scholarly journals Default mode and frontal executive network interactions enable interoceptive attention & mindfulness

Author(s):  
Gillian Grennan ◽  
Pragathi Balasubramani ◽  
Vojislav Maric ◽  
Dhakshin Ramanathan ◽  
Jyoti Mishra

Abstract Interoceptive attention to internal sensory signals is fundamental to mindfulness. In an attention-to-breathing task in 161 adults, we found that consistency of interoceptive attention significantly correlated with performance efficiency across several exteroceptive cognitive domain tasks. EEG source mapping within subjects showed that on low-consistency or distracted trials there was greater recruitment of frontal executive control activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and suppression of the posterior default mode network (Precuneus), with increased functional connectivity between these regions. In contrast, high-consistency or attentive trials were associated with greater connectivity between Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) and Insula, key nodes of the cognitive control network for attention monitoring. Notably, individual trait mindfulness was correlated with greater functional connectivity between DLPFC-Precuneus on distracted trials and greater ACC-Insula connectivity on attentive trials. These results showcase dynamic network interactions underlying objective markers of interoceptive attention and subjective rating mindfulness.

2014 ◽  
Vol 111 (4) ◽  
pp. 787-803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Koval ◽  
R. Matthew Hutchison ◽  
Stephen G. Lomber ◽  
Stefan Everling

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) have both been implicated in the cognitive control of saccadic eye movements by single neuron recording studies in nonhuman primates and functional imaging studies in humans, but their relative roles remain unclear. Here, we reversibly deactivated either dlPFC or ACC subregions in macaque monkeys while the animals performed randomly interleaved pro- and antisaccades. In addition, we explored the whole-brain functional connectivity of these two regions by applying a seed-based resting-state functional MRI analysis in a separate cohort of monkeys. We found that unilateral dlPFC deactivation had stronger behavioral effects on saccades than unilateral ACC deactivation, and that the dlPFC displayed stronger functional connectivity with frontoparietal areas than the ACC. We suggest that the dlPFC plays a more prominent role in the preparation of pro- and antisaccades than the ACC.


2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 1626-1636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Liu ◽  
Jianjun Li ◽  
Zhiqiang Zhang ◽  
Qiang Xu ◽  
Guangming Lu ◽  
...  

Objective: Addiction is a chronic relapsing brain disease. Brain structural abnormalities may constitute an abnormal neural network that underlies the risk of drug dependence. We hypothesized that individuals with Betel Quid Dependence (BQD) have functional connectivity alterations that can be described by long- and short-range functional connectivity density(FCD) maps. Methods: We tested this hypothesis using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from subjects of the Han ethnic group in Hainan, China. Here, we examined BQD individuals (n = 33) and age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy controls (HCs) (n = 32) in a rs-fMRI study to observe FCD alterations associated with the severity of BQD. Results: Compared with HCs, long-range FCD was decreased in the right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and increased in the left cerebellum posterior lobe (CPL) and bilateral inferior parietal lobule (IPL) in the BQD group. Short-range FCD was reduced in the right ACC and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), and increased in the left CPL. The short-range FCD alteration in the right ACC displayed a negative correlation with the Betel Quid Dependence Scale (BQDS) (r=-0.432, P=0.012), and the long-range FCD alteration of left IPL showed a positive correlation with the duration of BQD(r=0.519, P=0.002) in BQD individuals. Conclusions: fMRI revealed differences in long- and short- range FCD in BQD individuals, and these alterations might be due to BQ chewing, BQ dependency, or risk factors for developing BQD.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad S. E. Sendi ◽  
Elaheh Zendehrouh ◽  
Charles A. Ellis ◽  
Zhijia Liang ◽  
Zening Fu ◽  
...  

