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Paci M, Cardellicchio P, Di Luzio P, Perrucci MG, Ferri F, Costantini M. When the heart inhibits the brain: Cardiac phases modulate short-interval intracortical inhibition. iScience 2024; 27:109140. [PMID: 38414850 PMCID: PMC10897847 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 11/18/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024] Open
Abstract
The phasic cardiovascular activity influences the central nervous system through the systolic baroreceptor inputs, inducing widespread inhibitory effects on behavior. Through transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) delivered during resting-state over the left primary motor cortex and across the different cardiac phases, we measured corticospinal excitability (CSE) and distinct indices of intracortical motor inhibition: short (SICI) and long (LICI) interval, corresponding to GABAA and GABAB neurotransmission, respectively. We found a significant effect of the cardiac phase on short-intracortical inhibition, without any influence on LICI. Specifically, SICI was stronger at systole compared to diastole. These results show a tight relationship between the cardiac cycle and the inhibitory neurotransmission within M1, and in particular with GABAA-ergic-mediated motor inhibition. We hypothesize that this process requires greater motor control via the gating mechanism and that this, in turn, needs to be recalibrated through the modulation of intracortical inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Paci
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Science, University G. D’Annunzio, Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Pasquale Cardellicchio
- IIT@UniFe Center for Translational Neurophysiology, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Fossato di Mortara, 17-19, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
- Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Unit, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genoa, Italy
- Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Section of Physiology, Università di Ferrara, Via Fossato di Mortara, 17-19, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Paolo Di Luzio
- Department of Psychological, Health, and Territorial Sciences, University G. D’Annunzio, Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Mauro Gianni Perrucci
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Science, University G. D’Annunzio, Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies - ITAB, University G. D’Annunzio, Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Francesca Ferri
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Science, University G. D’Annunzio, Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies - ITAB, University G. D’Annunzio, Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Marcello Costantini
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies - ITAB, University G. D’Annunzio, Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Department of Psychological, Health, and Territorial Sciences, University G. D’Annunzio, Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
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Chiappini E, Turrini S, Zanon M, Marangon M, Borgomaneri S, Avenanti A. Driving Hebbian plasticity over ventral premotor-motor projections transiently enhances motor resonance. Brain Stimul 2024; 17:211-220. [PMID: 38387557 DOI: 10.1016/j.brs.2024.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Revised: 12/23/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Making sense of others' actions relies on the activation of an action observation network (AON), which maps visual information about observed actions onto the observer's motor system. This motor resonance process manifests in the primary motor cortex (M1) as increased corticospinal excitability finely tuned to the muscles engaged in the observed action. Motor resonance in M1 is facilitated by projections from higher-order AON regions. However, whether manipulating the strength of AON-to-M1 connectivity affects motor resonance remains unclear. METHODS We used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in 48 healthy humans. Cortico-cortical paired associative stimulation (ccPAS) was administered over M1 and the ventral premotor cortex (PMv), a key AON node, to induce spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) in the pathway connecting them. Single-pulse TMS assessed motor resonance during action observation. RESULTS Before ccPAS, action observation increased corticospinal excitability in the muscles corresponding to the observed movements, reflecting motor resonance in M1. Notably, ccPAS aimed at strengthening projections from PMv to M1 (PMv→M1) induced short-term enhancement of motor resonance. The enhancement specifically occurred with the ccPAS configuration consistent with forward PMv→M1 projections and dissipated 20 min post-stimulation; ccPAS administered in the reverse order (M1→PMv) and sham stimulation did not affect motor resonance. CONCLUSIONS These findings provide the first evidence that inducing STDP to strengthen PMv input to M1 neurons causally enhances muscle-specific motor resonance in M1. Our study sheds light on the plastic mechanisms that shape AON functionality and demonstrates that exogenous manipulation of AON connectivity can influence basic mirror mechanisms that underlie social perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilio Chiappini
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010, Vienna, Austria; Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari", Campus di Cesena, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, 47521, Cesena, Italy; Department of Psychology and Neurosciences, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo), 44139, Dortmund, Germany.
| | - Sonia Turrini
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari", Campus di Cesena, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, 47521, Cesena, Italy; Precision Neuroscience & Neuromodulation Program, Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02114, United States
| | - Marco Zanon
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari", Campus di Cesena, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, 47521, Cesena, Italy; Neuroscience Area, International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), 34136, Trieste, Italy
| | - Mattia Marangon
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari", Campus di Cesena, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, 47521, Cesena, Italy; Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Biomedicina e Scienze del Movimento, Sezione di Fisiologia e Psicologia, Università di Verona, 37124, Verona, Italy
| | - Sara Borgomaneri
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari", Campus di Cesena, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, 47521, Cesena, Italy
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari", Campus di Cesena, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, 47521, Cesena, Italy; Centro de Investigación en Neuropsicología y Neurociencias Cognitivas (CINPSI Neurocog), Universidad Católica Del Maule, 346000, Talca, Chile.
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Hanning NM, Fernández A, Carrasco M. Dissociable roles of human frontal eye fields and early visual cortex in presaccadic attention. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5381. [PMID: 37666805 PMCID: PMC10477327 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40678-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Shortly before saccadic eye movements, visual sensitivity at the saccade target is enhanced, at the expense of sensitivity elsewhere. Some behavioral and neural correlates of this presaccadic shift of attention resemble those of covert attention, deployed during fixation. Microstimulation in non-human primates has shown that presaccadic attention modulates perception via feedback from oculomotor to visual areas. This mechanism also seems plausible in humans, as both oculomotor and visual areas are active during saccade planning. We investigated this hypothesis by applying TMS to frontal or visual areas during saccade preparation. By simultaneously measuring perceptual performance, we show their causal and differential roles in contralateral presaccadic attention effects: Whereas rFEF+ stimulation enhanced sensitivity opposite the saccade target throughout saccade preparation, V1/V2 stimulation reduced sensitivity at the saccade target only shortly before saccade onset. These findings are consistent with presaccadic attention modulating perception through cortico-cortical feedback and further dissociate presaccadic and covert attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina M Hanning
- Department of Psychology & Center for Neural Sciences, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
- Institut für Psychologie, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Antonio Fernández
- Department of Psychology & Center for Neural Sciences, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Marisa Carrasco
- Department of Psychology & Center for Neural Sciences, New York University, New York, NY, USA
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Cristiano A, Finisguerra A, Urgesi C, Avenanti A, Tidoni E. Functional role of the theory of mind network in integrating mentalistic prior information with action kinematics during action observation. Cortex 2023; 166:107-120. [PMID: 37354870 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2023.05.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Revised: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/26/2023]
Abstract
Inferring intentions from verbal and nonverbal human behaviour is critical for everyday social life. Here, we combined Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) with a behavioural priming paradigm to test whether key nodes of the Theory of Mind network (ToMn) contribute to understanding others' intentions by integrating prior knowledge about an agent with the observed action kinematics. We used a modified version of the Faked-Action Discrimination Task (FAD), a forced-choice paradigm in which participants watch videos of actors lifting a cube and judge whether the actors are trying to deceive them concerning the weight of the cube. Videos could be preceded or not by verbal description (prior) about the agent's truthful or deceitful intent. We applied single pulse TMS over three key nodes of the ToMn, namely dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), right posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) and right temporo-parietal junction (rTPJ). Sham-TMS served as a control (baseline) condition. Following sham or rTPJ stimulation, we observed no consistent influence of priors on FAD performance. In contrast, following dmPFC stimulation, and to a lesser extent pSTS stimulation, truthful and deceitful actions were perceived as more deceptive only when the prior suggested a dishonest intention. These findings highlight a functional role of dmPFC and pSTS in coupling prior knowledge about deceptive intents with observed action kinematics in order to judge faked actions. Our study provides causal evidence that fronto-temporal nodes of the ToMn are functionally relevant to mental state inference during action observation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azzurra Cristiano
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome and CLN(2)S@Sapienza, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome, Italy; IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.
| | | | - Cosimo Urgesi
- Scientific Institute, IRCCS E. Medea, Neuropsychiatry and Neurorehabilitation Unit, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Department of Psychology, Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy; Centro de Investigación en Neuropsicología y Neurociencias Cognitivas, Universidad Católica Del Maule, Talca, Chile.
| | - Emmanuele Tidoni
- Human Technology Laboratory, School of Psychology and Social Work, University of Hull, Hull, UK; School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
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5
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Legaz A, Prado P, Moguilner S, Báez S, Santamaría-García H, Birba A, Barttfeld P, García AM, Fittipaldi S, Ibañez A. Social and non-social working memory in neurodegeneration. Neurobiol Dis 2023; 183:106171. [PMID: 37257663 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2023.106171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Revised: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Although social functioning relies on working memory, whether a social-specific mechanism exists remains unclear. This undermines the characterization of neurodegenerative conditions with both working memory and social deficits. We assessed working memory domain-specificity across behavioral, electrophysiological, and neuroimaging dimensions in 245 participants. A novel working memory task involving social and non-social stimuli with three load levels was assessed across controls and different neurodegenerative conditions with recognized impairments in: working memory and social cognition (behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia); general cognition (Alzheimer's disease); and unspecific patterns (Parkinson's disease). We also examined resting-state theta oscillations and functional connectivity correlates of working memory domain-specificity. Results in controls and all groups together evidenced increased working memory demands for social stimuli associated with frontocinguloparietal theta oscillations and salience network connectivity. Canonical frontal theta oscillations and executive-default mode network anticorrelation indexed non-social stimuli. Behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia presented generalized working memory deficits related to posterior theta oscillations, with social stimuli linked to salience network connectivity. In Alzheimer's disease, generalized working memory impairments were related to temporoparietal theta oscillations, with non-social stimuli linked to the executive network. Parkinson's disease showed spared working memory performance and canonical brain correlates. Findings support a social-specific working memory and related disease-selective pathophysiological mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agustina Legaz
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina; National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina; Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Psicología, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Pavel Prado
- Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Santiago, Chile; Escuela de Fonoaudiología, Facultad de Odontología y Ciencias de la Rehabilitación, Universidad San Sebastián, Santiago, Chile
| | - Sebastián Moguilner
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Santiago, Chile; Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), University of California San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, United States; Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Dublin, Ireland
| | | | - Hernando Santamaría-García
- Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Medical School, Physiology and Psychiatry Departments, Memory and Cognition Center Intellectus, Hospital Universitario San Ignacio, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Agustina Birba
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain; Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
| | - Pablo Barttfeld
- Cognitive Science Group. Instituto de Investigaciones Psicológicas (IIPsi), CONICET UNC, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Boulevard de la Reforma esquina Enfermera Gordillo, CP 5000. Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Adolfo M García
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), University of California San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, United States; Departamento de Lingüística y Literatura, Facultad de Humanidades, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Dublin, Ireland
| | - Sol Fittipaldi
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Santiago, Chile; Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), University of California San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, United States; Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Dublin, Ireland.
| | - Agustín Ibañez
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina; National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina; Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Santiago, Chile; Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), University of California San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, United States; Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Dublin, Ireland.
