scholarly journals The role of superstition of cognitive control during neurofeedback training

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doris Groessinger ◽  
Florian Ph.S Fischmeister ◽  
Mathias Witte ◽  
Karl Koschutnig ◽  
Manuel Ninaus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Associative Learning ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Ventral Striatum ◽  
Psychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Training Session ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Neurofeedback Training ◽  
The Impact

Background: Real-time fMRI neurofeedback is growing in reputation as a means to alter brain activity patterns and alleviate psychiatric symptoms. Activity in ventral striatum structures is considered an index of training efficacy. fMRI response in these brain regions indicates neurofeedback-driven associative learning. Here we investigated the impact of mere superstition of control as observed during neurofeedback training on patterns of fMRI activation. Methods: We examined the brain activations of a large sample of young participants (n = 97, 50 female, age range 18-54yrs) in a simple fMRI task. Participants saw a display similar to that typically used for real-time fMRI. They were instructed to watch the bars' movements or to control them with their own brain activity. Bar movements were not connected with brain activity of participants in any way and perceptions of control were superstitious. After the pretended control condition, they rated how well they were able to control the bars' movements. Results: Strong activation in the basal ganglia and ventral striatum as well as in large portions of the anterior insula, supplementary motor area, and the middle frontal gyrus due to the superstition of brain control. Conclusions: The superstition of control over one's own brain activity in a pretended neurofeedback training session activates the same neural networks as neurofeedback-driven learning. Therefore, activity in the basal ganglia and ventral striatum cannot be taken as evidence for neurofeedback-driven associative learning unless its effects are proven to supersede those elicited by appropriate sham conditions.

scholarly journals Functional neuroimaging of psychiatric disorders: exploring hidden behaviour

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 577-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. C. FLETCHER
Keyword(s):  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Cognitive Strategies ◽  
Healthy Person ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Unrealistic Expectation ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Function Mapping

From the outset, people have had high expectations of functional neuroimaging. Many will have been disappointed. After roughly a decade of widespread use, even an enthusiastic advocate must be diffident about the impact of the two most frequently used techniques – positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) – upon clinical psychiatry. Perhaps this disappointment arises from an unrealistic expectation of what these techniques are able to tell us about the workings of the normal and the disordered brain. Anyone who hoped for intricate and unambiguous region-to-function mapping was always going to be disappointed. This expectation presupposes, among other things, a thorough understanding of the cognitive functions that are to be mapped onto the brain regions. This understanding, however, while developing, is still rudimentary. Mapping disorder along comparable lines is even more complex since it demands two levels of understanding. The first is of the healthy region-to-function mapping, the second of the disordered region-to-function mapping, which immediately demands a consideration of the nature of the function in the disordered state. After all, someone with schizophrenia, when confronted with a psychological task, might tackle it in a very different way, in terms of the cognitive strategies used, from a healthy person confronted with the same task. The observation that brain activity differs across the two individuals would only be interpretable insofar as one thoroughly understood the processes that each individual invoked in response to the task demands.

scholarly journals Directly Exploring the Neural Correlates of Feedback-Related Reward Saliency and Valence During Real-Time fMRI-Based Neurofeedback

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Direito ◽  
Manuel Ramos ◽  
João Pereira ◽  
Alexandre Sayal ◽  
Teresa Sousa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Visual Motion ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Neurofeedback Training ◽  
Feedback Processing ◽  
Positive Valence ◽  
Feedback Valence

