scholarly journals Control of response interference: caudate nucleus contributes to selective inhibition

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia C. Schmidt ◽  
David C. Timpert ◽  
Isabel Arend ◽  
Simone Vossel ◽  
Gereon R. Fink ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Caudate Nucleus ◽  
Simon Effect ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Selective Inhibition ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Interference Control ◽  
Subcortical Structures ◽  
Response Interference ◽  
The Right

AbstractWhile the role of cortical regions in cognitive control processes is well accepted, the contribution of subcortical structures (e.g., the striatum), especially to the control of response interference, remains controversial. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the cortical and particularly subcortical neural mechanisms of response interference control (including selective inhibition). Thirteen healthy young participants underwent event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing a unimanual version of the Simon task. In this task, successful performance required the resolution of stimulus–response conflicts in incongruent trials by selectively inhibiting interfering response tendencies. The behavioral results show an asymmetrical Simon effect that was more pronounced in the contralateral hemifield. Contrasting incongruent trials with congruent trials (i.e., the overall Simon effect) significantly activated clusters in the right anterior cingulate cortex, the right posterior insula, and the caudate nucleus bilaterally. Furthermore, a region of interest analysis based on previous patient studies revealed that activation in the bilateral caudate nucleus significantly co-varied with a parameter of selective inhibition derived from distributional analyses of response times. Our results corroborate the notion that the cognitive control of response interference is supported by a fronto-striatal circuitry, with a functional contribution of the caudate nucleus to the selective inhibition of interfering response tendencies.

scholarly journals Anterior cingulate cortex connectivity is associated with suppression of behaviour in a rat model of chronic pain

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 239821281877964 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurel S. Morris ◽  
Christian Sprenger ◽  
Ken Koda ◽  
Daniela M. de la Mora ◽  
Tomomi Yamada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Persistent Pain ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Subcortical Structures ◽  
Bed Nucleus ◽  
Motivational Aspect ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Burrowing Behaviour ◽  
The Right

A cardinal feature of persistent pain that follows injury is a general suppression of behaviour, in which motivation is inhibited in a way that promotes energy conservation and recuperation. Across species, the anterior cingulate cortex is associated with the motivational aspects of phasic pain, but whether it mediates motivational functions in persistent pain is less clear. Using burrowing behaviour as an marker of non-specific motivated behaviour in rodents, we studied the suppression of burrowing following painful confirmatory factor analysis or control injection into the right knee joint of 30 rats (14 with pain) and examined associated neural connectivity with ultra-high-field resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging. We found that connectivity between anterior cingulate cortex and subcortical structures including hypothalamic/preoptic nuclei and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis correlated with the reduction in burrowing behaviour observed following the pain manipulation. In summary, the findings implicate anterior cingulate cortex connectivity as a correlate of the motivational aspect of persistent pain in rodents.

scholarly journals Fronto-thalamic structural and effective connectivity and delusions in schizophrenia: a combined DTI/DCM study

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Gábor Csukly ◽  
Ádám Szabó ◽  
Patrícia Polgár ◽  
Kinga Farkas ◽  
Gyula Gyebnár ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coupling Strength ◽  
Effective Connectivity ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Causal Modeling ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Network Activity ◽  
Subcortical Structures ◽  
Left Thalamus ◽  
The Right

Abstract Background Schizophrenia (SZ) is a complex disorder characterized by a range of behavioral and cognitive symptoms as well as structural and functional alterations in multiple cortical and subcortical structures. SZ is associated with reduced functional network connectivity involving core regions such as the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the thalamus. However, little is known whether effective coupling, the directed influence of one structure over the other, is altered during rest in the ACC–thalamus network. Methods We collected resting-state fMRI and diffusion-weighted MRI data from 18 patients and 20 healthy controls. We analyzed fronto-thalamic effective connectivity using dynamic causal modeling for cross-spectral densities in a network consisting of the ACC and the left and right medio-dorsal thalamic regions. We studied structural connectivity using fractional anisotropy (FA). Results We found decreased coupling strength from the right thalamus to the ACC and from the right thalamus to the left thalamus, as well as increased inhibitory intrinsic connectivity in the right thalamus in patients relative to controls. ACC-to-left thalamus coupling strength correlated with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total positive syndrome score and with delusion score. Whole-brain structural analysis revealed several tracts with reduced FA in patients, with a maximum decrease in white matter tracts containing fronto-thalamic and cingulo-thalamic fibers. Conclusions We found altered effective and structural connectivity within the ACC–thalamus network in SZ. Our results indicate that ACC–thalamus network activity at rest is characterized by reduced thalamus-to-ACC coupling. We suggest that positive symptoms may arise as a consequence of compensatory measures to imbalanced fronto-thalamic coupling.

