scholarly journals Individual Stability of Pain- and Touch-Related Neuronal Gamma Oscillations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elia Valentini ◽  
Alina Shindy ◽  
Viktor Witkovsky ◽  
Anne Stankewitz ◽  
Enrico Schulz

Background: The processing of brief pain and touch stimuli has been associated with an increase of neuronal oscillations in the gamma range (40-90 Hz). However, some studies report divergent gamma effects across single participants. Methods: In two repeated sessions we recorded gamma responses to pain and touch stimuli using EEG. Individual gamma responses were extracted from EEG channels and from ICA components that contain a strong gamma amplitude. Results: We observed gamma responses in the majority of the participants. If present, gamma synchronisation was always bound to a component that contained a laser-evoked response. We found a broad variety of individual cortical processing: some participants showed a clear gamma effect, others did not exhibit any gamma. For both modalities, the effect was reproducible between sessions. In addition, participants with a strong gamma response showed a similar time-frequency pattern across sessions. Conclusions: Our results indicate that current measures of reproducibility of research results do not reflect the complex reality of the diverse individual processing pattern of applied pain and touch. The present findings raise the question of whether we would find similar quantitatively different processing patterns in other domains in neuroscience: group results would be replicable but the overall effect is driven by a subgroup of the participants.

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 1017-1028 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Metzner ◽  
Titus von der Malsburg ◽  
Shravan Vasishth ◽  
Frank Rösler

Recent research has shown that brain potentials time-locked to fixations in natural reading can be similar to brain potentials recorded during rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP). We attempted two replications of Hagoort, Hald, Bastiaansen, and Petersson [Hagoort, P., Hald, L., Bastiaansen, M., & Petersson, K. M. Integration of word meaning and world knowledge in language comprehension. Science, 304, 438–441, 2004] to determine whether this correspondence also holds for oscillatory brain responses. Hagoort et al. reported an N400 effect and synchronization in the theta and gamma range following world knowledge violations. Our first experiment (n = 32) used RSVP and replicated both the N400 effect in the ERPs and the power increase in the theta range in the time–frequency domain. In the second experiment (n = 49), participants read the same materials freely while their eye movements and their EEG were monitored. First fixation durations, gaze durations, and regression rates were increased, and the ERP showed an N400 effect. An analysis of time–frequency representations showed synchronization in the delta range (1–3 Hz) and desynchronization in the upper alpha range (11–13 Hz) but no theta or gamma effects. The results suggest that oscillatory EEG changes elicited by world knowledge violations are different in natural reading and RSVP. This may reflect differences in how representations are constructed and retrieved from memory in the two presentation modes.


1990 ◽  
Vol 80 (6B) ◽  
pp. 2143-2160
Author(s):  
Michael A. H. Hedlin ◽  
J. Bernard Minster ◽  
John A. Orcutt

Abstract In this article we discuss our efforts to use the NORESS array to discriminate between regional earthquakes and ripple-fired quarry blasts (events that involve a number of subexplosions closely grouped in space and time). The method we describe is an extension of the time versus frequency “pattern-based” discriminant proposed by Hedlin et al. (1989b). At the heart of the discriminant is the observation that ripple-fired events tend to give rise to coda dominated by prominent spectral features that are independent of time and periodic in frequency. This spectral character is generally absent from the coda produced by earthquakes and “single-event” explosions. The discriminant originally proposed by Hedlin et al. (1989b) used data collected at 250 sec−1 by single sensors in the 1987 NRDC network in Kazakhstan, U.S.S.R. We have found that despite the relatively low digitization rate provide by the NORESS array (40 sec−1) we have had good success in our efforts to discriminate between earthquakes and quarry blasts by stacking all vertical array channels to improve signal-to-noise ratios. We describe our efforts to automate the method, so that visual pattern recognition is not required, and to make it less susceptible to spurious time-independent spectral features not originating at the source. In essence, we compute a Fourier transform of the time-frequency matrix and examine the power levels representing energy that is periodic in frequency and independent of time. Since a double Fourier transform is involved, our method can be considered as an extension of “cepstral” analysis (Tribolet, 1979). We have found, however, that our approach is superior since it is cognizant of the time independence of the spectral features of interest. We use earthquakes to define what cepstral power is to be expected in the absence of ripple firing and search for events that violate this limit. The assessment of the likelihood that ripple firing occurred at the source is made automatically by the computer and is based on the extent to which the limit is violated.


2010 ◽  
Vol 103 (3) ◽  
pp. 1658-1672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Kalenscher ◽  
Carien S. Lansink ◽  
Jan V. Lankelma ◽  
Cyriel M. A. Pennartz

Oscillations of local field potentials (LFPs) in the gamma range are found in many brain regions and are supposed to support the temporal organization of cognitive, perceptual, and motor functions. Even though gamma oscillations have also been observed in ventral striatum, one of the brain's most important structures for motivated behavior and reward processing, their specific function during ongoing behavior is unknown. Using a movable tetrode array, we recorded LFPs and activity of neural ensembles in the ventral striatum of rats performing a reward-collection task. Rats were running along a triangle track and in each round collected one of three different types of rewards. The gamma power of LFPs on subsets of tetrodes was modulated by reward-site visits, discriminated between reward types, between baitedness of reward locations and was different before versus after arrival at a reward site. Many single units in ventral striatum phase-locked their discharge pattern to the gamma oscillations of the LFPs. Phase-locking occurred more often in reward-related than in reward-unrelated neurons and LFPs. A substantial number of simultaneously recorded LFPs correlated poorly with each other in terms of gamma rhythmicity, indicating that the expression of gamma activity was heterogeneous and regionally differentiated. The orchestration of LFPs and single-unit activity by way of gamma rhythmicity sheds light on the functional architecture of the ventral striatum and the temporal coordination of ventral striatal activity for modulating downstream areas and regulating synaptic plasticity.


