Decoding Spatial Versus Non-spatial Processing in Auditory Working Memory

ObjectiveResearch on visual working memory has shown that individual stimulus features are processed in both specialized sensory regions and higher cortical areas. Much less evidence exists for auditory working memory. Here, a main distinction has been proposed between the processing of spatial and non-spatial sound features. Our aim was to examine feature-specific activation patterns in auditory working memory.MethodsWe collected fMRI data while 28 healthy adults performed an auditory delayed match-to-sample task. Stimuli were abstract sounds characterized by both spatial and non-spatial information, i.e., interaural time delay and central frequency, respectively. In separate recording blocks, subjects had to memorize either the spatial or non-spatial feature, which had to be compared with a probe sound presented after a short delay. We performed both univariate and multivariate comparisons between spatial and non-spatial task blocks.ResultsProcessing of spatial sound features elicited a higher activity in a small cluster in the superior parietal lobe than did sound pattern processing, whereas there was no significant activation difference for the opposite contrast. The multivariate analysis was applied using a whole-brain searchlight approach to identify feature-selective processing. The task-relevant auditory feature could be decoded from multiple brain regions including the auditory cortex, posterior temporal cortex, middle occipital gyrus, and extended parietal and frontal regions.ConclusionIn summary, the lack of large univariate activation differences between spatial and non-spatial processing could be attributable to the identical stimulation in both tasks. In contrast, the whole-brain multivariate analysis identified feature-specific activation patterns in widespread cortical regions. This suggests that areas beyond the auditory dorsal and ventral streams contribute to working memory processing of auditory stimulus features.

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Reorganization of Sound Location Processing in the Auditory Cortex of Blind Humans

Cerebral Cortex ◽

10.1093/cercor/bhz151 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 30 (3) ◽

pp. 1103-1116

Author(s):

Kiki van der Heijden ◽

Elia Formisano ◽

Giancarlo Valente ◽

Minye Zhan ◽

Ron Kupers ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Auditory Cortex ◽

Temporal Cortex ◽

Occipital Cortex ◽

Spatial Processing ◽

Planum Temporale ◽

Sound Location ◽

Activation Patterns ◽

Spatial Tasks ◽

Blind Individuals ◽

Blind Humans

Abstract Auditory spatial tasks induce functional activation in the occipital—visual—cortex of early blind humans. Less is known about the effects of blindness on auditory spatial processing in the temporal—auditory—cortex. Here, we investigated spatial (azimuth) processing in congenitally and early blind humans with a phase-encoding functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm. Our results show that functional activation in response to sounds in general—independent of sound location—was stronger in the occipital cortex but reduced in the medial temporal cortex of blind participants in comparison with sighted participants. Additionally, activation patterns for binaural spatial processing were different for sighted and blind participants in planum temporale. Finally, fMRI responses in the auditory cortex of blind individuals carried less information on sound azimuth position than those in sighted individuals, as assessed with a 2-channel, opponent coding model for the cortical representation of sound azimuth. These results indicate that early visual deprivation results in reorganization of binaural spatial processing in the auditory cortex and that blind individuals may rely on alternative mechanisms for processing azimuth position.

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Human Event-Related Potentials to Higher-Order Acoustic Spatial Changes

Journal of Psychophysiology ◽

10.1027//0269-8803.16.2.114 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. 114-118 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Timo Ruusuvirta ◽

Heikki Hämäläinen

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Mismatch Negativity ◽

Spatial Information ◽

Free Field ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Negative Polarity ◽

Positive Polarity ◽

Spatial Changes ◽

Related Potentials ◽

Human Event

Abstract Human event-related potentials (ERPs) to a tone continuously alternating between its two spatial loci of origin (middle-standards, left-standards), to repetitions of left-standards (oddball-deviants), and to the tones originally representing these repetitions presented alone (alone-deviants) were recorded in free-field conditions. During the recordings (Fz, Cz, Pz, M1, and M2 referenced to nose), the subjects watched a silent movie. Oddball-deviants elicited a spatially diffuse two-peaked deflection of positive polarity. It differed from a deflection elicited by left-standards and commenced earlier than a prominent deflection of negative polarity (N1) elicited by alone-deviants. The results are discussed in the context of the mismatch negativity (MMN) and previous findings of dissociation between spatial and non-spatial information in auditory working memory.