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6
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Zanini A, Dureux A, Selvanayagam J, Everling S. Ultra-high field fMRI identifies an action-observation network in the common marmoset. Commun Biol 2023; 6:553. [PMID: 37217698 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04942-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The observation of others' actions activates a network of temporal, parietal and premotor/prefrontal areas in macaque monkeys and humans. This action-observation network (AON) has been shown to play important roles in social action monitoring, learning by imitation, and social cognition in both species. It is unclear whether a similar network exists in New-World primates, which separated from Old-Word primates ~35 million years ago. Here we used ultra-high field fMRI at 9.4 T in awake common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) while they watched videos depicting goal-directed (grasping food) or non-goal-directed actions. The observation of goal-directed actions activates a temporo-parieto-frontal network, including areas 6 and 45 in premotor/prefrontal cortices, areas PGa-IPa, FST and TE in occipito-temporal region and areas V6A, MIP, LIP and PG in the occipito-parietal cortex. These results show overlap with the humans and macaques' AON, demonstrating the existence of an evolutionarily conserved network that likely predates the separation of Old and New-World primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Zanini
- Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping, Robarts Research Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
| | - Audrey Dureux
- Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping, Robarts Research Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Janahan Selvanayagam
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Stefan Everling
- Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping, Robarts Research Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
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7
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Turrini S, Bevacqua N, Cataneo A, Chiappini E, Fiori F, Battaglia S, Romei V, Avenanti A. Neurophysiological Markers of Premotor-Motor Network Plasticity Predict Motor Performance in Young and Older Adults. Biomedicines 2023; 11:biomedicines11051464. [PMID: 37239135 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11051464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Aging is commonly associated with a decline in motor control and neural plasticity. Tuning cortico-cortical interactions between premotor and motor areas is essential for controlling fine manual movements. However, whether plasticity in premotor-motor circuits predicts hand motor abilities in young and elderly humans remains unclear. Here, we administered transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the ventral premotor cortex (PMv) and primary motor cortex (M1) using the cortico-cortical paired-associative stimulation (ccPAS) protocol to manipulate the strength of PMv-to-M1 connectivity in 14 young and 14 elderly healthy adults. We assessed changes in motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) during ccPAS as an index of PMv-M1 network plasticity. We tested whether the magnitude of MEP changes might predict interindividual differences in performance in two motor tasks that rely on premotor-motor circuits, i.e., the nine-hole pegboard test and a choice reaction task. Results show lower motor performance and decreased PMv-M1 network plasticity in elderly adults. Critically, the slope of MEP changes during ccPAS accurately predicted performance at the two tasks across age groups, with larger slopes (i.e., MEP increase) predicting better motor performance at baseline in both young and elderly participants. These findings suggest that physiological indices of PMv-M1 plasticity could provide a neurophysiological marker of fine motor control across age-groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Turrini
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestriari", Campus di Cesena, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy
- Precision Neuroscience & Neuromodulation Program, Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Naomi Bevacqua
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestriari", Campus di Cesena, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy
- Dipartimento di Psicologia, Sapienza Università di Roma, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Antonio Cataneo
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestriari", Campus di Cesena, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy
| | - Emilio Chiappini
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestriari", Campus di Cesena, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy
- Institut für Klinische und Gesundheitspsychologie, Universität Wien, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Francesca Fiori
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestriari", Campus di Cesena, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy
- NeXT: Unità di Ricerca di Neurofisiologia e Neuroingegneria dell'Interazione Uomo-Tecnologia, Dipartimento di Medicina, Università Campus Bio-Medico, 00128 Rome, Italy
| | - Simone Battaglia
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestriari", Campus di Cesena, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Romei
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestriari", Campus di Cesena, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestriari", Campus di Cesena, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy
- Centro de Investigación en Neuropsicología y Neurociencias Cognitivas, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca 346000, Chile
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Turrini S, Fiori F, Chiappini E, Lucero B, Santarnecchi E, Avenanti A. Cortico-cortical paired associative stimulation (ccPAS) over premotor-motor areas affects local circuitries in the human motor cortex via Hebbian plasticity. Neuroimage 2023; 271:120027. [PMID: 36925088 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2022] [Revised: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies have shown that cortico-cortical paired associative stimulation (ccPAS) can strengthen connectivity between the ventral premotor cortex (PMv) and the primary motor cortex (M1) by modulating convergent input over M1 via Hebbian spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP). However, whether ccPAS locally affects M1 activity remains unclear. We tested 60 right-handed young healthy humans in two studies, using a combination of dual coil TMS and ccPAS over the left PMv and M1 to probe and manipulate PMv-to-M1 connectivity, and single- and paired-pulse TMS to assess neural activity within M1. We provide convergent evidence that ccPAS, relying on repeated activations of excitatory PMv-to-M1 connections, acts locally over M1. During ccPAS, motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) induced by paired PMv-M1 stimulation gradually increased. Following ccPAS, the threshold for inducing MEPs of different amplitudes decreased, and the input-output curve (IO) slope increased, highlighting increased M1 corticospinal excitability. Moreover, ccPAS reduced the magnitude of short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI), reflecting suppression of GABA-ergic interneuronal mechanisms within M1, without affecting intracortical facilitation (ICF). These changes were specific to ccPAS Hebbian strengthening of PMv-to-M1 connectivity, as no modulations were observed when reversing the order of the PMv-M1 stimulation during a control ccPAS protocol. These findings expand prior ccPAS research that focused on the malleability of cortico-cortical connectivity at the network-level, and highlight local changes in the area of convergent activation (i.e., M1) during plasticity induction. These findings provide new mechanistic insights into the physiological basis of ccPAS that are relevant for protocol optimization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Turrini
- Centro studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari", Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Cesena Campus, Cesena 47521, Italy; Precision Neuroscience & Neuromodulation Program, Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, United States.
| | - Francesca Fiori
- Centro studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari", Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Cesena Campus, Cesena 47521, Italy; NeXT: Neurophysiology and Neuro-Engineering of Human-Technology Interaction Research Unit, Campus Bio-Medico University, Rome 00128, Italy
| | - Emilio Chiappini
- Centro studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari", Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Cesena Campus, Cesena 47521, Italy; Institut für Klinische und Gesundheitspsychologie, Universität Wien, Vienna 1010, Austria
| | - Boris Lucero
- Centro de Investigación en Neuropsicología y Neurociencias Cognitivas (CINPSI Neurocog), Universidad Católica Del Maule, Talca 346000, Chile
| | - Emiliano Santarnecchi
- Precision Neuroscience & Neuromodulation Program, Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, United States
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Centro studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari", Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Cesena Campus, Cesena 47521, Italy; Centro de Investigación en Neuropsicología y Neurociencias Cognitivas (CINPSI Neurocog), Universidad Católica Del Maule, Talca 346000, Chile.
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9
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Hanning NM, Fernández A, Carrasco M. Dissociable roles of human frontal eye fields and early visual cortex in presaccadic attention - evidence from TMS. bioRxiv 2023:2023.02.23.529691. [PMID: 36865228 PMCID: PMC9980111 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.23.529691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/03/2023]
Abstract
Shortly before each saccadic eye movement, presaccadic attention improves visual sensitivity at the saccade target 1-5 at the expense of lowered sensitivity at non-target locations 6-11 . Some behavioral and neural correlates of presaccadic attention and covert attention -which likewise enhances sensitivity, but during fixation 12 -are similar 13 . This resemblance has led to the debatable 13-18 notion that presaccadic and covert attention are functionally equivalent and rely on the same neural circuitry 19-21 . At a broad scale, oculomotor brain structures (e.g., FEF) are also modulated during covert attention 22-24 - yet by distinct neuronal subpopulations 25-28 . Perceptual benefits of presaccadic attention rely on feedback from oculomotor structures to visual cortices 29,30 ( Fig. 1a ); micro-stimulation of FEF in non-human primates affects activity in visual cortex 31-34 and enhances visual sensitivity at the movement field of the stimulated neurons 35-37 . Similar feedback projections seem to exist in humans: FEF+ activation precedes occipital activation during saccade preparation 38,39 and FEF TMS modulates activity in visual cortex 40-42 and enhances perceived contrast in the contralateral hemifield 40 . We investigated presaccadic feedback in humans by applying TMS to frontal or visual areas during saccade preparation. By simultaneously measuring perceptual performance, we show the causal and differential roles of these brain regions in contralateral presaccadic benefits at the saccade target and costs at non-targets: Whereas rFEF+ stimulation reduced presaccadic costs throughout saccade preparation, V1/V2 stimulation reduced benefits only shortly before saccade onset. These effects provide causal evidence that presaccadic attention modulates perception through cortico-cortical feedback and further dissociate presaccadic and covert attention.
