Comparison of Activation in the Prefrontal Cortex of Native Speakers of Mandarin by Ability of Japanese as a Second Language Using a Novel Speaking Task

Evidence shows that second language (L2) learning affects cognitive function. Here in this work, we compared brain activation in native speakers of Mandarin (L1) who speak Japanese (L2) between and within two groups (high and low L2 ability) to determine the effect of L2 ability in L1 and L2 speaking tasks, and to map brain regions involved in both tasks. The brain activation during task performance was determined using prefrontal cortex blood flow as a proxy, measured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). People with low L2 ability showed much more brain activation when speaking L2 than when speaking L1. People with high L2 ability showed high-level brain activation when speaking either L2 or L1. Almost the same high-level brain activation was observed in both ability groups when speaking L2. The high level of activation in people with high L2 ability when speaking either L2 or L1 suggested strong inhibition of the non-spoken language. A wider area of brain activation in people with low compared with high L2 ability when speaking L2 is considered to be attributed to the cognitive load involved in code-switching L1 to L2 with strong inhibition of L1 and the cognitive load involved in using L2.

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Concept generation techniques change patterns of brain activation during engineering design

Design Science ◽

10.1017/dsj.2020.30 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Author(s):

Tripp Shealy ◽

John Gero ◽

Mo Hu ◽

Julie Milovanovic

Keyword(s):

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Morphological Analysis ◽

Engineering Students ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Concept Generation ◽

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Cognitive Activation ◽

The Brain

Abstract This paper presents the results of studying the brain activations of 30 engineering students when using three different design concept generation techniques: brainstorming, morphological analysis, and TRIZ. Changes in students’ brain activation in the prefrontal cortex were measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. The results are based on the area under the curve analysis of oxygenated hemodynamic response as well as an assessment of functional connectivity using Pearson’s correlation to compare students’ cognitive brain activations using these three different ideation techniques. The results indicate that brainstorming and morphological analysis demand more cognitive activation across the prefrontal cortex (PFC) compared to TRIZ. The highest cognitive activation when brainstorming and using morphological analysis is in the right dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC) and ventrolateral PFC. These regions are associated with divergent thinking and ill-defined problem-solving. TRIZ produces more cognitive activation in the left DLPFC. This region is associated with convergent thinking and making judgments. Morphological analysis and TRIZ also enable greater coordination (i.e., synchronized activation) between brain regions. These findings offer new evidence that structured techniques like TRIZ reduce cognitive activation, change patterns of activation and increase coordination between regions in the brain.

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Interpersonal Synchrony Special Issue The role of anterior prefrontal cortex (area 10) in face-to-face deception measured with fNIRS

Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience ◽

10.1093/scan/nsaa086 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Paola Pinti ◽

Andrea Devoto ◽

Isobel Greenhalgh ◽

Ilias Tachtsidis ◽

Paul W Burgess ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Lie Detection ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Face To Face ◽

Interpersonal Synchrony ◽

Anterior Prefrontal Cortex

Abstract Anterior prefrontal cortex (PFC, Brodmann area 10) activations are often, but not always, found in neuroimaging studies investigating deception, and the precise role of this area remains unclear. To explore the role of the PFC in face-to-face deception, we invited pairs of participants to play a card game involving lying and lie detection while we used functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to record brain activity in the PFC. Participants could win points for successfully lying about the value of their cards or for detecting lies. We contrasted patterns of brain activation when the participants either told the truth or lied, when they were either forced into this or did so voluntarily and when they either succeeded or failed to detect a lie. Activation in the anterior PFC was found in both lie production and detection, unrelated to reward. Analysis of cross-brain activation patterns between participants identified areas of the PFC where the lead player’s brain activity synchronized their partner’s later brain activity. These results suggest that during situations that involve close interpersonal interaction, the anterior PFC supports processing widely involved in deception, possibly relating to the demands of monitoring one’s own and other people’s behaviour.

