Assessing the degree of ecological validity of your study: Introducing the Ecological Validity Assessment (EVA) Tool

In cognitive neurosciences, fundamental principles of mental processes and functional brain organization have been established with highly controlled tasks and testing environments. Recent technical advances allowed to investigate those functions and their brain mechanisms in naturalistic settings. The diversity in those approaches has been recently (Matusz et al. 2019a) classified via a three-stage cycle including controlled laboratory, partially naturalistic laboratory, and naturalistic real-world research. Based on this cycle, we developed the Ecological Validity Assessment (EVA) tool to inform in an easy manner about the approach researchers have taken in their study. It enables objectively describing the study’s degree of ecological validity and its location on the cycle. EVA comprises eleven questions concerning study’s characteristics. It outputs a summary of those and a compass plot, which can be used for presentations, pre-registration, grant proposals, and papers. It would improve drawing conclusions across studies, and raising awareness for the generalizability of studies.

Download Full-text

Age development of cortical rhythmics in the EEG depending on the formation of the child’s personal psychical characteristics

Medical alphabet ◽

10.33667/2078-5631-2019-1-8(383)-42-48 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 1 (8) ◽

pp. 42-50

Author(s):

A. V. Budkevich ◽

L. B. Ivanov ◽

G. R. Novikova ◽

G. M. Dzhanumova

Keyword(s):

Alpha Rhythm ◽

Age Groups ◽

Healthy Children ◽

Brain Organization ◽

Age Related ◽

Mathematical Processing ◽

Functional Brain Organization ◽

Child's Brain ◽

Attention Function ◽

Apparently Healthy

According to the authors, rationing the age-related EEG parameters in children should be based on personal psychical characteristics. A comparative analysis of personal psychical characteristics and electroencephalographic data was carried out in 300 apparently healthy children aged 3-15 years. According to this principle, two subgroups of conditionally healthy children in each age group were singled out: 1) with an immature attention function and 2) with an increased anxious background that do not reach the pathological level. Registration and analysis of EEG was performed by the Neurokariograf computer complex (MBN, Moscow) using mathematical processing methods.The EEG interpretation was based on the principle of assessing the functional state of a child's brain using a three-component model according to: 1) wakefulness level and its dissociation, 2) severity of signs of the EEG neurotic pattern, 3) directionality of formation of traits of the system-functional brain organization (severity of signs functional hypofrontality).lt was found the presence of EEG signs was indicative of a lower level of wakefulness in children with an immature function of attention in all age groups, compared with the indicators of the average population of group and children with an increased background of anxiety. Children with an increased background of anxiety have a tendency to prevalence and excessive spatial synchronization of the alpha rhythm. ln healthy children, the fact of a decrease in wakefulness and the presence of signs of anxiety in the clinic and in EEG patterns indicates individual personalities and should not be considered as pathology.

Download Full-text

Neural Systems for Sentence Processing in Stuttering

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/1092-4388(2001/064) ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 44 (4) ◽

pp. 814-825 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

Christine Weber-Fox

Keyword(s):

Language Processing ◽

Sentence Processing ◽

Neural Systems ◽

Linguistic Processing ◽

Brain Organization ◽

Brain Potentials ◽

Closed Class ◽

Functional Brain Organization ◽

Open Class

The role of neurolinguistic factors in stuttering was investigated by determining whether individuals who stutter display atypical neural functions for language processing, even with no speech production demands. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were obtained while 9 individuals who stutter (IWS) and 9 normally fluent speakers (NS) read sentences silently. The ERPs were elicited by: (a) closed-class words that provide structural or grammatical information, (b) open-class words that convey referential meaning, and (c) semantic anomalies (violations in semantic expectation). In standardized tests, adult IWS displayed similar grammatical and lexical abilities in both comprehension and production tasks compared to their matched, normally fluent peers. Yet the ERPs elicited in IWS for linguistic processing tasks revealed differences in functional brain organization. The ERPs elicited in IWS were characterized by reduced negative amplitudes for closed-class words (N280), open-class words (N350), and semantic anomalies (N400) in a temporal window of approximately 200–450 ms after word onsets. The overall pattern of results indicates that alterations in processing for IWS are related to neural functions that are common to word classes and perhaps involve shared, underlying processes for lexical access.

