scholarly journals Not all smokers are alike: The hidden cost of sustained attention during nicotine abstinence

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harshawardhan U Deshpande ◽  
John R Fedota ◽  
Juan Castillo ◽  
Betty Jo Salmeron ◽  
Thomas J Ross ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustained Attention ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Response Accuracy ◽  
Nicotine Abstinence ◽  
Hidden Cost ◽  
Cognitive Stressor ◽  
And Behavior

Background: Nicotine Withdrawal Syndrome (NWS)-associated cognitive deficits are heterogeneous, suggesting underlying endophenotypic subgroups. We identified smoker subgroups based on response accuracy during a cognitively demanding Parametric Flanker Task (PFT) and characterized their distinct neuroimaging endophenotypes using a nicotine state manipulation (sated, abstinent). Methods: Forty-five smokers completed the 25-min PFT in two fMRI sessions (nicotine sated, abstinent). Task-evoked NWS-associated errors of omission (EOm), brain activity, underlying functional connectivity (FC), and brain-behavior correlations between subgroups were assessed. Results: Based on their response accuracy in the high demand PFT condition, smokers split into high (HTP, n=21) and low task performer (LTP, n=24) subgroups. Behaviorally, HTPs showed greater response accuracy independent of nicotine state and greater vulnerability to abstinence-induced EOm. HTPs showed greater BOLD responses in attentional control brain regions for the [correct responses minus errors of commission] PFT contrast across states. A whole-brain FC analysis with these subgroup-derived regions as seeds revealed two circuits: L Precentral : R Insula and L Insula : R Occipital, with abstinence-induced FC strength increases only in HTPs. Finally, abstinence-induced brain (FC) and behavior (EOm) differences were positively correlated for HTPs in a L Precentral : R Orbitofrontal cortical circuit. Conclusion: We used a cognitive stressor (PFT) to fractionate smokers into two subgroups (HTP/LTP). Only the HTPs demonstrated sustained attention deficits during nicotine abstinence, a stressor in dependent smokers. Unpacking underlying smoker heterogeneity with this dual stressor approach revealed distinct smoker subgroups with differential attention deficit responses to withdrawal that could be novel targets for therapeutic interventions to improve cessation outcomes.

scholarly journals Brain Activity in Self- and Value-Related Regions in Response to Online Antismoking Messages Predicts Behavior Change

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 93-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Cooper ◽  
Steve Tompson ◽  
Matthew Brook O’Donnell ◽  
B. Falk Emily
Keyword(s):  
Behavior Change ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Smoking Behavior ◽  
Mechanistic Explanation ◽  
Health Behavior Change ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Traditional Theory ◽  
And Behavior

Abstract. In this study, we combined approaches from media psychology and neuroscience to ask whether brain activity in response to online antismoking messages can predict smoking behavior change. In particular, we examined activity in subregions of the medial prefrontal cortex linked to self- and value-related processing, to test whether these neurocognitive processes play a role in message-consistent behavior change. We observed significant relationships between activity in both brain regions of interest and behavior change (such that higher activity predicted a larger reduction in smoking). Furthermore, activity in these brain regions predicted variance independent of traditional, theory-driven self-report metrics such as intention, self-efficacy, and risk perceptions. We propose that valuation is an additional cognitive process that should be investigated further as we search for a mechanistic explanation of the relationship between brain activity and media effects relevant to health behavior change.

scholarly journals Western Diet: Implications for Brain Function and Behavior

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel López-Taboada ◽  
Héctor González-Pardo ◽  
Nélida María Conejo
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Disorders ◽  
Chronic Stress ◽  
Brain Function ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Daily Intake ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Western Diet ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Obesity And Overweight ◽  
And Behavior

The Western diet (WD) pattern characterized by high daily intake of saturated fats and refined carbohydrates often leads to obesity and overweight, and it has been linked to cognitive impairment and emotional disorders in both animal models and humans. This dietary pattern alters the composition of gut microbiota, influencing brain function by different mechanisms involving the gut–brain axis. In addition, long-term exposure to highly palatable foods typical of WD could induce addictive-like eating behaviors and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation associated with chronic stress, anxiety, and depression. In turn, chronic stress modulates eating behavior, and it could have detrimental effects on different brain regions such as the hippocampus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and several cortical regions. Moreover, obesity and overweight induce neuroinflammation, causing neuronal dysfunction. In this review, we summarize the current scientific evidence about the mechanisms and factors relating WD consumption with altered brain function and behavior. Possible therapeutic interventions and limitations are also discussed, aiming to tackle and prevent this current pandemic.

