Atmosphere, affordances, and emotion

2021 ◽  
pp. 221-286
Author(s):  
Michael A. Arbib
Keyword(s):  
Mental Image ◽  
Visual Pathway ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
Whole Person ◽  
Key Variables ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Person Experience ◽  
Over Time

The atmosphere of a building is the pervading mood it provides, and can be considered a non-Gibsonian affordance. Atmosphere may frame our experience of a building, but over time our perception of the atmosphere may change. This chapter explores atmosphere in relation to motivation and emotion and the role of the limbic system of the brain. Emotion builds on a set of primordial emotions, but human cognition adds subtlety and supports aesthetic emotions. Paintings by Turner and Constable are examined to take the reader beyond the phenomenology of atmosphere and to explore the idea that the artist “inverts” vision. A visual pathway judges the emerging sketch; a visuomotor pathway updates the sketch. In iterating the process, the sketch changes, but so too will the mental image. An fMRI study of architects observing images of “contemplative” building grounds a critique that suggests challenges for designing further experiments. A crucial obstacle is the distance between cog/neuroscience experiments that seek to isolate the influence of a few key variables and the whole-person experience of using and contemplating a building in all its varied complexity.

Resilience

2019 ◽  
pp. 286-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Alexander ◽  
Justine Megan Gatt
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Neural Systems ◽  
Dynamic Interactions ◽  
Control Networks ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Adaptive Recovery ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Over Time

Resilience refers to the process of adaptive recovery following adversity or trauma. It is likely to include an intertwined series of dynamic interactions between neural, developmental, environmental, genetic, and epigenetic factors over time. Neuroscientific research suggests the potential role of the brain’s threat and reward systems, as well as executive control networks. Developmental research provides insight into how the environment may affect these neural systems across the lifespan towards greater risk or resilience to stress. Genetic work has revealed numerous targets that alter key neurochemical systems in the brain to influence mental health. Current challenges include ambiguities in the definition and measurement of resilience and a simplified focus on resilience as the absence of psychopathology, irrespective of levels of positive mental functioning. Greater emphasis on understanding the protective aspects of resilience and related well-being outcomes are important to delineate the unique neurobiological factors that underpin this process, so that effective interventions can be developed to assist vulnerable populations and resilience promotion.

Do We Have a “Mental Syllabary” in the Brain? An fMRI Study

Motor Control ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bettina Brendel ◽  
Michael Erb ◽  
Axel Riecker ◽  
Wolfgang Grodd ◽  
Hermann Ackermann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Frequency Effect ◽  
Speech Motor Control ◽  
Motor Execution ◽  
Syllable Frequency ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Speech Motor

The present study combines functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and reaction time (RT) measurements to further elucidate the influence of syllable frequency and complexity on speech motor control processes, i.e., overt reading of pseudowords. Tying in with a recent fMRI-study of our group we focused on the concept of a mental syllabary housing syllable sized ready-made motor plans for high- (HF), but not low-frequency (LF) syllables. The RT-analysis disclosed a frequency effect weakened by a simultaneous complexity effect for HF-syllables. In contrast, the fMRI data revealed no effect of syllable frequency, but point to an impact of syllable structure: Compared with CV-items, syllables with a complex onset (CCV) yielded higher hemodynamic activation in motor “execution” areas (left sensorimotor cortex, right inferior cerebellum), which is at least partially compatible with our previous study. We discuss the role of the syllable in speech motor control.

scholarly journals Fractals in Action: An fMRI study on the Generation of new Hierarchical Levels in Motor Sequences

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauricio J.D. Martins ◽  
Roberta Bianco ◽  
Daniela Sammler ◽  
Arno Villringer
Keyword(s):  
Motor Planning ◽  
Hierarchical Structures ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Generative Process ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
General Systems ◽  
Hierarchical Levels ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Putative Domain ◽  
Active Generation

AbstractGeneration of hierarchical structures, such as the embedding of subordinate elements into larger structures, is a core feature of human cognition. Discrimination of well-formed hierarchies is thought to rely on lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC). However, the brain bases underlying the active generation of new hierarchical levels remain poorly understood. Here, we created a new motor paradigm to isolate this active generative process. In fMRI, participants planned and performed (identical) movement sequences based on three previously learned rules: (1) a hierarchical ‘fractal’ rule that involved generation of new levels, (2) a linear ‘iterative’ rule adding items to existing hierarchical levels, and (3) simple ‘repetition’. We found that generation of new hierarchical levels (using the fractal rule) activated a bilateral motor planning-and imagery network, but did not involve lateral PFC. Conversely, adding items to existing hierarchical levels required M1 directly during execution. These results show that the generation of new hierarchical levels can be achieved without involvement of putative domain-general systems such as those ascribed to lateral PFC. We hypothesize that these systems might be important to parse hierarchical sequences in a multi-domain fashion but not necessarily to generate new hierarchical levels.

