The participation of cortical areas of the brain in processes of the perception and reproduction of emotional states of man

Abstract Motor brain machine interfaces (BMIs) interpret neural activities from motor-related cortical areas in the brain into movement commands to control a prosthesis. As the subject adapts to control the neural prosthesis, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), upstream of the primary motor cortex (M1), is heavily involved in reward-guided motor learning. Thus, considering mPFC and M1 functionality within a hierarchical structure could potentially improve the effectiveness of BMI decoding while subjects are learning. The commonly used Kalman decoding method with only one simple state model may not be able to represent the multiple brain states that evolve over time as well as along the neural pathway. In addition, the performance of Kalman decoders degenerates in heavy-tailed nongaussian noise, which is usually generated due to the nonlinear neural system or influences of movement-related noise in online neural recording. In this letter, we propose a hierarchical model to represent the brain states from multiple cortical areas that evolve along the neural pathway. We then introduce correntropy theory into the hierarchical structure to address the heavy-tailed noise existing in neural recordings. We test the proposed algorithm on in vivo recordings collected from the mPFC and M1 of two rats when the subjects were learning to perform a lever-pressing task. Compared with the classic Kalman filter, our results demonstrate better movement decoding performance due to the hierarchical structure that integrates the past failed trial information over multisite recording and the combination with correntropy criterion to deal with noisy heavy-tailed neural recordings.

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Early specification and autonomous development of cortical fields in the mouse hippocampus

Development ◽

10.1242/dev.124.24.4959 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 124 (24) ◽

pp. 4959-4970 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

S. Tole ◽

C. Christian ◽

E.A. Grove

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Slice Culture ◽

Field Development ◽

Cortical Areas ◽

Hippocampal Field ◽

Mouse Hippocampus ◽

Hippocampal Development ◽

Autonomous Development ◽

The Brain ◽

Development Proceeds

Studies of the specification of distinct areas in the developing cerebral cortex have until now focused mainly on neocortex. We demonstrate that the hippocampus, an archicortical structure, offers an elegant, alternative system in which to explore cortical area specification. Individual hippocampal areas, called CA fields, display striking molecular differences in maturity. We use these distinct patterns of gene expression as markers of CA field identity, and show that the two major hippocampal fields, CA1 and CA3, are specified early in hippocampal development, during the period of neurogenesis. Two field-specific markers display consistent patterns of expression from the embryo to the adult. Presumptive CA1 and CA3 fields (Pca1, Pca3) can therefore be identified between embryonic days 14.5 and 15.5 in the mouse, a week before the fields are morphologically distinct. No other individual cortical areas have been detected by gene expression as early in development. Indeed, other features that distinguish between the CA fields appear after birth, indicating that mature CA field identity is acquired over at least 3 weeks. To determine if Pca1 and Pca3 are already specified to acquire mature CA field identities, the embryonic fields were isolated from further potential specification cues by maintaining them in slice culture. CA field development proceeds in slices of the entire embryonic hippocampus. More strikingly, slices restricted to Pca1 or Pca3 alone also develop appropriate mature features of CA1 or CA3. Pca1 and Pca3 are therefore able to develop complex characteristics of mature CA field identity autonomously, that is, without contact or innervation from other fields or other parts of the brain. Because Pca1 and Pca3 can be identified before major afferents grow into the hippocampus, innervation may also be unnecessary for the initial division of the hippocampus into separate fields. Providing a clue to the source of the true specifying signals, the earliest field markers appear first at the poles of the hippocampus, then progress inwards. General hippocampal development does not follow this pronounced pattern. We suggest that the sources of signals that specify hippocampal field identity lie close to the hippocampal poles, and that the signals operate first on cells at the poles, then move inwards.

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How the Brain Moves the Eyes

Eye Movement Disorders in Clinical Practice ◽

10.1093/med/9780199921805.003.0001 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 1-25

Author(s):

Shirley H. Wray

Keyword(s):

Cardiac Surgery ◽

Eye Movements ◽

Progressive Supranuclear Palsy ◽

Disease Progression ◽

Frontotemporal Dementia ◽

Smooth Pursuit ◽

Cortical Areas ◽

Initial Symptoms ◽

The Brain ◽

Symptoms And Signs

discusses the brain’s visual architecture for directing and controlling of eye movements:the striate, frontal and parietal cortical areas; and the eye movements themselves—saccades, smooth pursuit, and vergence. The susceptibility to disorders of these systems is illustrated in four detailed cases that follow disease progression from initial symptoms and signs to diagnosis and treatment. The case studies and video displays include a patient with Pick’s disease (frontotemporal dementia), another with Alzheimer’s dementia, and two examples of rare saccadic syndromes, one a patient with the slow saccade syndrome due to progressive supranuclear palsy and one with selective saccadic palsy following cardiac surgery.