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Optical Mapping of Brain Activity Underlying Directionality and Its Modulation by Expertise in Mandarin/English Interpreting

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fnhum.2021.649578 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

Author(s):

Yan He ◽

Yinying Hu ◽

Yaxi Yang ◽

Defeng Li ◽

Yi Hu

Keyword(s):

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Cognitive Skills ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Broca’S Area ◽

Broca's Area ◽

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

The Right

Recent neuroimaging research has suggested that unequal cognitive efforts exist between interpreting from language 1 (L1) to language 2 (L2) compared with interpreting from L2 to L1. However, the neural substrates that underlie this directionality effect are not yet well understood. Whether directionality is modulated by interpreting expertise also remains unknown. In this study, we recruited two groups of Mandarin (L1)/English (L2) bilingual speakers with varying levels of interpreting expertise and asked them to perform interpreting and reading tasks. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to collect cortical brain data for participants during each task, using 68 channels that covered the prefrontal cortex and the bilateral perisylvian regions. The interpreting-related neuroimaging data was normalized by using both L1 and L2 reading tasks, to control the function of reading and vocalization respectively. Our findings revealed the directionality effect in both groups, with forward interpreting (from L1 to L2) produced more pronounced brain activity, when normalized for reading. We also found that directionality was modulated by interpreting expertise in both normalizations. For the group with relatively high expertise, the activated brain regions included the right Broca’s area and the left premotor and supplementary motor cortex; whereas for the group with relatively low expertise, the activated brain areas covered the superior temporal gyrus, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), the Broca’s area, and visual area 3 in the right hemisphere. These findings indicated that interpreting expertise modulated brain activation, possibly because of more developed cognitive skills associated with executive functions in experienced interpreters.

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Reforming Sectarian Beliefs in Iraq: Winning the Peace

Communication Society and Media ◽

10.22158/csm.v4n1p8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. p8

Author(s):

Michael Oler ◽

Anthony Johnson ◽

Anna McCulloh ◽

Munqith Dagher ◽

Anita Day ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Neural Activity ◽

Public Perception ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Frontal Pole ◽

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Imaging Device ◽

Neural Imaging ◽

The Right

Sectarian violence continues in Iraq affecting regional and world security. Neuroscience techniques are used to assess the mentalizing process and counter-arguing in response to videos designed to prevent extremist radicalization. Measurement of neural activity in brain Regions of Interest (ROI) assists identification of messages which can promote favorable behavior. Activation of the Medial Prefrontal Cortex (MPFC) is associated with message adoption and behavior change. Public Service Announcements (PSAs) have not been effective in reducing violence in Iraq. This study demonstrates that the four PSAs investigated in this study do not activate the MPFC. The RLPFC is a brain ROI associated with counter-arguing and message resistance. This study demonstrates that reduction in activity in the Right Lateral Prefrontal Cortex (RLPFC) is associated with decreased sectarianism. Engagement was measured and is associated with activity in the frontal pole regions.We introduce Functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure the neural activity of highly sectarian Iraqis in response to these anti-sectarian messages. Neural activity was measured while viewing three PSAs and a fourth unpublished video. All four videos are intended to reduce sectarianism. A novel sectarianism scale is introduced to measure sectarian beliefs before and after the messages. This sectarian scale has high internal consistency as measured by Cronbach’s alpha. Measured activation of brain ROIs are correlated with changes in the sectarian scale. Twelve Sunni and twelve Shi’a Iraqis participated in the study. Subjects were shown the four videos in randomized order, while equipped with a fNIRS neural imaging device. All four videos produced significant engagement. None of the videos reduced sectarianism nor caused brain activation of adoption. This is consistent with the widely held Iraqi public perception that the PSAs are ineffective. Only one video, which was un-published, caused reduced sectarian beliefs. This un-published fourth video was associated with decreased counter-arguing. Counter-arguing is associated with message resistance.