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10
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Turrini S, Bevacqua N, Cataneo A, Chiappini E, Fiori F, Candidi M, Avenanti A. Transcranial cortico-cortical paired associative stimulation (ccPAS) over ventral premotor-motor pathways enhances action performance and corticomotor excitability in young adults more than in elderly adults. Front Aging Neurosci 2023; 15:1119508. [PMID: 36875707 PMCID: PMC9978108 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1119508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) methods such as cortico-cortical paired associative stimulation (ccPAS) can increase the strength of functional connectivity between ventral premotor cortex (PMv) and primary motor cortex (M1) via spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP), leading to enhanced motor functions in young adults. However, whether this STDP-inducing protocol is effective in the aging brain remains unclear. In two groups of young and elderly healthy adults, we evaluated manual dexterity with the 9-hole peg task before and after ccPAS of the left PMv-M1 circuit. We observed that ccPAS enhanced dexterity in young adults, and this effect was anticipated by a progressive increase in motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) during ccPAS administration. No similar effects were observed in elderly individuals or in a control task. Across age groups, we observed that the magnitude of MEP changes predicted larger behavioral improvements. These findings demonstrate that left PMv-to-M1 ccPAS induces functionally specific improvements in young adults' manual dexterity and an increase in corticomotor excitability, but altered plasticity prevents the effectiveness of ccPAS in the elderly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Turrini
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Cesena, Italy.,Precision Neuroscience and Neuromodulation Program, Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Naomi Bevacqua
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Cesena, Italy.,Dipartimento di Psicologia, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Antonio Cataneo
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Cesena, Italy
| | - Emilio Chiappini
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Cesena, Italy.,Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Francesca Fiori
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Cesena, Italy.,Dipartimento di Medicina, NeXT: Unità di Ricerca di Neurofisiologia e Neuroingegneria dell'Interazione Uomo-Tecnologia, Rome, Italy
| | - Matteo Candidi
- Dipartimento di Psicologia, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Cesena, Italy.,Centro de Investigación en Neuropsicología y Neurociencias Cognitivas, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile
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11
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Turrini S, Fiori F, Chiappini E, Santarnecchi E, Romei V, Avenanti A. Gradual enhancement of corticomotor excitability during cortico-cortical paired associative stimulation. Sci Rep 2022; 12:14670. [PMID: 36038605 PMCID: PMC9424198 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-18774-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Cortico-cortical paired associative stimulation (ccPAS) is an effective transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) method for inducing associative plasticity between interconnected brain areas in humans. Prior ccPAS studies have focused on protocol’s aftereffects. Here, we investigated physiological changes induced “online” during ccPAS administration. We tested 109 participants receiving ccPAS over left ventral premotor cortex (PMv) and primary motor cortex (M1) using a standard procedure (90 paired-pulses with 8-ms interstimulus interval, repeated at 0.1 Hz frequency). On each paired-pulse, we recorded a motor-evoked potential (MEP) to continuously trace the emergence of corticomotor changes. Participant receiving forward-ccPAS (on each pair, a first TMS pulse was administered over PMv, second over M1, i.e., PMv-to-M1) showed a gradual and linear increase in MEP size that did not reach a plateau at the end of the protocol and was greater in participants with low motor threshold. Participants receiving reverse-ccPAS (i.e., M1-to-PMv) showed a trend toward inhibition. Our study highlights the facilitatory and inhibitory modulations that occur during ccPAS administration and suggest that online MEP monitoring could provide insights into the malleability of the motor system and protocol’s effectiveness. Our findings open interesting prospects about ccPAS potential optimization in experimental and clinical settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Turrini
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena. Via Rasi Spinelli 176, 47521, Cesena, Italy.,Precision Neuroscience and Neuromodulation Program, Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Francesca Fiori
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena. Via Rasi Spinelli 176, 47521, Cesena, Italy.,NeXT: Unità di ricerca di Neurofisiologia e Neuroingegneria dell'Interazione Uomo-Tecnologia, Università Campus Bio-Medico, Rome, Italy
| | - Emilio Chiappini
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena. Via Rasi Spinelli 176, 47521, Cesena, Italy.,Institut für Klinische und Gesundheitspsychologie, Universität Wien, Wien, Austria
| | - Emiliano Santarnecchi
- Precision Neuroscience and Neuromodulation Program, Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Vincenzo Romei
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena. Via Rasi Spinelli 176, 47521, Cesena, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena. Via Rasi Spinelli 176, 47521, Cesena, Italy. .,Centro de Investigación en Neuropsicología y Neurociencias Cognitivas, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile.
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12
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Yao G, Wei L, Jiang T, Dong H, Baeken C, Wu GR. Neural mechanisms underlying empathy during alcohol abstinence: evidence from connectome-based predictive modeling. Brain Imaging Behav 2022; 16:2477-2486. [PMID: 35829876 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-022-00702-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Revised: 06/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Empathy impairments have been linked to alcohol dependence even during abstinent periods. Nonetheless, the neural underpinnings of abstinence-induced empathy deficits remain unclear. In this study, we employed connectome-based predictive modeling (CPM) by using whole brain resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) to predict empathy capability of abstinent alcoholics (n = 47) versus healthy controls (n = 59). In addition, the generalizability of the predictive model (i.e., one group treated as a training dataset and another one treated as a test dataset) was performed to determine whether healthy controls and abstinent alcoholics share common neural fingerprints of empathy. Our results showed that abstinent alcoholics relative to healthy controls had decreased empathy capacity. Although no predictive models were observed in the abstinence group, we found that individual empathy scores in the healthy group can be reliably predicted by functional connectivity from the default mode network (DMN) to the sensorimotor network (SMN), occipital network, and cingulo-opercular network (CON). Moreover, the identified connectivity fingerprints of healthy controls could be generalized to predict empathy in the abstinence group. These findings indicate that neural circuits accounting for empathy may be disrupted by alcohol use and the impaired degree varies greatly among abstinent individuals. The large inter-individual variation may impede identification of the predictive model of empathy in alcohol abstainers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guanzhong Yao
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Luqing Wei
- School of Psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China.
| | - Ting Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Hui Dong
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Chris Baeken
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Head and Skin, Ghent Experimental Psychiatry (GHEP) lab, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.,Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital (UZBrussel), Brussels, Belgium.,Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, the Netherlands
| | - Guo-Rong Wu
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China. .,Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Head and Skin, Ghent Experimental Psychiatry (GHEP) lab, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
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13
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Lega C, Cattaneo L, Costantini G. How to Test the Association Between Baseline Performance Level and the Modulatory Effects of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation Techniques. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:920558. [PMID: 35814951 PMCID: PMC9265211 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.920558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioral effects of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques (NIBS) can dramatically change as a function of different factors (e.g., stimulation intensity, timing of stimulation). In this framework, lately there has been a growing interest toward the importance of considering the inter-individual differences in baseline performance and how they are related with behavioral NIBS effects. However, assessing how baseline performance level is associated with behavioral effects of brain stimulation techniques raises up crucial methodological issues. How can we test whether the performance at baseline is predictive of the effects of NIBS, when NIBS effects themselves are estimated with reference to baseline performance? In this perspective article, we discuss the limitations connected to widely used strategies for the analysis of the association between baseline value and NIBS effects, and review solutions to properly address this type of question.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlotta Lega
- Department of Psychology and Milan Center for Neuroscience (NeuroMI), University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- *Correspondence: Carlotta Lega
| | - Luigi Cattaneo
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Trento, Italy
- Centre for Medical Sciences (CISMed), University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Giulio Costantini
- Department of Psychology and Milan Center for Neuroscience (NeuroMI), University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
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14
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Spaccasassi C, Zanon M, Borgomaneri S, Avenanti A. Mu rhythm and corticospinal excitability capture two different frames of motor resonance: A TMS/EEG co-registration study. Cortex 2022; 154:197-211. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.04.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Revised: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 04/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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15
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Maggio MG, Piazzitta D, Andaloro A, Latella D, Sciarrone F, Casella C, Naro A, Manuli A, Calabrò RS. Embodied cognition in neurodegenerative disorders: What do we know so far? A narrative review focusing on the mirror neuron system and clinical applications. J Clin Neurosci 2022; 98:66-72. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jocn.2022.01.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2020] [Revised: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 01/22/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
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16
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Kislinger L. Photographs of Actions: What Makes Them Special Cues to Social Perception. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11111382. [PMID: 34827381 PMCID: PMC8615998 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11111382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Revised: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
I have reviewed studies on neural responses to pictured actions in the action observation network (AON) and the cognitive functions of these responses. Based on this review, I have analyzed the specific representational characteristics of action photographs. There has been consensus that AON responses provide viewers with knowledge of observed or pictured actions, but there has been controversy about the properties of this knowledge. Is this knowledge causally provided by AON activities or is it dependent on conceptual processing? What elements of actions does it refer to, and how generalized or specific is it? The answers to these questions have come from studies that used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to stimulate motor or somatosensory cortices. In conjunction with electromyography (EMG), TMS allows researchers to examine changes of the excitability in the corticospinal tract and muscles of people viewing pictured actions. The timing of these changes and muscle specificity enable inferences to be drawn about the cognitive products of processing pictured actions in the AON. Based on a review of studies using TMS and other neuroscience methods, I have proposed a novel hypothetical account that describes the characteristics of action photographs that make them effective cues to social perception. This account includes predictions that can be tested experimentally.
