scholarly journals Temporal binding of Visual and Motor cortical oscillations revealed by BOLD response in Humans

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Benedetto ◽  
Paola Binda ◽  
Mauro Costagli ◽  
Michela Tosetti ◽  
Maria Concetta Morrone

SummaryAction and perception need to be coordinated continuously over time, and neural oscillations may be instrumental in achieving such synchronization. Here we demonstrate that behavioral visual discrimination and the BOLD activity of V1 oscillates rhythmically in the theta range (around 5 Hz), synchronized to motor action (button press). The oscillations are present in V1 even when participants do not make a visual discrimination, suggesting an automatic modulation in synchrony with action onset. The amplitude of the oscillation in V1 is predicted by the activity in M1 before action onset, and functional connectivity between V1 and M1 change as a function of stimulus-delay. The results are well modelled by considering that V1 BOLD is modulated by preparatory motor signal and by rhythmic gain modulation in phase with action onset. They suggest that synchronous oscillatory activity between V1 and M1 mediates the strong temporal binding fundamental for active visual perception.

PLoS Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. e3001410
Author(s):  
Mohsen Alavash ◽  
Sarah Tune ◽  
Jonas Obleser

In multi-talker situations, individuals adapt behaviorally to the listening challenge mostly with ease, but how do brain neural networks shape this adaptation? We here establish a long-sought link between large-scale neural communications in electrophysiology and behavioral success in the control of attention in difficult listening situations. In an age-varying sample of N = 154 individuals, we find that connectivity between intrinsic neural oscillations extracted from source-reconstructed electroencephalography is regulated according to the listener’s goal during a challenging dual-talker task. These dynamics occur as spatially organized modulations in power-envelope correlations of alpha and low-beta neural oscillations during approximately 2-s intervals most critical for listening behavior relative to resting-state baseline. First, left frontoparietal low-beta connectivity (16 to 24 Hz) increased during anticipation and processing of spatial-attention cue before speech presentation. Second, posterior alpha connectivity (7 to 11 Hz) decreased during comprehension of competing speech, particularly around target-word presentation. Connectivity dynamics of these networks were predictive of individual differences in the speed and accuracy of target-word identification, respectively, but proved unconfounded by changes in neural oscillatory activity strength. Successful adaptation to a listening challenge thus latches onto 2 distinct yet complementary neural systems: a beta-tuned frontoparietal network enabling the flexible adaptation to attentive listening state and an alpha-tuned posterior network supporting attention to speech.


Author(s):  
S. Antusch ◽  
R. Custers ◽  
H. Marien ◽  
H. Aarts

AbstractPeople form coherent representations of goal-directed actions. Such agency experiences of intentional action are reflected by a shift in temporal perception: self-generated motor movements and subsequent sensory effects are perceived to occur closer together in time—a phenomenon termed intentional binding. Building on recent research suggesting that temporal binding occurs without intentionally performing actions, we further examined whether such perceptual compression occurs when motor action is fully absent. In three experiments, we used a novel sensory-based adaptation of the Libet clock paradigm to assess how a brief tactile sensation on the index finger and a resulting auditory stimulus perceptually bind together in time. Findings revealed robust temporal repulsion (instead of binding) between tactile sensation and auditory effect. Temporal repulsion was attenuated when participants could anticipate the identity and temporal onset (two crucial components of intentional action) of the tactile sensation. These findings are briefly discussed in the context of differences between intentional movement and anticipated bodily sensations in shaping action coherence and agentic experiences.


2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 239-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
James E. Gehringer ◽  
David J. Arpin ◽  
Elizabeth Heinrichs-Graham ◽  
Tony W. Wilson ◽  
Max J. Kurz

Although it is well appreciated that practicing a motor task updates the associated internal model, it is still unknown how the cortical oscillations linked with the motor action change with practice. The present study investigates the short-term changes (e.g., fast motor learning) in the α- and β-event-related desynchronizations (ERD) associated with the production of a motor action. To this end, we used magnetoencephalography to identify changes in the α- and β-ERD in healthy adults after participants practiced a novel isometric ankle plantarflexion target-matching task. After practicing, the participants matched the targets faster and had improved accuracy, faster force production, and a reduced amount of variability in the force output when trying to match the target. Parallel with the behavioral results, the strength of the β-ERD across the motor-planning and execution stages was reduced after practice in the sensorimotor and occipital cortexes. No pre/postpractice changes were found in the α-ERD during motor planning or execution. Together, these outcomes suggest that fast motor learning is associated with a decrease in β-ERD power. The decreased strength likely reflects a more refined motor plan, a reduction in neural resources needed to perform the task, and/or an enhancement of the processes that are involved in the visuomotor transformations that occur before the onset of the motor action. These results may augment the development of neurologically based practice strategies and/or lead to new practice strategies that increase motor learning. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We aimed to determine the effects of practice on the movement-related cortical oscillatory activity. Following practice, we found that the performance of the ankle plantarflexion target-matching task improved and the power of the β-oscillations decreased in the sensorimotor and occipital cortexes. These novel findings capture the β-oscillatory activity changes in the sensorimotor and occipital cortexes that are coupled with behavioral changes to demonstrate the effects of motor learning.


