scholarly journals Predication Drives Verb Cortical Signatures

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 1829-1839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mireia Hernández ◽  
Scott L. Fairhall ◽  
Alessandro Lenci ◽  
Marco Baroni ◽  
Alfonso Caramazza
Keyword(s):  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Specific Property ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Grammatical Class ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Lexical Feature ◽  
Left Posterior ◽  
Word Classes ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Fundamental Units

Verbs and nouns are fundamental units of language, but their neural instantiation remains poorly understood. Neuropsychological research has shown that nouns and verbs can be damaged independently of each other, and neuroimaging research has found that several brain regions respond differentially to the two word classes. However, the semantic–lexical properties of verbs and nouns that drive these effects remain unknown. Here we show that the most likely candidate is predication: a core lexical feature involved in binding constituent arguments (boy, candies) into a unified syntactic–semantic structure expressing a proposition (the boy likes the candies). We used functional neuroimaging to test whether the intrinsic “predication-building” function of verbs is what drives the verb–noun distinction in the brain. We first identified verb-preferring regions with a localizer experiment including verbs and nouns. Then, we examined whether these regions are sensitive to transitivity—an index measuring its tendency to select for a direct object. Transitivity is a verb-specific property lying at the core of its predication function. Neural activity in the left posterior middle temporal and inferior frontal gyri correlates with transitivity, indicating sensitivity to predication. This represents the first evidence that grammatical class preference in the brain is driven by a word's function to build predication structures.

scholarly journals A review of the new minimally invasive brain stimulation techniques in psychiatry

2001 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeong-Ho Chae ◽  
Xingbao Li ◽  
Ziad Nahas ◽  
F. Andrew Kozel ◽  
Mark S. George
Keyword(s):  
Minimally Invasive ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Neuropsychiatric Disorders ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Therapeutic Tools ◽  
Invasive Techniques ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Neuroimaging Techniques ◽  
Deep Brain

New knowledge about the specific brain regions involved in neuropsychiatric disorders is rapidly evolving due to recent advances in functional neuroimaging techniques. The ability to stimulate the brain in awake alert adults without neurosurgery is a real advance that neuroscientists have long dreamed for. Several novel and minimally invasive techniques to stimulate the brain have recently developed. Among these newer somatic interventions, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) and deep brain stimulation (DBS) show promise as therapeutic tools in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders. This article reviews the history, methodology, and the future of these minimally invasive brain stimulation (MIBS) techniques and their emerging research and therapeutic applications in psychiatry

scholarly journals Studies of Altered Social Cognition in Neuropsychiatric Disorders Using Functional Neuroimaging

2002 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheryl L Grady ◽  
Michelle L Keightley
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Brain Function ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Neuropsychiatric Disorders ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
The Past ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Social Abilities ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Self Reference

In this paper, we review studies using functional neuroimaging to examine cognition in neuropsychiatric disorders. The focus is on social cognition, which is a topic that has received increasing attention over the past few years. A network of brain regions is proposed for social cognition that includes regions involved in processes relevant to social functioning (for example, self reference and emotion). We discuss the alterations of activity in these areas in patients with autism, depression, schizophrenia, and posttraumatic stress disorder in relation to deficits in social behaviour and symptoms. The evidence to date suggests that there may be some specificity of the brain regions involved in these 4 disorders, but all are associated with dysfunction in the amygdala and dorsal cingulate gyrus. Although there is much work remaining in this area, we are beginning to understand the complex interactions of brain function and behaviour that lead to disruptions of social abilities.

scholarly journals Functionnectome: a framework to analyse the contribution of brain circuits to fMRI

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Nozais ◽  
Stephanie Forkel ◽  
Chris Foulon ◽  
Laurent Petit ◽  
Michel Thiebaut de Schotten
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Functional Networks ◽  
Language Functions ◽  
Brain Circuits ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Joint Contribution ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Brain

Abstract In recent years, the field of functional neuroimaging has moved from a pure localisationist approach of isolated functional brain regions to a more integrated view of those regions within functional networks. The methods used to investigate such networks, however, rely on local signals in grey matter and are limited in identifying anatomical circuitries supporting the interaction between brain regions. Mapping the brain circuits mediating the functional signal between brain regions would propel forward our understanding of the brain’s functional signatures and dysfunctions. We developed a novel method to unravel the relationship between brain circuits and functions: The Functionnectome. The Functionectome combines the functional signal from fMRI with the anatomy of white matter brain circuits to unlock and chart the first maps of functional white matter. To showcase the versatility of this new method, we provide the first functional white matter maps revealing the joint contribution of connected areas to motor, working memory, and language functions. The Functionnectome comes with an open source companion software and opens new avenues into studying functional networks by applying the method to already existing dataset and beyond task fMRI.