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17
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Salamone PC, Legaz A, Sedeño L, Moguilner S, Fraile-Vazquez M, Campo CG, Fittipaldi S, Yoris A, Miranda M, Birba A, Galiani A, Abrevaya S, Neely A, Caro MM, Alifano F, Villagra R, Anunziata F, Okada de Oliveira M, Pautassi RM, Slachevsky A, Serrano C, García AM, Ibañez A. Interoception Primes Emotional Processing: Multimodal Evidence from Neurodegeneration. J Neurosci 2021; 41:4276-4292. [PMID: 33827935 PMCID: PMC8143206 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2578-20.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2020] [Revised: 03/17/2021] [Accepted: 03/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent frameworks in cognitive neuroscience and behavioral neurology underscore interoceptive priors as core modulators of negative emotions. However, the field lacks experimental designs manipulating the priming of emotions via interoception and exploring their multimodal signatures in neurodegenerative models. Here, we designed a novel task that involves interoceptive and control-exteroceptive priming conditions followed by post-interoception and post-exteroception facial emotion recognition (FER). We recruited 114 participants, including healthy controls (HCs) as well as patients with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and Alzheimer's disease (AD). We measured online EEG modulations of the heart-evoked potential (HEP), and associations with both brain structural and resting-state functional connectivity patterns. Behaviorally, post-interoception negative FER was enhanced in HCs but selectively disrupted in bvFTD and PD, with AD presenting generalized disruptions across emotion types. Only bvFTD presented impaired interoceptive accuracy. Increased HEP modulations during post-interoception negative FER was observed in HCs and AD, but not in bvFTD or PD patients. Across all groups, post-interoception negative FER correlated with the volume of the insula and the ACC. Also, negative FER was associated with functional connectivity along the (a) salience network in the post-interoception condition, and along the (b) executive network in the post-exteroception condition. These patterns were selectively disrupted in bvFTD (a) and PD (b), respectively. Our approach underscores the multidimensional impact of interoception on emotion, while revealing a specific pathophysiological marker of bvFTD. These findings inform a promising theoretical and clinical agenda in the fields of nteroception, emotion, allostasis, and neurodegeneration.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We examined whether and how emotions are primed by interoceptive states combining multimodal measures in healthy controls and neurodegenerative models. In controls, negative emotion recognition and ongoing HEP modulations were increased after interoception. These patterns were selectively disrupted in patients with atrophy across key interoceptive-emotional regions (e.g., the insula and the cingulate in frontotemporal dementia, frontostriatal networks in Parkinson's disease), whereas persons with Alzheimer's disease presented generalized emotional processing abnormalities with preserved interoceptive mechanisms. The integration of both domains was associated with the volume and connectivity (salience network) of canonical interoceptive-emotional hubs, critically involving the insula and the anterior cingulate. Our study reveals multimodal markers of interoceptive-emotional priming, laying the groundwork for new agendas in cognitive neuroscience and behavioral neurology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula C Salamone
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Agustina Legaz
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Lucas Sedeño
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Sebastián Moguilner
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, California, and Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Nuclear Medicine School Foundation, National Commission of Atomic Energy, Mendoza, Argentina
| | | | - Cecilia Gonzalez Campo
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Sol Fittipaldi
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Adrián Yoris
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience, INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Magdalena Miranda
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience, INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Agustina Birba
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Agostina Galiani
- Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience, INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Sofía Abrevaya
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience, INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Alejandra Neely
- Latin American Brain Health (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | - Miguel Martorell Caro
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience, INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Florencia Alifano
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience, INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Roque Villagra
- Memory and Neuropsychiatric Clinic, Neurology Department, Hospital del Salvador, SSMO & Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Florencia Anunziata
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
- Instituto de Investigación Médica M. y M. Ferreyra, INIMEC-CONICET-UNC, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Maira Okada de Oliveira
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, California, and Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Department of Neurology, Faculdade de Medicina FMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP Brazil
- Department of Neurology, Hospital Santa Marcelina, Sao Paulo, SP Brazil
| | - Ricardo M Pautassi
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
- Instituto de Investigación Médica M. y M. Ferreyra, INIMEC-CONICET-UNC, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Andrea Slachevsky
- Memory and Neuropsychiatric Clinic, Neurology Department, Hospital del Salvador, SSMO & Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Gerosciences Center for Brain Health and Metabolism, Santiago, Chile
- Neuropsychology and Clinical Neuroscience Laboratory, Physiopathology Department, ICBM, Neurosciences Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Servicio de Neurología, Departamento de Medicina, Clínica Alemana-Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
| | - Cecilia Serrano
- Neurología Cognitiva, Hospital Cesar Milstein, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Adolfo M García
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, California, and Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Faculty of Education, National University of Cuyo, Mendoza, M5502JMA, Argentina
- Departamento de Lingüística y Literatura, Facultad de Humanidades, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Agustín Ibañez
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, California, and Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Latin American Brain Health (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
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18
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Breveglieri R, Bosco A, Borgomaneri S, Tessari A, Galletti C, Avenanti A, Fattori P. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Over the Human Medial Posterior Parietal Cortex Disrupts Depth Encoding During Reach Planning. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:267-280. [PMID: 32995831 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2020] [Revised: 07/01/2020] [Accepted: 07/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Accumulating evidence supports the view that the medial part of the posterior parietal cortex (mPPC) is involved in the planning of reaching, but while plenty of studies investigated reaching performed toward different directions, only a few studied different depths. Here, we investigated the causal role of mPPC (putatively, human area V6A-hV6A) in encoding depth and direction of reaching. Specifically, we applied single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the left hV6A at different time points while 15 participants were planning immediate, visually guided reaching by using different eye-hand configurations. We found that TMS delivered over hV6A 200 ms after the Go signal affected the encoding of the depth of reaching by decreasing the accuracy of movements toward targets located farther with respect to the gazed position, but only when they were also far from the body. The effectiveness of both retinotopic (farther with respect to the gaze) and spatial position (far from the body) is in agreement with the presence in the monkey V6A of neurons employing either retinotopic, spatial, or mixed reference frames during reach plan. This work provides the first causal evidence of the critical role of hV6A in the planning of visually guided reaching movements in depth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rossella Breveglieri
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
| | - Annalisa Bosco
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
| | - Sara Borgomaneri
- Center for studies and research in Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy.,IRCCS, Santa Lucia Foundation, 00179 Rome, Italy
| | - Alessia Tessari
- Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy
| | - Claudio Galletti
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Center for studies and research in Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy.,Center for research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Neurosciences, Catholic University of Maule, 3460000 Talca, Chile
| | - Patrizia Fattori
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
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19
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Silvanto J, Cattaneo Z. Nonlinear interaction between stimulation intensity and initial brain state: Evidence for the facilitatory/suppressive range model of online TMS effects. Neurosci Lett 2020; 742:135538. [PMID: 33259928 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2020.135538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2020] [Revised: 11/17/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The effects of online Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) can qualitatively vary as a function of brain state. For example, TMS intensities which normally impair performance can have a facilitatory effect if the targeted neuronal representations are in a suppressed state. These phenomena have been explained in terms of the existence of distinct facilitatory and suppressive ranges as a function of TMS intensity which are shifted by changes in neural excitability. We tested this model by applying TMS at a low (60 % of phosphene threshold) or high (120 % of phosphene threshold) intensity during a priming paradigm. Our results show that state-dependent TMS effects vary qualitatively as a function of TMS intensity. Whereas the application of TMS at 120 % of participants' phosphene threshold impaired performance on fully congruent trials (in effect, reducing the benefit of priming), TMS applied at a lower intensity (60 % of phosphene threshold), facilitated performance on congruent trials. These results demonstrate that behavioral effects of TMS reflect a nonlinear interaction between initial activation state and TMS intensity. They also provide support for the existence of facilitatory/suppressive ranges of TMS effects which shift when neural excitability changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juha Silvanto
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Stag Hill Guildford, GU2 7XH, UK.
| | - Zaira Cattaneo
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy; IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
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20
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Decroix J, Borgomaneri S, Kalénine S, Avenanti A. State-dependent TMS of inferior frontal and parietal cortices highlights integration of grip configuration and functional goals during action recognition. Cortex 2020; 132:51-62. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2020] [Revised: 07/09/2020] [Accepted: 08/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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21
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Fernández A, Carrasco M. Extinguishing Exogenous Attention via Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. Curr Biol 2020; 30:4078-4084.e3. [PMID: 32795447 PMCID: PMC7577948 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.07.068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2020] [Revised: 07/09/2020] [Accepted: 07/22/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Orienting covert exogenous (involuntary) attention to a target location improves performance in many visual tasks [1, 2]. It is unknown whether early visual cortical areas are necessary for this improvement. To establish a causal link between these areas and attentional modulations, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to briefly alter cortical excitability and determine whether early visual areas mediate the effect of exogenous attention on performance. Observers performed an orientation discrimination task. After a peripheral valid, neutral, or invalid cue, two cortically magnified gratings were presented, one in the stimulated region and the other in the symmetric region in the opposite hemifield. Observers received two successive TMS pulses around their occipital pole while the stimuli were presented. Shortly after, a response cue indicated the grating whose orientation observers had to discriminate. The response cue either matched-target stimulated-or did not match-distractor stimulated-the stimulated side. Grating contrast was varied to measure contrast response functions (CRF) for all combinations of attention and TMS conditions. When the distractor was stimulated, exogenous attention yielded response gain-performance benefits in the valid-cue condition and costs in the invalid-cue condition compared with the neutral condition at the high contrast levels. Crucially, when the target was stimulated, this response gain was eliminated. Therefore, TMS extinguished the effect of exogenous attention. These results establish a causal link between early visual areas and the modulatory effect of exogenous attention on performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Fernández
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
| | - Marisa Carrasco
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
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22
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Patri JF, Cavallo A, Pullar K, Soriano M, Valente M, Koul A, Avenanti A, Panzeri S, Becchio C. Transient Disruption of the Inferior Parietal Lobule Impairs the Ability to Attribute Intention to Action. Curr Biol 2020; 30:4594-4605.e7. [PMID: 32976808 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.08.104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2020] [Revised: 08/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Although it is well established that fronto-parietal regions are active during action observation, whether they play a causal role in the ability to infer others' intentions from visual kinematics remains undetermined. In the experiments reported here, we combined offline continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) with computational modeling to reveal and causally probe single-trial computations in the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Participants received cTBS over the left anterior IPL and the left IFG pars orbitalis in separate sessions before completing an intention discrimination task (discriminate intention of observed reach-to-grasp acts) or a kinematic discrimination task unrelated to intention (discriminate peak wrist height of the same acts). We targeted intention-sensitive regions whose fMRI activity, recorded when observing the same reach-to-grasp acts, could accurately discriminate intention. We found that transient disruption of activity of the left IPL, but not the IFG, impaired the observer's ability to attribute intention to action. Kinematic discrimination unrelated to intention, in contrast, was largely unaffected. Computational analyses of how encoding (mapping of intention to movement kinematics) and readout (mapping of kinematics to intention choices) intersect at the single-trial level revealed that IPL cTBS did not diminish the overall sensitivity of intention readout to movement kinematics. Rather, it selectively misaligned intention readout with respect to encoding, deteriorating mapping from informative kinematic features to intention choices. These results provide causal evidence of how the left anterior IPL computes mapping from kinematics to intentions.
