Stereotactic electroencephalography in humans reveals multisensory signal in early visual and auditory cortices

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefania Ferraro ◽  
Markus J. Van Ackeren ◽  
Roberto Mai ◽  
Laura Tassi ◽  
Francesco Cardinale ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Multisensory Processing ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Oscillatory Activity ◽  
Visual Responses ◽  
Related Potentials

AbstractUnequivocally demonstrating the presence of multisensory signals at the earliest stages of cortical processing remains challenging in humans. In our study, we relied on the unique spatio-temporal resolution provided by intracranial stereotactic electroencephalographic (SEEG) recordings in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy to characterize the signal extracted from early visual (calcarine and pericalcarine) and auditory (Heschl’s gyrus and planum temporale) regions during a simple audio-visual oddball task. We provide evidences that both cross-modal responses (visual responses in auditory cortex or the reverse) and multisensory processing (alteration of the unimodal responses during bimodal stimulation) can be observed in intracranial event-related potentials (iERPs) and in power modulations of oscillatory activity at different temporal scales within the first 150 ms after stimulus onset. The temporal profiles of the iERPs are compatible with the hypothesis that MSI occurs by means of direct pathways linking early visual and auditory regions. Our data indicate, moreover, that MSI mainly relies on modulations of the low-frequency bands (foremost the theta band in the auditory cortex and the alpha band in the visual cortex), suggesting the involvement of feedback pathways between the two sensory regions. Remarkably, we also observed high-gamma power modulations by sounds in the early visual cortex, thus suggesting the presence of neuronal populations involved in auditory processing in the calcarine and pericalcarine region in humans.

scholarly journals Sequential Effects of Increasing Propofol Sedation on Frontal and Temporal Cortices as Indexed by Auditory Event-related Potentials

2004 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 617-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Heinke ◽  
Ramona Kenntner ◽  
Thomas C. Gunter ◽  
Daniela Sammler ◽  
Derk Olthoff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Cognitive Functions ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Sequential Effects ◽  
Auditory Event ◽  
Propofol Sedation ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Auditory Event Related Potentials

Background It is an open question whether cognitive processes of auditory perception that are mediated by functionally different cortices exhibit the same sensitivity to sedation. The auditory event-related potentials P1, mismatch negativity (MMN), and early right anterior negativity (ERAN) originate from different cortical areas and reflect different stages of auditory processing. The P1 originates mainly from the primary auditory cortex. The MMN is generated in or in the close vicinity of the primary auditory cortex but is also dependent on frontal sources. The ERAN mainly originates from frontal generators. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of increasing propofol sedation on different stages of auditory processing as reflected in P1, MMN, and ERAN. Methods The P1, the MMN, and the ERAN were recorded preoperatively in 18 patients during four levels of anesthesia adjusted with target-controlled infusion: awake state (target concentration of propofol 0.0 microg/ml), light sedation (0.5 microg/ml), deep sedation (1.5 microg/ml), and unconsciousness (2.5-3.0 microg/ml). Simultaneously, propofol anesthesia was assessed using the Bispectral Index. Results Propofol sedation resulted in a progressive decrease in amplitudes and an increase of latencies with a similar pattern for MMN and ERAN. MMN and ERAN were elicited during sedation but were abolished during unconsciousness. In contrast, the amplitude of the P1 was unchanged by sedation but markedly decreased during unconsciousness. Conclusion The results indicate differential effects of propofol sedation on cognitive functions that involve mainly the auditory cortices and cognitive functions that involve the frontal cortices.

scholarly journals Pre-Stimulus Alpha-Band Phase Gates Afferent Visual Cortex Responses

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Dou ◽  
Audrey Morrow ◽  
Luca Iemi ◽  
Jason Samaha
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Alpha Phase ◽  
Alpha Activity ◽  
Alpha Band ◽  
Visual Responses ◽  
Alpha Oscillations ◽  
Related Potentials

The neurogenesis of alpha-band (8-13 Hz) activity has been characterized across many different animal experiments. However, the functional role that alpha oscillations play in perception and behavior has largely been attributed to two contrasting hypotheses, with human evidence in favor of either (or both or neither) remaining sparse. On the one hand, alpha generators have been observed in relay sectors of the visual thalamus and are postulated to phasically inhibit afferent visual input in a feedforward manner 1-4. On the other hand, evidence also suggests that the direction of influence of alpha activity propagates backwards along the visual hierarchy, reflecting a feedback influence upon the visual cortex 5-9. The primary source of human evidence regarding the role of alpha phase in visual processing has been on perceptual reports 10-16, which could be modulated either by feedforward or feedback alpha activity. Thus, although these two hypotheses are not mutually exclusive, human evidence clearly supporting either one is lacking. Here, we present human subjects with large, high-contrast visual stimuli that elicit robust C1 event-related potentials (ERP), which peak between 70-80 milliseconds post-stimulus and are thought to reflect afferent primary visual cortex (V1) input 17-20. We find that the phase of ongoing alpha oscillations modulates the global field power (GFP) of the EEG during this first volley of stimulus processing (the C1 time-window). On the standard assumption 21-23 that this early activity reflects postsynaptic potentials being relayed to visual cortex from the thalamus, our results suggest that alpha phase gates visual responses during the first feed-forward sweep of processing.

