scholarly journals Online self-evaluation of fMRI-based neurofeedback performance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santiago Muñoz-Moldes ◽  
Anita Tursic ◽  
Michael Lührs ◽  
Judith Eck ◽  
Amaia Benitez Andonegui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Performance Monitoring ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Subjective Evaluation ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level Dependent ◽  
Imagery Task ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level ◽  
Self Evaluation ◽  
Evaluation Of Performance ◽  
Signal Change ◽  
Performance Predictions

AbstractThis study explores the subjective evaluation of supplementary motor area (SMA) regulation performance in a real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback (fMRI-NF) task. In fMRI-NF, people learn how to self-regulate their brain activity by performing mental actions to achieve a certain target level of blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) activation. This setup offers the possibility to study performance monitoring in the absence of somatosensory feedback. Here, we studied two types of self-evaluation expressed before receiving neurofeedback: performance predictions and perceived confidence in the prediction judgement. We hypothesized that throughout learning, participants would (1) improve the precision of their performance predictions about the actual changes in their BOLD response, and (2) that reported confidence would progressively increase with improved metacognitive precision. Participants completed three sessions of SMA regulation in a 7T fMRI scanner, performing a drawing motor imagery task. During each trial, they modulated their mental drawing strategy to achieve one of two different levels of target fMRI signal change. They then reported a performance prediction and their confidence in the prediction before receiving delayed BOLD-activation feedback. Results show that participants’ performance predictions improved with learning throughout the three sessions, and that these improvements were not driven exclusively by their knowledge of previous performance. Confidence reports on the other hand showed no change throughout training and did not differentiate between the better and worse predictions. In addition to shedding light on mechanisms of internal monitoring during neurofeedback training, these results also point to a dissociation between self-evaluation of performance and corresponding reported confidence in the presence of feedback.

scholarly journals Brain reactivity using fMRI to insomnia stimuli in insomnia patients with discrepancy between subjective and objective sleep

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Young-Bo Kim ◽  
Nambeom Kim ◽  
Jae Jun Lee ◽  
Seo-Eun Cho ◽  
Kyoung-Sae Na ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level Dependent ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Cognitive Distortion ◽  
Sleep Diary ◽  
Bold Signal ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level ◽  
General Anxiety ◽  
Sleep Deficit ◽  
Perception Of Sleep

AbstractSubjective–objective discrepancy of sleep (SODS) might be related to the distorted perception of sleep deficit and hypersensitivity to insomnia-related stimuli. We investigated differences in brain activation to insomnia-related stimuli among insomnia patients with SODS (SODS group), insomnia patients without SODS (NOSODS group), and healthy controls (HC). Participants were evaluated for subjective and objective sleep using sleep diary and polysomnography. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was conducted during the presentation of insomnia-related (Ins), general anxiety-inducing (Gen), and neutral (Neu) stimuli. Brain reactivity to the contrast of Ins vs. Neu and Gen vs. Neu was compared among the SODS (n = 13), NOSODS (n = 15), and HC (n = 16) groups. In the SODS group compared to other groups, brain areas including the left fusiform, bilateral precuneus, right superior frontal gyrus, genu of corpus callosum, and bilateral anterior corona radiata showed significantly increased blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal in the contrast of Ins vs. Neu. There was no brain region with significantly increased BOLD signal in the Gen vs. Neu contrast in the group comparisons. Increased brain activity to insomnia-related stimuli in several brain regions of the SODS group is likely due to these individuals being more sensitive to sleep-related threat and negative cognitive distortion toward insomnia.

scholarly journals Neural correlates of the LSD experience revealed by multimodal neuroimaging

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (17) ◽  
pp. 4853-4858 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin L. Carhart-Harris ◽  
Suresh Muthukumaraswamy ◽  
Leor Roseman ◽  
Mendel Kaelen ◽  
Wouter Droog ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level Dependent ◽  
Retrosplenial Cortex ◽  
Alpha Power ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level ◽  
Psychedelic Drugs ◽  
Cortex Cérébral ◽  
Intrinsic Brain Activity

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is the prototypical psychedelic drug, but its effects on the human brain have never been studied before with modern neuroimaging. Here, three complementary neuroimaging techniques: arterial spin labeling (ASL), blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) measures, and magnetoencephalography (MEG), implemented during resting state conditions, revealed marked changes in brain activity after LSD that correlated strongly with its characteristic psychological effects. Increased visual cortex cerebral blood flow (CBF), decreased visual cortex alpha power, and a greatly expanded primary visual cortex (V1) functional connectivity profile correlated strongly with ratings of visual hallucinations, implying that intrinsic brain activity exerts greater influence on visual processing in the psychedelic state, thereby defining its hallucinatory quality. LSD’s marked effects on the visual cortex did not significantly correlate with the drug’s other characteristic effects on consciousness, however. Rather, decreased connectivity between the parahippocampus and retrosplenial cortex (RSC) correlated strongly with ratings of “ego-dissolution” and “altered meaning,” implying the importance of this particular circuit for the maintenance of “self” or “ego” and its processing of “meaning.” Strong relationships were also found between the different imaging metrics, enabling firmer inferences to be made about their functional significance. This uniquely comprehensive examination of the LSD state represents an important advance in scientific research with psychedelic drugs at a time of growing interest in their scientific and therapeutic value. The present results contribute important new insights into the characteristic hallucinatory and consciousness-altering properties of psychedelics that inform on how they can model certain pathological states and potentially treat others.

