Differential functional connectivity underlying asymmetric reward-related activity in human and non-human primates

AbstractThe orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is a key brain region involved in complex cognitive functions such as reward processing and decision-making. Neuroimaging studies have shown unilateral OFC response to reward-related variables, however, those studies rarely discussed the lateralization of this effect. Yet, some lesion studies suggest that the left and right OFC contribute differently to cognitive processes. We hypothesized that the OFC asymmetrical response to reward could reflect underlying hemispherical difference in OFC functional connectivity. Using restingstate and reward-related MRI data from humans and from rhesus macaques, we first identified a specific asymmetrical response of the lateral OFC to reward in both species. Crucially, the subregion showing the highest reward-related asymmetry (RRA) overlapped with the region showing the highest functional connectivity asymmetry (FCA). Furthermore, the two types of functional asymmetries were found to be significantly correlated across humans. Altogether, our results suggest a similar pattern of functional specialization between the left and right OFC is present in two primate species.

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Differential functional connectivity underlying asymmetric reward-related activity in human and nonhuman primates

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.2000759117 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 117 (45) ◽

pp. 28452-28462 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Alizée Lopez-Persem ◽

Léa Roumazeilles ◽

Davide Folloni ◽

Kévin Marche ◽

Elsa F. Fouragnan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Cognitive Processes ◽

Nonhuman Primates ◽

Rhesus Macaques ◽

Reward Processing ◽

Functional Specialization ◽

Related Activity ◽

Left And Right ◽

Lesion Studies ◽

The Right

The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is a key brain region involved in complex cognitive functions such as reward processing and decision making. Neuroimaging studies have reported unilateral OFC response to reward-related variables; however, those studies rarely discussed this observation. Nevertheless, some lesion studies suggest that the left and right OFC contribute differently to cognitive processes. We hypothesized that the OFC asymmetrical response to reward could reflect underlying hemispherical difference in OFC functional connectivity. Using resting-state and reward-related functional MRI data from humans and from rhesus macaques, we first identified an asymmetrical response of the lateral OFC to reward in both species. Crucially, the subregion showing the highest reward-related asymmetry (RRA) overlapped with the region showing the highest functional connectivity asymmetry (FCA). Furthermore, the two types of asymmetries were found to be significantly correlated across individuals. In both species, the right lateral OFC was more connected to the default mode network compared to the left lateral OFC. Altogether, our results suggest a functional specialization of the left and right lateral OFC in primates.

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Partially dissociable roles of OFC and ACC in stimulus-guided and action-guided decision making

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.00323.2013 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 111 (9) ◽

pp. 1717-1720 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Abbas Khani

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽

Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽

Single Neuron ◽

Cingulate Cortex ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Functional Specialization ◽

Complex Picture ◽

Lesion Studies ◽

The Brain

Recently, the functional specialization of prefrontal areas of the brain, and, specifically, the functional dissociation of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), during decision making have become a particular focus of research. A number of neuropsychological and lesion studies have shown that the OFC and ACC have dissociable functions in various dimensions of decision making, which are supported by their different anatomical connections. A recent single-neuron study, however, described a more complex picture of the functional dissociation between these two frontal regions during decision making. Here, I discuss the results of that study and consider alternative interpretations in connection with other findings.

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Human temporal voice areas are sensitive to chimpanzee vocalizations

10.1101/2020.10.29.360362 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Leonardo Ceravolo ◽

Coralie Debracque ◽

Thibaud Gruber ◽

Didier Grandjean

Keyword(s):

Human Brain ◽

Rhesus Macaques ◽

Superior Temporal Gyrus ◽

Primate Species ◽

Neural Basis ◽

Low Level ◽

Human Voice ◽

Left And Right ◽

Human Participants ◽

Voice Processing

AbstractIn recent years, research on voice processing, particularly the study of temporal voice areas (TVA), was dedicated almost exclusively to human voice. To characterize commonalities and differences regarding primate vocalization representations in the human brain, the inclusion of closely related primates, especially chimpanzees and bonobos, is needed. We hypothesized that commonalities would depend on both phylogenetic and acoustic proximity, with chimpanzees ranking the closest to Homo. Presenting human participants with four primate species vocalizations (rhesus macaques, chimpanzees, bonobos and humans) and taking into account acoustic distance or removing voxels explained solely by vocalization low-level acoustics, we observed within-TVA enhanced left and right anterior superior temporal gyrus activity for chimpanzee compared to all other species, and chimpanzee compared to human vocalizations. Our results provide evidence for a common neural basis in the TVA for the processing of phylogenetically and acoustically close vocalizations, namely those of humans and chimpanzees.

