scholarly journals Midfrontal neural dynamics distinguish between general control and inhibition-specific processes in the stopping of motor actions

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakob Kaiser ◽  
Natalie Annette Simon ◽  
Paul Sauseng ◽  
Simone Schütz-Bosbach
Keyword(s):  
Error Rates ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Oscillatory Activity ◽  
General Control ◽  
Selective Marker ◽  
Human Volunteers ◽  
Action Change ◽  
Motor Actions ◽  
Action Inhibition ◽  
Theta Range

Abstract Action inhibition, the suppression of action impulses, is crucial for goal-directed behaviour. In order to dissociate neural mechanisms specific to motor stopping from general control processes which are also relevant for other types of conflict adjustments, we compared midfrontal oscillatory activity in human volunteers via EEG between action inhibition and two other types of motor conflicts, unexpected action activation and unexpected action change. Error rates indicated that action activation was significantly easier than the other two equally demanding tasks. Midfrontal brain oscillations were significantly stronger for inhibition than for both other conflict types. This was driven by increases in the delta range (2–3 Hz), which were higher for inhibition than activation and action change. Increases in the theta range (4–7 Hz) were equally high for inhibition and change, but lower for action activation. These findings suggest that inhibition is facilitated by neural mechanisms specific to motor-stopping, with midfrontal delta being a potentially selective marker of motor inhibition.

scholarly journals Interacting brains coming in sync through their minds: An inter-brain neurofeedback study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viktor Müller ◽  
Dionysios Perdikis ◽  
Melinda A. Mende ◽  
Ulman Lindenberger
Keyword(s):  
Collective Behavior ◽  
Peak Frequency ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Oscillatory Activity ◽  
Subjective Feeling ◽  
Density Peak ◽  
Power Spectral ◽  
Single Person ◽  
Theta Frequency ◽  
Item Scores

AbstractWe live in a social world where we interact with each other. Neurofeedback (NFB) is an indispensable element for such interaction. Single-person NFB studies using electroencephalography (EEG) or other neuroimaging recordings were extensively reported. However, hyperscanning studies using inter-brain synchrony (IBS) as an NFB feature are completely unknown. In this study, we present two different experimental designs where IBS was fed visually back either as two balls approaching each other (so-called “ball” design) or as two pendula reflecting oscillatory activity of two participants (so-called “pendulum” design). The NFB was provided at two EEG frequencies (2.5 and 5 Hz) and manipulated by enhanced (fake condition) and inverse feedback. We showed that the participants were able to increase IBS by using NFB, especially when it was fed back at the theta frequency. Apart from the intra- and inter-brain coupling, other oscillatory activities (e.g., power spectral density, peak amplitude and peak frequency) changed during the task compared to rest. Moreover, all the measures showed specific correlations to the subjective post-survey item scores, reflecting subjective feeling and appraisal. We conclude that hyperscanning with IBS as a feedback feature seems to be an important tool to examine neural mechanisms of social interaction and collective behavior.

scholarly journals Temporal binding of Visual and Motor cortical oscillations revealed by BOLD response in Humans

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Benedetto ◽  
Paola Binda ◽  
Mauro Costagli ◽  
Michela Tosetti ◽  
Maria Concetta Morrone
Keyword(s):  
Visual Discrimination ◽  
Oscillatory Activity ◽  
Neural Oscillations ◽  
Button Press ◽  
Temporal Binding ◽  
Motor Action ◽  
Cortical Oscillations ◽  
Motor Signal ◽  
Action And Perception ◽  
Theta Range

SummaryAction and perception need to be coordinated continuously over time, and neural oscillations may be instrumental in achieving such synchronization. Here we demonstrate that behavioral visual discrimination and the BOLD activity of V1 oscillates rhythmically in the theta range (around 5 Hz), synchronized to motor action (button press). The oscillations are present in V1 even when participants do not make a visual discrimination, suggesting an automatic modulation in synchrony with action onset. The amplitude of the oscillation in V1 is predicted by the activity in M1 before action onset, and functional connectivity between V1 and M1 change as a function of stimulus-delay. The results are well modelled by considering that V1 BOLD is modulated by preparatory motor signal and by rhythmic gain modulation in phase with action onset. They suggest that synchronous oscillatory activity between V1 and M1 mediates the strong temporal binding fundamental for active visual perception.

