scholarly journals Precision Inhibitory Stimulation of Individual-Specific Cortical Hubs Disrupts Information Processing in Humans

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (9) ◽  
pp. 3912-3921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles J Lynch ◽  
Andrew L Breeden ◽  
Evan M Gordon ◽  
Joseph B C Cherry ◽  
Peter E Turkeltaub ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Functional Brain Networks ◽  
Promising Treatment ◽  
Spatial Positioning ◽  
Double Blind Design ◽  
The Right

Abstract Noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) is a promising treatment for psychiatric and neurologic conditions, but outcomes are variable across treated individuals. In principle, precise targeting of individual-specific features of functional brain networks could improve the efficacy of NIBS interventions. Network theory predicts that the role of a node in a network can be inferred from its connections; as such, we hypothesized that targeting individual-specific “hub” brain areas with NIBS should impact cognition more than nonhub brain areas. Here, we first demonstrate that the spatial positioning of hubs is variable across individuals but reproducible within individuals upon repeated imaging. We then tested our hypothesis in healthy individuals using a prospective, within-subject, double-blind design. Inhibition of a hub with continuous theta burst stimulation disrupted information processing during working-memory more than inhibition of a nonhub area, despite targets being separated by only a few centimeters on the right middle frontal gyrus of each subject. Based upon these findings, we conclude that individual-specific brain network features are functionally relevant and could leveraged as stimulation sites in future NIBS interventions.

scholarly journals Precision inhibitory stimulation of individual-specific cortical hubs disrupts information processing in humans

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles J. Lynch ◽  
Andrew L. Breeden ◽  
Evan M. Gordon ◽  
Joseph B. C. Cherry ◽  
Peter E. Turkeltaub ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Spatial Positioning ◽  
Double Blind Design ◽  
Human Brains ◽  
Stimulation Of

ABSTRACTNon-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) is a promising treatment for psychiatric and neurologic conditions, but outcomes are variable across treated individuals. This variability may be due in part to uncertainty in the selection of the stimulation site – a challenge complicated further by the variable organization of individual human brains. In principle, precise targeting of individual-specific brain areas serving outsized roles in cognition could improve the efficacy of NIBS. Network theory predicts that the importance of a node in network can be inferred from its connections; as such, we hypothesized that targeting individual-specific “hub” brain areas with NIBS would impact cognition more than non-hub brain areas. We first demonstrate that the spatial positioning of hubs is variable across individuals, but highly-reproducible when mapped with sufficient per-individual rsfMRI data. We then tested our hypothesis in healthy individuals using a prospective, within-subject, double-blind design. We found that inhibiting a hub with NIBS disrupted information processing during working-memory to a greater extent than inhibiting a non-hub area of the same gyrus. Furthermore, inhibition of hubs linking specific control networks and sensorimotor systems was retrospectively found to be most impactful. Based on these findings, we propose that precise mapping of individual-specific brain network features could inform future interventions in patients.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTThe network organization of every person’s brain is different, but non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) interventions do not take this variation into account. Here we demonstrate that the spatial positions of brain areas theoretically serving important roles in cognition, called hubs, differs across individual humans, but are stable within an individual upon repeated neuroimaging. We found that administering NIBS to these individual-specific hub brain areas impacted cognition more than stimulation of non-hub areas. This finding indicates that future NIBS interventions can target individual-specific, but cognitively-relevant features of human brains.

Identifying neuroanatomical signatures in insomnia and migraine comorbidity

SLEEP ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kun-Hsien Chou ◽  
Pei-Lin Lee ◽  
Chih-Sung Liang ◽  
Jiunn-Tay Lee ◽  
Hung-Wen Kao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Gray Matter Volume ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Structural Covariance ◽  
Matter Volume ◽  
The Right ◽  
Global Brain ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Study Objectives While insomnia and migraine are often comorbid, the shared and distinct neuroanatomical substrates underlying these disorders and the brain structures associated with the comorbidity are unknown. We aimed to identify patterns of neuroanatomical substrate alterations associated with migraine and insomnia comorbidity. Methods High-resolution T1-weighted images were acquired from subjects with insomnia, migraine, and comorbid migraine and insomnia, respectively, and healthy controls (HC). Direct group comparisons with HC followed by conjunction analyses identified shared regional gray matter volume (GMV) alterations between the disorders. To further examine large-scale anatomical network changes, a seed-based structural covariance network (SCN) analysis was applied. Conjunction analyses also identified common SCN alterations in two disease groups, and we further evaluated these shared regional and global neuroanatomical signatures in the comorbid group. Results Compared with controls, patients with migraine and insomnia showed GMV changes in the cerebellum and the lingual, precentral, and postcentral gyri (PCG). The bilateral PCG were common GMV alteration sites in both groups, with decreased structural covariance integrity observed in the cerebellum. In patients with comorbid migraine and insomnia, shared regional GMV and global SCN changes were consistently observed. The GMV of the right PCG also correlated with sleep quality in these patients. Conclusion These findings highlight the specific role of the PCG in the shared pathophysiology of insomnia and migraine from a regional and global brain network perspective. These multilevel neuroanatomical changes could be used as potential image markers to decipher the comorbidity of the two disorders.

