scholarly journals Combination of structural and functional connectivity explains unique variation in specific domains of cognitive function.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Czime Litwińczuk ◽  
Nelson Trujillo-Barreto ◽  
Nils Muhlert ◽  
Lauren Cloutman ◽  
Anna Woollams
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Mutual Influence ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Cognitive Domain ◽  
Model Quality ◽  
Human Connectome Project ◽  
Effective Models ◽  
Functional Components

The relationship between structural and functional brain networks has been characterised as complex: the two networks mirror each other and show mutual influence but they also diverge in their organisation. This work explored whether a combination of structural and functional connectivity can improve models of cognitive performance, and whether this differs by cognitive domain. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to cognitive data from the Human Connectome Project. Four components were obtained, reflecting Retention and Retrieval, Processing Speed, Self-regulation, and Encoding. The PCA-Regression approach was applied to predict cognitive performance using structural, functional and joint structural-functional components. Model quality was evaluated using model evidence, model fit and generalisability. Functional connectivity components produced the most effective models of Retention and Retrieval and Encoding, whereas joint structural-functional components produced most effective models of Processing Speed, and Self-regulation. The present study demonstrates that multimodal data fusion using structural and functional connectivity can help predict cognitive performance, but that the additional explanatory value (relative to overfitting) may depend on the specific selection of cognitive domain. We discuss the implications of these results for studies of the brain basis of cognition in health and disease.

scholarly journals Women who breastfeed exhibit cognitive benefits after age 50

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly Fox ◽  
Prabha Siddarth ◽  
Hanadi Ajam Oughli ◽  
Sarah A Nguyen ◽  
Michaela M Milillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Biological Effects ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Cognitive Domain ◽  
Superior Performance ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Post Menopausal

Abstract Background and objectives Women who breastfeed may experience long-term benefits for their health in addition to the more widely-appreciated effects on the breastfed child. Breastfeeding may induce long-term effects on biopsychosocial systems implicated in brain health. Also, due to diminished breastfeeding in the post-industrial era, it is important to understand the lifespan implications of breastfeeding for surmising maternal phenotypes in our species’ collective past. Here, we assess how women’s breastfeeding history relates to post-menopausal cognitive performance. Methodology A convenience sample of Southern California women age 50+ was recruited via two clinical trials, completed a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery and answered a questionnaire about reproductive life-history. General linear models examined whether cognitive domain scores were associated with breastfeeding in depressed and non-depressed women, controlling for age, education, and ethnicity. Results Women who breastfed exhibited superior performance in the domains of Learning, Delayed Recall, Executive Functioning and Processing Speed compared to women who did not breastfeed (p-values 0.0003-0.015). These four domains remained significant in analyses limited to non-depressed and parous subsets of the cohort. Among those depressed, only Executive Functioning and Processing Speed were positively associated with breastfeeding. Conclusions and implications We add to the growing list of lifespan health correlates of breastfeeding for women’s health, such as lower risk of type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and breast cancer. We surmise that women’s post-menopausal cognitive competence may have been greater in past environments in which breastfeeding was more prevalent, bolstering the possibility that post-menopausal longevity may have been adaptive across human evolutionary history. Lay Summary Breastfeeding may affect women’s cognitive performance. Breastfeeding’s biological effects and psychosocial effects, such as improved stress regulation, could exert long-term benefits for the mother’s brain. We found that women who breastfed performed better on a series of cognitive tests in later life compared to women who did not breastfeed.

scholarly journals Resting state connectivity and cognitive performance in adults with cerebral autosomal-dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 981-991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Breda Cullen ◽  
Fiona C Moreton ◽  
Michael S Stringer ◽  
Rajeev Krishnadas ◽  
Dheeraj Kalladka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Autosomal Dominant ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Cognitive Measures ◽  
Z Scores ◽  
Left Middle Temporal Gyrus

Cognitive impairment is an inevitable feature of cerebral autosomal-dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL), affecting executive function, attention and processing speed from an early stage. Impairment is associated with structural markers such as lacunes, but associations with functional connectivity have not yet been reported. Twenty-two adults with genetically-confirmed CADASIL (11 male; aged 49.8 ± 11.2 years) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging at rest. Intrinsic attentional/executive networks were identified using group independent components analysis. A linear regression model tested voxel-wise associations between cognitive measures and component spatial maps, and Pearson correlations were performed with mean intra-component connectivity z-scores. Two frontoparietal components were associated with cognitive performance. Voxel-wise analyses showed an association between one component cluster and processing speed (left middle temporal gyrus; peak −48, −18, −14; ZE = 5.65, pFWEcorr = 0.001). Mean connectivity in both components correlated with processing speed ( r = 0.45, p = 0.043; r = 0.56, p = 0.008). Mean connectivity in one component correlated with faster Trailmaking B minus A time ( r = −0.77, p < 0.001) and better executive performance ( r = 0.56, p = 0.011). This preliminary study provides evidence for associations between cognitive performance and attentional network connectivity in CADASIL. Functional connectivity may be a useful biomarker of cognitive performance in this population.

