scholarly journals Neural responses to happy, fearful and angry faces of varying identities in 5- and 7-month-old infants

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie Bayet ◽  
Katherine L. Perdue ◽  
Hannah F. Behrendt ◽  
John E. Richards ◽  
Alissa Westerlund ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Near Infrared ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Facial Emotion ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Emotional Facial Expressions ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Facial Identity ◽  
Fearful Faces ◽  
Infancy And Early Childhood

AbstractFacial emotion processing is an important social skill that develops throughout infancy and early childhood. Here we investigate the neural underpinnings of the ability to process facial emotion across changes in facial identity in cross-sectional groups of 5- and 7-month-old infants. We simultaneously measured neural metabolic, behavioral, and autonomic responses to happy, fearful, and angry faces of different female models using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), eye-tracking, and heart rate measures. We observed significant neural activation to these facial emotions in a distributed set of frontal and temporal brain regions, and longer looking to the mouth region of angry faces compared to happy and fearful faces. No differences in looking behavior or neural activations were observed between 5- and 7-month-olds, although several exploratory, age-independent associations between neural activations and looking behavior were noted. Overall, these findings suggest more developmental stability than previously thought in responses to emotional facial expressions of varying identities between 5- and 7-months of age.

scholarly journals Changes in neurovascular coupling during cycling exercise measured by multi-distance fNIRS: a comparison between endurance athletes and physically active controls

2019 ◽  
Vol 237 (11) ◽  
pp. 2957-2972 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Seidel ◽  
Daniel Carius ◽  
Julia Roediger ◽  
Sebastian Rumpf ◽  
Patrick Ragert
Keyword(s):  
Near Infrared ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Neurovascular Coupling ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Endurance Athletes ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Physically Active ◽  
Cycling Test

Abstract It is well known that endurance exercise modulates the cardiovascular, pulmonary, and musculoskeletal system. However, knowledge about its effects on brain function and structure is rather sparse. Hence, the present study aimed to investigate exercise-dependent adaptations in neurovascular coupling to different intensity levels in motor-related brain regions. Moreover, expertise effects between trained endurance athletes (EA) and active control participants (ACP) during a cycling test were investigated using multi-distance functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Initially, participants performed an incremental cycling test (ICT) to assess peak values of power output (PPO) and cardiorespiratory parameters such as oxygen consumption volume (VO2max) and heart rate (HRmax). In a second session, participants cycled individual intensity levels of 20, 40, and 60% of PPO while measuring cardiorespiratory responses and neurovascular coupling. Our results revealed exercise-induced decreases of deoxygenated hemoglobin (HHb), indicating an increased activation in motor-related brain areas such as primary motor cortex (M1) and premotor cortex (PMC). However, we could not find any differential effects in brain activation between EA and ACP. Future studies should extend this approach using whole-brain configurations and systemic physiological augmented fNIRS measurements, which seems to be of pivotal interest in studies aiming to assess neural activation in a sports-related context.

scholarly journals Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Neurofeedback Enhances Human Spatial Memory

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Hou ◽  
Xiang Xiao ◽  
Yilong Gong ◽  
Zheng Li ◽  
Antao Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Spatial Memory ◽  
Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Cortical Region ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy

Spatial memory is an important cognitive function for human daily life and may present dysfunction or decline due to aging or clinical diseases. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy neurofeedback (fNIRS-NFB) is a promising neuromodulation technique with several special advantages that can be used to improve human cognitive functions by manipulating the neural activity of targeted brain regions or networks. In this pilot study, we intended to test the feasibility of fNIRS-NFB to enhance human spatial memory ability. The lateral parietal cortex, an accessible cortical region in the posterior medial hippocampal-cortical network that plays a crucial role in human spatial memory processing, was selected as the potential feedback target. A placebo-controlled fNIRS-NFB experiment was conducted to instruct individuals to regulate the neural activity in this region or an irrelevant control region. Experimental results showed that individuals learned to up-regulate the neural activity in the region of interest successfully. A significant increase in spatial memory performance was found after 8-session neurofeedback training in the experimental group but not in the control group. Furthermore, neurofeedback-induced neural activation increase correlated with spatial memory improvement. In summary, this study preliminarily demonstrated the feasibility of fNIRS-NFB to improve human spatial memory and has important implications for further applications.

scholarly journals Comparison of Activation in the Prefrontal Cortex of Native Speakers of Mandarin by Ability of Japanese as a Second Language Using a Novel Speaking Task

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 412
Author(s):  
Li Cong ◽  
Hideki Miyaguchi ◽  
Chinami Ishizuki
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Brain Activation ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Strong Inhibition ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
High Level

