scholarly journals Multicentric tracking of multiple agents by anterior cingulate cortex during pursuit and evasion

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seng Bum Michael Yoo ◽  
Jiaxin Cindy Tu ◽  
Benjamin Yost Hayden

AbstractSuccessful pursuit and evasion require rapid and precise coordination of navigation with adaptive motor control. We hypothesize that the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), which communicates bidirectionally with both the hippocampal complex and premotor/motor areas, would serve a mapping role in this process. We recorded responses of dACC ensembles in two macaques performing a joystick-controlled continuous pursuit/evasion task. We find that dACC carries two sets of signals, (1) world-centric variables that together form a representation of the position and velocity of all relevant agents (self, prey, and predator) in the virtual world, and (2) avatar-centric variables, i.e. self-prey distance and angle. Both sets of variables are multiplexed within an overlapping set of neurons. Our results suggest that dACC may contribute to pursuit and evasion by computing and continuously updating a multicentric representation of the unfolding task state, and support the hypothesis that it plays a high-level abstract role in the control of behavior.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seng Bum Michael Yoo ◽  
Jiaxin Cindy Tu ◽  
Benjamin Yost Hayden

SUMMARYSuccessful pursuit and evasion require rapid and precise coordination of navigation with adaptive motor control. We hypothesized that the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), which communicates bidirectionally with both the hippocampal complex and premotor/motor areas, would serve a mapping role in this process. We recorded responses of dACC ensembles in two macaques performing a joystick-controlled continuous pursuit/evasion task. We found that dACC multiplexes two sets of signals, (1) world-centric variables that together form a representation of the position and velocity of all relevant agents (self, prey, and predator) in the virtual world, and (2) avatar-centric variables, i.e. self-prey distance and angle. Both sets of variables are multiplexed within an overlapping set of neurons. Our results suggest that dACC may contribute to pursuit and evasion by computing and continuously updating a multicentric representation of the unfolding task state, and support the hypothesis that it plays a high-level abstract role in the control of behavior.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hayley Gilbertson ◽  
Lin Fang ◽  
Jeremy A. Andrzejewski ◽  
Joshua M. Carlson

AbstractThe error-related negativity (ERN) is a response-locked event-related potential, occurring approximately 50 ms following an erroneous response at frontocentral electrode sites. Source localization and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research indicate that the ERN is likely generated by activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). The dACC is thought to be a part of a broader network of brain regions that collectively comprise an error-monitoring network. However, little is known about how intrinsic connectivity within the dACC-based error-monitoring network contributes to variability in ERN amplitude. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between dACC functional connectivity and ERN amplitude. In a sample of 53 highly trait-anxious individuals, the ERN was elicited in a flanker task and functional connectivity was assessed in a 10-minute resting-state fMRI scan. Results suggest that the strength of dACC seeded functional connectivity with the supplementary motor area is correlated with the ΔERN (i.e., incorrect – correct responses) amplitude such that greater ΔERN amplitude was accompanied by greater functional coupling between these regions. In addition to the dACC, exploratory analyses found that functional connectivity in the caudate, cerebellum, and a number of regions in the error-monitoring network were linked to variability in ΔERN amplitude. In sum, ERN amplitude appears to be related to the strength of functional connectivity between error-monitoring and motor control regions of the brain.


2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Juan Chen ◽  
Li Zhang ◽  
Jun Ke ◽  
Rongfeng Qi ◽  
Qiang Xu ◽  
...  

Objective: The brain functional alterations at regional and network levels in post-traumatic stress disorder patients are still unclear. This study explored brain functional alterations at regional and network levels in post-traumatic stress disorder patients with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and evaluated the relationship between brain function and clinical indices in post-traumatic stress disorder. Methods: Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation and seed-based functional connectivity analyses were conducted among typhoon survivors with ( n = 27) and without post-traumatic stress disorder ( n = 33) and healthy controls ( n = 30) to assess the spontaneous brain activity and network-level brain function. Pearson correlation analyses were performed to examine the association of brain function with clinical symptom and social support. Results: Both the post-traumatic stress disorder group and the trauma-exposed control group showed decreased amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex relative to the healthy control group. The post-traumatic stress disorder group showed increased dorsal anterior cingulate cortex functional connectivity with the right paracentral lobule and bilateral precentral gyrus/postcentral gyrus relative to both control groups. Both traumatized groups exhibited decreased dorsal anterior cingulate cortex functional connectivity with the right hippocampus and left cerebellum relative to the healthy control group. More decreased dorsal anterior cingulate cortex functional connectivity with the right hippocampus was found in the post-traumatic stress disorder group. The Checklist-Civilian Version score positively correlated with functional connectivity between the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and the right paracentral lobule as well as between the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and the right precentral gyrus/postcentral gyrus. The social support was associated with functional connectivity between the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and the bilateral precentral gyrus/postcentral gyrus as well as the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and the left middle frontal gyrus. Conclusion: Trauma exposure may result in aberrant local and network-level functional connectivity in individuals with or without post-traumatic stress disorder. Altered amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex may be a predisposing risk factor for post-traumatic stress disorder development following trauma exposure. More prominent decreased dorsal anterior cingulate cortex functional connectivity with the right hippocampus might be specific in the post-traumatic stress disorder group. Improvement of social support might possibly be significant for post-traumatic stress disorder patients.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 335-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inka Ristow ◽  
Meng Li ◽  
Lejla Colic ◽  
Vanessa Marr ◽  
Carina Födisch ◽  
...  

1991 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin W. Janer ◽  
José V. Pardo

Positron emission tomographic (PET) studies of normal humans undergoing specific cognitive activation paradigms have identified a region of the anterior cingulate cortex as a component of an anterior, midline attentional system involved in high-level processing selection. However, deficits in attention have not been demonstrated in patients following bilateral anterior cingulotomy, a procedure that results in lesions of adjacent anterior cingulate cortex. Task paradigms used in PET studies that recruit the anterior cingulate cortex were applied to normal, control subjects and to a patient before and after cingulotomy to provide highly sensitive and functionally targeted reaction time measures of attentional performance. In contrast to unchanged performance in several neuropsychological measures, this patient demonstrated specific deficits in attention during the subacute postoperative period, which resolved spontaneously several months after surgery. Such impairment is consistent with the evolving view of the anterior cingulate's involvement in high-level processing selection. These data show the feasibility of using information from PET activation studies of normals in the design of novel chronometric tasks useful for probing abnormalities in specific cognitive operations associated with discrete cortical regions.


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