes of aftereffects of completed intentions and costs to the ongoing task in prospective memory: A mouse-tracking approach

In the present study, we used mouse tracking to investigate two processes underlying prospective memory (PM) retrieval: First, we aimed to explore to what extent spontaneous retrieval of already completed PM intentions is supported by reflexive-associative and discrepancy-plus-search processes. Second, we aimed to disentangle whether costs to an ongoing task during the pursuit of a PM intention are associated with presumably resource-demanding monitoring processes or with a presumably resource-sparing strategic delay of ongoing-task responses. Our third aim was to explore the interaction of processes underlying costs to the ongoing task and processes of spontaneous retrieval. Our analyses replicated response-time patterns from previous studies indicating aftereffects of completed intentions and costs to ongoing-task performance, as well as increased aftereffects while pursuing a PM intention. Notably, based on our mouse-tracking analyses, we argue that aftereffects of completed intentions are best explained by a reflexive initiation of an already completed intention. If the completed intention is not performed in its entirety (i.e., no commission error), the reflexive initiation of the completed intention is followed by a subsequent movement correction that most likely represents a time-consuming response-verification process. Regarding performance costs in the ongoing task, our analyses suggest that actively pursuing a PM intention most likely leads to a strategic delay of ongoing activities. Lastly, we found that pursuing a novel PM task after intention completion exacerbated orienting responses to all deviant stimuli, exacerbated the readiness to initiate the completed intention reflexively, and substantially prolonged the response-verification process following this reflexive intention retrieval.

The human language effective connectome

To advance understanding of brain networks involved in language, the effective connectivity between 26 cortical regions implicated in language by a community analysis and 360 cortical regions was measured in 171 humans from the Human Connectome Project, and complemented with functional connectivity and diffusion tractography, all using the HCP multimodal parcellation atlas. A (semantic) network (Group 1) involving inferior cortical regions of the superior temporal sulcus cortex (STS) with the adjacent inferior temporal visual cortex TE1a and temporal pole TG, and the connected parietal PGi region, has effective connectivity with inferior temporal visual cortex (TE) regions; with parietal PFm which also has visual connectivity; with posterior cingulate cortex memory-related regions; with the frontal pole, orbitofrontal cortex, and medial prefrontal cortex; with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; and with 44 and 45 for output regions. It is proposed that this system can build in its temporal lobe (STS and TG) and parietal parts (PGi and PGs) semantic representations of objects incorporating especially their visual and reward properties. Another (semantic) network (Group 3) involving superior regions of the superior temporal sulcus cortex and more superior temporal lobe regions including STGa, auditory A5, TPOJ1, the STV and the Peri-Sylvian Language area (PSL) has effective connectivity with auditory areas (A1, A4, A5, Pbelt); with relatively early visual areas involved in motion, e.g., MT and MST, and faces/words (FFC); with somatosensory regions (frontal opercular FOP, insula and parietal PF); with other TPOJ regions; and with the inferior frontal gyrus regions (IFJa and IFSp). It is proposed that this system builds semantic representations specialising in auditory and related facial motion information useful in theory of mind and somatosensory / body image information, with outputs directed not only to regions 44 and 45, but also to premotor 55b and midcingulate premotor cortex. Both semantic networks (Groups 1 and 3) have access to the hippocampal episodic memory system via parahippocampal TF. A third largely frontal network (Group 2) (44, 45, 47l; 55b; the Superior Frontal Language region SFL; and including temporal pole TGv) receives effective connectivity from the two semantic systems, and is implicated in syntax and speech output.

Aftereffects and deactivation of completed prospective memory intentions: A systematic review

Prospective memory, the ability to perform an intended action in the future, is an essential aspect of goal-directed behavior. Intentions influence our behavior and shape the way we process and interact with our environment. One important question for research on prospective memory and goal-directed behavior is whether this influence stops after the intention has been completed successfully. Are intention representations deactivated from memory after their completion, and if so, how? Here, we systematically review 20 years of research on intention deactivation and so-called aftereffects of completed intentions across different research fields to offer an integrative perspective on this topic. We first introduce the currently dominant accounts of aftereffects (inhibition vs. retrieval) and illustrate the paradigms, findings, and interpretations that these accounts developed from. We then review the evidence for each account based on the extant research in these paradigms. While early studies proposed a rapid deactivation or even inhibition of completed intentions, more recent studies mostly suggested that intentions continue to be retrieved even after completion and interfere with subsequent performance. Although these accounts of aftereffects seem mutually exclusive, we will show that they might be two sides of the same coin. That is, intention deactivation and the occurrence of aftereffects are modulated by a multitude of factors that either foster a rapid deactivation or lead to continued retrieval of completed intentions. Lastly, we outline future directions and novel experimental procedures for research on mechanisms and modulators of intention deactivation and discuss practical implications of our findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Cognitive Flexibility Improves Memory for Delayed Intentions

The ability to delay the execution of a goal until the appropriate time, prospective memory (PM), can be supported by the following two different cognitive control strategies: proactive control involving working memory maintenance of the goal and active monitoring of the environment; or reactive control relying on timely retrieval of goal information from episodic memory. Certain situations tend to favor each strategy, but the manner in which individuals adjust their strategy in response to changes in the environment is unknown. Across two experiments, human participants performed a delayed-recognition PM task embedded in an ongoing visual search task that fluctuated in difficulty. A control strategy was identified from moment to moment using reaction time costs and fMRI measures of goal maintenance. We found that people fluidly modified control strategies in accordance with changes in task demands (e.g., shifting toward proactive control when task difficulty decreased). This cognitive flexibility proved adaptive as it was associated with improved PM performance.