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 Default(y) Mode Network: Important regions of DMN do not survive alterations in flip angles

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ishan Singhal ◽  
Abhishek K. Soni ◽  
Narayanan Srinivasan
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Posterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Intrinsic Activity ◽  
Bold Signal ◽  
Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽  
Physiological Noise ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
The Brain

AbstractThe default mode network (DMN) is thought to capture intrinsic activity of the brain and has been instrumental in understanding the dynamics of the brain. However, the DMN has not been without critics; both conceptual and empirical. The empirical criticisms caution against physiological noise as a source for the reported connectivity in the DMN. Smaller flip angles (FAs) have been modelled and shown to reduce physiological noise in BOLD signal recordings. A previous functional MRI (fMRI) study with flickering checkerboard stimuli, manipulated FAs to show that activity in the posterior-cingulate cortex (PCC) and precuneus is prone to physiological noise. This raises questions about studies that show activations in these areas (PCC and precuneus) with a fixed FA and the role of these areas in brain networks like DMN. Given the prominent role of PCC and precuneus in DMN, we studied the effect of FAs on the resting-state functional connectivity involving these areas in DMN. We used four FAs and recorded resting-state activity in a 3-T scanner. The results show PCC and precuneus BOLD functional connectivity is inconsistent. We lend support to previous empirical criticisms of DMN, linking its activity to physiological noise. Our results add to concerns about PCC and precuneus related BOLD activity and their putative role in DMN. Alongside previous studies we advocate using smaller flip angles as an empirical tool to investigate physiological noise in fMRI studies.

Cognitive Processes Involved in Visual Thought

2014 ◽  
pp. 131-173
Keyword(s):  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Higher Order Thinking ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Visual Development ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Higher Order Thinking Skills ◽  
Multiple Intelligences Theory ◽  
Visual Intelligence ◽  
The Brain

Cognitive thinking is discussed here in terms of processes involved in visual thought and visual problem solving. This chapter recapitulates basic information about human cognition, cognitive structures, and perceptual learning in relation to visual thought. It tells about some ideas in cognitive science, cognitive functions in specific parts of the brain, reviews ideas about thinking visually and verbally, critical versus creative thinking, components of creative performance, mental imagery, visual reasoning, and mental images. Imagery and memory, visual intelligence, visual intelligence tests, and multiple intelligences theory make further parts of the chapter. This is followed by some comments on cognitive development, higher order thinking skills, visual development of a child, the meaning of student art in the course of visual development, and the role of computer graphics in visual development.

scholarly journals The Continuity of Context: A Role for the Hippocampus

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Maurer ◽  
Lynn Nadel
Keyword(s):  
Stimulus Equivalence ◽  
Multiple Scales ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Longitudinal Axis ◽  
Place Cells ◽  
Pattern Separation ◽  
Anatomy And Physiology ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Over Time

Tracking moment-to-moment change in input, and detecting change sufficient to require altering behavior is crucial to survival. We discuss how the brain evaluates change over time, focusing on hippocampus and its role in tracking context. We leverage the anatomy and physiology of the hippocampal longitudinal axis, re-entrant loops, and amorphous networks, to account for stimulus equivalence and the updating of an organism’s sense of its context. Place cells play a central role in tracking contextual continuities and discontinuities across multiple scales, a capacity beyond current models of pattern separation and completion. This perspective highlights the critical role of the hippocampus in both spatial cognition and episodic memory: tracking change and detecting boundaries separating one context, or episode, from another.

scholarly journals Nucleus Accumbens Functional Connectivity with the Frontoparietal Network Predicts Subsequent Change in Body Mass Index for American Children

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 703
Author(s):  
Shervin Assari ◽  
Shanika Boyce ◽  
Mohsen Bazargan
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Sex Differences ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Reward Processing ◽  
Frontoparietal Network ◽  
Brain Reward ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Over Time

Background: Nucleus accumbens (NAc) is a brain structure with a well-established role in the brain reward processing system. Altered function of the NAc is shown to have a role in the development of food addiction and obesity. However, less is known about sex differences in the role of NAc function as a predictor of children’s change in body mass index (BMI) over time. Aim: We used the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development data (version 2.01) to investigate sex differences in the predictive role of the NAc functional connectivity with the frontoparietal network on children’s BMI change over a one-year follow-up period. Methods: This 1-year longitudinal study successfully followed 3784 9–10-year-old children. Regression models were used to analyze the data. The predictor variable was NAc functional connectivity with the frontoparietal network measured using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The primary outcome was BMI at the end of the 1-year follow up. Covariates included race, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic factors, and baseline BMI. Sex was the effect modifier. Results: NAc functional connectivity with the frontoparietal network was predictive of BMI changes over time. This association remained significant above and beyond all covariates. The above association, however, was only significant in female, not male children. Conclusion: The epidemiological observation that NAc functional connectivity is associated with BMI changes in children is an extension of well-controlled laboratory studies that have established the role of the NAc in the brain reward processing. More research is needed on sex differences in the brain regions that contribute to childhood obesity.

The Role of Mitochondria in the Genesis of Neuroaxonal Dystrophy in the Brains of Aging Mice

1975 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 372-373
Author(s):  
J.E. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Present Report ◽  
Light And Electron Microscopy ◽  
Dorsal Column ◽  
Neuroaxonal Dystrophy ◽  
Nucleus Gracilis ◽  
Dystrophic Axons ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Nucleus Cuneatus

Although neuroaxonal dystrophy (NAD) has been examined by light and electron microscopy for years, the nature of the components in the dystrophic axons is not well understood. The present report examines nucleus gracilis and cuneatus (the dorsal column nuclei) in the brain stem of aging mice.Mice (C57BL/6J) were sacrificed by aldehyde perfusion at ages ranging from 3 months to 23 months. Several brain areas and parts of other organs were processed for electron microscopy.At 3 months of age, very little evidence of NAD can be discerned by light microscopy. At the EM level, a few axons are found to contain dystrophic material. By 23 months of age, the entire nucleus gracilis is filled with dystrophic axons. Much less NAD is seen in nucleus cuneatus by comparison. The most recurrent pattern of NAD is an enlarged profile, in the center of which is a mass of reticulated material (reticulated portion; or RP).

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