Introduction: The potential therapeutic efficacy of real-time fMRI Neurofeedback has received increasing attention in a variety of psychological and neurological disorders and as a tool to probe cognition. Despite its growing popularity, the success rate varies significantly, and the underlying neural mechanisms are still a matter of debate. The question whether an individually tailored framework positively influences neurofeedback success remains largely unexplored.Methods: To address this question, participants were trained to modulate the activity of a target brain region, the visual motion area hMT+/V5, based on the performance of three imagery tasks with increasing complexity: imagery of a static dot, imagery of a moving dot with two and with four opposite directions. Participants received auditory feedback in the form of vocalizations with either negative, neutral or positive valence. The modulation thresholds were defined for each participant according to the maximum BOLD signal change of their target region during the localizer run.Results: We found that 4 out of 10 participants were able to modulate brain activity in this region-of-interest during neurofeedback training. This rate of success (40%) is consistent with the neurofeedback literature. Whole-brain analysis revealed the recruitment of specific cortical regions involved in cognitive control, reward monitoring, and feedback processing during neurofeedback training. Individually tailored feedback thresholds did not correlate with the success level. We found region-dependent neuromodulation profiles associated with task complexity and feedback valence.Discussion: Findings support the strategic role of task complexity and feedback valence on the modulation of the network nodes involved in monitoring and feedback control, key variables in neurofeedback frameworks optimization. Considering the elaborate design, the small sample size here tested (N = 10) impairs external validity in comparison to our previous studies. Future work will address this limitation. Ultimately, our results contribute to the discussion of individually tailored solutions, and justify further investigation concerning volitional control over brain activity.

Neuroimaging of depression in Parkinson's disease: a review

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (12) ◽  
pp. 1953-1961 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcos Hortes N. Chagas ◽  
Ila M.P. Linares ◽  
Giovana Jorge Garcia ◽  
Jaime E.C. Hallak ◽  
Vitor Tumas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Neurodegenerative Process ◽  
Current Review ◽  
Literature Searches ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTBackground:Depression is the most common psychiatric manifestation in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). In addition, depressive symptoms may be considered to be a prodromal manifestation of PD. In recent years, the association between PD and depression has been the focus of neuroimaging studies using functional and structural techniques.Methods:The aim of this study was to review the main neuroimaging studies assessing the comorbidity between depression and PD. Literature searches were conducted to find the major neuroimaging studies that consider primarily the comorbidity between depression and PD using the indices Web of Science and Lilacs.Results:In total, 296 papers were identified, and 18 of these studies were selected for the current review. The principal neuroimaging technique used was SPECT. The structural neuroimaging studies that have evaluated the impact of current or previous bouts of depression on the neurodegenerative process of PD are scarce and inclusive. The instruments that were used to evaluate depression differed among the studies. Several brain regions appear to be involved in depression, particularly the limbic system and the basal ganglia. In addition, the serotonergic, dopaminergic, and noradrenergic systems also appear to be associated with depressive symptoms in PD.Conclusion:Several brain regions and neurotransmitter systems are involved in depression in PD; however, the variety of criteria used to evaluate depressive symptoms precludes more specific conclusions.

The Ventral Striatum as an Interface Between the Limbic and Motor Systems

CNS Spectrums ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 887-892 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henk J. Groenewegen ◽  
Michael Trimble
Keyword(s):  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Ventral Striatum ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Clinical Neuroscience ◽  
Staining Methods ◽  
Nuclear Structures ◽  
New Treatments ◽  
Brain Behavior ◽  
Deep Brain

Over the next 2 years, CNS Spectrums will be publishing a series of articles on neuroanatomy. The purpose of these articles is to broaden knowledge and interest in neuroanatomy, with a special reference to some key brain structures that are important for neuropsychiatry. Interest in nuclear structures and hodology, in connectivity and circuitry between brain regions, and in neurochemical associations has increased in the last 3 decades due to new neuroanatomical staining methods, brain imaging, and new treatments, such as deep brain stimulation.These columns will enliven an understanding of the clinical neuroscience interface but also provide a solid framework of contemporary neuroanatomy for psychiatrists and neurologists.The first in the series reviews the ventral striatum. Henk J. Groenewegen, MD, PhD, in a column dedicated to the late Lennart Heimer, MD, reveals the importance of this structure and its connectivity for a contemporary understanding of brain-behavior relationships. In earlier conceptions, the basal ganglia were solely related to motor function, uninvolved with emotion or cognition. This conception arose from a misunderstanding of basic neuroanatomy, which has been unravelled by careful neuroanatomical studies in the last 30 years with new tissue staining and tracing techniques.The basal ganglia are the main target structures of the limbic system, hence the motion in emotion.