2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-313 ◽  

Neural oscillations at low- and high-frequency ranges are a fundamental feature of large-scale networks. Recent evidence has indicated that schizophrenia is associated with abnormal amplitude and synchrony of oscillatory activity, in particular, at high (beta/gamma) frequencies. These abnormalities are observed during task-related and spontaneous neuronal activity which may be important for understanding the pathophysiology of the syndrome. In this paper, we shall review the current evidence for impaired beta/gamma-band oscillations and their involvement in cognitive functions and certain symptoms of the disorder. In the first part, we will provide an update on neural oscillations during normal brain functions and discuss underlying mechanisms. This will be followed by a review of studies that have examined high-frequency oscillatory activity in schizophrenia and discuss evidence that relates abnormalities of oscillatory activity to disturbed excitatory/inhibitory (E/I) balance. Finally, we shall identify critical issues for future research in this area.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Ghiani ◽  
Marcello Maniglia ◽  
Luca Battaglini ◽  
David Melcher ◽  
Luca Ronconi

Neurophysiological studies in humans employing magneto- (MEG) and electro- (EEG) encephalography increasingly suggest that oscillatory rhythmic activity of the brain may be a core mechanism for binding sensory information across space, time, and object features to generate a unified perceptual representation. To distinguish whether oscillatory activity is causally related to binding processes or whether, on the contrary, it is a mere epiphenomenon, one possibility is to employ neuromodulatory techniques such as transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS). tACS has seen a rising interest due to its ability to modulate brain oscillations in a frequency-dependent manner. In the present review, we critically summarize current tACS evidence for a causal role of oscillatory activity in spatial, temporal, and feature binding in the context of visual perception. For temporal binding, the emerging picture supports a causal link with the power and the frequency of occipital alpha rhythms (8–12 Hz); however, there is no consistent evidence on the causal role of the phase of occipital tACS. For feature binding, the only study available showed a modulation by occipital alpha tACS. The majority of studies that successfully modulated oscillatory activity and behavioral performance in spatial binding targeted parietal areas, with the main rhythms causally linked being the theta (~7 Hz) and beta (~18 Hz) frequency bands. On the other hand, spatio-temporal binding has been directly modulated by parieto-occipital gamma (~40–60 Hz) and alpha (10 Hz) tACS, suggesting a potential role of cross-frequency coupling when binding across space and time. Nonetheless, negative or partial results have also been observed, suggesting methodological limitations that should be addressed in future research. Overall, the emerging picture seems to support a causal role of brain oscillations in binding processes and, consequently, a certain degree of plasticity for shaping binding mechanisms in visual perception, which, if proved to have long lasting effects, can find applications in different clinical populations.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter W. Donhauser ◽  
Esther Florin ◽  
Sylvain Baillet

AbstractMagnetoencephalography and electroencephalography (MEG, EEG) are essential techniques for studying distributed signal dynamics in the human brain. In particular, the functional role of neural oscillations remains to be clarified. Imaging methods need to identify distinct brain regions that concurrently generate oscillatory activity, with adequate separation in space and time. Yet, spatial smearing and inhomogeneous signal-to-noise are challenging factors to source reconstruction from external sensor data. The detection of weak sources in the presence of stronger regional activity nearby is a typical complication of MEG/EEG source imaging. We propose a novel, hypothesis-driven source reconstruction approach to address these methodological challenges1. The imaging with embedded statistics (iES) method is a subspace scanning technique that constrains the mapping problem to the actual experimental design. A major benefit is that, regardless of signal strength, the contributions from all oscillatory sources, which activity is consistent with the tested hypothesis, are equalized in the statistical maps produced. We present extensive evaluations of iES on group MEG data, for mapping 1) induced oscillations using experimental contrasts, 2) ongoing narrow-band oscillations in the resting-state, 3) co-modulation of brain-wide oscillatory power with a seed region, and 4) co-modulation of oscillatory power with peripheral signals (pupil dilation). Along the way, we demonstrate several advantages of iES over standard source imaging approaches. These include the detection of oscillatory coupling without rejection of zero-phase coupling, and detection of ongoing oscillations in deeper brain regions, where signal-to-noise conditions are unfavorable. We also show that iES provides a separate evaluation of oscillatory synchronization and desynchronization in experimental contrasts, which has important statistical advantages. The flexibility of iES allows it to be adjusted to many experimental questions in systems neuroscience.Author summaryThe oscillatory activity of the brain produces a repertoire of signal dynamics that is rich and complex. Noninvasive recording techniques such as scalp magnetoencephalography and electroencephalography (MEG, EEG) are key methods to advance our comprehension of the role played by neural oscillations in brain functions and dysfunctions. Yet, there are methodological challenges in mapping these elusive components of brain activity that have remained unresolved. We introduce a new mapping technique, called imaging with embedded statistics (iES), which alleviates these difficulties. With iES, signal detection is constrained explicitly to the operational hypotheses of the study design. We show, in a variety of experimental contexts, how iES emphasizes the oscillatory components of brain activity, if any, that match the experimental hypotheses, even in deeper brain regions where signal strength is expected to be weak in MEG. Overall, the proposed method is a new imaging tool to respond to a wide range of neuroscience questions concerning the scaffolding of brain dynamics via anatomically-distributed neural oscillations.


