Prefrontal Dynamics Associated with Efficient Detours and Shortcuts: A Combined Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Magnetoencenphalography Study

Central to the concept of the “cognitive map” is that it confers behavioral flexibility, allowing animals to take efficient detours, exploit shortcuts, and avoid alluring, but unhelpful, paths. The neural underpinnings of such naturalistic and flexible behavior remain unclear. In two neuroimaging experiments, we tested human participants on their ability to navigate to a set of goal locations in a virtual desert island riven by lava, which occasionally spread to block selected paths (necessitating detours) or receded to open new paths (affording real shortcuts or false shortcuts to be avoided). Detours activated a network of frontal regions compared with shortcuts. Activity in the right dorsolateral PFC specifically increased when participants encountered tempting false shortcuts that led along suboptimal paths that needed to be differentiated from real shortcuts. We also report modulation in event-related fields and theta power in these situations, providing insight to the temporal evolution of response to encountering detours and shortcuts. These results help inform current models as to how the brain supports navigation and planning in dynamic environments.

Download Full-text

The narcissistic self and its psychological and neural correlates: an exploratory fMRI study

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s003329171000228x ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 41 (8) ◽

pp. 1641-1650 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

Y. Fan ◽

C. Wonneberger ◽

B. Enzi ◽

M. de Greck ◽

C. Ulrich ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Healthy Subjects ◽

Neural Correlates ◽

Anterior Insula ◽

Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽

Resonance Imaging ◽

Fmri Study ◽

Neuroimaging Data ◽

Neural Underpinnings ◽

The Right ◽

First Time

BackgroundThe concept of narcissism has been much researched in psychoanalysis and especially in self psychology. One of the hallmarks of narcissism is altered emotion, including decreased affective resonance (e.g. empathy) with others, the neural underpinnings of which remain unclear. The aim of our exploratory study was to investigate the psychological and neural correlates of empathy in two groups of healthy subjects with high and low narcissistic personality trait. We hypothesized that high narcissistic subjects would show a differential activity pattern in regions such as the anterior insula that are typically associated with empathy.MethodA sample of 34 non-clinical subjects was divided into high (n=11) and low (n=11) narcissistic groups according to the 66th and 33rd percentiles of their scores on the Narcissism Inventory (NI). Combining the psychological, behavioral and neuronal [i.e. functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)] measurements of empathy, we compared the high and low narcissistic groups of subjects.ResultsHigh narcissistic subjects showed higher scores on the Symptom Checklist-90 – Revised (SCL-90-R) and the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) when compared to low narcissistic subjects. High narcissistic subjects also showed significantly decreased deactivation during empathy, especially in the right anterior insula.ConclusionsPsychological and neuroimaging data indicate respectively higher degrees of alexithymia and lower deactivation during empathy in the insula in high narcissistic subjects. Taken together, our preliminary findings demonstrate, for the first time, psychological and neuronal correlates of narcissism in non-clinical subjects. This might stipulate both novel psychodynamic conceptualization and future psychological–neuronal investigation of narcissism.

Download Full-text

Looking into Task-Specific Activation Using a Prosthesis Substituting Vision with Audition

ISRN Rehabilitation ◽

10.5402/2012/490950 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2012 ◽

pp. 1-15 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Paula Plaza ◽

Isabel Cuevas ◽

Cécile Grandin ◽

Anne G. De Volder ◽

Laurent Renier

Keyword(s):

Brain Activity ◽

Sensory Substitution ◽

Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽

Resonance Imaging ◽

Brain Areas ◽

Visual Stream ◽

Sensory Modalities ◽

The Right ◽

Dorsal Visual Stream ◽

The Brain

A visual-to-auditory sensory substitution device initially developed for the blind is known to allow visual-like perception through sequential exploratory strategies. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to test whether processing the location versus the orientation of simple (elementary) “visual” stimuli encoded into sounds using the device modulates the brain activity within the dorsal visual stream in the absence of sequential exploration of these stimuli. Location and orientation detection with the device induced a similar recruitment of frontoparietal brain areas in blindfolded sighted subjects as the corresponding tasks using the same stimuli in the same subjects in vision. We observed a similar preference of the right superior parietal lobule for spatial localization over orientation processing in both sensory modalities. This provides evidence that the parietal cortex activation during the use of the prosthesis is task related and further indicates the multisensory recruitment of the dorsal visual pathway in spatial processing.