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Properties of visually-guided saccadic behavior and bottom-up attention in marmoset, macaque, and human

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.00312.2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Chih-Yang Chen ◽

Denis Matrov ◽

Richard Edmund Veale ◽

Hirotaka Onoe ◽

Masatoshi Yoshida ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New World ◽

World Monkey ◽

Gap Effect ◽

Visually Guided ◽

Express Saccades ◽

Bottom Up ◽

Cortical Areas ◽

Saliency Model ◽

Free Viewing ◽

The Brain

Saccades are stereotypic behaviors whose investigation improves our understanding of how primate brains implement precise motor control. Furthermore, saccades offer an important window into the cognitive and attentional state of the brain. Historically, saccade studies have largely relied on macaque. However, the cortical network giving rise to the saccadic command is difficult to study in macaque because relevant cortical areas lie in deep sulci and are difficult to access. Recently, a New World monkey -the marmoset- has garnered attention as an alternative to macaque because of advantages including its smooth cortical surface. However, adoption of marmoset for oculomotor research has been limited due to a lack of in-depth descriptions of marmoset saccade kinematics and their ability to perform psychophysical tasks. Here, we directly compare free-viewing and visually-guided behavior of marmoset, macaque, and human engaged in identical tasks under similar conditions. In video free-viewing task, all species exhibited qualitatively similar saccade kinematics up to 25º in amplitude although with different parameters. Furthermore, the conventional bottom-up saliency model predicted gaze targets at similar rates for all species. We further verified their visually-guided behavior by training them with step and gap saccade tasks. In the step paradigm, marmoset did not show shorter saccade reaction time for upward saccades whereas macaque and human did. In the gap paradigm, all species showed similar gap effect and express saccades. Our results suggest that the marmoset can serve as a model for oculomotor, attentional, and cognitive research while being aware of their difference from macaque or human.

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A systems approach to the brain basis of emotion also needs developmental and locationist views – the case of Tourette's Syndrome

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x11001580 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 35 (3) ◽

pp. 160-160 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Aribert Rothenberger

Keyword(s):

Deep Brain Stimulation ◽

Brain Stimulation ◽

Systems Approach ◽

Tourette's Syndrome ◽

Tourette’S Syndrome ◽

Emotional States ◽

Clinical Perspective ◽

Realistic Picture ◽

The Brain ◽

Deep Brain

AbstractThe closeness of somatosensory phenomena and emotional states can be critically extended into a clinical perspective by referring to Tourette's Syndrome (TS). Two examples are discussed in this commentary: (1) the neurodevelopmental approach to the pre- and post-tic sensorimotor urges, and (2) the TS treatment with deep brain stimulation. It is shown that in TS, both views (locationist and constructionist) need to be combined along the lifespan in order to get a more realistic picture of the brain basis of emotion.

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Spatiotemporal Conversion of Auditory Information for Cochleotopic Mapping

Neural Computation ◽

10.1162/neco.2007.19.2.351 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 19 (2) ◽

pp. 351-370 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Osamu Hoshino

Keyword(s):

Action Potentials ◽

Delay Line ◽

Primary Auditory Cortex ◽

Auditory Information ◽

Latency Time ◽

Delay Lines ◽

Time Intervals ◽

Communication Signals ◽

Cortical Areas ◽

The Brain

Auditory communication signals such as monkey calls are complex FM vocal sounds and in general induce action potentials in different timing in the primary auditory cortex. Delay line scheme is one of the effective ways for detecting such neuronal timing. However, the scheme is not straightforwardly applicable if the time intervals of signals are beyond the latency time of delay lines. In fact, monkey calls are often expressed in longer time intervals (hundreds of milliseconds to seconds) and are beyond the latency times observed in the brain (less than several hundreds of milliseconds). Here, we propose a cochleotopic map similar to that in vision known as a retinotopic map. We show that information about monkey calls could be mapped on a cochleotopic cortical network as spatiotemporal firing patterns of neurons, which can then be decomposed into simple (linearly sweeping) FM components and integrated into unified percepts by higher cortical networks. We suggest that the spatiotemporal conversion of auditory information may be essential for developing the cochleotopic map, which could serve as the foundation for later processing, or monkey call identification by higher cortical areas.