Increased functional coupling of the left amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex during the perception of communicative point-light stimuli

Interpersonal predictive coding (IPPC) describes the behavioral phenomenon whereby seeing a communicative rather than an individual action helps to discern a masked second agent. As little is known, yet, about the neural correlates of IPPC, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging study in a group of 27 healthy participants using point-light displays of moving agents embedded in distractors. We discovered that seeing communicative compared to individual actions was associated with higher activation of right superior frontal gyrus, whereas the reversed contrast elicited increased neural activation in an action observation network that was activated during all trials. Our findings, therefore, potentially indicate the formation of action predictions and a reduced demand for executive control in response to communicative actions. Further, in a regression analysis, we revealed that increased perceptual sensitivity was associated with a deactivation of the left amygdala during the perceptual task. A consecutive psychophysiological interaction analysis showed increased connectivity of the amygdala with medial prefrontal cortex in the context of communicative compared to individual actions. Thus, whereas increased amygdala signaling might interfere with task-relevant processes, increased co-activation of the amygdala and the medial prefrontal cortex in a communicative context might represent the integration of mentalizing computations.

A single dose of cocaine enhances prospective memory performance

BACKGROUND

Prospective memory is the ability to recall intended actions or events at the right time or in the right context. While cannabis is known to impair prospective memory, the acute effect of cocaine is unknown. In addition, it is not clear whether changes in prospective memory represent specific alterations in memory processing or result from more general effects on cognition that spread across multiple domains such as arousal and attention.

AIMS

The main objective of the study was, therefore, to determine whether drug-induced changes in prospective memory are memory specific or associated with more general drug-induced changes in attention and arousal.

METHODS

A placebo-controlled, three-way, cross-over study including 15 regular poly-drug users was set up to test the influence of oral cocaine (300 mg) and vaporised cannabis (300+150 'booster' µg/kg bodyweight) on an event-based prospective memory task. Attentional performance was assessed using a divided attention task and subjective arousal was assessed with the Profile of Mood States questionnaire.

RESULTS

Results showed that cocaine enhanced prospective memory, attention and arousal. Mean performance of prospective memory and attention, as well as levels of arousal were lowest during treatment with cannabis as compared with placebo and cocaine as evinced by a significantly increased trend across treatment conditions. Prospective memory performance was only weakly positively associated to measures of attention and arousal.

CONCLUSION

Together, these results indicate that cocaine enhancement of prospective memory performance cannot be fully explained by parallel changes in arousal and attention levels, and is likely to represent a direct change in the neural network underlying prospective memory.

Brodmann area 10: Collating, integrating and high level processing of nociception and pain

Multiple frontal cortical brain regions have emerged as being important in pain processing, whether it be integrative, sensory, cognitive, or emotional. One such region, Brodmann Area 10 (BA 10), is the largest frontal brain region that has been shown to be involved in a wide variety of functions including risk and decision making, odor evaluation, reward and conflict, pain, and working memory. BA 10, also known as the anterior prefrontal cortex, frontopolar prefrontal cortex or rostral prefrontal cortex, is comprised of at least two cytoarchitectonic sub-regions, medial and lateral. To date, the explicit role of BA 10 in the processing of pain hasn't been fully elucidated. In this paper, we first review the anatomical pathways and functional connectivity of BA 10. Numerous functional imaging studies of experimental or clinical pain have also reported brain activations and/or deactivations in BA 10 in response to painful events. The evidence suggests that BA 10 may play a critical role in the collation, integration and high-level processing of nociception and pain, but also reveals possible functional distinctions between the subregions of BA 10 in this process.

From minutes to days-The ability of sows (Sus scrofa) to estimate time intervals

Time estimation helps allocating time to different tasks and to plan behavioural sequences. It may also be relevant to animal welfare if it enables animals assessing the duration of a negative situation. Here, we investigated the ability of dry sows to estimate short and long time periods. We used a variant of the peak-interval procedure and the choice between 2 resources of different quality and replenishment rates to assess time periods in the order of minutes and days, respectively. In the minute-experiment, the sows were trained to expect an interruption while feeding at the end of an interval. Heart rate and heart rate variability slightly and continuously increased and decreased, respectively, towards the end of that interval. In the day-experiment, lasting about 60days, the sows were increasingly more likely to open the door to a high food reward on the correct day when this food reward was presented every fifth day. We conclude that the sows learnt to estimate time intervals of 5days after lengthy training but did not accurately learn intervals in the range of minutes. Therefore, they might re-visit replenishing resources after several days, but may not base short-term decisions solely on the passing of time.

Two routes toward optimism: how agentic and communal themes in autobiographical memories guide optimism for the future

Autobiographical memories are particularly adaptive because they function not only to preserve the past, but also to direct our future thoughts and behaviours. Two studies were conducted to examine how communal and agentic themes of positive autobiographical memories differentially predicted the route from autobiographical memories to optimism for the future. Across two studies, results revealed that the degree to which participants focused on communal themes in their autobiographical memories predicted their experience of nostalgia. In turn, the experience of nostalgia increased participants' levels of self-esteem and in turn, optimism for the future. By contrast, the degree to which participants focused on agentic themes in their memories predicted self-esteem and optimism, operating outside the experience of nostalgia. These effects remained even after controlling for self-focused attention. Together, these studies provide greater understanding of the interrelations among autobiographical memory, self-concept, and time, and demonstrate how agency and communion operate to influence perceptions of one's future when thinking about the past.