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Improving Emotion Regulation Through Real-Time Neurofeedback Training on the Right Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex: Evidence From Behavioral and Brain Network Analyses

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fnhum.2021.620342 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

Author(s):

Linlin Yu ◽

Quanshan Long ◽

Yancheng Tang ◽

Shouhang Yin ◽

Zijun Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emotion Regulation ◽

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Real Time ◽

Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Network Analyses ◽

Dorsolateral Prefrontal

We investigated if emotion regulation can be improved through self-regulation training on non-emotional brain regions, as well as how to change the brain networks implicated in this process. During the training period, the participants were instructed to up-regulate their right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC) activity according to real-time functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) neurofeedback signals, and there was no emotional element. The results showed that the training significantly increased emotion regulation, resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) within the emotion regulation network (ERN) and frontoparietal network (FPN), and rsFC between the ERN and amygdala; however, training did not influence the rsFC between the FPN and the amygdala. However, self-regulation training on rDLPFC significantly improved emotion regulation and generally increased the rsFCs within the networks; the rsFC between the ERN and amygdala was also selectively increased. The present study also described a safe approach that may improve emotion regulation through self-regulation training on non-emotional brain regions.

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High Intensity Intermittent Exercise Plays a Role in Improving Brain Activation During Complex Executive Functional Tasks

Teorìâ ta Metodika Fìzičnogo Vihovannâ ◽

10.17309/tmfv.2021.1.05 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 36-42

Author(s):

Shweta Shenoy ◽

Prachi Khandekar ◽

Abhinav Sathe

Keyword(s):

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

High Intensity ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Intermittent Exercise ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Cognitive Testing ◽

Cortical Activation ◽

Control Group ◽

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Significant Difference

Several neuroimaging studies have examined the effect of different types and combinations of exercises on activation of brain associated with cognitive testing but none of these studies have examined the role of high intensity intermittent exercise (HIIE) in altering cortical activation from simple to complex cognitive tasks. The purpose of this study was to find if HIIE has a role in modulating executive functions related to inhibitory control as expressed by changes in prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation. Materials and methods. 40 healthy adults aged between 18-30 years volunteered for the study. They were randomly divided into HIIE a (n = 20) group and a control (n = 20) group. The HIIE group performed 4*4 min of high intensity exercise on a cycle ergometer with 3 minutes of active recovery at lower intensities between the bouts, whereas the control group performed no exercise. Prefrontal hemodynamics (oxy and deoxy haemoglobin) were assessed using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) during the Colour Word Stroop test (CWST) on two sessions: pre-session and post-session (1 week after pre-session). Results. The results indicate a significant difference in CWST scores which coincided with a significant difference in hemodynamics of PFC between a congruent and a complex incongruent task in the HIIE group. There was a greater activation of the right frontopolar area, the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, and the left frontopolar area during the incongruent task in response to acute HIIE. Conclusion. HIIE plays a role in changing brain activation during more complex interference related tasks.

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Brain Activation Changes During Balance- and Attention-Demanding Tasks in Middle- and Older-Aged Adults With Multiple Sclerosis

Motor Control ◽

10.1123/mc.2018-0044 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 23 (4) ◽

pp. 498-517 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Manuel E. Hernandez ◽

Erin O’Donnell ◽

Gioella Chaparro ◽

Roee Holtzer ◽

Meltem Izzetoglu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Multiple Sclerosis ◽

Older Adults ◽

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Motor Task ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Healthy Older Adults

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy was used to evaluate prefrontal cortex activation differences between older adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) and healthy older adults (HOA) during the performance of a balance- and attention-demanding motor task. Ten older adults with MS and 12 HOA underwent functional near-infrared spectroscopy recording while talking, virtual beam walking, or virtual beam walking while talking on a self-paced treadmill. The MS group demonstrated smaller increases in prefrontal cortex oxygenation levels than HOA during virtual beam walking while talking than talking tasks. These findings indicate a decreased ability to allocate additional attentional resources in challenging walking conditions among MS compared with HOA. This study is the first to investigate brain activation dynamics during the performance of balance- and attention-demanding motor tasks in persons with MS.