The motor system plays the violin: a musical metaphor inferred from the oscillatory activity of the α-motoneuron pools during locomotion

2011 ◽  
Vol 105 (4) ◽  
pp. 1429-1431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrico Chiovetto
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Optimal Control ◽  
Control Theory ◽  
Optimal Control Theory ◽  
General Framework ◽  
Motor System ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Oscillatory Activity ◽  
Motor Behaviors ◽  
And Robotics

Despite substantial advances in the field, particularly resulting from physiological studies in animals, the neural mechanisms underlying the generation of many motor behaviors in humans remain unclear. A recent study (Cappellini G et al. J Neurophysiol 104: 3064–3073, 2010) sheds more light on this topic. Like the string of a violin, the α-motoneuron pools in the spinal cord during locomotion show continuous and oscillatory patterns of activation. In this report, the implications and relevance of this finding are discussed in a general framework that includes neurophysiology, optimal control theory, and robotics.

scholarly journals The Role of the Left Head of Caudate in Suppressing Irrelevant Words

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 2369-2386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nilufa Ali ◽  
David W. Green ◽  
Ferath Kherif ◽  
Joseph T. Devlin ◽  
Cathy J. Price
Keyword(s):  
Simon Task ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Anterior Cingulate Gyrus ◽  
General Control ◽  
Written Word ◽  
Spatial Interference

Suppressing irrelevant words is essential to successful speech production and is expected to involve general control mechanisms that reduce interference from task-unrelated processing. To investigate the neural mechanisms that suppress visual word interference, we used fMRI and a Stroop task, using a block design with an event-related analysis. Participants indicated with a finger press whether a visual stimulus was colored pink or blue. The stimulus was either the written word “BLUE,” the written word “PINK,” or a string of four Xs, with word interference introduced when the meaning of the word and its color were “incongruent” (e.g., BLUE in pink hue) relative to congruent (e.g., BLUE in blue) or neutral (e.g., XXXX in pink). The participants also made color decisions in the presence of spatial interference rather than word interference (i.e., the Simon task). By blocking incongruent, congruent, and neutral trials, we identified activation related to the mechanisms that suppress interference as that which was greater at the end relative to the start of incongruency. This highlighted the role of the left head of caudate in the control of word interference but not spatial interference. The response in the left head of caudate contrasted to bilateral inferior frontal activation that was greater at the start than at the end of incongruency, and to the dorsal anterior cingulate gyrus which responded to a change in the motor response. Our study therefore provides novel insights into the role of the left head of caudate in the mechanisms that suppress word interference.

scholarly journals A new foreperiod effect on single-trial phase coherence. Part I: existence and relevance

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joaquin Rapela ◽  
Marissa Westerfield ◽  
Jeanne Townsend ◽  
Scott Makeig
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Times ◽  
Stimulus Presentation ◽  
Warning Signal ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Phase Coherence ◽  
Oscillatory Activity ◽  
Single Trial ◽  
Foreperiod Duration ◽  
Trial Basis ◽  
Trial Phase