scholarly journals Transcranial static magnetic stimulation over the motor cortex can facilitate the contralateral cortical excitability in human

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasuyuki Takamatsu ◽  
Satoko Koganemaru ◽  
Tatsunori Watanabe ◽  
Sumiya Shibata ◽  
Yoshihiro Yukawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Cortical Excitability ◽  
Motor Evoked Potentials ◽  
Single Pulse ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Corticospinal Excitability ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
The Right

AbstractTranscranial static magnetic stimulation (tSMS) has been focused as a new non-invasive brain stimulation, which can suppress the human cortical excitability just below the magnet. However, the non-regional effects of tSMS via brain network have been rarely studied so far. We investigated whether tSMS over the left primary motor cortex (M1) can facilitate the right M1 in healthy subjects, based on the hypothesis that the functional suppression of M1 can cause the paradoxical functional facilitation of the contralateral M1 via the reduction of interhemispheric inhibition (IHI) between the bilateral M1. This study was double-blind crossover trial. We measured the corticospinal excitability in both M1 and IHI from the left to right M1 by recording motor evoked potentials from first dorsal interosseous muscles using single-pulse and paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation before and after the tSMS intervention for 30 min. We found that the corticospinal excitability of the left M1 decreased, while that of the right M1 increased after tSMS. Moreover, the evaluation of IHI revealed the reduced inhibition from the left to the right M1. Our findings provide new insights on the mechanistic understanding of neuromodulatory effects of tSMS in human.

scholarly journals Oxytocin facilitates communicative adjustment by upregulating broadband aperiodic neural activity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Liu ◽  
Arjen Stolk ◽  
Miriam de Boer ◽  
Robert Oostenveld ◽  
Ivan Toni
Keyword(s):  
Intranasal Administration ◽  
Synaptic Activity ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Communicative Behavior ◽  
Communicative Behaviors ◽  
Mutual Knowledge ◽  
Cortical Circuit ◽  
The Right ◽  
To Receive

Oxytocin modulates various social behaviors. In humans, oxytocin has been shown to modulate recipient design, i.e. how communicators adjust to their presumed mutual knowledge. Here, we investigate electrophysiological correlates of the oxytocinergic modulation of recipient design. Fifty-one males were randomly assigned to receive double-blind intranasal administration of oxytocin or placebo. While acquiring magnetoencephalography, the participants engaged in a live communicative task with two different addressees, a child and an adult. Unbeknownst to the participants, a confederate played the role of both addressees, with matched communicative behaviors. All participants started the task by putting more emphasis on their communicative behaviors when they thought to be interacting with the child addressee. As the communication progressed, the oxytocin group reduced variability in their communicative adjustments, adapting more effectively than the placebo group to the matched communicative behavior of the addressees. The magnitude of this oxytocin-related dynamic communicative adjustment was proportional to increased broadband aperiodic power, an index of local synaptic activity, in the right prefrontal-temporal circuit. These findings indicate that oxytocin facilitates dynamic adjustments in recipient design by enhancing cortical signal-to-noise in a portion of the same cortical circuit known to support the production of novel communicative behaviors.

scholarly journals Oxytocin enhancement of emotional empathy: generalization across cultures and effects on amygdala activity

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
YaYuan Geng ◽  
Weihua Zhao ◽  
Feng Zhou ◽  
Xiaole Ma ◽  
Shuxia Yao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skin Conductance ◽  
Posterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Independent Experiment ◽  
Functional Coupling ◽  
Emotional Empathy ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Amygdala Activity ◽  
Positive Valence ◽  
The Right