Fronto-thalamic dysconnectivity and cognitive control in schizophrenia

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S34-S34
Author(s):  
G. Wagner ◽  
F. De la Cruz ◽  
D. Güllmar ◽  
C.C. Schultz ◽  
K. Koch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Effective Connectivity ◽  
Causal Modeling ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
System Level ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Bold Signal ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Right

IntroductionSeveral lines of evidence suggest that cognitive deficits represent a core feature of schizophrenia.ObjectivesThe concept of “cognitive dysmetria” has been introduced to characterize disintegration at the system level of frontal-thalamic-cerebellar circuitry which has been regarded as a key network for a wide range of neuropsychological symptoms in schizophrenia.AimsThe present multimodal study aimed at investigating effective and structural connectivity of the frontal-thalamic circuitry in schizophrenia.MethodsUnivariate fMRI data analysis and effective connectivity analysis using dynamic causal modeling (DCM) were combined to examine cognitive control processes in 40 patients with schizophrenia and 40 matched healthy controls. BOLD signal and parameters of effective connectivity were related to parameters of corresponding white matter integrity assessed with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).ResultsIn the DTI analysis, significantly decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) was detected in patients in the right anterior limb of the internal capsule (ALIC), the right thalamus and the right corpus callosum. During Stroop task performance patients demonstrated significantly lower activation relative to healthy controls in a predominantly right lateralized frontal-thalamic-cerebellar network. An abnormal effective connectivity was observed in the right lateralized connections between thalamus, anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. FA in the right ALIC was significantly correlated with the fronto-thalamic BOLD signal, effective connectivity and cognitive performance in patients.ConclusionsPresent data provide evidence for the notion of a structural and functional defect in the prefrontal-thalamic-cerebellar circuitry, which seems to be the basis of the cognitive control deficits in schizophrenia.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals Anterior cingulate cortex connectivity is associated with suppression of behavior in a rat model of chronic pain

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurel S. Morris ◽  
Christian Sprenger ◽  
Ken Koda ◽  
Daniela M. de la Mora ◽  
Tomomi Yamada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Persistent Pain ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Subcortical Structures ◽  
Bed Nucleus ◽  
Motivated Behavior ◽  
Motivational Aspect ◽  
Burrowing Behavior ◽  
The Right

AbstractA cardinal feature of persistent pain that follows injury is a general suppression of behavior, in which motivation is inhibited in a way that promotes energy conservation and recuperation. Across species, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is associated with the motivational aspects of phasic pain, but whether it mediates motivational functions in persistent pain is less clear. Using burrowing behavior as an marker of non-specific motivated behavior in rodents, we studied the suppression of burrowing following painful CFA or control injection into the right knee-joint of 37 rats (18 with pain), and examined associated neural connectivity with ultra-high-field resting state functional MRI. We found that connectivity between ACC and the subcortex correlated with the reduction in burrowing behavior observed following the pain manipulation. In a full replication study we confirmed these findings in a group of 44 rats (23 with pain). Across both datasets, reduced burrowing was assosciated with increased connectivity between ACC and subcortical structures including hypothalamic/preoptic nuclei and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. Together, the findings implicate ACC connectivity as a robust correlate of the motivational aspect of persistent pain in rodents.

scholarly journals Understanding Emotions: Origins and Roles of the Amygdala

Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 823
Author(s):  
Goran Šimić ◽  
Mladenka Tkalčić ◽  
Vana Vukić ◽  
Damir Mulc ◽  
Ena Španić ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Information ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Central Nucleus ◽  
Subcortical Structures ◽  
Neuronal Populations ◽  
Efferent Projections ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Understanding Emotions ◽  
Fight Or Flight Response ◽  
And Behavior