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Stimulus-Dependent Assembly Formation of Oscillatory Responses: I. Synchronization

Neural Computation ◽

10.1162/neco.1991.3.2.155 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 155-166 ◽

Cited By ~ 227

Author(s):

Peter König ◽

Thomas B. Schillen

Keyword(s):

Nonlinear Oscillator ◽

Experimental Situation ◽

Temporal Correlation ◽

Temporal Coding ◽

Two Dimensional ◽

Neuronal Populations ◽

Cortical Areas ◽

Short Stimulus ◽

Object Features ◽

The Brain

Current concepts in neurobiology of vision assume that local object features are represented by distributed neuronal populations in the brain. Such representations can lead to ambiguities if several distinct objects are simultaneously present in the visual field. Temporal characteristics of the neuronal activity have been proposed as a possible solution to this problem and have been found in various cortical areas. In this paper we introduce a delayed nonlinear oscillator to investigate temporal coding in neuronal networks. We show synchronization within two-dimensional layers consisting of oscillatory elements coupled by excitatory delay connections. The observed correlation length is large compared to coupling length. Following the experimental situation, we then demonstrate the response of such layers to two short stimulus bars of varying gap distance. Coherency of stimuli is reflected by the temporal correlation of the responses, which closely resembles the experimental observations.

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Differential MR/GR Activation in Mice Results in Emotional States Beneficial or Impairing for Cognition

Neural Plasticity ◽

10.1155/2007/90163 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 2007 ◽

pp. 1-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

Vera Brinks ◽

Maaike H. van der Mark ◽

E. Ron de Kloet ◽

Melly S. Oitzl

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Stress Response ◽

Cognitive Functioning ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Emotional States ◽

High Affinity ◽

Mediated Effects ◽

Additional Constant ◽

Hole Board ◽

The Brain

Corticosteroids regulate stress response and influence emotion, learning, and memory via two receptors in the brain, the high‐affinity mineralocorticoid (MR) and low‐affinity glucocorticoid receptor (GR). We test the hypothesis that MR- and GR-mediated effects interact in emotion and cognition when a novel situation is encountered that is relevant for a learning process. By adrenalectomy and additional constant corticosterone supplement we obtained four groups of male C57BL/6J mice with differential chronic MR and GR activations. Using a hole board task, we found that mice with continuous predominant MR and moderate GR activations were fast learners that displayed low anxiety and arousal together with high directed explorative behavior. Progressive corticosterone concentrations with predominant action via GR induced strong emotional arousal at the expense of cognitive performance. These findings underline the importance of a balanced MR/GR system for emotional and cognitive functioning that is critical for mental health.

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The centrecephalon and thalamocortical integration

Consciousness & Emotion ◽

10.1075/ce.1.1.06wat ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 91-114 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Douglas F. Watt

Keyword(s):

Current Level ◽

Social Value ◽

Emotional States ◽

State Variables ◽

Global State ◽

Consciousness Studies ◽

Level Of Understanding ◽

Emotional Systems ◽

The Brain ◽

Lines Of Evidence

I have argued in other work that emotion, attentional functions, and executive functions are three interpenetrant global state variables, essentially differential slices of the consciousness pie. This paper will outline the columnar architecture and connectivities of the PAG (periaqueductal gray), its role in organizing prototype states of emotion, and the re-entry of PAG with the extended reticular thalamic activating system (“ERTAS”). At the end we will outline some potential implications of these connectivities for possible functional correlates of PAG networks that are just starting to be mapped. Overall, we will look at many lines of evidence that PAG should be conceptualized as a peri-reticular structure that has a foundational role in emotion, in generating the meaningful organization of behavior by the brain through prototype emotional states, and in allowing the various emotional systems to globally influence and tune both the forebrain and brainstem. Finally, we address implications of these concepts for what is currently understood about consciousness, underlining the need for somewhat more humility within consciousness studies about our current level of understanding of consciousness in the brain, combined with a deeper appreciation of the intrinsic connections between emotion and consciousness. One hopes that more concerted empirical interest in structures underneath the thalamus, combined with a deeper appreciation for the fundamental role that organismic and social value must have in bootstrapping awareness in the developing brain, would begin more widely to influence the fundamental lines of neuroscientific research in both emotion studies and consciousness studies.

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