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Rats' Object-Recognition Working Memory of Simultaneously and Separately Processed Non-Spatial and Spatial Information

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e633262013-887 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Bernabo Matteo ◽

Corrine Keshen ◽

Jerome Cohen

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Object Recognition ◽

Spatial Information

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The lateral intraparietal sulcus takes viewpoint changes into account during memory-guided attention in natural scenes

Brain Structure and Function ◽

10.1007/s00429-021-02221-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 226 (4) ◽

pp. 989-1006

Author(s):

Ilenia Salsano ◽

Valerio Santangelo ◽

Emiliano Macaluso

Keyword(s):

Spatial Information ◽

Temporal Cortex ◽

Independent Effect ◽

Long Term Memory ◽

Natural Scenes ◽

Behavioral Measures ◽

Attention Network ◽

Low Contrast ◽

Dorsal Attention Network

AbstractPrevious studies demonstrated that long-term memory related to object-position in natural scenes guides visuo-spatial attention during subsequent search. Memory-guided attention has been associated with the activation of memory regions (the medial-temporal cortex) and with the fronto-parietal attention network. Notably, these circuits represent external locations with different frames of reference: egocentric (i.e., eyes/head-centered) in the dorsal attention network vs. allocentric (i.e., world/scene-centered) in the medial temporal cortex. Here we used behavioral measures and fMRI to assess the contribution of egocentric and allocentric spatial information during memory-guided attention. At encoding, participants were presented with real-world scenes and asked to search for and memorize the location of a high-contrast target superimposed in half of the scenes. At retrieval, participants viewed again the same scenes, now all including a low-contrast target. In scenes that included the target at encoding, the target was presented at the same scene-location. Critically, scenes were now shown either from the same or different viewpoint compared with encoding. This resulted in a memory-by-view design (target seen/unseen x same/different view), which allowed us teasing apart the role of allocentric vs. egocentric signals during memory-guided attention. Retrieval-related results showed greater search-accuracy for seen than unseen targets, both in the same and different views, indicating that memory contributes to visual search notwithstanding perspective changes. This view-change independent effect was associated with the activation of the left lateral intra-parietal sulcus. Our results demonstrate that this parietal region mediates memory-guided attention by taking into account allocentric/scene-centered information about the objects' position in the external world.

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Visuo-spatial processing in a dynamic and a static working memory paradigm in schizophrenia

Psychiatry Research ◽

10.1016/j.psychres.2006.02.004 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 152 (2-3) ◽

pp. 129-142 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Luca Cocchi ◽

Françoise Schenk ◽

Henri Volken ◽

Pierre Bovet ◽

Josef Parnas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Spatial Processing

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The Fear to Move in a Crowded Environment. Poor Spatial Memory Related to Agoraphobic Disorder

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci11060796 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 796

Author(s):

Micaela Maria Zucchelli ◽

Laura Piccardi ◽

Raffaella Nori

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Spatial Information ◽

Theoretical Background ◽

Exploratory Activity ◽

Visuospatial Working Memory ◽

Spatial Tasks ◽

And Performance ◽

The Relationship ◽

Crowded Environment ◽

Active Processing

Individuals with agoraphobia exhibit impaired exploratory activity when navigating unfamiliar environments. However, no studies have investigated the contribution of visuospatial working memory (VSWM) in these individuals’ ability to acquire and process spatial information while considering the use of egocentric and allocentric coordinates or environments with or without people. A total of 106 individuals (53 with agoraphobia and 53 controls) navigated in a virtual square to acquire spatial information that included the recognition of landmarks and the relationship between landmarks and themselves (egocentric coordinates) and independent of themselves (allocentric coordinates). Half of the participants in both groups navigated in a square without people, and half navigated in a crowded square. They completed a VSWM test in addition to tasks measuring landmark recognition and egocentric and allocentric judgements concerning the explored square. The results showed that individuals with agoraphobia had reduced working memory only when active processing of spatial elements was required, suggesting that they exhibit spatial difficulties particularly in complex spatial tasks requiring them to process information simultaneously. Specifically, VSWM deficits mediated the relationship between agoraphobia and performance in the allocentric judgements. The results are discussed considering the theoretical background of agoraphobia in order to provide useful elements for the early diagnosis of this disorder.