scholarly journals Convergence Circuit Mapping: Genetic Approaches From Structure to Function

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jang Soo Yook ◽  
Jihyun Kim ◽  
Jinhyun Kim
Keyword(s):  
Fluorescent Proteins ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Molecular Genetic ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Spatiotemporal Resolution ◽  
Genetic Switches ◽  
A Cell ◽  
And Behavior

Understanding the complex neural circuits that underpin brain function and behavior has been a long-standing goal of neuroscience. Yet this is no small feat considering the interconnectedness of neurons and other cell types, both within and across brain regions. In this review, we describe recent advances in mouse molecular genetic engineering that can be used to integrate information on brain activity and structure at regional, cellular, and subcellular levels. The convergence of structural inputs can be mapped throughout the brain in a cell type-specific manner by antero- and retrograde viral systems expressing various fluorescent proteins and genetic switches. Furthermore, neural activity can be manipulated using opto- and chemo-genetic tools to interrogate the functional significance of this input convergence. Monitoring neuronal activity is obtained with precise spatiotemporal resolution using genetically encoded sensors for calcium changes and specific neurotransmitters. Combining these genetically engineered mapping tools is a compelling approach for unraveling the structural and functional brain architecture of complex behaviors and malfunctioned states of neurological disorders.

scholarly journals Individual Differences in Brain Responses: New Opportunities for Tailoring Health Communication Campaigns

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Huskey ◽  
Benjamin O. Turner ◽  
René Weber
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Message Processing ◽  
Response Patterns ◽  
Message Tailoring ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
The Brain

Prevention neuroscience investigates the brain basis of attitude and behavior change. Over the years, an increasingly structurally and functionally resolved “persuasion network” has emerged. However, current studies have only identified a small handful of neural structures that are commonly recruited during persuasive message processing, and the extent to which these (and other) structures are sensitive to numerous individual difference factors remains largely unknown. In this project we apply a multi-dimensional similarity-based individual differences analysis to explore which individual factors—including characteristics of messages and target audiences—drive patterns of brain activity to be more or less similar across individuals encountering the same anti-drug public service announcements (PSAs). We demonstrate that several ensembles of brain regions show response patterns that are driven by a variety of unique factors. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for neural models of persuasion, prevention neuroscience and message tailoring, and methodological implications for future research.

scholarly journals fMRI and Transcranial Electrical Stimulation (tES): A systematic review of parameter space and outcomes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peyman Ghobadi-Azbari ◽  
Asif Jamil ◽  
Fatemeh Yavari ◽  
Zeinab Esmaeilpour ◽  
Nastaran Malmir ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Parameter Space ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Random Noise ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Transcranial Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
And Behavior

AbstractThe combination of non-invasive brain stimulation interventions with human brain mapping methods have supported research beyond correlational associations between brain activity and behavior. Functional MRI (fMRI) partnered with transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) methods, i.e., transcranial direct current (tDCS), transcranial alternating current (tACS), and transcranial random noise (tRNS) stimulation, explore the neuromodulatory effects of tES in the targeted brain regions and their interconnected networks and provide opportunities for individualized interventions. Advances in the field of tES-fMRI can be hampered by the methodological variability between studies that confounds comparability/replicability. In order to explore variability in the tES-fMRI methodological parameter space (MPS), we conducted a systematic review of 222 tES-fMRI experiments (181 tDCS, 39 tACS and 2 tRNS) published before February 1, 2019, and suggested a framework to systematically report main elements of MPS across studies. We have organized main findings in terms of fMRI modulation by tES. tES modulates activation and connectivity beyond the stimulated areas particularly with prefrontal stimulation. There were no two studies with the same MPS to replicate findings. We discuss how to harmonize the MPS to promote replication in future studies.