Toward a Neural Model of the Openness-Psychoticism Dimension: Functional Connectivity in the Default and Frontoparietal Control Networks

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott D. Blain ◽  
Rachael Grazioplene ◽  
Yizhou Ma ◽  
Colin G. DeYoung
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Psychotic Disorders ◽  
Neural Model ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Control Networks ◽  
Psychosis Proneness ◽  
Human Connectome Project ◽  
Intrinsic Connectivity Networks ◽  
Personality Psychopathology

Psychosis proneness has been linked to heightened Openness to Experience and to cognitive deficits. Openness and psychotic disorders are associated with the default and frontoparietal networks, and the latter network is also robustly associated with intelligence. We tested the hypothesis that functional connectivity of the default and frontoparietal networks is a neural correlate of the openness-psychoticism dimension. Participants in the Human Connectome Project (N = 1003) completed measures of psychoticism, openness, and intelligence. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to identify intrinsic connectivity networks. Structural equation modeling revealed relations among personality, intelligence, and network coherence. Psychoticism, openness, and especially their shared variance, were related positively to default network coherence and negatively to frontoparietal coherence. These associations remained after controlling for intelligence. Intelligence was positively related to frontoparietal coherence. Research suggests psychoticism and openness are linked in part through their association with connectivity in networks involving experiential simulation and cognitive control. We propose a model of psychosis risk that highlights roles of the default and frontoparietal networks. Findings echo research on functional connectivity in psychosis patients, suggesting shared mechanisms across the personality-psychopathology continuum.

Self-Regulation and Human Progress

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan Osborne
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Method ◽  
Mutual Influence ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Free Expression ◽  
Trial And Error ◽  
Human History ◽  
Economic Context ◽  
The Right ◽  
First Time

Does humanity progress primarily through leaders organizing and directing followers, or through trial and error by individuals free to chart their own path? For most of human history ruling classes had the capacity and the desire to tightly regiment society, to the general detriment of progress. But beginning in the 1500s, Europeans developed a series of arguments for simply leaving well enough alone. First in the form of the scientific method, then in the form of free expression, and finally in the form of the continuously, spontaneously reordered free market, people began to accept that progress is hard, and requires that an immense number of mistakes be tolerated so that we may learn from them. This book tells the story of the development of these three ideas, and for the first time tells of the mutual influence among them. It outlines the rise, and dramatic triumph, of each of these self-regulating systems, followed by a surprising rise in skepticism, especially in the economic context. Such skepticism in the 20th century was frequently costly and sometimes catastrophic. Under the right conditions, which are more frequent than generally believed, self-regulating systems in which participants organize themselves are superior. We should accept their turbulence in exchange for the immense progress they generate.

scholarly journals Eye contact effect: The role of vagal regulation and reactivity, and self-regulation of attention

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicja Niedźwiecka
Keyword(s):  
Executive Functions ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Eye Contact ◽  
Autonomic Regulation ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
Contact Effect ◽  
The Individual

AbstractEye contact is a crucial aspect of social interactions that may enhance an individual’s cognitive performance (i.e. the eye contact effect) or hinder it (i.e. face-to-face interference effect). In this paper, I focus on the influence of eye contact on cognitive performance in tasks engaging executive functions. I present a hypothesis as to why some individuals benefit from eye contact while others do not. I propose that the relations between eye contact and executive functioning are modulated by an individual’s autonomic regulation and reactivity and self-regulation of attention. In particular, I propose that individuals with more optimal autonomic regulation and reactivity, and more effective self-regulation of attention benefit from eye contact. Individuals who are less well regulated and over- or under-reactive and who do not employ effective strategies of self-regulation of attention may not benefit from eye contact and may perform better when eye contact is absent. I present some studies that justify the proposed hypothesis and point to a method that could be employed to test them. This approach could help to better understand the complex mechanisms underlying the individual differences in participant’s cognitive performance during tasks engaging executive functions.