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Effect of corpus callosum agenesis on the language network in children and adolescents

Brain Structure and Function ◽

10.1007/s00429-020-02203-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lisa Bartha-Doering ◽

Ernst Schwartz ◽

Kathrin Kollndorfer ◽

Florian Ph. S. Fischmeister ◽

Astrid Novak ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Corpus Callosum ◽

Network Connectivity ◽

Functional Language ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Language Abilities ◽

Verbal Abilities ◽

Left And Right ◽

Language Network

AbstractThe present study is interested in the role of the corpus callosum in the development of the language network. We, therefore, investigated language abilities and the language network using task-based fMRI in three cases of complete agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC), three cases of partial ACC and six controls. Although the children with complete ACC revealed impaired functions in specific language domains, no child with partial ACC showed a test score below average. As a group, ACC children performed significantly worse than healthy controls in verbal fluency and naming. Furthermore, whole-brain ROI-to-ROI connectivity analyses revealed reduced intrahemispheric and right intrahemispheric functional connectivity in ACC patients as compared to controls. In addition, stronger functional connectivity between left and right temporal areas was associated with better language abilities in the ACC group. In healthy controls, no association between language abilities and connectivity was found. Our results show that ACC is associated not only with less interhemispheric, but also with less right intrahemispheric language network connectivity in line with reduced verbal abilities. The present study, thus, supports the excitatory role of the corpus callosum in functional language network connectivity and language abilities.

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M146. NEUROCHEMICAL MODULATION OF AUDITORY CORTEX FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY IN PATIENTS WITH AUDITORY VERBAL HALLUCINATIONS

Schizophrenia Bulletin ◽

10.1093/schbul/sbaa030.458 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 46 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S191-S191

Author(s):

Sarah Weber ◽

Helene Hjelmervik ◽

Alexander R Craven ◽

Erik Johnsen ◽

Rune Kroken ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Temporal Lobe ◽

Superior Temporal Gyrus ◽

Underlying Mechanism ◽

Auditory Hallucinations ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Gamma Aminobutyric Acid ◽

Auditory Verbal Hallucinations ◽

Left And Right ◽

Neurochemical Correlates

Abstract Background Auditory hallucinations have been linked to aberrant functioning of the left superior temporal gyrus (STG) and are associated with impaired cognitive control regulated by areas in the prefrontal cortex. However, the mechanisms behind these dysfunctions are still unclear. Methods The current study combined resting state connectivity fMRI with MR spectroscopy (MRS) in a sample of 81 psychosis patients to explore how neurochemical correlates of auditory hallucinations modulate left STG functioning. The analyses were focused on glutamate (Glu) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), two neurotransmitters with excitatory and inhibitory functions, respectively, since these have previously been implicated in psychosis. Results Glu and GABA showed differential relationships with left STG connectivity in patients with and without hallucinations. Specifically, Glu concentration in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) was positively related to functional connectivity between the left and right temporal lobe in hallucinating patients only. In contrast, GABA concentration in the ACC was negatively related to connectivity between the left and right temporal lobe in non-hallucinating patients only. Discussion These findings support a recently proposed model of interhemispheric temporal lobe miscommunication in auditory hallucinations and indicate prefrontal neurochemical modulation as a potential underlying mechanism. The results can further be integrated with previously suggested excitatory/inhibitory imbalances as neurochemical modulators in AVH.

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Dissociable oscillatory networks support gain and loss processing in human orbitofrontal cortex

10.1101/2021.02.25.432874 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ignacio Saez ◽

Jack Lin ◽

Edward Chang ◽

Josef Parvizi ◽

Robert T. Knight ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Neural Activity ◽

Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Reward Processing ◽

Neural Oscillations ◽

Beta Band ◽

Neuronal Ensembles ◽

Gain And Loss

AbstractHuman neuroimaging and animal studies have linked neural activity in orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) to valuation of positive and negative outcomes. Additional evidence shows that neural oscillations, representing the coordinated activity of neuronal ensembles, support information processing in both animal and human prefrontal regions. However, the role of OFC neural oscillations in reward-processing in humans remains unknown, partly due to the difficulty of recording oscillatory neural activity from deep brain regions. Here, we examined the role of OFC neural oscillations (<30Hz) in reward processing by combining intracranial OFC recordings with a gambling task in which patients made economic decisions under uncertainty. Our results show that power in different oscillatory bands are associated with distinct components of reward evaluation. Specifically, we observed a double dissociation, with a selective theta band oscillation increase in response to monetary gains and a beta band increase in response to losses. These effects were interleaved across OFC in overlapping networks and were accompanied by increases in oscillatory coherence between OFC electrode sites in theta and beta band during gain and loss processing, respectively. These results provide evidence that gain and loss processing in human OFC are supported by distinct low-frequency oscillations in networks, and provide evidence that participating neuronal ensembles are organized functionally through oscillatory coherence, rather than local anatomical segregation.

