scholarly journals Effective connectivity reveals distinctive patterns in response to others' genuine affective experience of disgust as compared to pain

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yili Zhao ◽  
Lei Zhang ◽  
Markus Ruetgen ◽  
Ronald Sladky ◽  
Claus Lamm
Keyword(s):  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Effective Connectivity ◽  
Insular Cortex ◽  
Olfactory Cortex ◽  
Causal Modeling ◽  
Neural Dynamics ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Supramarginal Gyrus ◽  
Affective Experiences ◽  
The Right

Empathy is significantly influenced by the identification of others' emotions. In a recent study, we have found increased activation in the anterior insular cortex (aIns) that could be attributed to affect sharing rather than perceptual saliency, when seeing another person genuinely experiencing pain as opposed to merely acting to be in pain. This study further revealed effective connectivity between aIns and the right supramarginal gyrus (rSMG) to track what another person really feels. In the present study, we used a similar paradigm to investigate the corresponding neural signatures in the domain of empathy for disgust - with participants seeing others genuinely sniffing unpleasant odors as compared to pretending to smell something disgusting. Consistent with the previous findings on pain, we found stronger activations in aIns associated with affect sharing for genuine disgust compared with pretended disgust. However, instead of rSMG we found engagement of the olfactory cortex. Using dynamic causal modeling (DCM), we estimated the neural dynamics of aIns and the olfactory cortex between the genuine and pretended conditions. This revealed an increased excitatory modulatory effect for genuine disgust compared to pretended disgust. For genuine disgust only, brain-to-behavior regression analyses highlighted a link between the observed modulatory effect and the perspective-taking empathic trait. Altogether, the current findings complement and expand our previous work, by showing that perceptual saliency alone does not explain responses in the insular cortex. Moreover, it reveals that different brain networks are implicated in a modality-specific way when sharing the affective experiences associated with pain vs. disgust.

scholarly journals Neural dynamics between anterior insular cortex and right supramarginal gyrus dissociate genuine affect sharing from perceptual saliency of pretended pain

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yili Zhao ◽  
Lei Zhang ◽  
Markus Rütgen ◽  
Ronald Sladky ◽  
Claus Lamm
Keyword(s):  
Insular Cortex ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Causal Modeling ◽  
Neural Dynamics ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Supramarginal Gyrus ◽  
Empathy For Pain ◽  
The One ◽  
The Right

Empathy for pain engages both shared affective responses and self-other distinction. In this study, we addressed the highly debated question of whether neural responses previously linked to affect sharing could result from the perception of salient affective displays. Moreover, we investigated how the brain network involved in affect sharing and self-other distinction underpinned our response to a pain that is either perceived as genuine or pretended (while in fact both were acted for reasons of experimental control). We found stronger activations in regions associated with affect sharing (anterior insula [aIns] and anterior mid-cingulate cortex) as well as with affective self-other distinction (right supramarginal gyrus [rSMG]), in participants watching video clips of genuine vs. pretended facial expressions of pain. Using dynamic causal modeling, we then assessed the neural dynamics between the right aIns and rSMG in these two conditions. This revealed a reduced inhibitory effect on the aIns to rSMG connection for genuine pain compared to pretended pain. For genuine pain only, brain-to-behavior regression analyses highlighted a linkage between this inhibitory effect on the one hand, and pain ratings as well as empathic traits on the other. These findings imply that if the pain of others is genuine and thus calls for an appropriate empathic response, neural responses in the aIns indeed seem related to affect sharing and self-other distinction is engaged to avoid empathic over-arousal. In contrast, if others merely pretend to be in pain, the perceptual salience of their painful expression results in neural responses that are down-regulated to avoid inappropriate affect sharing and social support.

scholarly journals Neural dynamics between anterior insular cortex and right supramarginal gyrus dissociate genuine affect sharing from automatic responses to pretended pain

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yili Zhao ◽  
Lei Zhang ◽  
Markus Ruetgen ◽  
Ronald Sladky ◽  
Claus Lamm
Keyword(s):  
Insular Cortex ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Causal Modeling ◽  
Neural Dynamics ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Supramarginal Gyrus ◽  
Pain Ratings ◽  
Empathy For Pain ◽  
The One ◽  
The Right