Download Full-text

Engagement of brain areas implicated in processing inner speech in people with auditory hallucinations

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.182.6.525 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 182 (6) ◽

pp. 525-531 ◽

Cited By ~ 92

Author(s):

Sukhwinder S. Shergill ◽

Michael J. Brammer ◽

Rimmei Fukuda ◽

Steven C. R. Williams ◽

Robin M. Murray ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Auditory Hallucinations ◽

Inner Speech ◽

Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽

Resonance Imaging ◽

Brain Areas ◽

Self Monitoring ◽

Speech Generation ◽

History Of ◽

The Right ◽

The Brain

BackgroundThe neurocognitive basis of auditory hallucinations is unclear, but there is increasing evidence implicating abnormalities in processing inner speech. Previous studies have shown that people with schizophrenia who were prone to auditory hallucinations demonstrated attenuated activation of brain areas during the monitoring of inner speech.AimsTo investigate whether the same pattern of functional abnormalities would be evident as the rate of inner speech production was varied.MethodEight people with schizophrenia who had a history of prominent auditory hallucinations and eight control participants were studied using functional magnetic resonance imaging while the rate of inner speech generation was varied experimentally.ResultsWhen the rate of inner speech generation was increased, the participants with schizophrenia showed a relatively attenuated response in the right temporal, parietal, parahippocampal and cerebellar cortex.ConclusionsIn people with schizophrenia who are prone to auditory hallucinations, increasing the demands on the processing of inner speech is associated with attenuated engagement of the brain areas implicated in verbal self-monitoring.

Download Full-text

Antagonism between brain regions relevant for cognitive control and emotional memory facilitates the generation of humorous ideas

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-89843-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Florian Bitsch ◽

Philipp Berger ◽

Andreas Fink ◽

Arne Nagels ◽

Benjamin Straube ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Control ◽

Positive Emotions ◽

Emotional Memory ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Neural Mechanisms ◽

Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽

Frontal Brain ◽

Successful Resolution ◽

Neural Underpinnings ◽

The Brain

AbstractThe ability to generate humor gives rise to positive emotions and thus facilitate the successful resolution of adversity. Although there is consensus that inhibitory processes might be related to broaden the way of thinking, the neural underpinnings of these mechanisms are largely unknown. Here, we use functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, a humorous alternative uses task and a stroop task, to investigate the brain mechanisms underlying the emergence of humorous ideas in 24 subjects. Neuroimaging results indicate that greater cognitive control abilities are associated with increased activation in the amygdala, the hippocampus and the superior and medial frontal gyrus during the generation of humorous ideas. Examining the neural mechanisms more closely shows that the hypoactivation of frontal brain regions is associated with an hyperactivation in the amygdala and vice versa. This antagonistic connectivity is concurrently linked with an increased number of humorous ideas and enhanced amygdala responses during the task. Our data therefore suggests that a neural antagonism previously related to the emergence and regulation of negative affective responses, is linked with the generation of emotionally positive ideas and may represent an important neural pathway supporting mental health.

Download Full-text

Perceiving actions before they happen: psychological dimensions scaffold neural action prediction

Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience ◽

10.1093/scan/nsaa126 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Mark A Thornton ◽

Diana I Tamir

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽

Functional Neuroimaging ◽

Social World ◽

Action Space ◽

Action Prediction ◽

Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽

Resonance Imaging ◽

The Social ◽

Psychological Dimensions ◽

The Brain

Abstract The social world buzzes with action. People constantly walk, talk, eat, work, play, snooze and so on. To interact with others successfully, we need to both understand their current actions and predict their future actions. Here we used functional neuroimaging to test the hypothesis that people do both at the same time: when the brain perceives an action, it simultaneously encodes likely future actions. Specifically, we hypothesized that the brain represents perceived actions using a map that encodes which actions will occur next: the six-dimensional Abstraction, Creation, Tradition, Food(-relevance), Animacy and Spiritualism Taxonomy (ACT-FAST) action space. Within this space, the closer two actions are, the more likely they are to precede or follow each other. To test this hypothesis, participants watched a video featuring naturalistic sequences of actions while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning. We first use a decoding model to demonstrate that the brain uses ACT-FAST to represent current actions. We then successfully predicted as-yet unseen actions, up to three actions into the future, based on their proximity to the current action’s coordinates in ACT-FAST space. This finding suggests that the brain represents actions using a six-dimensional action space that gives people an automatic glimpse of future actions.