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Brain structural and functional substrates of ADGRL3 (latrophilin 3) haplotype in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-81915-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ana Moreno-Alcázar ◽

Josep A. Ramos-Quiroga ◽

Marta Ribases ◽

Cristina Sánchez-Mora ◽

Gloria Palomar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Working Memory ◽

Attention Deficit ◽

Temporal Cortex ◽

Functional Brain Imaging ◽

Brain Anatomy ◽

Risk Haplotype ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Functional Brain ◽

Hyperactivity Disorder

AbstractPrevious studies have shown that the gene encoding the adhesion G protein-coupled receptor L3 (ADGRL3; formerly latrophilin 3, LPHN3) is associated with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Conversely, no studies have investigated the anatomical or functional brain substrates of ADGRL3 risk variants. We examined here whether individuals with different ADGRL3 haplotypes, including both patients with ADHD and healthy controls, showed differences in brain anatomy and function. We recruited and genotyped adult patients with combined type ADHD and healthy controls to achieve a sample balanced for age, sex, premorbid IQ, and three ADGRL3 haplotype groups (risk, protective, and others). The final sample (n = 128) underwent structural and functional brain imaging (voxel-based morphometry and n-back working memory fMRI). We analyzed the brain structural and functional effects of ADHD, haplotypes, and their interaction, covarying for age, sex, and medication. Individuals (patients or controls) with the protective haplotype showed strong, widespread hypo-activation in the frontal cortex extending to inferior temporal and fusiform gyri. Individuals (patients or controls) with the risk haplotype also showed hypo-activation, more focused in the right temporal cortex. Patients showed parietal hyper-activation. Disorder-haplotype interactions, as well as structural findings, were not statistically significant. To sum up, both protective and risk ADGRL3 haplotypes are associated with substantial brain hypo-activation during working memory tasks, stressing this gene’s relevance in cognitive brain function. Conversely, we did not find brain effects of the interactions between adult ADHD and ADGRL3 haplotypes.

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Different trait markers for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: a neurocognitive approach

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291701004068 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 31 (5) ◽

pp. 915-922 ◽

Cited By ~ 146

Author(s):

S. KÉRI ◽

O. KELEMEN ◽

G. BENEDEK ◽

Z. JANKA

Keyword(s):

Bipolar Disorder ◽

Working Memory ◽

Information Processing ◽

Cognitive Functions ◽

Visual Information ◽

Spatial Information ◽

Target Location ◽

Memory Task ◽

Visual Information Processing ◽

Verbal Recall

Background. The aim of this study was to assess visual information processing and cognitive functions in unaffected siblings of patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and control subjects with a negative family history.Methods. The siblings of patients with schizophrenia (N = 25), bipolar disorder (N = 20) and the controls subjects (N = 20) were matched for age, education, IQ, and psychosocial functioning, as indexed by the Global Assessment of Functioning scale. Visual information processing was measured using two visual backward masking (VBM) tests (target location and target identification). The evaluation of higher cognitive functions included spatial and verbal working memory, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, letter fluency, short/long delay verbal recall and recognition.Results. The relatives of schizophrenia patients were impaired in the VBM procedure, more pronouncedly at short interstimulus intervals (14, 28, 42 ms) and in the target location task. Marked dysfunctions were also found in the spatial working memory task and in the long delay verbal recall test. In contrast, the siblings of patients with bipolar disorder exhibited spared performances with the exception of a deficit in the long delay recall task.Conclusions. Dysfunctions of sensory-perceptual analysis (VBM) and working memory for spatial information distinguished the siblings of schizophrenia patients from the siblings of individuals with bipolar disorder. Verbal recall deficit was present in both groups, suggesting a common impairment of the fronto-hippocampal system.

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