scholarly journals Modeling spectral changes following stimulation: Is there an event-related shift in 1/f activity?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mate Gyurkovics ◽  
Grace Clements ◽  
Kathy A Low ◽  
Monica Fabiani ◽  
Gabriele Gratton
Keyword(s):  
Neural Activity ◽  
Background Activity ◽  
Spectral Component ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Oscillatory Activity ◽  
Time Frequency ◽  
Auditory Oddball ◽  
Spectral Changes ◽  
Related Potentials

Neural activity contains oscillatory components (i.e., narrowband oscillations) and non-oscillatory components (e.g., event-related potentials [ERPs] and 1/f-like background activity). Here, surface-level EEG data was analyzed to investigate how the spectral content of neural activity below 25 Hz changes from before to after an event. We focused on changes in non-oscillatory background activity, a spectral component often assumed to be static across time in time-frequency analyses. During a simple auditory perception task (n = 46) and an auditory oddball task (n = 23), we found an apparent increase in the offset and a decrease in the slope of 1/f activity from before to after a tone. Importantly, however, these changes in non-oscillatory background activity were almost completely accounted for by the emergence of ERPs in response to the stimulus in frequencies below the alpha range (8-12 Hz). Our findings suggest that post-event spectral changes below 25 Hz can be modelled as the sum of pre-event non-oscillatory activity, the spectrum of the ERP, and an independent alpha component that is modulated in amplitude, but not elicited, by the event. Theta activity (4-8 Hz), however, was not present before the event and appeared to be phase-locked to it. The theoretical and methodological implications of our findings regarding the nature and origin of 1/f activity, and the interpretation of low-frequency activity in the time-frequency domain are discussed.

Effect of quetiapine on cognitive function in schizophrenia: a mismatch negativity potentials study

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guo-zhen Yuan ◽  
Zhen-he Zhou ◽  
Jian-jun Yao
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Mismatch Negativity ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Repeated Measure ◽  
Objective Evidence ◽  
Main Effect ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Measure Analysis

Objective:The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the effects of quetiapine on abnormalities of early auditory processing in patients with schizophrenia were reflected by mismatch negativity (MMN).Methods:Subjects were 23 patients with schizophrenia and 23 controls. Psychopathology was rated in patients with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) at baseline and after 4-week and after 8-week treatments with quetiapine. Auditory stimuli for event-related potentials consisted of 100 ms/1000 Hz standards, intermixed with 100 ms/1500 Hz frequency deviants and 250 ms/ 1000 Hz duration deviants. A stimulus onset asynchrony of each was 300 ms. Electroencephalograph was recorded at Fz. BESA 5.1.8 was used to perform data analysis. MMN waveforms were obtained by subtracting waveforms elicited by standards from those elicited by frequency- or duration-deviant stimuli.Results:Quetiapine decreased all PANSS scores. Patients showed smaller mean amplitudes of frequency and duration MMN at baseline than did controls. A repeated measure analysis of variance with sessions (i.e. baseline and 4- and 8-week treatments) and MMN type (frequency versus duration) as within-subject factors revealed no significant MMN type or MMN type × session main effect for MMN amplitudes (for MMN type: F = 0.704, df = 1, p = 0.403; for MMN type × session: F = 0.299, df = 2, p = 0.796). Session main effect was significant (F = 3.576, df = 2, p = 0.031). Least square difference tests showed significant differences between MMN amplitudes at 8 weeks and those at both baseline (p = 0.025) and 4 weeks (p = 0.020). MMN amplitudes at 8 weeks were higher than those at baseline.Conclusions:Quetiapine improved the amplitudes of MMN after the 8-week treatment. MMN offers objective evidence that treatment with the quetiapine may ameliorate preattentive deficits in schizophrenia.

scholarly journals Intermodal Auditory, Visual, and Tactile Attention Modulates Early Stages of Neural Processing

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 669-683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina M. Karns ◽  
Robert T. Knight
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Association Cortex ◽  
Neural Processing ◽  
Secondary Association ◽  
Tactile Attention ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Visual Onset