Download Full-text

Integrating additional knowledge into the estimation of graphical models

The International Journal of Biostatistics ◽

10.1515/ijb-2020-0133 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Yunqi Bu ◽

Johannes Lederer

Keyword(s):

Graphical Models ◽

Tuning Parameter ◽

Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽

Resonance Imaging ◽

Graphical Modeling ◽

Standard Methods ◽

Neighborhood Selection ◽

Selection For ◽

The Brain

Abstract Graphical models such as brain connectomes derived from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data are considered a prime gateway to understanding network-type processes. We show, however, that standard methods for graphical modeling can fail to provide accurate graph recovery even with optimal tuning and large sample sizes. We attempt to solve this problem by leveraging information that is often readily available in practice but neglected, such as the spatial positions of the measurements. This information is incorporated into the tuning parameter of neighborhood selection, for example, in the form of pairwise distances. Our approach is computationally convenient and efficient, carries a clear Bayesian interpretation, and improves standard methods in terms of statistical stability. Applied to data about Alzheimer’s disease, our approach allows us to highlight the central role of lobes in the connectivity structure of the brain and to identify an increased connectivity within the cerebellum for Alzheimer’s patients compared to other subjects.

Download Full-text

Effects of behavioural activation on the neural circuit related to intrinsic motivation

BJPsych Open ◽

10.1192/bjo.2018.40 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4 (5) ◽

pp. 317-323 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Asako Mori ◽

Yasumasa Okamoto ◽

Go Okada ◽

Koki Takagaki ◽

Masahiro Takamura ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Intrinsic Motivation ◽

Neural Circuit ◽

Intervention Group ◽

Behavioural Activation ◽

Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽

Resonance Imaging ◽

Neural Basis ◽

Efficient Treatment ◽

The Right ◽

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scanning

BackgroundBehavioural activation is an efficient treatment for depression and can improve intrinsic motivation. Previous studies have revealed that the frontostriatal circuit is involved in intrinsic motivation; however, there are no data on how behavioural activation affects the frontostriatal circuit.AimsWe aimed to investigate behavioural activation-related changes in the frontostriatal circuit.MethodFifty-nine individuals with subthreshold depression were randomly assigned to either the intervention or non-intervention group. The intervention group received five weekly behavioural activation sessions. The participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning on two separate occasions while performing a stopwatch task based on intrinsic motivation. We investigated changes in neural activity and functional connectivity after behavioural activation.ResultsAfter behavioural activation, the intervention group had increased activation and connectivity in the frontostriatal region compared with the non-intervention group. The increased activation in the right middle frontal gyrus was correlated with an improvement of subjective sensitivity to environmental rewards.ConclusionsBehavioural activation-related changes to the frontostriatal circuit advance our understanding of psychotherapy-induced improvements in the neural basis of intrinsic motivation.Declaration of interestNone.

Download Full-text

Adaptive brain activity changes during tongue movement with palatal coverage from fMRI data

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-93332-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yuka Inamochi ◽

Kenji Fueki ◽

Nobuo Usui ◽

Masato Taira ◽

Noriyuki Wakabayashi

Keyword(s):

Spatial Information ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Motor Impairment ◽

Angular Gyrus ◽

Tongue Movement ◽

Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽

Resonance Imaging ◽

Oral Environment ◽

Motor Dexterity ◽

The Brain

AbstractSuccessful adaptation to wearing dentures with palatal coverage may be associated with cortical activity changes related to tongue motor control. The purpose was to investigate the brain activity changes during tongue movement in response to a new oral environment. Twenty-eight fully dentate subjects (mean age: 28.6-years-old) who had no experience with removable dentures wore experimental palatal plates for 7 days. We measured tongue motor dexterity, difficulty with tongue movement, and brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging during tongue movement at pre-insertion (Day 0), as well as immediately (Day 1), 3 days (Day 3), and 7 days (Day 7) post-insertion. Difficulty with tongue movement was significantly higher on Day 1 than on Days 0, 3, and 7. In the subtraction analysis of brain activity across each day, activations in the angular gyrus and right precuneus on Day 1 were significantly higher than on Day 7. Tongue motor impairment induced activation of the angular gyrus, which was associated with monitoring of the tongue’s spatial information, as well as the activation of the precuneus, which was associated with constructing the tongue motor imagery. As the tongue regained the smoothness in its motor functions, the activation of the angular gyrus and precuneus decreased.

