scholarly journals Formation of Long-Term Locomotor Memories Is Associated with Functional Connectivity Changes in the Cerebellar–Thalamic–Cortical Network

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 349-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Firas Mawase ◽  
Simona Bar-Haim ◽  
Lior Shmuelof
2021 ◽  
Vol 168 ◽  
pp. S196
Author(s):  
Xiaopeng Si ◽  
Shaoxin Xiang ◽  
Ludan Zhang ◽  
Sicheng Li ◽  
Kuo Zhang ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 728
Author(s):  
Omar Singleton ◽  
Max Newlon ◽  
Andres Fossas ◽  
Beena Sharma ◽  
Susanne R. Cook-Greuter ◽  
...  

Jane Loevinger’s theory of adult development, termed ego development (1966) and more recently maturity development, provides a useful framework for understanding the development of the self throughout the lifespan. However, few studies have investigated its neural correlates. In the present study, we use structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to investigate the neural correlates of maturity development in contemplative practitioners and controls. Since traits possessed by individuals with higher levels of maturity development are similar to those attributed to individuals at advanced stages of contemplative practice, we chose to investigate levels of maturity development in meditation practitioners as well as matched controls. We used the Maturity Assessment Profile (MAP) to measure maturity development in a mixed sample of participants composed of 14 long-term meditators, 16 long-term yoga practitioners, and 16 demographically matched controls. We investigated the relationship between contemplative practice and maturity development with behavioral, seed-based resting state functional connectivity, and cortical thickness analyses. The results of this study indicate that contemplative practitioners possess higher maturity development compared to a matched control group, and in addition, maturity development correlates with cortical thickness in the posterior cingulate. Furthermore, we identify a brain network implicated in theory of mind, narrative, and self-referential processing, comprising the posterior cingulate cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, temporoparietal junction, and inferior frontal cortex, as a primary neural correlate.


Pain ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 156 (11) ◽  
pp. 2222-2233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Ellerbrock ◽  
Antonius Wiehler ◽  
Manuela Arndt ◽  
Arne May

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-41
Author(s):  
Ali Darzi ◽  
Hamed Azami ◽  
Reza Khosrowabadi

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuheng Jiang ◽  
Antonius M.J. VanDongen

ABSTRACTNew tools in optogenetics and molecular biology have culminated in recent studies which mark immediate-early gene (IEG)-expressing neurons as memory traces or engrams. Although the activity-dependent expression of IEGs has been successfully utilised to label memory traces, their roles in engram specification is incompletely understood. Outstanding questions remain as to whether expression of IEGs can interplay with network properties such as functional connectivity and also if neurons expressing different IEGs are functionally distinct. We investigated the expression of Arc and c-Fos, two commonly utilised IEGs in memory engram specification, in cultured hippocampal neurons. After pharmacological induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) in the network, we noted an emergent network property of refinement in functional connectivity between neurons, characterized by a global down-regulation of network connectivity, together with strengthening of specific connections. Subsequently, we show that Arc expression correlates with the effects of network refinement, with Arc-positive neurons being selectively strengthened. Arc positive neurons were also found to be located in closer physical proximity to each other in the network. While the expression pattern of IEGs c-Fos and Arc strongly overlaps, Arc was more selectively expressed than c-Fos. These IEGs also act together in coding information about connection strength pruning. These results demonstrate important links between IEG expression and network connectivity, which serve to bridge the gap between cellular correlates and network effects in learning and memory.


Meditation refers to a state of mind of relaxation and concentration, where generally the mind and body is at rest. The process of meditation reflects the state of the brain which is distinct from sleep or typical wakeful states of consciousness. Meditative practices usually involve regulation of emotions and monitoring of attention. Over the past decade there has been a tremendous increase in an interest to study the neural mechanisms involved in meditative practices. It could also be beneficial to explore if the effect of meditation is altered by the number of years of meditation practice. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is a very useful imaging technique which can be used to perform this analysis due to its inherent benefits, mainly it being a non-invasive technique. Functional activation and connectivity analysis can be performed on the fMRI data to find the active regions and the connectivity in the brain regions. Functional connectivity is defined as a simple temporal correlation between anatomically separate, active neural regions. Functional connectivity gives the statistical dependencies between regional time series. It is a statistical concept and is quantified using metrics like Correlation. In this study, a comparison is made between functional connectivity in the brain regions of long term meditation practitioners (LTP) and short-term meditation practitioners (STP) to see the differences and similarities in the connectivity patterns. From the analysis, it is evident that in fact there is a difference in connectivity between long term and short term practitioners and hence continuous practice of meditation can have long term effects.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bidhan Lamichhane ◽  
Andy G. S. Daniel ◽  
John J. Lee ◽  
Daniel S. Marcus ◽  
Joshua S. Shimony ◽  
...  

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most frequently occurring brain malignancy. Due to its poor prognosis with currently available treatments, there is a pressing need for easily accessible, non-invasive techniques to help inform pre-treatment planning, patient counseling, and improve outcomes. In this study we determined the feasibility of resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) to classify GBM patients into short-term and long-term survival groups with respect to reported median survival (14.6 months). We used a support vector machine with rsFC between regions of interest as predictive features. We employed a novel hybrid feature selection method whereby features were first filtered using correlations between rsFC and OS, and then using the established method of recursive feature elimination (RFE) to select the optimal feature subset. Leave-one-subject-out cross-validation evaluated the performance of models. Classification between short- and long-term survival accuracy was 71.9%. Sensitivity and specificity were 77.1 and 65.5%, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.752 (95% CI, 0.62–0.88). These findings suggest that highly specific features of rsFC may predict GBM survival. Taken together, the findings of this study support that resting-state fMRI and machine learning analytics could enable a radiomic biomarker for GBM, augmenting care and planning for individual patients.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi Yu ◽  
Silvina Ferradal ◽  
Danielle D. Sliva ◽  
Jade Dunstan ◽  
Clarisa Carruthers ◽  
...  

AbstractFunctional brain networks undergo extensive development within the first few years of life. Previous studies have linked infant functional connectivity to cognitive abilities in toddlerhood. However, little is known regarding the long-term relevance of functional connections established in infancy for the protracted development of higher-order abilities of language and literacy. Employing a five-year longitudinal imaging project starting in infancy, this study utilizes resting-state functional MRI to demonstrate prospective associations between infant functional connectivity fingerprints and subsequent language and foundational literacy skills at a mean age of 6.5. These longitudinal associations are preserved when key environmental influences are controlled for and are independent of emergent language abilities in infancy, suggesting early development of functional network characteristics in supporting the acquisition of high-order language and pre-literacy skills. Altogether, the current results highlight the importance of functional organization established in infancy as a neural scaffold underlying the learning process of complex cognitive functions.


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