scholarly journals Neuroscience Research on Human Visual Path Integration: Empirical Overview and Strategic Considerations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jimmy Y. Zhong
Keyword(s):  
Path Integration ◽  
Hippocampal Formation ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Neuroscience Research ◽  
Integration Strategies ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Brain

Over the past two decades, many neuroimaging studies have attempted uncover the brain regions and networks involved in path integration and identify the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms. Although these studies made inroads into the neural basis of path integration, they have yet to offer a full disclosure of the functional specialization of the brain regions supporting path integration. In this paper, I reviewed notable neuroscientific studies on visual path integration in humans, identified the commonalities and discrepancies in their findings, and incorporated fresh insights from recent path integration studies. Specifically, this paper presented neuroscientific studies performed with virtual renditions of the triangle/path completion task and addressed whether or not the hippocampus is necessary for human path integration. Based on studies that showed evidence supporting and negating the involvement of the hippocampal formation in path integration, this paper introduces the proposal that the use of different path integration strategies may determine the extent to which the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex are engaged during path integration. To this end, recent studies that investigated the impact of different path integration strategies on behavioral performance and functional brain activity were discussed. Methodological concerns were raised with feasible recommendations for improving the experimental design of future strategy-related path integration studies, which can cover cognitive neuroscience research on age-related differences in the role of the hippocampal formation in path integration and Bayesian modelling of the interaction between landmark and self-motion cues. The practical value of investigating different path integration strategies was also discussed briefly from a biomedical perspective.

scholarly journals The Impact of Sports-Related Concussions on the Language System

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-46
Author(s):  
Patrick S Ledwidge
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Functional Brain Imaging ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Brain Potentials ◽  
Language System ◽  
Induced Changes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Language Network

Sports-related Concussions (SRC) and their potential long-term effects are a growing concern among athletes and their families. Research utilizing functional brain imaging/recording techniques (e.g., fMRI, ERP) seeks to explain how neurocognitive brain activity changes in the days and years following SRC. Although language deficits are documented following non-sports related concussion there remains a striking lack of research on how SRCs may influence the language system and their supporting neural mechanisms. Neuroimaging findings, however, demonstrate that SRCs alter structural and functional pathways within the frontotemporal language network. Brain regions included in this network generate language-related event-related brain potentials (ERPs), including the N400 and P600. ERPs have been used to demonstrate long-term neurocognitive alterations associated with concussion and may also provide objective and robust markers of SRC-induced changes to the language system.

scholarly journals Blue Light Stimulates Cognitive Brain Activity in Visually Blind Individuals

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (12) ◽  
pp. 2072-2085 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilles Vandewalle ◽  
Olivier Collignon ◽  
Joseph T. Hull ◽  
Véronique Daneault ◽  
Geneviève Albouy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blue Light ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Brain Functions ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Blind Individuals ◽  
The Impact

Light regulates multiple non-image-forming (or nonvisual) circadian, neuroendocrine, and neurobehavioral functions, via outputs from intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs). Exposure to light directly enhances alertness and performance, so light is an important regulator of wakefulness and cognition. The roles of rods, cones, and ipRGCs in the impact of light on cognitive brain functions remain unclear, however. A small percentage of blind individuals retain non-image-forming photoreception and offer a unique opportunity to investigate light impacts in the absence of conscious vision, presumably through ipRGCs. Here, we show that three such patients were able to choose nonrandomly about the presence of light despite their complete lack of sight. Furthermore, 2 sec of blue light modified EEG activity when administered simultaneously to auditory stimulations. fMRI further showed that, during an auditory working memory task, less than a minute of blue light triggered the recruitment of supplemental prefrontal and thalamic brain regions involved in alertness and cognition regulation as well as key areas of the default mode network. These results, which have to be considered as a proof of concept, show that non-image-forming photoreception triggers some awareness for light and can have a more rapid impact on human cognition than previously understood, if brain processing is actively engaged. Furthermore, light stimulates higher cognitive brain activity, independently of vision, and engages supplemental brain areas to perform an ongoing cognitive process. To our knowledge, our results constitute the first indication that ipRGC signaling may rapidly affect fundamental cerebral organization, so that it could potentially participate to the regulation of numerous aspects of human brain function.