Background: Schizophrenia affects around 1% of the global population. Functional connectivity extracted from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) has previously been used to study schizophrenia and has great potential to provide novel insights into the disorder. Some studies have shown abnormal functional connectivity in the default mode network (DMN) of individuals with schizophrenia, and more recent studies have shown abnormal dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) in individuals with schizophrenia. However, DMN dFC and the link between abnormal DMN dFC and symptom severity have not been well-characterized.Method: Resting-state fMRI data from subjects with schizophrenia (SZ) and healthy controls (HC) across two datasets were analyzed independently. We captured seven maximally independent subnodes in the DMN by applying group independent component analysis and estimated dFC between subnode time courses using a sliding window approach. A clustering method separated the dFCs into five reoccurring brain states. A feature selection method modeled the difference between SZs and HCs using the state-specific FC features. Finally, we used the transition probability of a hidden Markov model to characterize the link between symptom severity and dFC in SZ subjects.Results: We found decreases in the connectivity of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and increases in the connectivity between the precuneus (PCu) and the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) (i.e., PCu/PCC) of SZ subjects. In SZ, the transition probability from a state with weaker PCu/PCC and stronger ACC connectivity to a state with stronger PCu/PCC and weaker ACC connectivity increased with symptom severity.Conclusions: To our knowledge, this was the first study to investigate DMN dFC and its link to schizophrenia symptom severity. We identified reproducible neural states in a data-driven manner and demonstrated that the strength of connectivity within those states differed between SZs and HCs. Additionally, we identified a relationship between SZ symptom severity and the dynamics of DMN functional connectivity. We validated our results across two datasets. These results support the potential of dFC for use as a biomarker of schizophrenia and shed new light upon the relationship between schizophrenia and DMN dynamics.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 452-459
Author(s):  
Byung-Hoon Kim ◽  
Yu-Bin Shin ◽  
Sunghyon Kyeong ◽  
Seon-Koo Lee ◽  
Jae-Jin Kim

Objective Little has been explored about a reflection towards self-image in schizophrenia, though it can be related to heterogeneous symptoms of the illness. We identified the neural basis of ambivalence towards ideal self-image in patients with schizophrenia.Methods 20 patients with schizophrenia and 20 healthy controls underwent functional MRI while the self-image reflection tasks of determining whether to agree with sentences describing their actual or ideal self-image that contained one of the adjective pairs with opposite valence. The interaction between the group and ideal ambivalence score was examined, and group differences in functional connectivity related to ambivalence towards ideal self-image were further studied.Results The interaction of group-by-ideal ambivalence score was shown in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, where activities were positively correlated with the level of ideal self-image ambivalence in patients, but not in controls. Task-related decrease in functional connectivity was shown between the orbitofrontal cortex and cerebellum in patients.Conclusion The process of reflecting on ambivalent ideal self-image in schizophrenia may be related to aberrant prefrontal activity and connectivity. Abnormality in the prefrontal regions that take part in cognitive conflict monitoring and value judgment may underlie the pathophysiology of increased ambivalence towards ideal self-image.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel M. Berwian ◽  
Julia G. Wenzel ◽  
Leonie Kuehn ◽  
Inga Schnuerer ◽  
Lars Kasper ◽  
...  

AbstractThe risk of relapsing into depression after stopping antidepressants is high, but no established predictors exist. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) measures may help predict relapse and identify the mechanisms by which relapses occur. rsfMRI data were acquired from healthy controls and from patients with remitted major depressive disorder on antidepressants. Patients were assessed a second time either before or after discontinuation of the antidepressant, and followed up for six months to assess relapse. A seed-based functional connectivity analysis was conducted focusing on the left subgenual anterior cingulate cortex and left posterior cingulate cortex. Seeds in the amygdala and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex were explored. 44 healthy controls (age: 33.8 (10.5), 73% female) and 84 patients (age: 34.23 (10.8), 80% female) were included in the analysis. 29 patients went on to relapse and 38 remained well. The seed-based analysis showed that discontinuation resulted in an increased functional connectivity between the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the parietal cortex in non-relapsers. In an exploratory analysis, this functional connectivity predicted relapse risk with a balanced accuracy of 0.86. Further seed-based analyses, however, failed to reveal differences in functional connectivity between patients and controls, between relapsers and non-relapsers before discontinuation and changes due to discontinuation independent of relapse. In conclusion, changes in the connectivity between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the posterior default mode network were associated with and predictive of relapse after open-label antidepressant discontinuation. This finding requires replication in a larger dataset.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaeun Ahn ◽  
Deokjong Lee ◽  
Kee Namkoong ◽  
Young-Chul Jung