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The Role of Social Reward and Corticostriatal Connectivity in Substance Use

10.31234/osf.io/su7vg ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Daniel Sazhin ◽

Angelique Frazier ◽

Caleb River Haynes ◽

Camille Johnston ◽

Iris Ka-Yi Chat ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Substance Use ◽

Social Context ◽

Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽

Strategic Behavior ◽

Reward Processing ◽

Reward Sensitivity ◽

Social Reward ◽

Neural Responses ◽

Social Stimuli ◽

Neuroimaging Study

This report describes an ongoing R03 grant that explores the links between trait reward sensitivity, substance use, and neural responses to social and nonsocial reward. Although previous research has shown that trait reward sensitivity and neural responses to reward are linked to substance use, whether this relationship is impacted by how people process social stimuli remains unclear. We are investigating these questions via a neuroimaging study with college-aged participants, using individual difference measures that examine the relation between substance use, social context, and trait reward sensitivity with tasks that measure reward anticipation, strategic behavior, social reward consumption, and the influence of social context on reward processing. We predict that substance use will be tied to distinct patterns of striatal dysfunction. Specifically, reward hyposensitive individuals will exhibit blunted striatal responses to social and non-social reward and enhanced connectivity with the orbitofrontal cortex; in contrast, reward hypersensitive individuals will exhibit enhanced striatal responses to social and non-social reward and blunted connectivity with the orbitofrontal cortex. We also will examine the relation between self-reported reward sensitivity, substance use, and striatal responses to social reward and social context. We predict that individuals reporting the highest levels of substance use will show exaggerated striatal responses to social reward and social context, independent of self-reported reward sensitivity. Examining corticostriatal responses to reward processing will help characterize the relation between reward sensitivity, social context and substance use while providing a foundation for understanding risk factors and isolating neurocognitive mechanisms that may be targeted to increase the efficacy of interventions.

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I know that I don’t know: Structural and functional connectivity underlying meta-ignorance in pre-schoolers

10.1101/450346 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Elisa Filevich ◽

Caroline Garcia Forlim ◽

Carmen Fehrman ◽

Carina Forster ◽

Markus Paulus ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Default Mode Network ◽

Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽

Cingulate Gyrus ◽

Partial Knowledge ◽

Metacognitive Monitoring ◽

Default Mode ◽

Posterior Cingulate Gyrus ◽

Knowledge Condition ◽

The Brain

Research Highlights[1] Children develop the ability to report that they do not know something at around five years of age.[2] Children who could correctly report their own ignorance in a partial-knowledge task showed thicker cortices within medial orbitofrontal cortex.[3] This region was functionally connected to parts of the default-mode network.[4] The default-mode network might support the development of correct metacognitive monitoring.AbstractMetacognition plays a pivotal role in human development. The ability to realize that we do not know something, or meta-ignorance, emerges after approximately five years of age. We aimed at identifying the brain systems that underlie the developmental emergence of this ability in a preschool sample.Twenty-four children aged between five and six years answered questions under three conditions of a meta-ignorance task twice. In the critical partial knowledge condition, an experimenter first showed two toys to a child, then announced that she would place one of them in a box behind a screen, out of sight from the child. The experimenter then asked the child whether or not she knew which toy was in the box.Children who answered correctly both times to the metacognitive question in the partial knowledge condition (n=9) showed greater cortical thickness in a cluster within left medial orbitofrontal cortex than children who did not (n=15). Further, seed-based functional connectivity analyses of the brain during resting state revealed that this region is functionally connected to the medial orbitofrontal gyrus, posterior cingulate gyrus and precuneus, and mid- and inferior temporal gyri.This finding suggests that the default mode network, critically through its prefrontal regions, supports introspective processing. It leads to the emergence of metacognitive monitoring allowing children to explicitly report their own ignorance.

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