AbstractAccumulating evidence suggests that the neuropeptide oxytocin can enhance empathy although it is unclear which specific behavioral and neural aspects are influenced, and whether the effects are modulated by culture, sex and trait autism. Based on previous findings in Caucasian men, we hypothesized that a single intranasal dose of oxytocin would specifically enhance emotional empathy via modulatory effects on the amygdala in an Asian (Chinese) population and explored the modulatory role of sex and trait autism on the effects. We first conducted a double-blind, randomized between-subject design experiment using a modified version of the multifaceted empathy task (MET) to determine whether oxytocin’s facilitation of emotional empathy can be replicated in Chinese men (n = 60). To further explore neural mechanisms behind and potential sex differences, functional MRI and skin conductance measures were acquired in an independent experiment incorporating men and women (n = 72). Oxytocin enhanced emotional empathy across experiments and sex, an effect that was accompanied by reduced amygdala activity and increased skin conductance responses. On the network level oxytocin enhanced functional coupling of the right amygdala with the insula and posterior cingulate cortex for positive valence stimuli but attenuated coupling for negative valence stimuli. The effect of oxytocin on amygdala functional connectivity with the insula was modulated by trait autism. Overall, our findings provide further support for the role of oxytocin in facilitating emotional empathy and demonstrate that effects are independent of culture and sex and involve modulatory effects on the amygdala and its interactions with other key empathy regions.

Asymmetric Processing of Numerical and Nonnumerical Magnitudes in the Brain: An fMRI Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tali Leibovich ◽  
Stephan E. Vogel ◽  
Avishai Henik ◽  
Daniel Ansari
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Magnitude ◽  
Comparison Task ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Surface Areas ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
Numerical Magnitudes ◽  
The Right ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
The Brain

It is well established that, when comparing nonsymbolic magnitudes (e.g., dot arrays), adults can use both numerical (i.e., the number of items) and nonnumerical (density, total surface areas, etc.) magnitudes. It is less clear which of these magnitudes is more salient or processed more automatically. In this fMRI study, we used a nonsymbolic comparison task to ask if different brain areas are responsible for the automatic processing of numerical and nonnumerical magnitudes, when participants were instructed to attend to either the numerical or the nonnumerical magnitudes of the same stimuli. An interaction of task (numerical vs. nonnumerical) and congruity (congruent vs. incongruent) was found in the right TPJ. Specifically, this brain region was more strongly activated during numerical processing when the nonnumerical magnitudes were negatively correlated with numerosity (incongruent trials). In contrast, such an interference effect was not evident during nonnumerical processing when the task-irrelevant numerical magnitude was incongruent. In view of the role of the right TPJ in the control of stimulus-driven attention, we argue that these data demonstrate that the processing of nonnumerical magnitudes is more automatic than that of numerical magnitudes and that, therefore, the influence of numerical and nonnumerical variables on each other is asymmetrical.

scholarly journals Decreased integration of EEG source-space networks in disorders of consciousness

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Rizkallah ◽  
Jitka Annen ◽  
Julien Modolo ◽  
Olivia Gosseries ◽  
Pascal Benquet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Brain Networks ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
High Density ◽  
Disorders Of Consciousness ◽  
Functional Brain ◽  
Space Networks ◽  
Functional Brain Networks ◽  
Processing Network

AbstractIncreasing evidence links disorders of consciousness (DOC) with disruptions in functional connectivity between distant brain areas. However, to which extent the balance of brain network segregation and integration is modified in DOC patients remains unclear. Using high-density electroencephalography (EEG), the objective of our study was to characterize the local and global topological changes of DOC patients’ functional brain networks.Resting state high-density-EEG data were collected and analyzed from 82 participants: 61 DOC patients recovering from coma with various levels of consciousness (EMCS (n=6), MCS+ (n=29), MCS- (n=17) and UWS (n=9)), and 21 healthy subjects (i.e., controls). Functional brain networks in five different EEG frequency bands and the broadband signal were estimated using an EEG connectivity approach at the source level. Graph theory-based analyses were used to evaluate group differences between healthy volunteers and patient groups.Results showed that networks in DOC patients are characterized by impaired global information processing (network integration) and increased local information processing (network segregation) as compared to controls. The large-scale functional brain networks had integration decreasing with lower level of consciousness.