scholarly journals Real-Time Foot Clearance Biofeedback to Assist Gait Rehabilitation Following Stroke: a Randomised Controlled Trial Protocol

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rezaul Begg ◽  
Mary Galea ◽  
Lisa James ◽  
Tony Sparrow ◽  
Pazit Levinger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Training Session ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Gait Training ◽  
Gait Pattern ◽  
Falls Prevention ◽  
Visual Biofeedback ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background: The risk of falling is significantly higher in people with chronic stroke and it is, therefore, important to design interventions to improve mobility and decrease falls risk. Minimum Toe Clearance (MTC) is the key gait cycle event for predicting tripping-falls because it occurs mid-swing during the walking cycle where forward velocity of the foot is maximum. High forward velocity coupled with low MTC increases the probability of unanticipated foot-ground contacts. Training procedures to increase toe-ground clearance (MTC) have potential, therefore, as a falls prevention intervention. The aim of this project is to determine whether augmented sensory information via real-time visual biofeedback during gait training can increase MTC. Methods: Participants will be over 18 years, have sustained a single stroke (ischaemic or hemorrhagic) at least 6 months previously, able to walk 50 metres independently and capable of informed consent. Using a secure web-based application (REDCap) 150 participants will be randomly assigned to either no-feedback (Control) or feedback (Experimental) groups, all will receive 10 sessions of treadmill training for up to 10 minutes at a self-selected speed over five to six weeks. The intervention group will receive real-time, visual biofeedback of MTC during training and will be asked to modify their gait pattern to match a required “target” criterion. Biofeedback is continuous for the first six sessions then progressively reduced (faded) across the remaining four sessions. Control participants will walk on the treadmill without biofeedback. Gait assessments are conducted at baseline, immediately following the final training session and then during follow-up, at 1, 3 and 6 months. The primary outcome measure is MTC. Monthly falls calendars will also be collected for 12 months from enrolment. Discussion: This project will evaluate the impact of augmented sensory information, via visually presented biofeedback, for improving gait function in people with stroke. This has implications for the rehabilitation of gait disorders following stroke and may have the potential to reduce falls in this population.

scholarly journals FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY WITHIN LANGUAGE REGIONS IN APHASIC PATIENTS DURING REAL-TIME fMRI-BASED NEUROFEEDBACK TRAINING

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tapasi Brahma ◽  
Chandrasekharan Kesavadas ◽  
PN Sylaja ◽  
Sujesh Sreedharan
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Polar Region ◽  
Test Group ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Neurofeedback Training ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Training Systems ◽  
The Brain

Stroke is known to disrupt connectivity in the brain in addition to forming scars. This study analyzed the connectivity changes within the language regions and the adjoining brain regions during real-time Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging-based neurofeedback training for the rehabilitation of stroke-affected patients with expressive aphasia. The study hypothesizes that with repeated sessions of the training, a rise in functional connectivity within the language regions will be observed for the aphasic patients. The experiment was conducted on three groups of subjects: test patients, control patients, and normal participants. Only the test and the normal groups underwent the training. In the training, the subjects exercised language activity covertly to upregulate the Broca’s area. Neurofeedback of the Broca activity (amplified when it is correlated with the Wernicke activity) is visually presented to the subjects to motivate them to improve their performance and stimulate upregulation of functional connectivity of the Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas. The key observations are as follows: For all the groups, a rise in functional connectivity was noticed mostly among the left hemispheric Regions of Interest (ROIs). While comparing the normal group over the test group, ROIs in the frontal polar region were noticed to have good functional connectivity. While comparing the test group over the control group, ROIs in the supra parietal, and the right central opercular regions were found to have good functional connectivity. This study can contribute to the design of rehabilitative training systems that are tuned to activate the regions that have been observed to show increased functional connectivity.

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