Evidence shows that second language (L2) learning affects cognitive function. Here in this work, we compared brain activation in native speakers of Mandarin (L1) who speak Japanese (L2) between and within two groups (high and low L2 ability) to determine the effect of L2 ability in L1 and L2 speaking tasks, and to map brain regions involved in both tasks. The brain activation during task performance was determined using prefrontal cortex blood flow as a proxy, measured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). People with low L2 ability showed much more brain activation when speaking L2 than when speaking L1. People with high L2 ability showed high-level brain activation when speaking either L2 or L1. Almost the same high-level brain activation was observed in both ability groups when speaking L2. The high level of activation in people with high L2 ability when speaking either L2 or L1 suggested strong inhibition of the non-spoken language. A wider area of brain activation in people with low compared with high L2 ability when speaking L2 is considered to be attributed to the cognitive load involved in code-switching L1 to L2 with strong inhibition of L1 and the cognitive load involved in using L2.

scholarly journals Effects of early institutionalization on emotion processing in 12-year-old youth

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 1749-1761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Bick ◽  
Rhiannon Luyster ◽  
Nathan A. Fox ◽  
Charles H. Zeanah ◽  
Charles A. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Recognition ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Emotion Processing ◽  
Institutional Care ◽  
Facial Emotion Recognition ◽  
Facial Emotion ◽  
Emotional Facial Expressions ◽  
Fearful Faces

AbstractWe examined facial emotion recognition in 12-year-olds in a longitudinally followed sample of children with and without exposure to early life psychosocial deprivation (institutional care). Half of the institutionally reared children were randomized into foster care homes during the first years of life. Facial emotion recognition was examined in a behavioral task using morphed images. This same task had been administered when children were 8 years old. Neutral facial expressions were morphed with happy, sad, angry, and fearful emotional facial expressions, and children were asked to identify the emotion of each face, which varied in intensity. Consistent with our previous report, we show that some areas of emotion processing, involving the recognition of happy and fearful faces, are affected by early deprivation, whereas other areas, involving the recognition of sad and angry faces, appear to be unaffected. We also show that early intervention can have a lasting positive impact, normalizing developmental trajectories of processing negative emotions (fear) into the late childhood/preadolescent period.

Distinct Effects of D9-tetrahydrocannabinol and Cannabidiol on Neural Activation During Emotional Processing

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-1 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Fusar-Poli
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Electrodermal Activity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Posterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Psychotic Symptoms ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Posterior Cingulate ◽  
Fearful Faces ◽  
Scanning Session

Aims:Cannabis use can both increase and reduce anxiety in humans. The neurophysiological substrates of these effects are unknown.Method:Fifteen healthy English-native right-handed men were studied on three separate occasions using an event-related fMRI paradigm while viewing faces that implicitly elicited different levels of anxiety. Each scanning session was preceded by the ingestion of either 10mg of D-9-THC, 600mg of CBD, or a placebo, in a double-blind, randomised, placebo controlled design. Electrodermal activity (Skin Conductance Response, SCR) and objective and subjective ratings of anxiety were recorded durign the scanning.Results:D-9THC increased anxiety, as well as levels of intoxication, sedation and psychotic symptoms, whereas there was a trend for a reduction in anxiety following administration of CBD. The number of SCR fluctuations during the processing of intensely fearful faces increased following administration of D-9THC but decreased following administration of CBD. CBD attenuated the BOLD signal in the amygdala and the anterior and posterior cingulate cortex while subjects were processing intensely fearful faces, and its suppression of the amygdalar and posterior cingulate responses was correlated with the concurrent reduction in SCR fluctuations. D-9-THC mainly modulated activation in frontal and parietal areas.Conclusions:D-9-THC and CBD had clearly distinct effects on the neural, eclectrodermal and symptomatic response to fearful faces. The effects of CBD on activation in limbic and paralimbic regions may contribute to its ability to reduce autonomic arousal and subjective anxiety, whereas the anxiogenic effects of D-9-THC may be related to effects in other brain regions.

scholarly journals Optical Mapping of Brain Activity Underlying Directionality and Its Modulation by Expertise in Mandarin/English Interpreting

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan He ◽  
Yinying Hu ◽  
Yaxi Yang ◽  
Defeng Li ◽  
Yi Hu
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Broca’S Area ◽  
Broca's Area ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
The Right