Empathy for pain engages both shared affective responses and self-other distinction. In this study, we addressed the highly debated question of whether neural responses previously linked to affect sharing could result from the perception of salient affective displays. Moreover, we investigated how affect sharing and self-other distinction interact to determine our response to a pain that is either genuine, or merely pretended. We found stronger activations in regions associated with affect sharing (anterior insula, aIns, and anterior mid-cingulate cortex, aMCC) as well as with affective self-other distinction (right supramarginal gyrus, rSMG), in participants watching video clips of genuine vs. pretended facial expressions of pain. Using dynamic causal modeling (DCM), we then assessed the neural dynamics between the right aIns and rSMG in these two conditions. This revealed a reduced inhibitory effect on the aIns to rSMG connection for genuine compared to pretended pain. For genuine pain only, brain-to-behavior regression analyses highlighted a linkage between this inhibitory effect on the one hand, and pain ratings as well as empathic traits on the other. These findings imply that if the pain of others is genuine and thus calls for an appropriate empathic response, neural responses in the aIns indeed seem related to affect sharing and self-other distinction is engaged to avoid empathic over-arousal. In contrast, if others merely pretend to be in pain, the perceptual salience of their painful expression results in neural responses that are down-regulated to avoid inappropriate affect sharing and social support.

scholarly journals Structural and effective brain connectivity underlying biological motion detection

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (51) ◽  
pp. E12034-E12042 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arseny A. Sokolov ◽  
Peter Zeidman ◽  
Michael Erb ◽  
Philippe Ryvlin ◽  
Karl J. Friston ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Motion ◽  
Effective Connectivity ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Functional Integration ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Causal Modeling ◽  
High Angular Resolution ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Crus I ◽  
The Right

The perception of actions underwrites a wide range of socio-cognitive functions. Previous neuroimaging and lesion studies identified several components of the brain network for visual biological motion (BM) processing, but interactions among these components and their relationship to behavior remain little understood. Here, using a recently developed integrative analysis of structural and effective connectivity derived from high angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we assess the cerebro-cerebellar network for processing of camouflaged point-light BM. Dynamic causal modeling (DCM) informed by probabilistic tractography indicates that the right superior temporal sulcus (STS) serves as an integrator within the temporal module. However, the STS does not appear to be a “gatekeeper” in the functional integration of the occipito-temporal and frontal regions: The fusiform gyrus (FFG) and middle temporal cortex (MTC) are also connected to the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and insula, indicating multiple parallel pathways. BM-specific loops of effective connectivity are seen between the left lateral cerebellar lobule Crus I and right STS, as well as between the left Crus I and right insula. The prevalence of a structural pathway between the FFG and STS is associated with better BM detection. Moreover, a canonical variate analysis shows that the visual sensitivity to BM is best predicted by BM-specific effective connectivity from the FFG to STS and from the IFG, insula, and STS to the early visual cortex. Overall, the study characterizes the architecture of the cerebro-cerebellar network for BM processing and offers prospects for assessing the social brain.

scholarly journals Fronto-thalamic structural and effective connectivity and delusions in schizophrenia: a combined DTI/DCM study

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Gábor Csukly ◽  
Ádám Szabó ◽  
Patrícia Polgár ◽  
Kinga Farkas ◽  
Gyula Gyebnár ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coupling Strength ◽  
Effective Connectivity ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Causal Modeling ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Network Activity ◽  
Subcortical Structures ◽  
Left Thalamus ◽  
The Right

Abstract Background Schizophrenia (SZ) is a complex disorder characterized by a range of behavioral and cognitive symptoms as well as structural and functional alterations in multiple cortical and subcortical structures. SZ is associated with reduced functional network connectivity involving core regions such as the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the thalamus. However, little is known whether effective coupling, the directed influence of one structure over the other, is altered during rest in the ACC–thalamus network. Methods We collected resting-state fMRI and diffusion-weighted MRI data from 18 patients and 20 healthy controls. We analyzed fronto-thalamic effective connectivity using dynamic causal modeling for cross-spectral densities in a network consisting of the ACC and the left and right medio-dorsal thalamic regions. We studied structural connectivity using fractional anisotropy (FA). Results We found decreased coupling strength from the right thalamus to the ACC and from the right thalamus to the left thalamus, as well as increased inhibitory intrinsic connectivity in the right thalamus in patients relative to controls. ACC-to-left thalamus coupling strength correlated with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total positive syndrome score and with delusion score. Whole-brain structural analysis revealed several tracts with reduced FA in patients, with a maximum decrease in white matter tracts containing fronto-thalamic and cingulo-thalamic fibers. Conclusions We found altered effective and structural connectivity within the ACC–thalamus network in SZ. Our results indicate that ACC–thalamus network activity at rest is characterized by reduced thalamus-to-ACC coupling. We suggest that positive symptoms may arise as a consequence of compensatory measures to imbalanced fronto-thalamic coupling.