AbstractExpecting events in time leads to more efficient behavior. A remarkable early finding in the study of temporal expectancy is the foreperiod effect on reaction times; i.e., the fact that the time period between a warning signal and an impendent stimuli, to which subjects are instructed to respond as quickly as possible, influences reaction times. Recently it has been shown that the phase of oscillatory activity preceding stimulus presentation is related to behavior. Here we connect both of these findings by reporting a novel foreperiod effect on the inter-trial phase coherence triggered by a stimulus to which subjects do not respond. Until now, inter-trial phase coherence has been used to describe a regularity in the phases of groups of trials. We propose a single-trial measure of inter-trial phase coherence and prove its soundness. Equipped with this measure, and using a multivariate decoding method, we demonstrate that the foreperiod duration modulates single-trial phase coherence. In principle, this modulation could be an artifact due to the decoding method used to detect it. We show that this is not the case, since the modulation can also be observed with a very simple averaging method. Although real, the single-trial modulation of inter-trial phase coherence by the foreperiod duration could just reflect a nuisance in our data. We argue against this possibility by showing that the strength of the modulation correlates with subjects’ behavioral measures, both error rates and mean-reaction times. We anticipate that the new foreperiod effect on inter-trial phase coherence, and the decoding method used here to detect it, will be important tools to understand cognition at the single-trial level. In Part II of this manuscript, we support this claim, by showing that attention modulates the strength of the new foreperiod effect in a trial-by-trial basis.

scholarly journals A neural decoder for learned vocal behavior

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ezequiel M. Arneodo ◽  
Shukai Chen ◽  
Vikash Gilja ◽  
Timothy Q. Gentner
Keyword(s):  
Neural Activity ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Vocal Behavior ◽  
Neural Signals ◽  
Brain Machine Interfaces ◽  
Simple Motor ◽  
Motor Actions ◽  
Impaired Motor Function

Brain Machine Interfaces (BMIs) hold promise to restore impaired motor function and, because they decode neural signals to infer behavior, can serve as powerful tools to understand the neural mechanisms of motor control. Yet complex behaviors, such as vocal communication, exceed state-of-the-art decoding technologies which are currently restricted to comparatively simple motor actions. Here we present a BMI for birdsong, that decodes a complex, learned vocal behavior directly from neural activity.

scholarly journals Theta Phase Synchrony and Conscious Target Perception: Impact of Intensive Mental Training

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 1536-1549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heleen A. Slagter ◽  
Antoine Lutz ◽  
Lawrence L. Greischar ◽  
Sander Nieuwenhuis ◽  
Richard J. Davidson
Keyword(s):  
Resource Allocation ◽  
Phase Locking ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Oscillatory Activity ◽  
Mental Training ◽  
Target Information ◽  
Object Processing ◽  
Theta Phase ◽  
The Brain

The information processing capacity of the human mind is limited, as is evidenced by the attentional blink—a deficit in identifying the second of two targets (T1 and T2) presented in close succession. This deficit is thought to result from an overinvestment of limited resources in T1 processing. We previously reported that intensive mental training in a style of meditation aimed at reducing elaborate object processing, reduced brain resource allocation to T1, and improved T2 accuracy [Slagter, H. A., Lutz, A., Greischar, L. L., Francis, A. D., Nieuwenhuis, S., Davis, J., et al. Mental training affects distribution of limited brain resources. PloS Biology, 5, e138, 2007]. Here we report EEG spectral analyses to examine the possibility that this reduction in elaborate T1 processing rendered the system more available to process new target information, as indexed by T2-locked phase variability. Intensive mental training was associated with decreased cross-trial variability in the phase of oscillatory theta activity after successfully detected T2s, in particular, for those individuals who showed the greatest reduction in brain resource allocation to T1. These data implicate theta phase locking in conscious target perception, and suggest that after mental training the cognitive system is more rapidly available to process new target information. Mental training was not associated with changes in the amplitude of T2-induced responses or oscillatory activity before task onset. In combination, these findings illustrate the usefulness of systematic mental training in the study of the human mind by revealing the neural mechanisms that enable the brain to successfully represent target information.

scholarly journals Theta phase coordinated memory reactivation reoccurs in a slow-oscillatory rhythm during NREM sleep