scholarly journals Functional magnetic resonance imaging evaluation of lumbosacral radiculopathic pain

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 517-522
Author(s):  
Alex J. Koefman ◽  
Melissa Licari ◽  
Michael Bynevelt ◽  
Christopher R. P. Lind
Keyword(s):  
Objective Assessment ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level Dependent ◽  
Bold Signal ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level ◽  
Imaging Evaluation ◽  
Pain Experience ◽  
Lumbosacral Radiculopathy ◽  
Signal Change ◽  
Left Parietal Cortex ◽  
Straight Leg Raise

OBJECTIVE An objective biomarker for pain is yet to be established. Functional MRI (fMRI) is a promising neuroimaging technique that may reveal an objective radiological biomarker. The purpose of this study was to evaluate fMRI technology in the setting of lumbosacral radiculopathy and discuss its application in revealing a biomarker for pain in the future. METHODS A prospective, within-participant control study was conducted. Twenty participants with painful lumbosacral radiculopathy from intervertebral disc pathology were recruited. Functional imaging of the brain was performed during a randomly generated series of nonprovocative and provocative straight leg raise maneuvers. RESULTS With a statistical threshold set at p < 0.000001, 3 areas showed significant blood oxygen level–dependent (BOLD) signal change: right superior frontal gyrus (x = 2, y = 13, z = 48, k = 29, Brodmann area 6 [BA6]), left supramarginal cortex (x = −37, y = −44, z = 33, k = 1084, BA40), and left parietal cortex (x = −19, y = −41, z = 63, k = 354, BA5). With a statistical threshold set at p < 0.0002, 2 structures showed significant BOLD signal change: right putamen (x = 29, y = −11, z = 6, k = 72) and bilateral thalami (right: x = 23, y = −11, z = 21, k = 29; x = 8, y = −11, z = 9, k = 274; and left: x = −28, y = −32, z = 6, k = 21). CONCLUSIONS The results in this study compare with those in previous studies and suggest that fMRI technology can provide an objective assessment of the pain experience.

Differential neural correlates of reciprocal activation and cocontraction control in dorsal and ventral premotor cortices

2012 ◽  
Vol 107 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiko Haruno ◽  
Gowrishankar Ganesh ◽  
Etienne Burdet ◽  
Mitsuo Kawato
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level Dependent ◽  
Blood Oxygen ◽  
Dorsal Premotor Cortex ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level ◽  
Efficient Control ◽  
Dependent Activity ◽  
The Brain

Efficient control of reciprocal activation and cocontraction of the muscles are critical to perform skillful actions with suitable force and impedance. However, it remains unclear how the brain controls force and impedance while recruiting the same set of muscles as actuators. Does control take place at the single muscle level leading to force and impedance, or are there higher-order centers dedicated to controlling force and impedance? We addressed this question using functional MRI during voluntary isometric wrist contractions with online electromyogram feedback. Comparison of the brain activity between the conditions requiring control of either wrist torque or cocontraction demonstrates that blood oxygen level-dependent activity in the caudo-dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) correlates well with torque, whereas the activity in the ventral premotor cortex (PMv) correlates well with the level of cocontraction. This suggests distinct roles of the PMd and PMv in the voluntary control of reciprocal activation and cocontraction of muscles, respectively.

scholarly journals The processing of color preference in the brain

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Racey ◽  
Anna Franklin ◽  
Chris M. Bird
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level Dependent ◽  
Color Preference ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Color Preferences ◽  
Subjective Value ◽  
Value Judgements ◽  
Automatic Encoding ◽  
The Brain

AbstractDecades of research has established that humans have preferences for some colors (e.g., blue) and a dislike of others (e.g., dark chartreuse), with preference varying systematically with variation in hue (e.g., Hurlbert & Owen, 2015). Here, we used functional MRI to investigate why humans have likes and dislikes for simple patches of color, and to understand the neural basis of preference, aesthetics and value judgements more generally. We looked for correlations of a behavioural measure of color preference with the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response when participants performed an irrelevant orientation judgement task on colored squares. A whole brain analysis found a significant correlation between BOLD activity and color preference in the posterior midline cortex (PMC), centred on the precuneus but extending into the adjacent posterior cingulate and cuneus. These results demonstrate that brain activity is modulated by color preference, even when such preferences are irrelevant to the ongoing task the participants are engaged. They also suggest that color preferences automatically influence our processing of the visual world. Interestingly, the effect in the PMC overlaps with regions identified in neuroimaging studies of preference and value judgements of other types of stimuli. Therefore, our findings extends this literature to show that the PMC is related to automatic encoding of subjective value even for basic visual features such as color.

