scholarly journals A roadmap for the study of conscious audition and its neural basis

2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1714) ◽  
pp. 20160103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew R. Dykstra ◽  
Peter A. Cariani ◽  
Alexander Gutschalk
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Perception ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Scene Analysis ◽  
Conscious Perception ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Auditory Scenes ◽  
Shed Light

How and which aspects of neural activity give rise to subjective perceptual experience—i.e. conscious perception—is a fundamental question of neuroscience. To date, the vast majority of work concerning this question has come from vision, raising the issue of generalizability of prominent resulting theories. However, recent work has begun to shed light on the neural processes subserving conscious perception in other modalities, particularly audition. Here, we outline a roadmap for the future study of conscious auditory perception and its neural basis, paying particular attention to how conscious perception emerges (and of which elements or groups of elements) in complex auditory scenes. We begin by discussing the functional role of the auditory system, particularly as it pertains to conscious perception. Next, we ask: what are the phenomena that need to be explained by a theory of conscious auditory perception? After surveying the available literature for candidate neural correlates, we end by considering the implications that such results have for a general theory of conscious perception as well as prominent outstanding questions and what approaches/techniques can best be used to address them. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Auditory and visual scene analysis’.

scholarly journals Decoding across sensory modalities reveals common supramodal signatures of conscious perception

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (13) ◽  
pp. 7437-7446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaëtan Sanchez ◽  
Thomas Hartmann ◽  
Marco Fuscà ◽  
Gianpaolo Demarchi ◽  
Nathan Weisz
Keyword(s):  
Neural Activity ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Button Press ◽  
Visual Modality ◽  
Conscious Perception ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Sensory Modalities ◽  
Near Threshold

An increasing number of studies highlight common brain regions and processes in mediating conscious sensory experience. While most studies have been performed in the visual modality, it is implicitly assumed that similar processes are involved in other sensory modalities. However, the existence of supramodal neural processes related to conscious perception has not been convincingly shown so far. Here, we aim to directly address this issue by investigating whether neural correlates of conscious perception in one modality can predict conscious perception in a different modality. In two separate experiments, we presented participants with successive blocks of near-threshold tasks involving subjective reports of tactile, visual, or auditory stimuli during the same magnetoencephalography (MEG) acquisition. Using decoding analysis in the poststimulus period between sensory modalities, our first experiment uncovered supramodal spatiotemporal neural activity patterns predicting conscious perception of the feeble stimulation. Strikingly, these supramodal patterns included activity in primary sensory regions not directly relevant to the task (e.g., neural activity in visual cortex predicting conscious perception of auditory near-threshold stimulation). We carefully replicate our results in a control experiment that furthermore show that the relevant patterns are independent of the type of report (i.e., whether conscious perception was reported by pressing or withholding a button press). Using standard paradigms for probing neural correlates of conscious perception, our findings reveal a common signature of conscious access across sensory modalities and illustrate the temporally late and widespread broadcasting of neural representations, even into task-unrelated primary sensory processing regions.

Review Lecture: Neural mechanisms of learning: an analysis of imprinting in the domestic chick

1981 ◽  
Vol 213 (1191) ◽  
pp. 101-137 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Chick ◽  
Storage Process ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Sensory Pathways ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
And Storage ◽  
Bilateral Destruction ◽  
The Brain

Learning is a complex set of processes involving the acquisition and storage of information. Imprinting in the domestic chick was studied to analyse the neural basis of storage. The recently hatched chick learns the characteristics of a visually conspicuous object by being exposed to it. When a chick is trained in this way, biochemical changes can be detected in the dorsal part of the forebrain. Through a series of experiments it was shown that these changes are unlikely to be non-specific consequences of training, but more probably reflect some aspect of the storage process. By using a radioautographic technique to localize the brain region more precisely, part of the hyperstriatum ventrale was implicated in this process. Bilateral destruction of the region before imprinting prevented acquisition, and bilateral destruction after imprinting impaired retention. After exposure for 140 min to an imprinting stimulus there was an increase in the area of contact between presynaptic and postsynaptic elements in the region. This effect was found on the left side only. Sequential lesions to left and right sides confirmed that there is a hemispheric asymmetry in the role of the region in the storage of information. The area receives input from the visual pathways and possibly from other sensory pathways, and projects to regions that are thought to be involved in the control of locomotor and viscero-endocrine functions. The results afford an opportunity for the further analysis both of storage and of the whole set of neural processes that underlie imprinting in the domestic chick.

scholarly journals Reading and Calculation Neural Systems and Their Weighted Adaptive Use for Programming Skills

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Joao Castelhano ◽  
Isabel C. Duarte ◽  
Joao Duraes ◽  
Henrique Madeira ◽  
Miguel Castelo-Branco
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Hemispheric Lateralization ◽  
Error Monitoring ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Program Understanding ◽  
The Core ◽  
Midcingulate Cortex ◽  
Programming Skills