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23
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Penton T, Catmur C, Banissy MJ, Bird G, Walsh V. Non-invasive stimulation in the social brain: the methodological challenges. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2020; 17:15-25. [PMID: 32734295 PMCID: PMC9083106 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2019] [Revised: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 07/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Use of non-invasive brain stimulation methods (NIBS) has become a common approach to study social processing in addition to behavioural, imaging and lesion studies. However, research using NIBS to investigate social processing faces challenges. Overcoming these is important to allow valid and reliable interpretation of findings in neurotypical cohorts, but also to allow us to tailor NIBS protocols to atypical groups with social difficulties. In this review, we consider the utility of brain stimulation as a technique to study and modulate social processing. We also discuss challenges that face researchers using NIBS to study social processing in neurotypical adults with a view to highlighting potential solutions. Finally, we discuss additional challenges that face researchers using NIBS to study and modulate social processing in atypical groups. These are important to consider given that NIBS protocols are rarely tailored to atypical groups before use. Instead, many rely on protocols designed for neurotypical adults despite differences in brain function that are likely to impact response to NIBS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tegan Penton
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, SE14 6NW, UK.,MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Caroline Catmur
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Michael J Banissy
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, SE14 6NW, UK
| | - Geoffrey Bird
- MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 8AF, UK.,Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PH
| | - Vincent Walsh
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
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24
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Borgomaneri S, Bolloni C, Sessa P, Avenanti A. Blocking facial mimicry affects recognition of facial and body expressions. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0229364. [PMID: 32078668 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2019] [Accepted: 02/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Facial mimicry is commonly defined as the tendency to imitate-at a sub-threshold level-facial expressions of other individuals. Numerous studies support a role of facial mimicry in recognizing others' emotions. However, the underlying functional mechanism is unclear. A prominent hypothesis considers facial mimicry as based on an action-perception loop, leading to the prediction that facial mimicry should be observed only when processing others' facial expressions. Nevertheless, previous studies have also detected facial mimicry during observation of emotional bodily expressions. An emergent alternative hypothesis is that facial mimicry overtly reflects the simulation of an "emotion", rather than the reproduction of a specific observed motor pattern. In the present study, we tested whether blocking mimicry ("Bite") on the lower face disrupted recognition of happy expressions conveyed by either facial or body expressions. In Experiment 1, we tested participants' ability to identify happy, fearful and neutral expressions in the Bite condition and in two control conditions. In Experiment 2, to ensure that such a manipulation selectively affects emotion recognition, we tested participants' ability to recognize emotional expressions, as well as the actors' gender, under the Bite condition and a control condition. Finally, we investigated the relationship between dispositional empathy and emotion recognition under the condition of blocked mimicry. Our findings demonstrated that blocking mimicry on the lower face hindered recognition of happy facial and body expressions, while the recognition of neutral and fearful expressions was not affected by the mimicry manipulation. The mimicry manipulation did not affect the gender discrimination task. Furthermore, the impairment of happy expression recognition correlated with empathic traits. These results support the role of facial mimicry in emotion recognition and suggest that facial mimicry reflects a global sensorimotor simulation of others' emotions rather than a muscle-specific reproduction of an observed motor expression.
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25
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Cattaneo Z, Bona S, Silvanto J. Different neural representations for detection of symmetry in dot-patterns and in faces: A state-dependent TMS study. Neuropsychologia 2020; 138:107333. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2019] [Revised: 12/05/2019] [Accepted: 01/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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26
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Zangrandi A, Mioli A, D'Alonzo M, Formica D, Pellegrino G, Di Pino G. Conditioning transcranial magnetic stimulation of ventral premotor cortex shortens simple reaction time. Cortex 2019; 121:322-331. [PMID: 31670027 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2019] [Revised: 06/23/2019] [Accepted: 09/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The ventral premotor cortex (PMv) is a key area of the sensorimotor control loop, it subtends complex motor sequences, especially when the hand is involved. However, its specific contribution to simple motor response to sensory cue is still not completely clear. To investigate the role of PMv, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to interfere with its function during a simple reaction time (SRT) task. We ran two experiments where participants were required to respond as fast as possible to a median nerve stimulation (go-signal), while sub-M1-threshold single pulse TMS was delivered either on left (contralateral) PMv or right (ipsilateral to sensory stimulus and motor response) PMv, 5-65 ms after the go-signal. TMS delivered on either PMv up to 25 ms after the go-signal shortened reaction time. This is the time window compatible with the arrive of sensory afferences, as if conditioning before sensory afferences arrive lower the threshold needed to release the pre-planned motor program to the primary motor cortex. This is in line with a putative PMv function of buffer of pre-planned motor program not strictly lateralized in one hemisphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Zangrandi
- Research Unit of Neurophysiology and Neuroengineering of Human-Technology Interaction, Università Campus Bio-Medico, Rome, Italy
| | - Alessandro Mioli
- Research Unit of Neurophysiology and Neuroengineering of Human-Technology Interaction, Università Campus Bio-Medico, Rome, Italy
| | - Marco D'Alonzo
- Research Unit of Neurophysiology and Neuroengineering of Human-Technology Interaction, Università Campus Bio-Medico, Rome, Italy
| | - Domenico Formica
- Research Unit of Neurophysiology and Neuroengineering of Human-Technology Interaction, Università Campus Bio-Medico, Rome, Italy
| | - Giovanni Pellegrino
- San Camillo Hospital IRCCS, Venice, Italy; Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Giovanni Di Pino
- Research Unit of Neurophysiology and Neuroengineering of Human-Technology Interaction, Università Campus Bio-Medico, Rome, Italy.
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27
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Hesse E, Mikulan E, Sitt JD, Garcia MDC, Silva W, Ciraolo C, Vaucheret E, Raimondo F, Baglivo F, Adolfi F, Herrera E, Bekinschtein TA, Petroni A, Lew S, Sedeno L, Garcia AM, Ibanez A. Consistent Gradient of Performance and Decoding of Stimulus Type and Valence From Local and Network Activity. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng 2019; 27:619-629. [PMID: 30869625 DOI: 10.1109/tnsre.2019.2903921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The individual differences approach focuses on the variation of behavioral and neural signatures across subjects. In this context, we searched for intracranial neural markers of performance in three individuals with distinct behavioral patterns (efficient, borderline, and inefficient) in a dual-valence task assessing facial and lexical emotion recognition. First, we performed a preliminary study to replicate well-established evoked responses in relevant brain regions. Then, we examined time series data and network connectivity, combined with multivariate pattern analyses and machine learning, to explore electrophysiological differences in resting-state versus task-related activity across subjects. Next, using the same methodological approach, we assessed the neural decoding of performance for different dimensions of the task. The classification of time series data mirrored the behavioral gradient across subjects for stimulus type but not for valence. However, network-based measures reflected the subjects' hierarchical profiles for both stimulus types and valence. Therefore, this measure serves as a sensitive marker for capturing distributed processes such as emotional valence discrimination, which relies on an extended set of regions. Network measures combined with classification methods may offer useful insights to study single subjects and understand inter-individual performance variability. Promisingly, this approach could eventually be extrapolated to other neuroscientific techniques.