scholarly journals Mapping the Self: A network approach for understanding psychological and neural representations of self-concept structure

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Elder ◽  
Ki Man Bernice Man Bernice Cheung;Cheung ◽  
Tyler Davis ◽  
Brent Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Activation Patterns ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
Similarity Relationships ◽  
And Behavior

How people self-reflect and maintain a coherent sense of self is a central question that spans from early philosophy to modern psychology and neuroscience. Neurobiological approaches to self-concept representation have focused on localizing brain structures that are involved in self-reflection, such as the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). This research has largely approached the self as a unitary construct, without a formal representational theory of how self-perceptions cohere and depend upon one another. We develop a network-based approach, which suggests that the self-concept is represented as a web of interrelated traits. Leveraging this trait network to inform two behavioral and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, we show how network features predict positivity and coherence in self-evaluations and activation in brain regions involved in self-referential cognition. Specifically, we find that network-based measures that preserve network stability (i.e. their outdegree centrality) are associated with more favorable and consistent self-evaluations and decreases in mPFC activation. Further, individuals low in self-esteem and high in depressive symptoms are less sensitive to central, stability preserving traits, suggesting that network-defined self-concept coherence may play a role in maintaining positive and consistent self-views. In addition, similarity relationships amongst traits in the network explain both consistency in self-evaluations as well as similar activation patterns in semantic- and self-processing regions. Together, our model and findings present the first computational theory of how individuals holistically represent an interconnected self-concept that joins individual differences, brain activity, and behavior.

Inefficient Encoding as an Explanation for Age-Related Deficits in Recollection-Based Processing

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 148-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Friedman ◽  
Ray Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Semantic Retrieval ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Face ◽  
Episodic Memories

A cardinal feature of aging is a decline in episodic memory (EM). Nevertheless, there is evidence that some older adults may be able to “compensate” for failures in recollection-based processing by recruiting brain regions and cognitive processes not normally recruited by the young. We review the evidence suggesting that age-related declines in EM performance and recollection-related brain activity (left-parietal EM effect; LPEM) are due to altered processing at encoding. We describe results from our laboratory on differences in encoding- and retrieval-related activity between young and older adults. We then show that, relative to the young, in older adults brain activity at encoding is reduced over a brain region believed to be crucial for successful semantic elaboration in a 400–1,400-ms interval (left inferior prefrontal cortex, LIPFC; Johnson, Nessler, & Friedman, 2013 ; Nessler, Friedman, Johnson, & Bersick, 2007 ; Nessler, Johnson, Bersick, & Friedman, 2006 ). This reduced brain activity is associated with diminished subsequent recognition-memory performance and the LPEM at retrieval. We provide evidence for this premise by demonstrating that disrupting encoding-related processes during this 400–1,400-ms interval in young adults affords causal support for the hypothesis that the reduction over LIPFC during encoding produces the hallmarks of an age-related EM deficit: normal semantic retrieval at encoding, reduced subsequent episodic recognition accuracy, free recall, and the LPEM. Finally, we show that the reduced LPEM in young adults is associated with “additional” brain activity over similar brain areas as those activated when older adults show deficient retrieval. Hence, rather than supporting the compensation hypothesis, these data are more consistent with the scaffolding hypothesis, in which the recruitment of additional cognitive processes is an adaptive response across the life span in the face of momentary increases in task demand due to poorly-encoded episodic memories.

Comparative analysis of changes of bioelectrical activity of the brain during the neutral touch and during the performance of the myofascial release technique

2018 ◽  
pp. 46-55
Author(s):  
A. F. Belyaev ◽  
G. E. Piskunova
Keyword(s):  
Soft Tissue ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Direct Action ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Therapeutic Touch ◽  
Bioelectrical Activity ◽  
Therapeutic Action ◽  
Osteopathic Treatment ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Multiparameter Analysis