scholarly journals Effective Connectivity Analysis of Brain Activated Regions during Distracted Driving

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 690
Author(s):  
Mi-Hyun Choi ◽  
Jin-Ju Jung ◽  
Je-Hyeop Lee ◽  
Ye-Jin Kim ◽  
Kyu-Beom Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Left Hemisphere ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Effective Connectivity ◽  
Movement Control ◽  
Driving Performance ◽  
Causal Modeling ◽  
Precentral Gyrus ◽  
Connectivity Analysis ◽  
The Right

This study aims to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to assess the effective connectivity between the regions of the brain activated when driving and performing a secondary task (addition task). The subjects used an MR-compatible driving simulator ㅊ to manipulate the driving wheel with both hands and control the pedals (accelerator and brake) with their right foot as if they were driving in an actual environment. Effective connectivity analysis was performed for three regions of the right and the left hemispheres with the highest z-scores, and six of the regions of the entire brain (right and left hemisphere) activated during driving by dynamic causal modeling (DCM). In the right hemisphere, a motor control pathway related to movement control for driving performance was discovered; in the left hemisphere, the pathways in the regions related to movement control for driving performance, starting with the region associated with the secondary task, were discovered. In the whole brain, connectivity was discovered in each of the right and left hemispheres. The motor network of declarative memory, which is the connectivity of the right thalamus, left lingual gyrus, and right precentral gyrus, was worth noting. These results seem meaningful, as they demonstrate the connectivity associated with the control of voluntary movement related to memory from human experience, although limited to driving tasks.

The Neural Underpinnings of Emotional Conflict Control in Pilots

2020 ◽  
Vol 91 (10) ◽  
pp. 798-805
Author(s):  
Hao Jiang ◽  
Kaijun Xu ◽  
Xi Chen ◽  
Quanchuan Wang ◽  
Yong Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Error ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Effective Connectivity ◽  
Civil Aviation ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Supramarginal Gyrus ◽  
Emotional Conflict ◽  
Complex Cognitive Task ◽  
Neural Underpinnings ◽  
The Right

BACKGROUND: Piloting an aircraft is a complex cognitive task. Human error represents a major contributing factor in aviation accidents. Emotion plays an important role in aviation safety. We performed a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study to explore whether pilots and nonpilots may differ in the neural mechanisms responsible for the processing of conflict emotional information.METHODS: A total of 27 civil aviation pilots and 24 nonpilot controls performed the emotional Stroop task, in which participants were required to identify the facial expressions of the stimuli while ignoring the congruent or incongruent emotional words superimposed on the faces. Neural responses to the stimuli were compared between pilots and controls. Also, a psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analysis was performed to explore whether there were differences in effective connectivity between pilots and nonpilots.RESULTS: Behavioral data showed that pilots (21.23 ms) and nonpilots (26.78 ms) had equivalent congruency effects. Nevertheless, their neural activation patterns differed. Compared with pilots, nonpilots exhibited neural activity in the right supramarginal gyrus when processing incongruent stimuli, and more regions were activated in the process of conflict monitoring. The PPI analysis showed greater activity between the right supramarginal gyrus and the right lingual gyrus when nonpilots confronted incongruent vs. congruent stimuli. However, this effective connectivity was not found in pilots.CONCLUSION: These results suggest different mechanisms underlying emotional conflict control between pilots and the general population.Jiang H, Xu K, Chen X, Wang Q, Yang Y, Fu C, Guo X, Chen X, Yang J. The neural underpinnings of emotional conflict control in pilots. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2020; 91(10):798805.

Fronto-thalamic dysconnectivity and cognitive control in schizophrenia

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S34-S34
Author(s):  
G. Wagner ◽  
F. De la Cruz ◽  
D. Güllmar ◽  
C.C. Schultz ◽  
K. Koch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Effective Connectivity ◽  
Causal Modeling ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
System Level ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Bold Signal ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Right