scholarly journals Slow Wave Sleep and EEG Delta Spectral Power are Associated with Cognitive Function in Parkinson’s Disease

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Kimberly H. Wood ◽  
Adeel A. Memon ◽  
Raima A. Memon ◽  
Allen Joop ◽  
Jennifer Pilkington ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Executive Function ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Slow Wave ◽  
Effect Size ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Slow Wave Sleep ◽  
Spectral Power ◽  
Z Scores ◽  
Domain Scores

Background: Cognitive and sleep dysfunction are common non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Objective: Determine the relationship between slow wave sleep (SWS) and cognitive performance in PD. Methods: Thirty-two PD participants were evaluated with polysomnography and a comprehensive level II neurocognitive battery, as defined by the Movement Disorders Society Task Force for diagnosis of PD-mild cognitive impairment. Raw scores for each test were transformed into z-scores using normative data. Z-scores were averaged to obtain domain scores, and domain scores were averaged to determine the Composite Cognitive Score (CCS), the primary outcome. Participants were grouped by percent of SWS into High SWS and Low SWS groups and compared on CCS and other outcomes using 2-sided t-tests or Mann-Whitney U. Correlations of cognitive outcomes with sleep architecture and EEG spectral power were performed. Results: Participants in the High SWS group demonstrated better global cognitive function (CCS) (p = 0.01, effect size: r = 0.45). In exploratory analyses, the High SWS group showed better performance in domains of executive function (effect size: Cohen’s d = 1.05), language (d = 0.95), and processing speed (d = 1.12). Percentage of SWS was correlated with global cognition and executive function, language, and processing speed. Frontal EEG delta power during N3 was correlated with the CCS and executive function. Cognition was not correlated with subjective sleep quality. Conclusion: Increased SWS and higher delta spectral power are associated with better cognitive performance in PD. This demonstrates the significant relationship between sleep and cognitive function and suggests that interventions to improve sleep might improve cognition in individuals with PD.

scholarly journals Heritability and interindividual variability of regional structure-function coupling

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zijin Gu ◽  
Keith Wakefield Jamison ◽  
Mert Rory Sabuncu ◽  
Amy Kuceyeski
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Structure Function ◽  
Regional Differences ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Diffusion Weighted Mri ◽  
Regional Structure ◽  
Human Connectome Project ◽  
Structural Connections ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractWhite matter structural connections are likely to support flow of functional activation or functional connectivity. While the relationship between structural and functional connectivity profiles, here called SC-FC coupling, has been studied on a whole-brain, global level, few studies have investigated this relationship at a regional scale. Here we quantify regional SC-FC coupling in healthy young adults using diffusion-weighted MRI and resting-state functional MRI data from the Human Connectome Project and study how SC-FC coupling may be heritable and varies between individuals. We show that regional SC-FC coupling strength varies widely across brain regions, but was strongest in highly structurally connected visual and subcortical areas. We also show interindividual regional differences based on age, sex and composite cognitive scores, and that SC-FC coupling was highly heritable within certain networks. These results suggest regional structure-function coupling is an idiosyncratic feature of brain organisation that may be influenced by genetic factors.

scholarly journals Association Between Brain Activation and Functional Connectivity

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 1984-1996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dardo Tomasi ◽  
Nora D Volkow
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Brain Activation ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level Dependent ◽  
Common Source ◽  
Functional Connectivity Density ◽  
Density Mapping ◽  
Human Connectome Project ◽  
Bold Responses

Abstract The origin of the “resting-state” brain activity recorded with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is still uncertain. Here we provide evidence for the neurovascular origins of the amplitude of the low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and the local functional connectivity density (lFCD) by comparing them with task-induced blood-oxygen level dependent (BOLD) responses, which are considered a proxy for neuronal activation. Using fMRI data for 2 different tasks (Relational and Social) collected by the Human Connectome Project in 426 healthy adults, we show that ALFF and lFCD have linear associations with the BOLD response. This association was significantly attenuated by a novel task signal regression (TSR) procedure, indicating that task performance enhances lFCD and ALFF in activated regions. We also show that lFCD predicts BOLD activation patterns, as was recently shown for other functional connectivity metrics, which corroborates that resting functional connectivity architecture impacts brain activation responses. Thus, our findings indicate a common source for BOLD responses, ALFF and lFCD, which is consistent with the neurovascular origin of local hemodynamic synchrony presumably reflecting coordinated fluctuations in neuronal activity. This study also supports the development of task-evoked functional connectivity density mapping.

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