Recent neuroimaging research has suggested that unequal cognitive efforts exist between interpreting from language 1 (L1) to language 2 (L2) compared with interpreting from L2 to L1. However, the neural substrates that underlie this directionality effect are not yet well understood. Whether directionality is modulated by interpreting expertise also remains unknown. In this study, we recruited two groups of Mandarin (L1)/English (L2) bilingual speakers with varying levels of interpreting expertise and asked them to perform interpreting and reading tasks. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to collect cortical brain data for participants during each task, using 68 channels that covered the prefrontal cortex and the bilateral perisylvian regions. The interpreting-related neuroimaging data was normalized by using both L1 and L2 reading tasks, to control the function of reading and vocalization respectively. Our findings revealed the directionality effect in both groups, with forward interpreting (from L1 to L2) produced more pronounced brain activity, when normalized for reading. We also found that directionality was modulated by interpreting expertise in both normalizations. For the group with relatively high expertise, the activated brain regions included the right Broca’s area and the left premotor and supplementary motor cortex; whereas for the group with relatively low expertise, the activated brain areas covered the superior temporal gyrus, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), the Broca’s area, and visual area 3 in the right hemisphere. These findings indicated that interpreting expertise modulated brain activation, possibly because of more developed cognitive skills associated with executive functions in experienced interpreters.

scholarly journals Neural correlates of newsvendor-based decision making in the human brain: An exploratory study to link neuroeconomics with neuroimaging using fNIRS

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hashini Wanniarachchi ◽  
Yan Lang ◽  
Xinlong Wang ◽  
Sridhar Nerur ◽  
Kay-Yut Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Profit Margin ◽  
Risky Decision ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
Cortical Regions

AbstractNeuroeconomics with neuroimaging is a novel approach involving economics and neuroscience. The newsvendor problem (NP) is a prevalent economics concept that may be used to map brain activations during NP-evoked risky decision making. In this study, we hypothesized that key brain regions responsible for NP are dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Twenty-seven human subjects participated in the study using 40 NP trials; the participants were randomly assigned to a group with a low-profit margin (LM) or high-profit margin (HM) treatment. Cerebral hemodynamic responses were recorded simultaneously during the NP experiments from all participants with a 77-channel functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) system. After data preprocessing, general linear model was applied to generate brain activation maps, followed by statistical t-tests. The results showed that: (a) DLPFC and OFC were significantly evoked by NP versus baseline regardless of treatment types; (b) DLPFC and OFC were activated by HM versus baseline; and (c) DLPFC was activated during LM versus baseline. Furthermore, significant deactivation in right DLPFC was shown due to LM with respect to HM. This study affirms that DLPFC and OFC are two key cortical regions when solving NP. In particular, right DLPFC was found to be more deactivated under challenging risk decision making.

scholarly journals Reforming Sectarian Beliefs in Iraq: Winning the Peace

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. p8
Author(s):  
Michael Oler ◽  
Anthony Johnson ◽  
Anna McCulloh ◽  
Munqith Dagher ◽  
Anita Day ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Frontal Pole ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Imaging Device ◽  
Neural Imaging ◽  
The Right

Sectarian violence continues in Iraq affecting regional and world security. Neuroscience techniques are used to assess the mentalizing process and counter-arguing in response to videos designed to prevent extremist radicalization. Measurement of neural activity in brain Regions of Interest (ROI) assists identification of messages which can promote favorable behavior. Activation of the Medial Prefrontal Cortex (MPFC) is associated with message adoption and behavior change. Public Service Announcements (PSAs) have not been effective in reducing violence in Iraq. This study demonstrates that the four PSAs investigated in this study do not activate the MPFC. The RLPFC is a brain ROI associated with counter-arguing and message resistance. This study demonstrates that reduction in activity in the Right Lateral Prefrontal Cortex (RLPFC) is associated with decreased sectarianism. Engagement was measured and is associated with activity in the frontal pole regions.We introduce Functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure the neural activity of highly sectarian Iraqis in response to these anti-sectarian messages. Neural activity was measured while viewing three PSAs and a fourth unpublished video. All four videos are intended to reduce sectarianism. A novel sectarianism scale is introduced to measure sectarian beliefs before and after the messages. This sectarian scale has high internal consistency as measured by Cronbach’s alpha. Measured activation of brain ROIs are correlated with changes in the sectarian scale. Twelve Sunni and twelve Shi’a Iraqis participated in the study. Subjects were shown the four videos in randomized order, while equipped with a fNIRS neural imaging device. All four videos produced significant engagement. None of the videos reduced sectarianism nor caused brain activation of adoption. This is consistent with the widely held Iraqi public perception that the PSAs are ineffective. Only one video, which was un-published, caused reduced sectarian beliefs. This un-published fourth video was associated with decreased counter-arguing. Counter-arguing is associated with message resistance.

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