scholarly journals Altered temporal, but intact spatial, features of transient network dynamics in psychosis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danhong Wang ◽  
Xiaolong Peng ◽  
Andrea Pelletier-Baldelli ◽  
Natasza Orlov ◽  
Amy Farabaugh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level Dependent ◽  
Occurrence Rate ◽  
Psychotic Symptoms ◽  
Brain State ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level ◽  
Spatial Features ◽  
Brain States ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Core Symptoms

AbstractContemporary models of psychosis suggest that a continuum of severity of psychotic symptoms exists, with subthreshold psychotic experiences (PEs) potentially reflecting some genetic and environmental risk factors shared with clinical psychosis. Thus, identifying abnormalities in brain activity that manifest across this continuum can shed new light on the pathophysiology of psychosis. Here, we investigated the moment-to-moment engagement of brain networks (“states”) in individuals with schizophrenia (SCZ) and PEs and identified features of these states that are associated with psychosis-spectrum symptoms. Transient brain states were defined by clustering “single snapshots” of blood oxygen level-dependent images, based on spatial similarity of the images. We found that individuals with SCZ (n = 35) demonstrated reduced recruitment of three brain states compared to demographically matched healthy controls (n = 35). Of these three illness-related states, one specific state, involving primarily the visual and salience networks, also occurred at a lower rate in individuals with persistent PEs (n = 22), compared to demographically matched healthy youth (n = 22). Moreover, the occurrence rate of this marker brain state was negatively correlated with the severity of PEs (r = −0.26, p = 0.003, n = 130). In contrast, the spatial map of this state appeared to be unaffected in the SCZ or PE groups. Thus, reduced engagement of a brain state involving the visual and salience networks was demonstrated across the psychosis continuum, suggesting that early disruptions of perceptual and affective function may underlie some of the core symptoms of the illness.

scholarly journals Simultaneous mesoscopic Ca2+ imaging and fMRI: Neuroimaging spanning spatiotemporal scales

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn MR Lake ◽  
Xinxin Ge ◽  
Xilin Shen ◽  
Peter Herman ◽  
Fahmeed Hyder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Function ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level Dependent ◽  
Optical Measurements ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Transgenic Murine Model ◽  
Spatiotemporal Scales

ABSTRACTTo achieve a more comprehensive understanding of brain function requires simultaneous measurement of activity across a range of spatiotemporal scales. However, the appropriate tools to perform such studies are largely unavailable. Here, we present a novel approach for concurrent wide-field optical and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). By merging these two modalities, we are for the first time able to simultaneously acquire whole-brain blood-oxygen-level-dependent and whole-cortex calcium-sensitive fluorescent measures of brain activity. We describe the developments that allow us to combine these modalities without compromising the fidelity of either technique. In a transgenic murine model, we examine correspondences between activity measured using these modalities and identify unique and complementary features of each. Our approach links cell-type specific optical measurements of neural activity to the most widely used method for assessing human brain function. These data and approach directly establish the neural basis for the macroscopic connectivity patterns observed with fMRI.

scholarly journals Evaluation of self-generated behavior: untangling metacognitive read-out and error detection

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tadeusz W. Kononowicz ◽  
Virginie van Wassenhove
Keyword(s):  
Error Detection ◽  
Performance Monitoring ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Self Evaluation ◽  
Time Estimates ◽  
Oscillatory Brain Activity ◽  
Human Participants ◽  
The Brain

ABSTRACTWhen producing a duration, for instance by pressing a key for one second, the brain relies on self-generated neuronal dynamics to monitor the “flow of time”. Converging evidence has suggested that the brain can also monitor itself monitoring time. Here, we investigated which brain mechanisms support metacognitive inferences when self-generating timing behavior. Although studies have shown that participants can reliably detect temporal errors when generating a duration (Akdogan & Balci, 2017; Kononowicz et al., 2017), the neural bases underlying the evaluation and the monitoring of this self-generated temporal behavior are unknown. Theories of psychological time have also remained silent about such self-evaluation abilities. How are temporal errors inferred on the basis of purely internally driven brain dynamics without external reference for time? We contrasted the error-detection hypothesis, in which error-detection would result from the comparison of competing motor plans with the read-out hypothesis, in which errors would result from inferring the state of an internal code for motor timing. Human participants generated a time interval, and evaluated the magnitude of their timing (first and second order behavioral judgments, respectively) while being recorded with time-resolved neuroimaging. Focusing on the neural signatures following the termination of self-generated duration, we found several regions involved in performance monitoring, which displayed a linear association between the power of α (8-14 Hz) oscillations, and the duration of the produced interval. Altogether, our results support the read-out hypothesis and indicate that first-order signals may be integrated for the evaluation of self-generated behavior.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTWhen typing on a keyboard, the brain estimates where the finger should land, but also when. The endogenous generation of the when in time is naturally accompanied by timing errors which, quite remarkably, participants can accurately rate as being too short or too long, and also by how much. Here, we explored the brain mechanisms supporting such temporal metacognitive inferences. For this, we contrasted two working hypotheses (error-detection vs. read-out), and showed that the pattern of evoked and oscillatory brain activity parsimoniously accounted best for a read-out mechanism. Our results suggest the existence of meta-representations of time estimates.

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