BACKGROUND Smartphones play an integral role in daily life, providing convenience and increasing efficiency. However, these devices also cause adverse effects on an individual’s cognition, emotion, and behavior when used excessively. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to examine the underlying neurobiological alterations that arise due to excessive smartphone use and impact cognition, emotion, and behavior. METHODS We performed a resting state seed-based functional connectivity analysis of 44 individuals who overuse smartphones and 54 healthy controls. This analysis assessed the default mode, salience, central executive, and affective networks. The correlations between functional connectivity strengths and clinical characteristics were investigated in excessive smartphone users. RESULTS Compared to control users, excessive smartphone users showed enhanced functional connectivity within the salience network and between the salience and default mode networks. Furthermore, excessive smartphone users exhibited a negative associated with connectivity between the anterior insula and precuneus and disturbance of adaptive function. On the contrary, we observed decreased functional connectivity between the anterior insula and prefrontal cortex. Moreover, enhanced functional connectivity between the amygdala and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex were observed in excessive smartphone users and correlated with smartphone usage time for entertainment. CONCLUSIONS Integration of results implies that excessive smartphone use is associated with aberrant functional connectivity in four key brain networks. Our results suggest that changes in functional connectivity of key networks affect cognition, emotion, and behavior of excessive smartphone users.


2008 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 977-987 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Vasic ◽  
H. Walter ◽  
F. Sambataro ◽  
R. C. Wolf

BackgroundIn patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), functional neuroimaging studies have reported an increased activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) during executive performance and working memory (WM) processing, and also an increased activation of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) during baseline conditions. However, the functional coupling of these cortical networks during WM processing is less clear.MethodIn this study, we used a verbal WM paradigm, event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and multivariate statistical techniques to explore patterns of functional coupling of temporally dissociable dorsolateral prefrontal and cingulate networks. By means of independent component analyses (ICAs), two components of interest were identified that showed either a positive or a negative temporal correlation with the delay period of the cognitive activation task in both healthy controls and MDD patients.ResultsIn a prefronto-parietal network, a decreased functional connectivity pattern was identified in depressed patients comprising inferior parietal, superior prefrontal and frontopolar regions. Within this cortical network, MDD patients additionally revealed a pattern of increased functional connectivity in the left DLPFC and the cerebellum compared to healthy controls. In a second, temporally anti-correlated network, healthy controls exhibited higher connectivity in the ACC, the ventrolateral and the superior prefrontal cortex compared to MDD patients.ConclusionsThese results complement and expand previous functional neuroimaging findings by demonstrating a dysconnectivity of dissociable prefrontal and cingulate regions in MDD patients. A disturbance of these dynamic networks is characterized by a simultaneously increased connectivity of the DLPFC during task-induced activation and increased connectivity of the ACC during task-induced deactivation.


2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (13) ◽  
pp. 2889-2901 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Krause-Utz ◽  
I. M. Veer ◽  
S. A. R. B. Rombouts ◽  
M. Bohus ◽  
C. Schmahl ◽  
...  

BackgroundStudies in borderline personality disorder (BPD) have consistently revealed abnormalities in fronto-limbic brain regions during emotional, somatosensory and cognitive challenges. Here we investigated changes in resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) of three fronto-limbic core regions of specific importance to BPD.MethodFunctional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired in 20 unmedicated female BPD patients and 17 healthy controls (HC, matched for age, sex and education) during rest. The amygdala, and the dorsal and ventral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) were defined as seeds to investigate RSFC patterns of a medial temporal lobe network, the salience network and default mode network. The Dissociation Experience Scale (DES), a measure of trait dissociation, was additionally used as a predictor of RSFC with these seed regions.ResultsCompared with HC, BPD patients showed a trend towards increased RSFC between the amygdala and the insula, orbitofrontal cortex and putamen. Compared with controls, patients furthermore exhibited diminished negative RSFC between the dorsal ACC and posterior cingulate cortex, a core region of the default mode network, and regions of the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. Last, increased negative RSFC between the ventral ACC and medial occipital regions was observed in BPD patients. DES scores were correlated with amygdala connectivity with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and fusiform gyrus.ConclusionsOur findings suggest alterations in resting-state networks associated with processing of negative emotions, encoding of salient events, and self-referential processing in individuals with BPD compared with HC. These results shed more light on the role of abnormal brain connectivity in BPD.


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