IntroductionSeveral lines of evidence suggest that cognitive deficits represent a core feature of schizophrenia.ObjectivesThe concept of “cognitive dysmetria” has been introduced to characterize disintegration at the system level of frontal-thalamic-cerebellar circuitry which has been regarded as a key network for a wide range of neuropsychological symptoms in schizophrenia.AimsThe present multimodal study aimed at investigating effective and structural connectivity of the frontal-thalamic circuitry in schizophrenia.MethodsUnivariate fMRI data analysis and effective connectivity analysis using dynamic causal modeling (DCM) were combined to examine cognitive control processes in 40 patients with schizophrenia and 40 matched healthy controls. BOLD signal and parameters of effective connectivity were related to parameters of corresponding white matter integrity assessed with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).ResultsIn the DTI analysis, significantly decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) was detected in patients in the right anterior limb of the internal capsule (ALIC), the right thalamus and the right corpus callosum. During Stroop task performance patients demonstrated significantly lower activation relative to healthy controls in a predominantly right lateralized frontal-thalamic-cerebellar network. An abnormal effective connectivity was observed in the right lateralized connections between thalamus, anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. FA in the right ALIC was significantly correlated with the fronto-thalamic BOLD signal, effective connectivity and cognitive performance in patients.ConclusionsPresent data provide evidence for the notion of a structural and functional defect in the prefrontal-thalamic-cerebellar circuitry, which seems to be the basis of the cognitive control deficits in schizophrenia.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals Dynamic Causal Modeling of Neural Responses to an Orofacial Pneumotactile Velocity Array

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yingying Wang ◽  
Rebecca Custead ◽  
Hyuntaek Oh ◽  
Steven M. Barlow
Keyword(s):  
Effective Connectivity ◽  
Causal Modeling ◽  
Imaging Data ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Dynamic Causal Modeling ◽  
Lower Face ◽  
Sensorimotor Network ◽  
Slow Velocity ◽  
Interhemispheric Connection ◽  
The Right

AbstractThe effective connectivity of neuronal networks during orofacial pneumotactile stimulation with different velocities is still unknown. The present study aims to characterize the effectivity connectivity elicited by three different saltatory velocities (5, 25, and 65 cm/s) over the lower face using dynamic causal modeling on functional magnetic resonance imaging data of twenty neurotypical adults. Our results revealed the contralateral SI and SII as the most likely sources of the driving inputs within the sensorimotor network for the pneumotactile stimuli, suggesting parallel processing of the orofacial pneumotactile stimuli. The 25 cm/s pneumotactile stimuli modulated forward interhemispheric connection from the contralateral SII to the ipsilateral SII, suggesting a serial interhemispheric connection between the bilateral SII. Moreover, the velocity pneumotactile stimuli influenced the contralateral M1 through both contralateral SI and SII, indicating that passive pneumotactile stimulation may positively impact motor function rehabilitation. Furthermore, the slow velocity 5 cm/s pneumotactile stimuli modulated both forward and backward connections between the right cerebellar lobule VI and the contralateral left SI, SII, and M1, while the medium velocity 25 cm/s pneumotactile stimuli modulated both forward and backward connections between the right cerebellar lobule VI and the contralateral left SI and M1. Our findings suggest that the right cerebellar lobule VI plays a role in the sensorimotor network through feedforward and feedback neuronal pathways.

The causal involvement of the right supramarginal gyrus in the subjective experience of time: A hf-tRNS study

2021 ◽  
Vol 404 ◽  
pp. 113157
Author(s):  
Giulia Prete ◽  
Chiara Lucafò ◽  
Gianluca Malatesta ◽  
Luca Tommasi
Keyword(s):  
Subjective Experience ◽  
Supramarginal Gyrus ◽  
Experience Of Time ◽  
The Right

scholarly journals Brain Activation during Thoughts of One’s Own Death and Its Linear and Curvilinear Correlations with Fear of Death in Elderly Individuals: An fMRI Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanan Hirano ◽  
Kentaro Oba ◽  
Toshiki Saito ◽  
Shohei Yamazaki ◽  
Ryuta Kawashima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activation ◽  
Posterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Fear Of Death ◽  
Supramarginal Gyrus ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
Negative Linear Correlation ◽  
The Right ◽  
Older Populations ◽  
Existential Issues

Abstract Facing one’s own death and managing the fear of death are important existential issues, particularly in older populations. Although recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have investigated brain responses to death-related stimuli, none has examined whether this brain activation was specific to one’s own death or how it was related to dispositional fear of death. In this study, during fMRI, 34 elderly participants (aged, 60–72 years) were presented with either death-related or death-unrelated negative words and asked to evaluate the relevance of these words to the “self” or the “other.” The results showed that only the left supplementary motor area (SMA) was selectively activated during self-relevant judgments of death-related words. Regression analyses of the effect of fear of death on brain activation during death-related thoughts identified a significant negative linear correlation in the right supramarginal gyrus (SMG) and an inverted-U-shaped correlation in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) only during self-relevant judgments. Our results suggest potential involvement of the SMA in the existential aspect of thoughts of death. The distinct fear-of-death-dependent responses in the SMG and PCC may reflect fear-associated distancing of the physical self and the processing of death-related thoughts as a self-relevant future agenda, respectively.

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