Central Mechanisms of Controlled-Release Metoprolol in Migraine: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study

Cephalalgia ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 27 (9) ◽  
pp. 1024-1032 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Siniatchkin ◽  
F Andrasik ◽  
P Kropp ◽  
U Niederberger ◽  
H Strenge ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Controlled Release ◽  
Marked Reduction ◽  
Controlled Study ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Migraine Frequency ◽  
Β Blockers ◽  
Double Blind Design ◽  
Effective Drugs ◽  
Cortical Information Processing

β-Blockers are widely used in the prophylaxis of migraine and have been described as very effective drugs in many studies. Some investigators have demonstrated that the clinical improvement of migraine corresponds to the normalization of the contingent negative variation (CNV), a slow cortical potential measuring cortical information processing. However, most of these studies have contained a variety of methodological pitfalls, which we attempted to address in the current study. Twenty patients suffering from migraine without aura were randomly divided into two groups. The groups were treated either with controlled-release metoprolol or placebo for 3 months, using a double-blind design. Twice before and once after each month of the treatment the CNV was recorded. After 3 months, a significant reduction of migraine frequency, duration and intensity was demonstrated for the metoprolol compared with the placebo group. The CNV was characterized by a marked reduction of the amplitude of the total CNV and postimperative negative variation and normalization of the eartly CNV habituation following treatment. Therefore, metoprolol may exert its prophylactic effect in migraine through the influence on cortical information processing and excitability represented by the CNV.

scholarly journals Phototherapy as a Rational Antioxidant Treatment Modality in COVID-19 Management; New Concept and Strategic Approach: Critical Review

Antioxidants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 875
Author(s):  
Reem Hanna ◽  
Snehal Dalvi ◽  
Tudor Sălăgean ◽  
Ioana Roxana Bordea ◽  
Stefano Benedicenti
Keyword(s):  
Critical Review ◽  
Treatment Modality ◽  
Inflammatory Diseases ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Cellular Mechanisms ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Strategic Approach ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Promising Treatment

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken the entire globe by storm. The pathogenesis of this virus has shown a cytokine storm release, which contributes to critical or severe multi-organ failure. Currently the ultimate treatment is palliative; however, many modalities have been introduced with effective or minimal outcomes. Meanwhile, enormous efforts are ongoing to produce safe vaccines and therapies. Phototherapy has a wide range of clinical applications against various maladies. This necessitates the exploration of the role of phototherapy, if any, for COVID-19. This critical review was conducted to understand COVID-19 disease and highlights the prevailing facts that link phototherapy utilisation as a potential treatment modality for SARS-CoV-2 viral infection. The results demonstrated phototherapy’s efficacy in regulating cytokines and inflammatory mediators, increasing angiogenesis and enhancing healing in chronic pulmonary inflammatory diseases. In conclusion, this review answered the following research question. Which molecular and cellular mechanisms of action of phototherapy have demonstrated great potential in enhancing the immune response and reducing host–viral interaction in COVID-19 patients? Therefore, phototherapy is a promising treatment modality, which needs to be validated further for COVID-19 by robust and rigorous randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled, clinical trials to evaluate its impartial outcomes and safety.

scholarly journals How Much of Me Do I See in Other Minds? Modulating Egocentricity in Emotion Judgments by tDCS

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 512
Author(s):  
Anne Weigand ◽  
Irene Trilla ◽  
Lioba Enk ◽  
Garret O’Connell ◽  
Kristin Prehn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Randomized Study ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Conclusive Evidence ◽  
Emotional Expressions ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
General Role ◽  
Fearful Faces ◽  
State Of Mind ◽  
The Right

When inferring the mental states of others, individuals’ judgments are influenced by their own state of mind, an effect often referred to as egocentricity. Self–other differentiation is key for an accurate interpretation of other’s mental states, especially when these differ from one’s own states. It has been suggested that the right supramarginal gyrus (rSMG) is causally involved in overcoming egocentricity in the affective domain. In a double-blind randomized study, 47 healthy adults received anodal (1 mA, 20 min) or sham transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the rSMG prior to performing a newly developed paradigm, the self–other facial emotion judgment (SOFE) task. In this task, participants made judgments of facial emotional expressions while having been previously confronted with congruent or incongruent emotion-inducing situations. To differentiate between emotional and cognitive egocentricity, participants additionally completed an established visual perspective-taking task. Our results confirmed the occurrence of emotional egocentric biases during the SOFE task. No conclusive evidence of a general role of the rSMG in emotional egocentricity was found. However, active as compared to sham tDCS induced descriptively lower egocentric biases when judging incongruent fearful faces, and stronger biases when judging incongruent happy faces, suggesting emotion-specific tDCS effects on egocentric biases. Further, we found significant tDCS effects on cognitive egocentricity. Results of the present study expanded our understanding of emotional egocentricity and point towards emotion-specific patterns of the underlying functionality.

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