We used event-related potentials (ERPs) and gamma band oscillatory responses (GBRs) to examine whether intermodal attention operates early in the auditory, visual, and tactile modalities. To control for the effects of spatial attention, we spatially coregistered all stimuli and varied the attended modality across counterbalanced blocks in an intermodal selection task. In each block, participants selectively responded to either auditory, visual, or vibrotactile stimuli from the stream of intermodal events. Auditory and visual ERPs were modulated at the latencies of early cortical processing, but attention manifested later for tactile ERPs. For ERPs, auditory processing was modulated at the latency of the Na (29 msec), which indexes early cortical or thalamocortical processing and the subsequent P1 (90 msec) ERP components. Visual processing was modulated at the latency of the early phase of the C1 (62–72 msec) thought to be generated in the primary visual cortex and the subsequent P1 and N1 (176 msec). Tactile processing was modulated at the latency of the N160 (165 msec) likely generated in the secondary association cortex. Intermodal attention enhanced early sensory GBRs for all three modalities: auditory (onset 57 msec), visual (onset 47 msec), and tactile (onset 27 msec). Together, these results suggest that intermodal attention enhances neural processing relatively early in the sensory stream independent from differential effects of spatial and intramodal selective attention.

Sensory and Cognitive Components of Auditory Processing in Individuals With Tinnitus

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 834-842
Author(s):  
Harini Vasudevan ◽  
Hari Prakash Palaniswamy ◽  
Ramaswamy Balakrishnan
Keyword(s):  
Selective Attention ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Oscillatory Activity ◽  
Default Mode ◽  
Auditory Selective Attention ◽  
Cognitive Components ◽  
Mode Function ◽  
Related Potentials

Purpose The main purpose of the study is to explore the auditory selective attention abilities (using event-related potentials) and the neuronal oscillatory activity in the default mode network sites (using electroencephalogram [EEG]) in individuals with tinnitus. Method Auditory selective attention was measured using P300, and the resting state EEG was assessed using the default mode function analysis. Ten individuals with continuous and bothersome tinnitus along with 10 age- and gender-matched control participants underwent event-related potential testing and 5 min of EEG recording (at wakeful rest). Results Individuals with tinnitus were observed to have larger N1 and P3 amplitudes along with prolonged P3 latency. The default mode function analysis revealed no significant oscillatory differences between the groups. Conclusion The current study shows changes in both the early sensory and late cognitive components of auditory processing. The change in the P3 component is suggestive of selective auditory attention deficit, and the sensory component (N1) suggests an altered bottom-up processing in individuals with tinnitus.

Orienting and Focusing in Voluntary and Involuntary Visuospatial Attention Conditions

2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 198-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Wang ◽  
Jianhui Wu ◽  
Shimin Fu ◽  
Yuejia Luo
Keyword(s):  
Gain Control ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Orientation Discrimination ◽  
Involuntary Attention ◽  
Attention Condition ◽  
Voluntary Attention ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

In the present study, we used event-related potentials (ERPs) and behavioral measurements in a peripherally cued line-orientation discrimination task to investigate the underlying mechanisms of orienting and focusing in voluntary and involuntary attention conditions. Informative peripheral cue (75% valid) with long stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) was used in the voluntary attention condition; uninformative peripheral cue (50% valid) with short SOA was used in the involuntary attention condition. Both orienting and focusing were affected by attention type. Results for attention orienting in the voluntary attention condition confirmed the “sensory gain control theory,” as attention enhanced the amplitude of the early ERP components, P1 and N1, without latency changes. In the involuntary attention condition, compared with invalid trials, targets in the valid trials elicited larger and later contralateral P1 components, and smaller and later contralateral N1 components. Furthermore, but only in the voluntary attention condition, targets in the valid trials elicited larger N2 and P3 components than in the invalid trials. Attention focusing in the involuntary attention condition resulted in larger P1 components elicited by targets in small-cue trials compared to large-cue trials, whereas in the voluntary attention condition, larger P1 components were elicited by targets in large-cue trials than in small-cue trials. There was no interaction between orienting and focusing. These results suggest that orienting and focusing of visual-spatial attention are deployed independently regardless of attention type. In addition, the present results provide evidence of dissociation between voluntary and involuntary attention during the same task.

scholarly journals Frequency Sensitivity of Neural Responses to English Verb Argument Structure Violations

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jona Sassenhagen ◽  
Ryan Blything ◽  
Elena V. M. Lieven ◽  
Ben Ambridge
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Learning ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Online Processing ◽  
Verb Argument Structure ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Intransitive Verbs