scholarly journals The Neural Basis of Motivational Influences on Cognitive Control

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cameron Parro ◽  
Matthew L Dixon ◽  
Kalina Christoff
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Likelihood Estimation ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
The Brain

AbstractCognitive control mechanisms support the deliberate regulation of thought and behavior based on current goals. Recent work suggests that motivational incentives improve cognitive control, and has begun to elucidate the brain regions that may support this effect. Here, we conducted a quantitative meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies of motivated cognitive control using activation likelihood estimation (ALE) and Neurosynth in order to delineate the brain regions that are consistently activated across studies. The analysis included functional neuroimaging studies that investigated changes in brain activation during cognitive control tasks when reward incentives were present versus absent. The ALE analysis revealed consistent recruitment in regions associated with the frontoparietal control network including the inferior frontal sulcus (IFS) and intraparietal sulcus (IPS), as well as consistent recruitment in regions associated with the salience network including the anterior insula and anterior mid-cingulate cortex (aMCC). A large-scale exploratory meta-analysis using Neurosynth replicated the ALE results, and also identified the caudate nucleus, nucleus accumbens, medial thalamus, inferior frontal junction/premotor cortex (IFJ/PMC), and hippocampus. Finally, we conducted separate ALE analyses to compare recruitment during cue and target periods, which tap into proactive engagement of rule-outcome associations, and the mobilization of appropriate viscero-motor states to execute a response, respectively. We found that largely distinct sets of brain regions are recruited during cue and target periods. Altogether, these findings suggest that flexible interactions between frontoparietal, salience, and dopaminergic midbrain-striatal networks may allow control demands to be precisely tailored based on expected value.

Direct Comparison of Neural Systems Mediating Conscious and Unconscious Skill Learning

2002 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 1451-1460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel B. Willingham ◽  
Joanna Salidis ◽  
John D.E. Gabrieli
Keyword(s):  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Procedural Learning ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Adaptive Plasticity ◽  
Neural Systems ◽  
Motor Sequence ◽  
Learning Without Awareness ◽  
The Brain

Procedural learning, such as perceptual-motor sequence learning, has been suggested to be an obligatory consequence of practiced performance and to reflect adaptive plasticity in the neural systems mediating performance. Prior neuroimaging studies, however, have found that sequence learning accompanied with awareness (declarative learning) of the sequence activates entirely different brain regions than learning without awareness of the sequence (procedural learning). Functional neuroimaging was used to assess whether declarative sequence learning prevents procedural learning in the brain. Awareness of the sequence was controlled by changing the color of the stimuli to match or differ from the color used for random sequences. This allowed direct comparison of brain activation associated with procedural and declarative memory for an identical sequence. Activation occurred in a common neural network whether initial learning had occurred with or without awareness of the sequence, and whether subjects were aware or not aware of the sequence during performance. There was widespread additional activation associated with awareness of the sequence. This supports the view that some types of unconscious procedural learning occurs in the brain whether or not it is accompanied by conscious declarative knowledge.

New Methods of Brain Stimulation Are Improving Research and Therapy in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

CNS Spectrums ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 5 (S4) ◽  
pp. 12-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark S. George
Keyword(s):  
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
New Techniques ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Brain

AbstractOver the past decade, new functional neuroimaging tools have enabled researchers to identify the specific brain regions involved in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). More recently, researchers have perfected several new techniques for stimulating the brain. With some exceptions, these new brain stimulation techniques are regionally specific and less invasive than older methods. As a class, these “somatic interventions” build on prior neuroanatomic information about OCD. This article reviews the past and current status of these brain stimulation methodologies, which promise to revolutionize neuropsychiatric research and therapy over the next 10 to 20 years. As the brain circuits in OCD and the pharmacology within those circuits become better understood, these brain stimulation techniques hold particular promise in helping to understand and perhaps treat OCD.

scholarly journals Neural and linguistic differences explain priming and interference during naming

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Wei ◽  
Tatiana T. Schnur
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Linguistic Differences ◽  
Language System ◽  
Related Object ◽  
Left Posterior ◽  
Paradoxical Effects ◽  
Occipitotemporal Cortex ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Simple Picture