Introduction. One of the main tools of an osteopath are soft tissue techniques, which have a number of particular qualities such as minimization of force and duration of indirect techniques with an emphasis on muscle and ligamentous structures; combination of gestures, tendency to maximal relaxation and exclusion of direct action on pathological symptoms such as tension, overtone and pain. Minimization of the force applied during the performance of soft tissue techniques often invites a question whether there are differences between the usual touch and the therapeutic touch of an osteopath.Goal of research - to reveal the changes in the bioelectrical activity of the cerebral cortex arising in the process of osteopathic treatment in order to prove its specifi city in comparison with nonspecifi c tactile stimulation (neutral touch).Materials and methods. 75 people were examined with the use of multiparameter analysis of multichannel EEG in different times. 25 patients were clinically healthy adults, whereas 50 patients had signs of somatic dysfunctions.Results. Computer encephalography permits to perceive the difference between the neutral touch and the therapeutic action. An identifi cation reaction is a response to the neutral touch (changes in brain bioelectrical activity with an increase in statistically signifi cant connections in the temporal lobes), whereas the therapeutic action provokes the state of purposeful brain activity during still point (intensifi cation of frontooccipital interactions).Conclusions. Osteopathic action causes additional tension in the processing of incoming information, which requires participation of different brain regions, including interhemispheric mechanisms associated with analysis, maintenance of attention and regulation of targeted activities.

scholarly journals Visual predictions, neural oscillations and naïve physics

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Blake W. Saurels ◽  
Wiremu Hohaia ◽  
Kielan Yarrow ◽  
Alan Johnston ◽  
Derek H. Arnold
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Dynamic Environment ◽  
Predictive Performance ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Internal Models ◽  
Oscillatory Activity ◽  
Alpha Band ◽  
Core Property ◽  
Ball Tracking ◽  
Band Activity

AbstractPrediction is a core function of the human visual system. Contemporary research suggests the brain builds predictive internal models of the world to facilitate interactions with our dynamic environment. Here, we wanted to examine the behavioural and neurological consequences of disrupting a core property of peoples’ internal models, using naturalistic stimuli. We had people view videos of basketball and asked them to track the moving ball and predict jump shot outcomes, all while we recorded eye movements and brain activity. To disrupt people’s predictive internal models, we inverted footage on half the trials, so dynamics were inconsistent with how movements should be shaped by gravity. When viewing upright videos people were better at predicting shot outcomes, at tracking the ball position, and they had enhanced alpha-band oscillatory activity in occipital brain regions. The advantage for predicting upright shot outcomes scaled with improvements in ball tracking and occipital alpha-band activity. Occipital alpha-band activity has been linked to selective attention and spatially-mapped inhibitions of visual brain activity. We propose that when people have a more accurate predictive model of the environment, they can more easily parse what is relevant, allowing them to better target irrelevant positions for suppression—resulting in both better predictive performance and in neural markers of inhibited information processing.

scholarly journals Resting‐State EEG Microstates Parallel Age‐Related Differences in Allocentric Spatial Working Memory Performance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adeline Jabès ◽  
Giuliana Klencklen ◽  
Paolo Ruggeri ◽  
Christoph M. Michel ◽  
Pamela Banta Lavenex ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Age Related

AbstractAlterations of resting-state EEG microstates have been associated with various neurological disorders and behavioral states. Interestingly, age-related differences in EEG microstate organization have also been reported, and it has been suggested that resting-state EEG activity may predict cognitive capacities in healthy individuals across the lifespan. In this exploratory study, we performed a microstate analysis of resting-state brain activity and tested allocentric spatial working memory performance in healthy adult individuals: twenty 25–30-year-olds and twenty-five 64–75-year-olds. We found a lower spatial working memory performance in older adults, as well as age-related differences in the five EEG microstate maps A, B, C, C′ and D, but especially in microstate maps C and C′. These two maps have been linked to neuronal activity in the frontal and parietal brain regions which are associated with working memory and attention, cognitive functions that have been shown to be sensitive to aging. Older adults exhibited lower global explained variance and occurrence of maps C and C′. Moreover, although there was a higher probability to transition from any map towards maps C, C′ and D in young and older adults, this probability was lower in older adults. Finally, although age-related differences in resting-state EEG microstates paralleled differences in allocentric spatial working memory performance, we found no evidence that any individual or combination of resting-state EEG microstate parameter(s) could reliably predict individual spatial working memory performance. Whether the temporal dynamics of EEG microstates may be used to assess healthy cognitive aging from resting-state brain activity requires further investigation.

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