2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (03) ◽  
pp. 1250036 ◽  
Author(s):  
FILIPPO CONA ◽  
MAURO URSINO

A neural mass model for the memorization of sequences is presented. It exploits three layers of cortical columns that generate a theta/gamma rhythm. The first layer implements an auto-associative memory working in the theta range; the second segments objects in the gamma range; finally, the feedback interactions between the third and the second layers realize a hetero-associative memory for learning a sequence. After training with Hebbian and anti-Hebbian rules, the network recovers sequences and accounts for the phase-precession phenomenon.


2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 1420-1433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wataru Sato ◽  
Takanori Kochiyama ◽  
Shota Uono ◽  
Kazumi Matsuda ◽  
Keiko Usui ◽  
...  

Neuroimaging studies have reported greater activation of the human amygdala in response to faces than to nonfacial stimuli, yet little is known about the temporal profile of this activation. We investigated this issue by recording the intracranial field potentials of the amygdala in participants undergoing preneurosurgical assessment (n = 6). Participants observed faces, mosaics, and houses in upright and inverted orientations using a dummy target detection task. Time–frequency statistical parametric mapping analyses revealed that the amygdala showed greater gamma-band activity in response to faces than to mosaics at 200–300 msec, with a peak at 255 msec. Gamma-band activation with a similar temporal profile was also found in response to faces versus houses. Activation patterns did not differ between upright and inverted presentations of stimuli. These results suggest that the human amygdala is involved in the early stages of face processing, including the modulation of subjective perception of faces.


2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 1850-1862 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan R. Vidal ◽  
Maximilien Chaumon ◽  
J. Kevin O'Regan ◽  
Catherine Tallon-Baudry

Neural oscillatory synchrony could implement grouping processes, act as an attentional filter, or foster the storage of information in short-term memory. Do these findings indicate that oscillatory synchrony is an unspecific epiphenomenon occurring in any demanding task, or that oscillatory synchrony is a fundamental mechanism involved whenever neural cooperation is requested? If the latter hypothesis is true, then oscillatory synchrony should be specific, with distinct visual processes eliciting different types of oscillations. We recorded magnetoencephalogram (MEG) signals while manipulating the grouping properties of a visual display on the one hand, and the focusing of attention to memorize part of this display on the other hand. Grouping-related gamma oscillations were present in all conditions but modulated by the grouping properties of the stimulus (one or two groups) in the high gamma-band (70–120 Hz) at central occipital locations. Attention-related gamma oscillations appeared as an additional component whenever attentional focusing was requested in the low gamma-band (44–66 Hz) at parietal locations. Our results thus reveal the existence of a functional specialization in the gamma range, with grouping-related oscillations showing up at higher frequencies than attention-related oscillations. The pattern of oscillatory synchrony is thus specific of the visual process it is associated with. Our results further suggest that both grouping processes and focused attention rely on a common implementation process, namely, gamma-band oscillatory synchrony, a finding that could account for the fact that coherent percepts are more likely to catch attention than incoherent ones.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (4-2) ◽  
pp. 457-463
Author(s):  
Siti Norhayati Md Yassin ◽  
Nugraha Priya Utama ◽  
Maheza Irna Mohamad Salim

Empathetic-pain perception is a divergence from empathy which is a pain perceived as a reflection of perception from others.  The study of empathetic-pain perception and empathy were always related with psychological disorder effecting social and humanity values.  The process involved in empathetic-pain perception formations in brain were believed to be different if induced by different level of empathetic-pain perception stimuli.  Therefore, this paper was aimed to study the processes involved in empathetic-pain perception formation by revealing the activation-time intervals and source location of the highest empathetic-pain perception intensity.  This study conducted an experiment to induce empathetic-pain perception on 16 participants using still pictures as visual-stimuli.  Electroencephalograph (EEG) recorded brain signal of the participants during the visual-stimuli presentations while the EEG signal were analysed using MATLAB® toolbox, EEGLAB.  Time/frequency decomposition in EEGLAB produces ERSP images which determines the activation-time intervals for empathetic-pain perception and, by performing source localization within the activation-time intervals using sLORETA, the source locations for most active processes in empathetic-pain perception were determined.  The processes involved in empathetic-pain perception formation in every level were ‘stimuli-learning’ and ‘memory-reconstructions’ by Posterior Cingulate BA 30, pain-regulation by either Postcentral Gyrus BA 2, Cingulate Gyrus BA 24 or both, and visual-stimuli and visual-memory processing by Lingual Gyrus at almost similar time intervals.  However, the processes were also performed by various brain areas to either perform attention-sustain process while managed working memory and self-control regulation by Middle Frontal Gyrus BA 46, mirror-neurons activation while processed attention information and emotions by Inferior Parietal Lobule BA 40, multisensory integration by Superior Temporal Gyrus BA 22, or motor-neurons activation to control the skeletal system respectively in every level by Paracentral Lobule BA 6 and Precentral Gyrus BA44.  In conclusion, the empathetic-pain perception formation process discovery were necessary to differentiate every affectional level of the empathetic-pain perception.


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