AbstractWhen naming an object, humans are faster to produce the name (“cat”) if immediately having named a related object (“dog”) but paradoxically slower to name the same object (“cat”) if there are intervening speech acts (Wei and Schnur 2019). This dependence of behavior on prior experience is ubiquitous in other domains, often termed “priming” (if behavior is speeded) or “interference” (if behavior is slower). However, it is unknown the changes in the language system (conceptual, lexical, and/or connections between representations) and corresponding brain mechanisms which create these paradoxical effects on the same speech act. Using fMRI during simple picture naming, we observed distinct brain regions and different connections associated with priming and interference. Greater priming was associated with increased activation in the ventral occipitotemporal cortex, while greater interference was associated with decreased functional connectivity between the left posterior temporal and angular gyri. To provide neural evidence of where in the language system priming and interference in naming occur, we assayed the response of different brain areas to conceptual or lexical aspects of speech. The brain and language systems adapt to prior naming experience by modulating conceptual representations during priming, but modulating conceptual, lexical and the mapping between representations during interference.

scholarly journals An fMRI Study Using a Combined Task of Interval Discrimination and Oddball Could Reveal Common Brain Circuits of Cognitive Change

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Sol Garcés ◽  
Irene Alústiza ◽  
Anton Albajes-Eizagirre ◽  
Javier Goena ◽  
Patricio Molero ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Healthy Subjects ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Cognitive Change ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Task Type ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
The Brain

Recent functional neuroimaging studies suggest that the brain networks responsible for time processing are involved during other cognitive processes, leading to a hypothesis that time-related processing is needed to perform a range of tasks across various cognitive functions. To examine this hypothesis, we analyze whether, in healthy subjects, the brain structures activated or deactivated during performance of timing and oddball-detection type tasks coincide. To this end, we conducted two independent signed differential mapping (SDM) meta-analyses of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies assessing the cerebral generators of the responses elicited by tasks based on timing and oddball-detection paradigms. Finally, we undertook a multimodal meta-analysis to detect brain regions common to the findings of the two previous meta-analyses. We found that healthy subjects showed significant activation in cortical areas related to timing and salience networks. The patterns of activation and deactivation corresponding to each task type partially coincided. We hypothesize that there exists a time and change-detection network that serves as a common underlying resource used in a broad range of cognitive processes.

scholarly journals Independent Representations of Verbs and Actions in Left Lateral Temporal Cortex

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (10) ◽  
pp. 2096-2107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius V. Peelen ◽  
Domenica Romagno ◽  
Alfonso Caramazza
Keyword(s):  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Group Analysis ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Semantic Features ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Left Posterior ◽  
Action Verbs ◽  
Action Representations

Verbs and nouns differ not only on formal linguistic grounds but also in what they typically refer to: Verbs typically refer to actions, whereas nouns typically refer to objects. Prior neuroimaging studies have revealed that regions in the left lateral temporal cortex (LTC), including the left posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG), respond selectively to action verbs relative to object nouns. Other studies have implicated the left pMTG in action knowledge, raising the possibility that verb selectivity in LTC may primarily reflect action-specific semantic features. Here, using functional neuroimaging, we test this hypothesis. Participants performed a simple memory task on visually presented verbs and nouns that described either events (e.g., “he eats” and “the conversation”) or states (e.g., “he exists” and “the value”). Verb-selective regions in the left pMTG and the left STS were defined in individual participants by an independent localizer contrast between action verbs and object nouns. Both regions showed equally strong selectivity for event and state verbs relative to semantically matched nouns. The left STS responded more to states than events, whereas there was no difference between states and events in the left pMTG. Finally, whole-brain group analysis revealed that action verbs, relative to state verbs, activated a cluster in pMTG that was located posterior to the verb-selective pMTG clusters. Together, these results indicate that verb selectivity in LTC is independent of action representations. We consider other differences between verbs and nouns that may underlie verb selectivity in LTC, including the verb property of predication.

A Cognitive Neuroscience Approach to Self and Mental Health

2013 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Motoaki Sugiura
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Layer Structure ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Social Value ◽  
Layered Model ◽  
The Brain

Elucidating the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive processes related to self has been a promising approach to enhancing the scientific knowledge of mental health and mental disorders. However, relevant data from functional neuroimaging studies have not yet converged. The multi-layered model of self-processing proposed here reconciles these seemingly controversial findings by assuming there are three layers of self, including the physical self, interpersonal relationships, and social value. A schema that associates the representations of output and feedback in different cortical networks was conceptualized for each layer of self. The concepts of self-related cognition and mental disorders may be reconstructed based on this three-layer structure. The brain regions that accommodate the proposed schema are assumed to respond during the detection of error relative to a prediction; consequently, this neural response may be used for diagnosis and evaluation of mental disorders and health.

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