Download Full-text

Handedness and White Matter Networks

The Neuroscientist ◽

10.1177/1073858420937657 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 107385842093765

Author(s):

Sanja Budisavljevic ◽

Umberto Castiello ◽

Chiara Begliomini

Keyword(s):

White Matter ◽

Motor Behavior ◽

Genetic Research ◽

Structural Connectivity ◽

Population Level ◽

Neural Basis ◽

Brain Organization ◽

Recent Developments ◽

Commissural Pathway ◽

Functional Brain Organization

The development and persistence of laterality is a key feature of human motor behavior, with the asymmetry of hand use being the most prominent. The idea that asymmetrical functions of the hands reflect asymmetries in terms of structural and functional brain organization has been tested many times. However, despite advances in laterality research and increased understanding of this population-level bias, the neural basis of handedness remains elusive. Recent developments in diffusion magnetic resonance imaging enabled the exploration of lateralized motor behavior also in terms of white matter and connectional neuroanatomy. Despite incomplete and partly inconsistent evidence, structural connectivity of both intrahemispheric and interhemispheric white matter seems to differ between left and right-handers. Handedness was related to asymmetry of intrahemispheric pathways important for visuomotor and visuospatial processing (superior longitudinal fasciculus), but not to projection tracts supporting motor execution (corticospinal tract). Moreover, the interindividual variability of the main commissural pathway corpus callosum seems to be associated with handedness. The review highlights the importance of exploring new avenues for the study of handedness and presents the latest state of knowledge that can be used to guide future neuroscientific and genetic research.

Download Full-text

Sex Classification by Resting State Brain Connectivity

Cerebral Cortex ◽

10.1093/cercor/bhz129 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 824-835 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Susanne Weis ◽

Kaustubh R Patil ◽

Felix Hoffstaedter ◽

Alessandra Nostro ◽

B T Thomas Yeo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Resting State ◽

Brain Connectivity ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Brain Organization ◽

Functional Brain ◽

Clear Cut ◽

Human Connectome Project ◽

Machine Learning Approach ◽

Imaging Research ◽

Functional Brain Organization

Abstract A large amount of brain imaging research has focused on group studies delineating differences between males and females with respect to both cognitive performance as well as structural and functional brain organization. To supplement existing findings, the present study employed a machine learning approach to assess how accurately participants’ sex can be classified based on spatially specific resting state (RS) brain connectivity, using 2 samples from the Human Connectome Project (n1 = 434, n2 = 310) and 1 fully independent sample from the 1000BRAINS study (n = 941). The classifier, which was trained on 1 sample and tested on the other 2, was able to reliably classify sex, both within sample and across independent samples, differing both with respect to imaging parameters and sample characteristics. Brain regions displaying highest sex classification accuracies were mainly located along the cingulate cortex, medial and lateral frontal cortex, temporoparietal regions, insula, and precuneus. These areas were stable across samples and match well with previously described sex differences in functional brain organization. While our data show a clear link between sex and regionally specific brain connectivity, they do not support a clear-cut dimorphism in functional brain organization that is driven by sex alone.

Download Full-text

Causes, effects and connectivity changes in MS-related cognitive decline

Dementia & Neuropsychologia ◽

10.1590/s1980-57642016dn10100002 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 2-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Carolina de Medeiros Rimkus ◽