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28
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Keysers C, Paracampo R, Gazzola V. What neuromodulation and lesion studies tell us about the function of the mirror neuron system and embodied cognition. Curr Opin Psychol 2018; 24:35-40. [PMID: 29734039 PMCID: PMC6173305 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2018] [Revised: 03/28/2018] [Accepted: 04/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
We review neuromodulation and lesion studies that address how activations in the mirror neuron system contribute to our perception of observed actions. Past reviews showed disruptions of this parieto-premotor network impair imitation and goal and kinematic processing. Recent studies bring five new themes. First, focal perturbations of a node of that circuit lead to changes across all nodes. Second, primary somatosensory cortex is an integral part of this network suggesting embodied representations are somatosensory-motor. Third, disturbing this network impairs the ability to predict the actions of others in the close (∼300ms) future. Fourth, disruptions impair our ability to coordinate our actions with others. Fifth, disrupting this network, the insula or cingulate also impairs emotion recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Keysers
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Amsterdam (UvA), 1001 NK Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Riccardo Paracampo
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Valeria Gazzola
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Amsterdam (UvA), 1001 NK Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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29
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Paracampo R, Montemurro M, de Vega M, Avenanti A. Primary motor cortex crucial for action prediction: A tDCS study. Cortex 2018; 109:287-302. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.09.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2017] [Revised: 09/02/2018] [Accepted: 09/16/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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30
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Fiori F, Chiappini E, Avenanti A. Enhanced action performance following TMS manipulation of associative plasticity in ventral premotor-motor pathway. Neuroimage 2018; 183:847-858. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2017] [Revised: 08/17/2018] [Accepted: 09/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
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31
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Zanon M, Borgomaneri S, Avenanti A. Action-related dynamic changes in inferior frontal cortex effective connectivity: A TMS/EEG coregistration study. Cortex 2018; 108:193-209. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2017] [Revised: 07/11/2018] [Accepted: 08/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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32
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Paracampo R, Pirruccio M, Costa M, Borgomaneri S, Avenanti A. Visual, sensorimotor and cognitive routes to understanding others' enjoyment: An individual differences rTMS approach to empathic accuracy. Neuropsychologia 2018; 116:86-98. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.01.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2017] [Revised: 01/15/2018] [Accepted: 01/31/2018] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
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33
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Cai Y, Urgolites Z, Wood J, Chen C, Li S, Chen A, Xue G. Distinct neural substrates for visual short-term memory of actions. Hum Brain Mapp 2018; 39:4119-4133. [PMID: 29947094 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2018] [Revised: 04/23/2018] [Accepted: 05/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Fundamental theories of human cognition have long posited that the short-term maintenance of actions is supported by one of the "core knowledge" systems of human visual cognition, yet its neural substrates are still not well understood. In particular, it is unclear whether the visual short-term memory (VSTM) of actions has distinct neural substrates or, as proposed by the spatio-object architecture of VSTM, shares them with VSTM of objects and spatial locations. In two experiments, we tested these two competing hypotheses by directly contrasting the neural substrates for VSTM of actions with those for objects and locations. Our results showed that the bilateral middle temporal cortex (MT) was specifically involved in VSTM of actions because its activation and its functional connectivity with the frontal-parietal network (FPN) were only modulated by the memory load of actions, but not by that of objects/agents or locations. Moreover, the brain regions involved in the maintenance of spatial location information (i.e., superior parietal lobule, SPL) was also recruited during the maintenance of actions, consistent with the temporal-spatial nature of actions. Meanwhile, the frontoparietal network (FPN) was commonly involved in all types of VSTM and showed flexible functional connectivity with the domain-specific regions, depending on the current working memory tasks. Together, our results provide clear evidence for a distinct neural system for maintaining actions in VSTM, which supports the core knowledge system theory and the domain-specific and domain-general architectures of VSTM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute of Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, People's Republic of China.,Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhisen Urgolites
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego La Jolla, California, 92093
| | - Justin Wood
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, 90089
| | - Chuansheng Chen
- Department of Psychology and Social Behavior University of California, Irvine, California, 92697
| | - Siyao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute of Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, People's Republic of China.,Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, People's Republic of China
| | - Antao Chen
- School of Psychology, Southeast University, Chongqing, 400700, People's Republic of China
| | - Gui Xue
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute of Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, People's Republic of China.,Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, People's Republic of China
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34
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Paracampo R, Tidoni E, Borgomaneri S, di Pellegrino G, Avenanti A. Sensorimotor Network Crucial for Inferring Amusement from Smiles. Cereb Cortex 2018; 27:5116-5129. [PMID: 27660050 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2016] [Accepted: 08/26/2016] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding whether another's smile reflects authentic amusement is a key challenge in social life, yet, the neural bases of this ability have been largely unexplored. Here, we combined transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with a novel empathic accuracy (EA) task to test whether sensorimotor and mentalizing networks are critical for understanding another's amusement. Participants were presented with dynamic displays of smiles and explicitly requested to infer whether the smiling individual was feeling authentic amusement or not. TMS over sensorimotor regions representing the face (i.e., in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and ventral primary somatosensory cortex (SI)), disrupted the ability to infer amusement authenticity from observed smiles. The same stimulation did not affect performance on a nonsocial task requiring participants to track the smiling expression but not to infer amusement. Neither TMS over prefrontal and temporo-parietal areas supporting mentalizing, nor peripheral control stimulations, affected performance on either task. Thus, motor and somatosensory circuits for controlling and sensing facial movements are causally essential for inferring amusement from another's smile. These findings highlight the functional relevance of IFG and SI to amusement understanding and suggest that EA abilities may be grounded in sensorimotor networks for moving and feeling the body.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riccardo Paracampo
- Department of Psychology, Center for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy
| | - Emmanuele Tidoni
- Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, 00179 Rome, Italy.,Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Sara Borgomaneri
- Department of Psychology, Center for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy.,Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, 00179 Rome, Italy
| | - Giuseppe di Pellegrino
- Department of Psychology, Center for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Department of Psychology, Center for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy.,Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, 00179 Rome, Italy
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35
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Decroix J, Kalénine S. Timing of grip and goal activation during action perception: a priming study. Exp Brain Res 2018; 236:2411-2426. [DOI: 10.1007/s00221-018-5309-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2017] [Accepted: 06/07/2018] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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36
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Gallo S, Paracampo R, Müller-Pinzler L, Severo MC, Blömer L, Fernandes-Henriques C, Henschel A, Lammes BK, Maskaljunas T, Suttrup J, Avenanti A, Keysers C, Gazzola V. The causal role of the somatosensory cortex in prosocial behaviour. eLife 2018; 7:32740. [PMID: 29735015 PMCID: PMC5973831 DOI: 10.7554/elife.32740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2017] [Accepted: 04/20/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Witnessing another person’s suffering elicits vicarious brain activity in areas that are active when we ourselves are in pain. Whether this activity influences prosocial behavior remains the subject of debate. Here participants witnessed a confederate express pain through a reaction of the swatted hand or through a facial expression, and could decide to reduce that pain by donating money. Participants donate more money on trials in which the confederate expressed more pain. Electroencephalography shows that activity of the somatosensory cortex I (SI) hand region explains variance in donation. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) shows that altering this activity interferes with the pain–donation coupling only when pain is expressed by the hand. High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) shows that altering SI activity also interferes with pain perception. These experiments show that vicarious somatosensory activations contribute to prosocial decision-making and suggest that they do so by helping to transform observed reactions of affected body-parts into accurate perceptions of pain that are necessary for decision-making. When we experience physical pain, certain areas in our brain that process bodily sensation and emotions switch on. If we see someone else in pain, many of the same regions also get activated. In contrast, convicted criminals with psychopathic traits have less activation in these areas of the brain when witnessing someone’s pain; they also show less empathy and disregard the needs of others. This suggests that a lack of this ‘shared activations’ may lead to problems in empathy. In fact, many scientists believe that shared activations are why we feel empathy for people in pain, and why we are driven to help them. Yet, there is little direct evidence about how the activity in the pain processing parts of the brain actually influences helpful behavior. As a result, some scientists now argue that empathy-related processes may actually contribute very little to helping behavior. Gallo et al. designed an experiment where participants watched videos of someone having their hand swatted with a belt, and showing different levels of pain as a result. The volunteers could decide to reduce the amount of pain the person received by donating money they could have taken home. The more pain the participants thought the victim was in, the more money they gave up to lessen it. During the study, the activity in the brain region that processes pain in the hand was also measured in the participants. The more active this region was, the more money people donated to help. Then, Gallo et al. used techniques that interfered with the activity of the brain area involved in perceiving sensations from the hand. This interference changed how accurately participants assessed the victim's pain. It also disrupted the link between donations and the victim's perceived pain: the amount of money people gave no longer matched the level of pain they had witnessed. This suggests that the brain areas that perceive sensations of pain in the self, which evolved primarily to experience our own sensations, also have a social function. They transform the sight of bodily harm into an accurate feeling for how much pain the victim experiences. The findings also show that we need this feeling so we can adapt our help to the needs of others. In the current debate about the role of empathy in helping behaviors, this study demonstrates that empathy-related brain activity indeed promotes helping by allowing us to detect those that need our assistance. Understanding the relationship between helping behavior and the activity of the brain may further lead to treatments for individuals with antisocial behavior and for children with callous and unemotional traits, a disorder that is associated with a lack of empathy and a general disregard for others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selene Gallo
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Riccardo Paracampo
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Department of Psychology, Center for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Müller-Pinzler
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Social Neuroscience Lab, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Mario Carlo Severo
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Laila Blömer
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Carolina Fernandes-Henriques
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Anna Henschel
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Balint Kalista Lammes
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Tatjana Maskaljunas
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Judith Suttrup
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Department of Psychology, Center for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Christian Keysers
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Valeria Gazzola
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Kuehn E, Pleger B. How Visual Body Perception Influences Somatosensory Plasticity. Neural Plast 2018; 2018:7909684. [PMID: 29713338 DOI: 10.1155/2018/7909684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2017] [Revised: 01/09/2018] [Accepted: 01/16/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The study of somatosensory plasticity offers unique insights into the neuronal mechanisms that underlie human adaptive and maladaptive plasticity. So far, little attention has been paid on the specific influence of visual body perception on somatosensory plasticity and learning in humans. Here, we review evidence on how visual body perception induces changes in the functional architecture of the somatosensory system and discuss the specific influence the social environment has on tactile plasticity and learning. We focus on studies that have been published in the areas of human cognitive and clinical neuroscience and refer to animal studies when appropriate. We discuss the therapeutic potential of socially mediated modulations of somatosensory plasticity and introduce specific paradigms to induce plastic changes under controlled conditions. This review offers a contribution to understanding the complex interactions between social perception and somatosensory learning by focusing on a novel research field: socially mediated sensory plasticity.