2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (45) ◽  
pp. E6233-E6242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith B. Doelling ◽  
David Poeppel

Recent studies establish that cortical oscillations track naturalistic speech in a remarkably faithful way. Here, we test whether such neural activity, particularly low-frequency (<8 Hz; delta–theta) oscillations, similarly entrain to music and whether experience modifies such a cortical phenomenon. Music of varying tempi was used to test entrainment at different rates. In three magnetoencephalography experiments, we recorded from nonmusicians, as well as musicians with varying years of experience. Recordings from nonmusicians demonstrate cortical entrainment that tracks musical stimuli over a typical range of tempi, but not at tempi below 1 note per second. Importantly, the observed entrainment correlates with performance on a concurrent pitch-related behavioral task. In contrast, the data from musicians show that entrainment is enhanced by years of musical training, at all presented tempi. This suggests a bidirectional relationship between behavior and cortical entrainment, a phenomenon that has not previously been reported. Additional analyses focus on responses in the beta range (∼15–30 Hz)—often linked to delta activity in the context of temporal predictions. Our findings provide evidence that the role of beta in temporal predictions scales to the complex hierarchical rhythms in natural music and enhances processing of musical content. This study builds on important findings on brainstem plasticity and represents a compelling demonstration that cortical neural entrainment is tightly coupled to both musical training and task performance, further supporting a role for cortical oscillatory activity in music perception and cognition.


2001 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 1504-1510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander D. Protopapas ◽  
James M. Bower

The study of cortical oscillations has undergone a renaissance in recent years because of their presumed role in cognitive function. Of particular interest are frequencies in the gamma (30–100 Hz) and theta (3–12 Hz) ranges. In this paper, we use spike coding techniques and in vitro whole cell recording to assess the ability of individual pyramidal cells of the piriform cortex to code inputs occurring in these frequencies. The results suggest that the spike trains of individual neurons are much better at representing frequencies in the theta range than those in the gamma range.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakob Kaiser ◽  
Natalie Annette Simon ◽  
Paul Sauseng ◽  
Simone Schütz-Bosbach

Abstract Action inhibition, the suppression of action impulses, is crucial for goal-directed behaviour. In order to dissociate neural mechanisms specific to motor stopping from general control processes which are also relevant for other types of conflict adjustments, we compared midfrontal oscillatory activity in human volunteers via EEG between action inhibition and two other types of motor conflicts, unexpected action activation and unexpected action change. Error rates indicated that action activation was significantly easier than the other two equally demanding tasks. Midfrontal brain oscillations were significantly stronger for inhibition than for both other conflict types. This was driven by increases in the delta range (2–3 Hz), which were higher for inhibition than activation and action change. Increases in the theta range (4–7 Hz) were equally high for inhibition and change, but lower for action activation. These findings suggest that inhibition is facilitated by neural mechanisms specific to motor-stopping, with midfrontal delta being a potentially selective marker of motor inhibition.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zui Shen ◽  
Yilin Zhu ◽  
Boyi Liu ◽  
Yi Liang ◽  
Qiaoying He ◽  
...  

Our previous studies have confirmed that electroacupuncture (EA) can effectively intervene in pain memory, but the neural mechanism involved remains unclear. In this study, we observed the effects of EA in regulating pain memory-related behaviors and synchronous neural oscillations in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC). During nociceptive behavioral testing, pain memory induced a nonpain stimulus that spurred a neural oscillatory reaction similar to that caused by pain stimuli in the rACC. After EA, nonpain stimuli did not induce decreased neural oscillatory activity in the rACC until the presentation of pain stimuli. During aversive behavioral testing, EA, through the downregulation of theta power, inhibited the retrieval of aversive memory and relieved pain memory-induced aversive behaviors. These changes of oscillatory activity may be the hallmarks of EA therapy for pain memory.


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