How are verb-argument structure preferences acquired? Children typically receive very little negative evidence, raising the question of how they come to understand the restrictions on grammatical constructions. Statistical learning theories propose stochastic patterns in the input contain sufficient clues. For example, if a verb is very common, but never observed in transitive constructions, this would indicate that transitive usage of that verb is illegal. Ambridge et al. (2008) have shown that in offline grammaticality judgements of intransitive verbs used in transitive constructions, low-frequency verbs elicit higher acceptability ratings than high-frequency verbs, as predicted if relative frequency is a cue during statistical learning. Here, we investigate if the same pattern also emerges in on-line processing of English sentences. EEG was recorded while healthy adults listened to sentences featuring transitive uses of semantically matched verb pairs of differing frequencies. We replicate the finding of higher acceptabilities of transitive uses of low- vs. high-frequency intransitive verbs. Event-Related Potentials indicate a similar result: early electrophysiological signals distinguish between misuse of high- vs low-frequency verbs. This indicates online processing shows a similar sensitivity to frequency as off-line judgements, consistent with a parser that reflects an original acquisition of grammatical constructions via statistical cues. However, the nature of the observed neural responses was not of the expected, or an easily interpretable, form, motivating further work into neural correlates of online processing of syntactic constructions.

scholarly journals Distortion and Western Music Chord Processing

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Virtala ◽  
Minna Huotilainen ◽  
Esa Lilja ◽  
Juha Ojala ◽  
Mari Tervaniemi
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Rock Music ◽  
Standard Stimulus ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Special Role ◽  
Electric Guitar ◽  
Heavy Metal Music ◽  
Major Chord ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Cortical Auditory Processing

Guitar distortion used in rock music modifies a chord so that new frequencies appear in its harmonic structure. A distorted dyad (power chord) has a special role in heavy metal music due to its harmonics that create a major third interval, making it similar to a major chord. We investigated how distortion affects cortical auditory processing of chords in musicians and nonmusicians. Electric guitar chords with or without distortion and with or without the interval of the major third (i.e., triads or dyads) were presented in an oddball design where one of them served as a repeating standard stimulus and others served as occasional deviants. This enabled the recording of event-related potentials (ERPs) of the electroencephalogram (EEG) related to deviance processing (the mismatch negativity MMN and the attention-related P3a component) in an ignore condition. MMN and P3a responses were elicited in most paradigms. Distorted chords in a nondistorted context only elicited early P3a responses. However, the power chord did not demonstrate a special role in the level of the ERPs. Earlier and larger MMN and P3a responses were elicited when distortion was modified compared to when only harmony (triad vs. dyad) was modified between standards and deviants. The MMN responses were largest when distortion and harmony deviated simultaneously. Musicians demonstrated larger P3a responses than nonmusicians. The results suggest mostly independent cortical auditory processing of distortion and harmony in Western individuals, and facilitated chord change processing in musicians compared to nonmusicians. While distortion has been used in heavy rock music for decades, this study is among the first ones to shed light on its cortical basis.

scholarly journals Characterizing pinprick-evoked brain potentials before and after experimentally induced secondary hyperalgesia

2015 ◽  
Vol 114 (5) ◽  
pp. 2672-2681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuel N. van den Broeke ◽  
André Mouraux ◽  
Antonia H. Groneberg ◽  
Doreen B. Pfau ◽  
Rolf-Detlef Treede ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Secondary Hyperalgesia ◽  
Brain Potentials ◽  
Nociceptive Pathways ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Pain Ratings ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Positive Complex ◽  
Stimulation Of

Secondary hyperalgesia is believed to be a key feature of “central sensitization” and is characterized by enhanced pain to mechanical nociceptive stimuli. The aim of the present study was to characterize, using EEG, the effects of pinprick stimulation intensity on the magnitude of pinprick-elicited brain potentials [event-related potentials (ERPs)] before and after secondary hyperalgesia induced by intradermal capsaicin in humans. Pinprick-elicited ERPs and pinprick-evoked pain ratings were recorded in 19 healthy volunteers, with mechanical pinprick stimuli of varying intensities (0.25-mm probe applied with a force extending between 16 and 512 mN). The recordings were performed before (T0) and 30 min after (T1) intradermal capsaicin injection. The contralateral noninjected arm served as control. ERPs elicited by stimulation of untreated skin were characterized by 1) an early-latency negative-positive complex peaking between 120 and 250 ms after stimulus onset (N120-P240) and maximal at the vertex and 2) a long-lasting positive wave peaking 400–600 ms after stimulus onset and maximal more posterior (P500), which was correlated to perceived pinprick pain. After capsaicin injection, pinprick stimuli were perceived as more intense in the area of secondary hyperalgesia and this effect was stronger for lower compared with higher stimulus intensities. In addition, there was an enhancement of the P500 elicited by stimuli of intermediate intensity, which was significant for 64 mN. The other components of the ERPs were unaffected by capsaicin. Our results suggest that the increase in P500 magnitude after capsaicin is mediated by facilitated mechanical nociceptive pathways.

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