Emotions arise from activations of specialized neuronal populations in several parts of the cerebral cortex, notably the anterior cingulate, insula, ventromedial prefrontal, and subcortical structures, such as the amygdala, ventral striatum, putamen, caudate nucleus, and ventral tegmental area. Feelings are conscious, emotional experiences of these activations that contribute to neuronal networks mediating thoughts, language, and behavior, thus enhancing the ability to predict, learn, and reappraise stimuli and situations in the environment based on previous experiences. Contemporary theories of emotion converge around the key role of the amygdala as the central subcortical emotional brain structure that constantly evaluates and integrates a variety of sensory information from the surroundings and assigns them appropriate values of emotional dimensions, such as valence, intensity, and approachability. The amygdala participates in the regulation of autonomic and endocrine functions, decision-making and adaptations of instinctive and motivational behaviors to changes in the environment through implicit associative learning, changes in short- and long-term synaptic plasticity, and activation of the fight-or-flight response via efferent projections from its central nucleus to cortical and subcortical structures.

Brain reactivity to humorous films is affected by insomnia

SLEEP ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernesto Sanz-Arigita ◽  
Yannick Daviaux ◽  
Marc Joliot ◽  
Bixente Dilharreguy ◽  
Jean-Arthur Micoulaud-Franchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Reactivity ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Neural Representation ◽  
Cingulate Gyrus ◽  
Anterior Cingulate Gyrus ◽  
Left Caudate ◽  
Neural Reactivity ◽  
The Right

Abstract Study objectives Emotional reactivity to negative stimuli has been investigated in insomnia, but little is known about emotional reactivity to positive stimuli and its neural representation. Methods We used 3T fMRI to determine neural reactivity during the presentation of standardized short, 10-40-s, humorous films in insomnia patients (n=20, 18 females, aged 27.7 +/- 8.6 years) and age-matched individuals without insomnia (n=20, 19 females, aged 26.7 +/- 7.0 years), and assessed humour ratings through a visual analogue scale (VAS). Seed-based functional connectivity was analysed for left and right amygdala networks: group-level mixed-effects analysis (FLAME; FSL) was used to compare amygdala connectivity maps between groups. Results fMRI seed-based analysis of the amygdala revealed stronger neural reactivity in insomnia patients than in controls in several brain network clusters within the reward brain network, without humour rating differences between groups (p = 0.6). For left amygdala connectivity, cluster maxima were in the left caudate (Z=3.88), left putamen (Z=3.79) and left anterior cingulate gyrus (Z=4.11), while for right amygdala connectivity, cluster maxima were in the left caudate (Z=4.05), right insula (Z=3.83) and left anterior cingulate gyrus (Z=4.29). Cluster maxima of the right amygdala network were correlated with hyperarousal scores in insomnia patients only. Conclusions Presentation of humorous films leads to increased brain activity in the neural reward network for insomnia patients compared to controls, related to hyperarousal features in insomnia patients, in the absence of humor rating group differences. These novel findings may benefit insomnia treatment interventions.

scholarly journals Optimal Installation Location of Escape Route Signs at T-Type Intersections

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7903
Author(s):  
Young-Hoon Bae ◽  
Jong-Yeong Son ◽  
Ryun-Seok Oh ◽  
Hye-Kyoung Lee ◽  
Yoon-Ha Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
University Students ◽  
Simon Effect ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Escape Route ◽  
Emergency Evacuations ◽  
The Right

This study analyzed the decision-making times (DMTs) of participants at T-type indoor intersections according to the horizontal/vertical installation locations and the arrow directions of escape route signs. A total of 120 university students participated in the study. We analyzed the DMTs and following rates (FRs) required for the participants to observe the visual stimuli of the signs installed in front of the T-type indoor intersections and then properly select a path according to the arrow direction of the signs. The results are as follows: (1) the participants exhibited shorter DMTs for the right arrow direction of the signs, (2) the Simon effect occurred when the horizontal installation location of the signs was more than 60 cm away from the center of the T-type indoor intersection on both sides, (3) the DMTs of participants increased when the vertical installation location of the signs was low. Finally, we proposed an optimal installation location of the signs to support the shortest DMTs at T-type indoor intersections. It is expected that the results of this study will provide a database of DMTs, based on the locations of the signs during emergency evacuations, and will be utilized to improve the installation guidelines and regulations of signs.

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