Software programming is a modern activity that poses strong challenges to the human brain. The neural mechanisms that support this novel cognitive faculty are still unknown. On the other hand, reading and calculation abilities represent slightly less recent human activities, in which neural correlates are relatively well understood. We hypothesize that calculus and reading brain networks provide joint underpinnings with distinctly weighted contributions which concern programming tasks, in particular concerning error identification. Based on a meta-analysis of the core regions involved in both reading and math and recent experimental evidence on the neural basis of programming tasks, we provide a theoretical account that integrates the role of these networks in program understanding. In this connectivity-based framework, error-monitoring processing regions in the frontal cortex influence the insula, which is a pivotal hub within the salience network, leading into efficient causal modulation of parietal networks involved in reading and mathematical operations. The core role of the anterior insula and anterior midcingulate cortex is illuminated by their relation to performance in error processing and novelty. The larger similarity that we observed between the networks underlying calculus and programming skills does not exclude a more limited but clear overlap with the reading network, albeit with differences in hemispheric lateralization when compared with prose reading. Future work should further elucidate whether other features of computer program understanding also use distinct weights of phylogenetically “older systems” for this recent human activity, based on the adjusting influence of fronto-insular networks. By unraveling the neural correlates of program understanding and bug detection, this work provides a framework to understand error monitoring in this novel complex faculty.

Corticostriatal signatures of schadenfreude: evidence from Huntington’s disease

2017 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Baez ◽  
Mariana Pino ◽  
Mildred Berrío ◽  
Hernando Santamaría-García ◽  
Lucas Sedeño ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Huntington's Disease ◽  
Huntington’S Disease ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Reward Processing ◽  
Social Emotion ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Regional Brain Atrophy ◽  
Shed Light

Schadenfreude—pleasure at others’ misfortunes—is a multidetermined social emotion which involves reward processing, mentalising and perspective-taking abilities. Patients with Huntington’s disease (HD) exhibit reductions of this experience, suggesting a role of striatal degeneration in such impairment. However, no study has directly assessed the relationship between regional brain atrophy in HD and reduced schadenfreude. Here, we assessed whether grey matter (GM) atrophy in patients with HD correlates with ratings of schadenfreude. First, we compared the performance of 20 patients with HD and 23 controls on an experimental task designed to trigger schadenfreude and envy (another social emotion acting as a control condition). Second, we compared GM volume between groups. Third, we examined brain regions where atrophy might be associated with specific impairments in the patients. While both groups showed similar ratings of envy, patients with HD reported lower schadenfreude. The latter pattern was related to atrophy in regions of the reward system (ventral striatum) and the mentalising network (precuneus and superior parietal lobule). Our results shed light on the intertwining of reward and socioemotional processes in schadenfreude, while offering novel evidence about their neural correlates.

scholarly journals Evolution of affiliation: patterns of convergence from genomes to behaviour

2019 ◽  
Vol 374 (1777) ◽  
pp. 20180242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva K. Fischer ◽  
Jessica P. Nowicki ◽  
Lauren A. O'Connell
Keyword(s):  
Convergent Evolution ◽  
Neural Substrates ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Biological Organization ◽  
Signalling Molecules ◽  
Molecular Approaches ◽  
Complex Phenotypes ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Shed Light

Affiliative behaviours have evolved many times across animals. Research on the mechanisms underlying affiliative behaviour demonstrates remarkable convergence across species spanning wide evolutionary distances. Shared mechanisms have been identified with genomic approaches analysing genetic variants and gene expression differences as well as neuroendocrine and molecular approaches exploring the role of hormones and signalling molecules. We review the genomic and neural basis of pair bonding and parental care across diverse taxa to shed light on mechanistic patterns that underpin the convergent evolution of affiliative behaviour. We emphasize that mechanisms underlying convergence in complex phenotypes like affiliation should be evaluated on a continuum, where signatures of convergence may vary across levels of biological organization. In particular, additional comparative studies within and across major vertebrate lineages will be essential in resolving when and why shared neural substrates are repeatedly targeted in the independent evolution of affiliation, and how similar mechanisms are evolutionarily tuned to give rise to species-specific variations in behaviour. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Convergent evolution in the genomics era: new insights and directions'.

The Evolution of Neuroscience as a Research Field Relevant to Dentistry

2019 ◽  
Vol 98 (13) ◽  
pp. 1407-1417
Author(s):  
K. Iwata ◽  
B.J. Sessle
Keyword(s):  
Tissue Injury ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Neural Pathways ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Neuroscience Research ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Brain Circuitry ◽  
The Many

The field of neuroscience did not exist as such when the Journal of Dental Research was founded 100 y ago. It has emerged as an important scientific field relevant to dentistry in view of the many neurally based functions manifested in the orofacial area (e.g., pain, taste, chewing, swallowing, salivation). This article reviews many of the novel insights that have been gained through neuroscience research into the neural basis of these functions and their clinical relevance to the diagnosis and management of pain and sensorimotor disorders. These include the neural pathways and brain circuitry underlying each of these functions and the role of nonneural as well as neural processes and their “plasticity” in modulating these functions and allowing for adaptation to tissue injury and pain and for learning or rehabilitation of orofacial functions.