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Collins T, Jacquet PO. TMS over posterior parietal cortex disrupts trans-saccadic visual stability. Brain Stimul 2018; 11:390-399. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brs.2017.11.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2017] [Revised: 11/24/2017] [Accepted: 11/26/2017] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
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Bertossi E, Peccenini L, Solmi A, Avenanti A, Ciaramelli E. Transcranial direct current stimulation of the medial prefrontal cortex dampens mind-wandering in men. Sci Rep 2017; 7:16962. [PMID: 29209069 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-17267-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2017] [Accepted: 11/22/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Mind-wandering, the mind’s capacity to stray from external events and generate task-unrelated thought, has been associated with activity in the brain default network. To date, little is understood about the contribution of individual nodes of this network to mind-wandering. Here, we investigated the role of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in mind-wandering, by perturbing this region with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Young healthy participants performed a choice reaction time task both before and after receiving cathodal tDCS over mPFC, and had their thoughts periodically sampled. We found that tDCS over mPFC - but not occipital or sham tDCS - decreased the propensity to mind-wander. The tDCS-induced reduction in mind-wandering occurred in men, but not in women, and was accompanied by a change in the content of task-unrelated though, which became more related to other people (as opposed to the self) following tDCS. These findings indicate that mPFC is crucial for mind-wandering, possibly by helping construction of self-relevant scenarios capable to divert attention inward, away from perceptual reality. Gender-related differences in tDCS-induced changes suggest that mPFC controls mind-wandering differently in men and women, which may depend on differences in the structural and functional organization of distributed brain networks governing mind-wandering, including mPFC.
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40
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Abstract
Tool use in humans and hominins (i.e., extant relatives to humans) is unique in several respects. To date, no attempt has been made to review the main patterns of tool behavior specific to these species as well as to integrate them into a coherent framework. The aim here is to fill this gap by (a) identifying these behavioral specificities and (b) trying to explain the greatest number of these specificities with the lowest number of cognitive mechanisms. Based on this approach, this article provides a potential solution, namely, the PArsimonious THeory of hominin technology (PATH), aiming to account for the cognitive origins of 4 behavioral characteristics: transfer, complex tool use, secondary tool use, and tool saving. A key hypothesis is that the emergence of 2 breaking mechanisms—technical reasoning and semantic reasoning—could have boosted hominin technology. PATH offers an original framework for understanding the most archaic, human cognitive traits, thereby providing a good starting point for future investigation about the cognitive evolution of technology in the genus Homo.
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41
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Ticini LF, Urgesi C, Kotz SA. Modulating Mimetic Preference with Theta Burst Stimulation of the Inferior Parietal Cortex. Front Psychol 2017; 8:2101. [PMID: 29250021 PMCID: PMC5717539 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2017] [Accepted: 11/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
We like an object more when we see someone else reaching for it. To what extent is action observation causally linked to object valuation? In this study, we set out to answer to this question by applying continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) over the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Previous studies pointed to this region as critical in the representation of others' actions and in tool manipulation. However, it is unclear to what extent IPL's involvement simply reflects action observation, rather than a casual role in objects' valuation. To clarify this issue, we measured cTBS-dependent modulations of participants' “mimetic preference ratings”, i.e., the difference between the ratings of pairs of familiar objects that were (vs. were not) reached out for by other individuals. Our result shows that cTBS increased mimetic preference ratings for tools, when compared to a control condition without stimulation. This effect was selective for items that were reached for or manipulated by another individual, whilst it was not detected in non-tool objects. Although preliminary, this finding suggests that the automatic and covert simulation of an observed action, even when there is no intention to act on an object, influences explicit affective judgments for objects. This work supports embodied cognition theories by substantiating that our subjective preference is grounded in action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca F Ticini
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Biological, Medical and Health Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Cosimo Urgesi
- Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, Udine, Italy.,Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico "Eugenio Medea", Bosisio Parini, Italy
| | - Sonja A Kotz
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
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42
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Vicario CM, Rafal RD, Borgomaneri S, Paracampo R, Kritikos A, Avenanti A. Pictures of disgusting foods and disgusted facial expressions suppress the tongue motor cortex. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2017; 12:352-362. [PMID: 27614770 PMCID: PMC5390717 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsw129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2015] [Accepted: 08/26/2016] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The tongue holds a unique role in gustatory disgust. However, it is unclear whether the tongue representation in the motor cortex (tM1) is affected by the sight of distaste-related stimuli. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in healthy humans, we recorded tongue motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) as an index of tM1 cortico-hypoglossal excitability. MEPs were recorded while participants viewed pictures associated with gustatory disgust and revulsion (i.e. rotten foods and faces expressing distaste), non-oral-related disgusting stimuli (i.e. invertebrates like worms) and control stimuli. We found that oral-related disgust pictures suppressed tM1 cortico-hypoglossal output. This tM1 suppression was predicted by interindividual differences in disgust sensitivity. No similar suppression was found for disgusting invertebrates or when MEPs were recorded from a control muscle. These findings suggest that revulsion-eliciting food pictures trigger anticipatory inhibition mechanisms, possibly preventing toxin swallowing and contamination. A similar suppression is elicited when viewing distaste expressions, suggesting vicarious motor inhibition during social perception of disgust. Our study suggests an avoidant-defensive mechanism in human cortico-hypoglossal circuits and its ‘resonant’ activation in the vicarious experience of others’ distaste. These findings support a role for the motor system in emotion-driven motor anticipation and social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmelo M Vicario
- Wolfson Centre for Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Bangor University, Bangor Gwynedd LL57 2DG, UK.,School of Psychology, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania 7000, Australia
| | - Robert D Rafal
- Wolfson Centre for Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Bangor University, Bangor Gwynedd LL57 2DG, UK
| | - Sara Borgomaneri
- Department of Psychology and Center for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Bologna, Cesena Campus, Cesena 47521, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma 00179, Italy
| | - Riccardo Paracampo
- Department of Psychology and Center for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Bologna, Cesena Campus, Cesena 47521, Italy
| | - Ada Kritikos
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, McElwain Building, St Lucia Campus, Brisbane 4072, Australia
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Department of Psychology and Center for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Bologna, Cesena Campus, Cesena 47521, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma 00179, Italy
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43
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Nelissen K, Vanduffel W. Action Categorization in Rhesus Monkeys: discrimination of grasping from non-grasping manual motor acts. Sci Rep 2017; 7:15094. [PMID: 29118339 PMCID: PMC5678109 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-15378-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2017] [Accepted: 10/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to recognize others’ actions is an important aspect of social behavior. While neurophysiological and behavioral research in monkeys has offered a better understanding of how the primate brain processes this type of information, further insight with respect to the neural correlates of action recognition requires tasks that allow recording of brain activity or perturbing brain regions while monkeys simultaneously make behavioral judgements about certain aspects of observed actions. Here we investigated whether rhesus monkeys could actively discriminate videos showing grasping or non-grasping manual motor acts in a two-alternative categorization task. After monkeys became proficient in this task, we tested their ability to generalize to a number of untrained, novel videos depicting grasps or other manual motor acts. Monkeys generalized to a wide range of novel human or conspecific grasping and non-grasping motor acts. They failed, however, for videos showing unfamiliar actions such as a non-biological effector performing a grasp, or a human hand touching an object with the back of the hand. This study shows the feasibility of training monkeys to perform active judgements about certain aspects of observed actions, instrumental for causal investigations into the neural correlates of action recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koen Nelissen
- Laboratory for Neuro- & Psychophysiology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium.
| | - Wim Vanduffel
- Laboratory for Neuro- & Psychophysiology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium.,Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Athinoula A. Martino's Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, Massachusetts, 02129, USA
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44
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Fiori F, Chiappini E, Candidi M, Romei V, Borgomaneri S, Avenanti A. Long-latency interhemispheric interactions between motor-related areas and the primary motor cortex: a dual site TMS study. Sci Rep 2017; 7:14936. [PMID: 29097700 PMCID: PMC5668244 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-13708-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2017] [Accepted: 09/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The primary motor cortex (M1) is highly influenced by premotor/motor areas both within and across hemispheres. Dual site transcranial magnetic stimulation (dsTMS) has revealed interhemispheric interactions mainly at early latencies. Here, we used dsTMS to systematically investigate long-latency causal interactions between right-hemisphere motor areas and the left M1 (lM1). We stimulated lM1 using a suprathreshold test stimulus (TS) to elicit motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) in the right hand. Either a suprathreshold or a subthreshold conditioning stimulus (CS) was applied over the right M1 (rM1), the right ventral premotor cortex (rPMv), the right dorsal premotor cortex (rPMd) or the supplementary motor area (SMA) prior to the TS at various CS-TS inter-stimulus intervals (ISIs: 40–150 ms). The CS strongly affected lM1 excitability depending on ISI, CS site and intensity. Inhibitory effects were observed independently of CS intensity when conditioning PMv, rM1 and SMA at a 40-ms ISI, with larger effects after PMv conditioning. Inhibition was observed with suprathreshold PMv and rM1 conditioning at a 150-ms ISI, while site-specific, intensity-dependent facilitation was detected at an 80-ms ISI. Thus, long-latency interhemispheric interactions, likely reflecting indirect cortico-cortical/cortico-subcortical pathways, cannot be reduced to nonspecific activation across motor structures. Instead, they reflect intensity-dependent, connection- and time-specific mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Fiori
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179, Rome, Italy.,Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Bologna, 47521, Cesena, Italy.,Dipartimento di Psicologia, Sapienza Università di Roma, 00185, Roma, Italy
| | - Emilio Chiappini
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179, Rome, Italy.,Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Bologna, 47521, Cesena, Italy
| | - Matteo Candidi
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179, Rome, Italy.,Dipartimento di Psicologia, Sapienza Università di Roma, 00185, Roma, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Romei
- Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Bologna, 47521, Cesena, Italy.,Centre for Brain Science, Department of Psychology, University of Essex, CO4 3SQ, Colchester, UK
| | - Sara Borgomaneri
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179, Rome, Italy.,Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Bologna, 47521, Cesena, Italy
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179, Rome, Italy. .,Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Bologna, 47521, Cesena, Italy.