Download Full-text

Talent in the taxi: a model system for exploring expertise

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2008.0288 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 364 (1522) ◽

pp. 1407-1416 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Katherine Woollett ◽

Hugo J. Spiers ◽

Eleanor A. Maguire

Keyword(s):

Model System ◽

Neural Mechanisms ◽

Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽

Resonance Imaging ◽

Taxi Drivers ◽

The Brain ◽

Use Of Expertise ◽

Widespread Interest ◽

Key Questions ◽

Extensive Practice

While there is widespread interest in and admiration of individuals with exceptional talents, surprisingly little is known about the cognitive and neural mechanisms underpinning talent, and indeed how talent relates to expertise. Because many talents are first identified and nurtured in childhood, it can be difficult to determine whether talent is innate, can be acquired through extensive practice or can only be acquired in the presence of the developing brain. We sought to address some of these issues by studying healthy adults who acquired expertise in adulthood. We focused on the domain of memory and used licensed London taxi drivers as a model system. Taxi drivers have to learn the layout of 25 000 streets in London and the locations of thousands of places of interest, and pass stringent examinations in order to obtain an operating licence. Using neuropsychological assessment and structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging, we addressed a range of key questions: in the context of a fully developed brain and an average IQ, can people acquire expertise to an exceptional level; what are the neural signatures, both structural and functional, associated with the use of expertise; does expertise change the brain compared with unskilled control participants; does it confer any cognitive advantages, and similarly, does it come at a cost to other functions? By studying retired taxi drivers, we also consider what happens to their brains and behaviour when experts stop using their skill. Finally, we discuss how the expertise of taxi drivers might relate to the issue of talent and innate abilities. We suggest that exploring talent and expertise in this manner could have implications for education, rehabilitation of patients with cognitive impairments, understanding individual differences and possibly conditions such as autism where exceptional abilities can be a feature.

Download Full-text

Coerced training of the nondominant hand resulting in cortical reorganization: a high-field functional magnetic resonance imaging study

Journal of Neurosurgery ◽

10.3171/jns.2004.101.2.0310 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 101 (2) ◽

pp. 310-313 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Tsutomu Nakada ◽

Yukihiko Fujii ◽

Ingrid L. Kwee

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽

High Field ◽

Cortical Reorganization ◽

Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽

Resonance Imaging ◽

Content Type ◽

Hand Motion ◽

Left Handed ◽

The Right ◽

Fine Print

Object. The authors investigated brain strategies associated with hand use in an attempt to clarify genetic and nongenetic factors influencing handedness by using high-field functional magnetic resonance imaging. Methods. Three groups of patients were studied. The first two groups comprised individuals in whom handedness developed spontaneously (right-handed and left-handed groups). The third group comprised individuals who were coercively trained to use the right hand and developed mixed handedness, referred to here as trained ambidexterity. All trained ambidextrous volunteers were certain that they were innately left-handed, but due to social pressure had modified their preferred hand use for certain tasks common to the right hand. Although right-handed and left-handed volunteers displayed virtually identical cortical activation, involving homologous cortex primarily located contralateral to the hand motion, trained ambidextrous volunteers exhibited a clearly unique activation pattern. During right-handed motion, motor areas in both hemispheres were activated in these volunteers. During left-handed motion, the right supplemental motor area and the right intermediate zone of the anterior cerebellar lobe were activated significantly more frequently than observed in naturally right-handed or left-handed volunteers. Conclusions. The results provide strong evidence that cortical organization of spontaneously developed right- and left-handedness involves homologous cortex primarily located contralateral to the hand motion, and this organization is likely to be prenatally determined. By contrast, coerced training of the nondominant hand during the early stages of an individual's development results in mixed handedness (trained ambidexterity), indicating cortical reorganization.

Download Full-text