scholarly journals Three Questions Concerning Consonance Perception

2021 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-339
Author(s):  
Peter M. C. Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Perception ◽  
Auditory Scene Analysis ◽  
Scene Analysis ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Multiple Features ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Auditory Scene ◽  
The Common ◽  
Shed Light

I discuss three fundamental questions underpinning the study of consonance: 1) What features cause a particular chord to be perceived as consonant? 2) How did humans evolve the ability to perceive these features? 3) Why did humans evolve to attribute particular aesthetic valences to these features (if they did at all)? The first question has been addressed by several recent articles, including Friedman, Kowalewski, Vuvan, and Neill (2021), with the common conclusion that consonance in Western listeners is driven by multiple features such as harmonicity, interference between partials, and familiarity. On this basis, it seems relatively straightforward to answer the second question: each of these consonance features seems to be grounded in fundamental aspects of human auditory perception, such as auditory scene analysis and auditory long-term memory. However, the third question is harder to resolve. I describe several potential answers, and argue that the present evidence is insufficient to distinguish between them, despite what has been claimed in the literature. I conclude by discussing what kinds of future studies might be able to shed light on this problem.

scholarly journals Neural basis of somatosensory target detection independent of uncertainty, relevance, and reports

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pia Schröder ◽  
Timo Torsten Schmidt ◽  
Felix Blankenburg
Keyword(s):  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Target Detection ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Perceptual Awareness ◽  
Stimulus Uncertainty ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Secondary Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Frontoparietal Network

Research on somatosensory awareness has yielded highly diverse findings with putative neural correlates ranging from activity within somatosensory cortex to activation of widely distributed frontoparietal networks. Divergent results from previous studies may reside in cognitive processes that often coincide with stimulus awareness in experimental settings. To scrutinise the specific relevance of regions implied in the target detection network, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (n = 27) on a novel somatosensory detection task that explicitly controls for stimulus uncertainty, behavioural relevance, overt reports, and motor responses. Using Bayesian Model Selection, we show that responses reflecting target detection are restricted to secondary somatosensory cortex, whereas activity in insular, cingulate, and motor regions is best explained in terms of stimulus uncertainty and overt reports. Our results emphasise the role of sensory-specific cortex for the emergence of perceptual awareness and dissect the contribution of the frontoparietal network to classical detection tasks.

Neural Basis of Monolingual and Bilingual Reading

2019 ◽  
pp. 602-625
Author(s):  
Pedro M. Paz-Alonso ◽  
Myriam Oliver ◽  
Ileana Quiñones ◽  
Manuel Carreiras
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Neural Systems ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Human Ability ◽  
Bilingual Reading ◽  
Language Exposure ◽  
The Impact

Over the last two decades, neuroimaging research has provided extensive knowledge about the neural basis of reading. However, there are still important debates about the functional role of reading-related regions and networks, and unanswered questions that will need to be addressed to further understand how reading is accomplished by the neural systems of monolingual and bilingual individuals. This chapter offers a critical review of (1) the functional specialization of left perisylvian reading regions and their participation in orthographic, phonological, and semantic reading systems; (2) the division of labor between ventral and dorsal reading networks and the factors that modulate them; and (3) the neural correlates supporting bilingual reading and the impact of age of acquisition, language proficiency, language exposure, and language orthography in the modulation of bilingual reading regions and networks. The chapter summarizes relevant current and future directions in the study of the neural mechanisms supporting this phylogenetically relatively new human ability.

The Role of Zinc in Thyroid Hormones Metabolism

2019 ◽  
Vol 89 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 80-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana Soares Severo ◽  
Jennifer Beatriz Silva Morais ◽  
Taynáh Emannuelle Coelho de Freitas ◽  
Ana Letícia Pereira Andrade ◽  
Mayara Monte Feitosa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thyroid Hormones ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Thyroid Stimulating Hormone ◽  
Zinc Transporters ◽  
Serum Concentrations ◽  
Metabolic Adaptations ◽  
Serum T3 ◽  
Regulatory Effects ◽  
Shed Light

Abstract. Thyroid hormones play an important role in body homeostasis by facilitating metabolism of lipids and glucose, regulating metabolic adaptations, responding to changes in energy intake, and controlling thermogenesis. Proper metabolism and action of these hormones requires the participation of various nutrients. Among them is zinc, whose interaction with thyroid hormones is complex. It is known to regulate both the synthesis and mechanism of action of these hormones. In the present review, we aim to shed light on the regulatory effects of zinc on thyroid hormones. Scientific evidence shows that zinc plays a key role in the metabolism of thyroid hormones, specifically by regulating deiodinases enzymes activity, thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) synthesis, as well as by modulating the structures of essential transcription factors involved in the synthesis of thyroid hormones. Serum concentrations of zinc also appear to influence the levels of serum T3, T4 and TSH. In addition, studies have shown that Zinc transporters (ZnTs) are present in the hypothalamus, pituitary and thyroid, but their functions remain unknown. Therefore, it is important to further investigate the roles of zinc in regulation of thyroid hormones metabolism, and their importance in the treatment of several diseases associated with thyroid gland dysfunction.

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