Martijn D. Steenwijk ◽

Frederik Barkhof

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Decline ◽

Brain Damage ◽

Grey Matter ◽

Structural Changes ◽

Network Efficiency ◽

Brain Organization ◽

Parametric Studies ◽

Functional Brain Organization ◽

Permanent Brain Damage ◽

Grey Matter Atrophy

Cognitive decline is a frequent but undervalued aspect of multiple sclerosis (MS). Currently, it remains unclear what the strongest determinants of cognitive dysfunction are, with grey matter damage most directly related to cognitive impairment. Multi-parametric studies seem to indicate that individual factors of MS-pathology are highly interdependent causes of grey matter atrophy and permanent brain damage. They are associated with intermediate functional effects (e.g. in functional MRI) representing a balance between disconnection and (mal) adaptive connectivity changes. Therefore, a more comprehensive MRI approach is warranted, aiming to link structural changes with functional brain organization. To better understand the disconnection syndromes and cognitive decline in MS, this paper reviews the associations between MRI metrics and cognitive performance, by discussing the interactions between multiple facets of MS pathology as determinants of brain damage and how they affect network efficiency.

Download Full-text

Functional brain organization for visual search in ASD

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society ◽

10.1017/s1355617708081356 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 14 (6) ◽

pp. 990-1003 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

BRANDON KEEHN ◽

LAURIE BRENNER ◽

ERICA PALMER ◽

ALAN J. LINCOLN ◽

RALPH-AXEL MÜLLER

Keyword(s):

Visual Search ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Neural Mechanisms ◽

Search Efficiency ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Brain Organization ◽

Activation Patterns ◽

Set Size ◽

Functional Brain Organization

AbstractAlthough previous studies have shown that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) excel at visual search, underlying neural mechanisms remain unknown. This study investigated the neurofunctional correlates of visual search in children with ASD and matched typically developing (TD) children, using an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging design. We used a visual search paradigm, manipulating search difficulty by varying set size (6, 12, or 24 items), distractor composition (heterogeneous or homogeneous) and target presence to identify brain regions associated with efficient and inefficient search. While the ASD group did not evidence accelerated response time (RT) compared with the TD group, they did demonstrate increased search efficiency, as measured by RT by set size slopes. Activation patterns also showed differences between ASD group, which recruited a network including frontal, parietal, and occipital cortices, and the TD group, which showed less extensive activation mostly limited to occipito-temporal regions. Direct comparisons (for both homogeneous and heterogeneous search conditions) revealed greater activation in occipital and frontoparietal regions in ASD than in TD participants. These results suggest that search efficiency in ASD may be related to enhanced discrimination (reflected in occipital activation) and increased top-down modulation of visual attention (associated with frontoparietal activation). (JINS, 2008, 14, 990–1003.)

Download Full-text

Cooperating yet distinct brain networks engaged during naturalistic paradigms: A meta-analysis of functional MRI results

Network Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/netn_a_00050 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 27-48 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Katherine L. Bottenhorn ◽

Jessica S. Flannery ◽

Emily R. Boeving ◽

Michael C. Riedel ◽

Simon B. Eickhoff ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Neuroimaging ◽

Ecological Validity ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Brain Networks ◽

Relevant Information ◽

Mental Processes ◽

Domain Specific ◽

Full Complement ◽

Recurrent Patterns ◽

Human Neuroimaging

Cognitive processes do not occur by pure insertion and instead depend on the full complement of co-occurring mental processes, including perceptual and motor functions. As such, there is limited ecological validity to human neuroimaging experiments that use highly controlled tasks to isolate mental processes of interest. However, a growing literature shows how dynamic, interactive tasks have allowed researchers to study cognition as it more naturally occurs. Collective analysis across such neuroimaging experiments may answer broader questions regarding how naturalistic cognition is biologically distributed throughout the brain. We applied an unbiased, data-driven, meta-analytic approach that uses k-means clustering to identify core brain networks engaged across the naturalistic functional neuroimaging literature. Functional decoding allowed us to, then, delineate how information is distributed between these networks throughout the execution of dynamical cognition in realistic settings. This analysis revealed six recurrent patterns of brain activation, representing sensory, domain-specific, and attentional neural networks that support the cognitive demands of naturalistic paradigms. Although gaps in the literature remain, these results suggest that naturalistic fMRI paradigms recruit a common set of networks that allow both separate processing of different streams of information and integration of relevant information to enable flexible cognition and complex behavior.

Download Full-text