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Schreiner ◽  
Christian F. Doeller ◽  
Ole Jensen ◽  
Björn Rasch ◽  
Tobias Staudigl
Keyword(s):  
Physiological State ◽  
Nrem Sleep ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Theta Oscillations ◽  
Oscillatory Activity ◽  
Memory Reactivation ◽  
Specific Memory ◽  
Theta Phase ◽  
With Memory ◽  
Oscillatory Rhythm

It has been proposed that sleep’s contribution to memory consolidation is to reactivate prior encoded information. To elucidate the neural mechanisms carrying reactivation-related mnemonic information, we investigated whether content-specific memory signatures associated with memory reactivation during wakefulness reoccur during subsequent sleep. We show that theta oscillations orchestrate the reactivation of memories, irrespective of the physiological state. Reactivation patterns during sleep autonomously re-emerged at a rate of 1 Hz, indicating a coordination by slow oscillatory activity.

scholarly journals Modulation of high frequency by low-frequency Oscillations in the basal ganglia

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Nouri ◽  
R. Ebrahimpour ◽  
A. Mirzaei
Keyword(s):  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Network Model ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Oscillatory Activity ◽  
Beta Band ◽  
Low Frequency Oscillations ◽  
Delta Band ◽  
Frequency Modulations

AbstractModulation of beta band fioscillatory activity (15-30 Hz) by delta band oscillatory activity (1-3 Hz) in the cortico-basal ganglia loop is important for normal basal ganglia functions. However, the neural mechanisms underlying this modulation are poorly understood. To understand the mechanisms underlying such frequency modulations in the basal ganglia, we use large scale subthalamo-pallidal network model stimulated via a delta-frequency input signal. We show that inhibition of external Globus Pallidus (GPe) and excitation of the Subthalamic nucleus (STN) using the delta-band stimulation leads to the same delta-beta interactions in the network model as the experimental results observed in healthy basal ganglia. In addition, we show that pathological beta oscillations in the network model decorrelates the delta-beta link in the network model. In general, using our simulation results, we propose that striato-pallidal inhibition and cortico-subthalamic excitation are the potential sources of the delta-beta link observed in the intact basal ganglia.

scholarly journals Hemispheric differences in altered reactivity of brain oscillations at rest after posterior lesions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Gallina ◽  
Mattia Pietrelli ◽  
Marco Zanon ◽  
Caterina Bertini
Keyword(s):  
Visual System ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Oscillatory Activity ◽  
Alpha Oscillations ◽  
Eyes Closed ◽  
Eyes Open ◽  
The Right ◽  
Theta Range

AbstractA variety of evidence supports the dominance of the right hemisphere in perceptual and visuo-spatial processing. Although growing evidence shows a strong link between alpha oscillations and the functionality of the visual system, asymmetries in alpha oscillatory patterns still need to be investigated. Converging findings indicate that the typical alpha desynchronization occurring in the transition from the eyes-closed to the eyes-open resting state might represent an index of reactivity of the visual system. Thus, investigating hemispheric asymmetries in EEG reactivity at the opening of the eyes in brain-lesioned patients may shed light on the contribution of specific cortical sites and each hemisphere in regulating the oscillatory patterns reflecting the functionality of the visual system. To this aim, EEG signal was recorded during eyes-closed and eyes-open resting state in hemianopic patients with posterior left or right lesions, patients without hemianopia with anterior lesions and healthy controls. Hemianopics with both left and right posterior lesions showed a reduced alpha reactivity at the opening of the eyes, suggesting that posterior cortices have a pivotal role in the functionality of alpha oscillations. However, right-lesioned hemianopics showed a greater dysfunction, demonstrated by a reactivity reduction more distributed over the scalp, compared to left-lesioned hemianopics. Moreover, they also revealed impaired reactivity in the theta range. This favors the hypothesis of a specialized role of the right hemisphere in orchestrating oscillatory patterns, both coordinating widespread alpha oscillatory activity and organizing focal processing in the theta range, to support visual processing at the opening of the eyes.

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