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Working Memory, Cognitive Load and Cardiorespiratory Fitness: Testing the CRUNCH Model with Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci9020038 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 38 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Nounagnon Agbangla ◽

Michel Audiffren ◽

Jean Pylouster ◽

Cédric Albinet

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Cognitive Load ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Cardiorespiratory Fitness ◽

Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Chronological Age ◽

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy

The present study aimed to examine the effects of chronological age and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) on cognitive performance and prefrontal cortex activity, and to test the compensation-related utilization of neural circuits hypothesis (CRUNCH). A total of 19 young adults (18–22 years) and 37 older ones (60–77 years) with a high or low CRF level were recruited to perform a working memory updating task under three different cognitive load conditions. Prefrontal cortex hemodynamic responses were continuously recorded using functional near-infrared spectroscopy, and behavioral performances and perceived difficulty were measured. Results showed that chronological age had deleterious effects on both cognitive performance and prefrontal cortex activation under a higher cognitive load. In older adults, however, higher levels of CRF were related to increased bilateral prefrontal cortex activation patterns that allowed them to sustain better cognitive performances, especially under the highest cognitive load. These results are discussed in the light of the neurocognitive CRUNCH model.

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TEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF BRAIN ACTIVATION DURING THREE CONCEPT GENERATION TECHNIQUES

Proceedings of the Design Society ◽

10.1017/pds.2021.557 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

pp. 2961-2970

Author(s):

Julie Milovanovic ◽

Mo Hu ◽

Tripp Shealy ◽

John Gero

Keyword(s):

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Divergent Thinking ◽

Morphological Analysis ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Concept Generation ◽

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Design Problems ◽

Over Time

AbstractThe research presented in this paper explores features of temporal design neurocognition by comparing regions of activation in the brain during concept generation. A total of 27 engineering graduate students used brainstorming, morphological analysis, and TRIZ to generate concepts to design problems. Students' brain activation in their prefrontal cortex (PFC) was measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Temporal activations were compared between techniques. When using brainstorming and morphological analysis, highly activated regions are consistently situated in the medial and right part of the PFC over time. For both techniques, the temporal neuro-physiological patterns are similar. Cognitive functions associated to the medial and right part of the PFC suggest an association with divergent thinking and adaptative decision making. In contrast, highly activated regions over time when using TRIZ appear in the medial or the left part of the prefrontal cortex, usually associated with goal directed planning.

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Using Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy to Assess Cognitive Workload

Defence Life Science Journal ◽

10.14429/dlsj.6.15616 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 197-204

Author(s):

D Ravi ◽

K. Ramachandran ◽

Pushpendra Kumar Singh ◽

Mistu Mahajabin

Keyword(s):

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Cognitive Load ◽

Human Performance ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Mental Workload ◽

Binary Logistic Regression ◽

Repeated Measure ◽

Binary Logistic Regression Model ◽

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Task Conditions

Quantification of mental workload is a significant aspect of monitoring and adaptive aiding systems that are intended to improve the efficiency and safety of human–machine systems. Functional near Infrared (fNIR) spectroscopy is a field-deployable brain monitoring device that provides a measures of cerebral hemodynamic within the prefrontal cortex. The purpose of this study was to assess the cognitive load by using Performance (reaction time), Behavioral metrics (NASA TLX) and Neuro-Cognitive Measures (Hemodynamic response). To observe the activation in prefrontal cortex, we employed Functional Near Infrared (fNIR) Spectroscopy with a Standard Stroop task. A total of 25 healthy participants (N 18 Male and N 07 Female, M Age 25.5 SD 7.6), participated in the study. For statistical analysis, a repeated measure t-test was computed to compare the Oxy (Δ[HbO2]) and De-Oxy (Δ[hHb]) changes under Congruent and In-Congruent task conditions. For Classification, Binary logistic regression model applied to identify how accurately classifying the varied workload conditions. The finding shows that fNIR measures had adequate predictive power for estimating task performance in workload conditions. In this paper, we have found evidence that fNIR can be used as indicator of cognitive load which is important for optimal human performance.

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