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45
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Bowling NC, Banissy MJ. Modulating vicarious tactile perception with transcranial electrical current stimulation. Eur J Neurosci 2017; 46:2355-2364. [PMID: 28921774 PMCID: PMC5900887 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2017] [Revised: 07/27/2017] [Accepted: 08/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Our capacity to share the experiences of others is a critical part of social behaviour. One process thought to be important for this is vicarious perception. Passively viewing touch activates some of the same network of brain regions as the direct experience of touch. This vicarious experience is usually implicit, but for some people, viewing touch evokes conscious tactile sensations (mirror-touch synaesthesia). Recent work has attempted to induce conscious vicarious touch in those that do not normally experience these sensations, using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Anodal tDCS applied to primary somatosensory cortex (SI) was found to induce behavioural performance akin to mirror-touch synaesthesia on a visuotactile interference task. Here, we conducted two experiments that sought to replicate and extend these findings by examining: (i) the effects of tDCS and high-frequency transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) targeted at SI and temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) on vicarious tactile perception, (ii) the extent to which any stimulation effects were specific to viewing touch to humans vs. inanimate agents and (iii) the influence of visual perspective (viewing touch from one's own vs. another's perspective) on vicarious perception. In Experiment 1, tRNS targeted at SI did not modulate vicarious perception. In Experiment 2, tDCS targeted at SI, but not TPJ, resulted in some modulation of vicarious perception, but there were important caveats to this effect. Implications regarding mechanisms of vicarious perception are discussed. Collectively, the findings do not provide convincing evidence for the potential to modulate vicarious tactile perception with transcranial electrical current stimulation.
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Silvanto J, Cattaneo Z. Common framework for "virtual lesion" and state-dependent TMS: The facilitatory/suppressive range model of online TMS effects on behavior. Brain Cogn 2017; 119:32-38. [PMID: 28963993 PMCID: PMC5652969 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2017.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2017] [Revised: 09/06/2017] [Accepted: 09/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Transcranial magnetic stimulation can either facilitate or impair behavior. Nature of behavioral effects depends on factors such as brain state and intensity. We present a common framework to account for these effects. There are distinct intensity ranges for facilitatory and suppressive effects of TMS. Changes in excitability shift these ranges and account for behavioral effects.
The behavioral effects of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) are often nonlinear; factors such as stimulation intensity and brain state can modulate the impact of TMS on observable behavior in qualitatively different manner. Here we propose a theoretical framework to account for these effects. In this model, there are distinct intensity ranges for facilitatory and suppressive effects of TMS – low intensities facilitate neural activity and behavior whereas high intensities induce suppression. The key feature of the model is that these ranges are shifted by changes in neural excitability: consequently, a TMS intensity, which normally induces suppression, can have a facilitatory effect if the stimulated neurons are being inhibited by ongoing task-related processes or preconditioning. For example, adaptation reduces excitability of adapted neurons; the outcome is that TMS intensities which inhibit non-adapted neurons induce a facilitation on adapted neural representations, leading to reversal of adaptation effects. In conventional “virtual lesion” paradigms, similar effects occur because neurons not involved in task-related processes are inhibited by the ongoing task. The resulting reduction in excitability can turn high intensity “inhibitory” TMS to low intensity “facilitatory” TMS for these neurons, and as task-related neuronal representations are in the inhibitory range, the outcome is a reduction in signal-to-noise ratio and behavioral impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juha Silvanto
- University of Westminster, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Psychology, 115 New Cavendish Street, W1W 6UW London, UK.
| | - Zaira Cattaneo
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy; Brain Connectivity Center, National Neurological Institute C. Mondino, 27100 Pavia, Italy
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47
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Silvanto J, Bona S, Cattaneo Z. Initial activation state, stimulation intensity and timing of stimulation interact in producing behavioral effects of TMS. Neuroscience 2017; 363:134-141. [PMID: 28893648 PMCID: PMC5648046 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2017.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2017] [Revised: 08/31/2017] [Accepted: 09/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
TMS effects depend on various factors such as intensity, brain state and timing. We examined how these factors interact to give rise to behavioral effects. TMS was applied while participants performed a behavioral priming task. State dependency of TMS effect was found to interact with intensity and timing.
Behavioral effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) have been shown to depend on various factors, such as neural activation state, stimulation intensity, and timing of stimulation. Here we examined whether these factors interact, by applying TMS at either sub- or suprathreshold intensity (relative to phosphene threshold, PT) and at different time points during a state-dependent TMS paradigm. The state manipulation involved a behavioral task in which a visual prime (color grating) was followed by a target stimulus which could be either congruent, incongruent or partially congruent with the color and orientation of the prime. In Experiment 1, single-pulse TMS was applied over the early visual cortex (V1/V2) or Vertex (baseline) at the onset of the target stimulus – timing often used in state-dependent TMS studies. With both subthreshold and suprathreshold stimulation, TMS facilitated the detection of incongruent stimuli while not significantly affecting other stimulus types. In Experiment 2, TMS was applied at 100 ms after target onset –a time window in which V1/V2 is responding to visual input. Only TMS applied at suprathreshold intensity facilitated the detection of incongruent stimuli, with no effect with subthreshold stimulation. The need for higher stimulation intensity is likely to reflect reduced susceptibility to TMS of neurons responding to visual stimulation. Furthermore, the finding that in Experiment 2 only suprathreshold TMS induced a behavioral facilitation on incongruent targets (whereas facilitations in the absence of priming have been reported with subthreshold TMS) indicates that priming, by reducing neural excitability to incongruent targets, shifts the facilitatory/inhibitory range of TMS effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juha Silvanto
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Westminster, 309 Regent Street, W1B 2HW London, UK.
| | - Silvia Bona
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
| | - Zaira Cattaneo
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy; Brain Connectivity Center, National Neurological Institute C. Mondino, 27100 Pavia, Italy
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48
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Vicario CM, Sommer W, Kuran KA, Rafal RD. Salivary secretion and disgust: A pilot study. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2017; 178:18-24. [PMID: 28554155 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2017.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2016] [Revised: 05/12/2017] [Accepted: 05/21/2017] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Although a direct link has been established between self-experienced disgust and salivary secretion, it is unclear whether this physiological index is modulated by the social experience of disgust (i.e., exposure to the facial expression of disgust). We tested this issue in a pilot study by collecting salivary samples in a group of 20 healthy humans watching pictures of faces expressing disgust. Moreover, we tried to replicate previous evidence by testing saliva secretion in response to pictures of unpalatable (i.e., rotten) food and non-gustatory disgusting stimuli (i.e., disgusting insects). Overall, our analysis shows a general reduction of saliva secretion in response to disgust stimuli, compared to their positive counterparts, although further analyses for specific stimulus categories indicated that this difference was statistically significant only for food pictures. The non-significance of the face and insect categories might be due to insufficient power of our small sample. Overall, a general reduction of saliva secretion for different disgust-related stimuli suggests a shared mechanism of encoding, in line with theories of neural reuse.
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Mazzoni N, Jacobs C, Venuti P, Silvanto J, Cattaneo L. State-Dependent TMS Reveals Representation of Affective Body Movements in the Anterior Intraparietal Cortex. J Neurosci 2017; 37:7231-9. [PMID: 28642285 DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0913-17.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] Open
Abstract
In humans, recognition of others' actions involves a cortical network that comprises, among other cortical regions, the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), where biological motion is coded and the anterior intraparietal sulcus (aIPS), where movement information is elaborated in terms of meaningful goal-directed actions. This action observation system (AOS) is thought to encode neutral voluntary actions, and possibly some aspects of affective motor repertoire, but the role of the AOS' areas in processing affective kinematic information has never been examined. Here we investigated whether the AOS plays a role in representing dynamic emotional bodily expressions. In the first experiment, we assessed behavioral adaptation effects of observed affective movements. Participants watched series of happy or fearful whole-body point-light displays (PLDs) as adapters and were then asked to perform an explicit categorization of the emotion expressed in test PLDs. Participants were slower when categorizing any of the two emotions as long as it was congruent with the emotion in the adapter sequence. We interpreted this effect as adaptation to the emotional content of PLDs. In the second experiment, we combined this paradigm with TMS applied over either the right aIPS, pSTS, and the right half of the occipital pole (corresponding to Brodmann's area 17 and serving as control) to examine the neural locus of the adaptation effect. TMS over the aIPS (but not over the other sites) reversed the behavioral cost of adaptation, specifically for fearful contents. This demonstrates that aIPS contains an explicit representation of affective body movements.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In humans, a network of areas, the action observation system, encodes voluntary actions. However, the role of these brain regions in processing affective kinematic information has not been investigated. Here we demonstrate that the aIPS contains a representation of affective body movements. First, in a behavioral experiment, we found an adaptation after-effect for emotional PLDs, indicating the existence of a neural representation selective for affective information in biological motion. To examine the neural locus of this effect, we then combined the adaptation paradigm with TMS. Stimulation of the aIPS (but not over pSTS and control site) reversed the behavioral cost of adaptation, specifically for fearful contents, demonstrating that aIPS contains a representation of affective body movements.
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Vicario CM, Rafal RD, Martino D, Avenanti A. Core, social and moral disgust are bounded: A review on behavioral and neural bases of repugnance in clinical disorders. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2017; 80:185-200. [PMID: 28506923 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2016] [Revised: 04/19/2017] [Accepted: 05/09/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Disgust is a multifaceted experience that might affect several aspects of life. Here, we reviewed research on neurological and psychiatric disorders that are characterized by abnormal disgust processing to test the hypothesis of a shared neurocognitive architecture in the representation of three disgust domains: i) personal experience of 'core disgust'; ii) social disgust, i.e., sensitivity to others' expressions of disgust; iii) moral disgust, i.e., sensitivity to ethical violations. Our review provides some support to the shared neurocognitive hypothesis and suggests that the insula might be the "hub" structure linking the three domains of disgust sensitivity, while other brain regions may subserve specific facets of the multidimensional experience. Our review also suggests a role of serotonin core and moral disgust, supporting "neo-sentimentalist" theories of morality, which posit a causal role of affect in moral judgment.
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