scholarly journals Effect of Viewing Real Forest Landscapes on Brain Activity

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 6601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chorong Song ◽  
Harumi Ikei ◽  
Takahide Kagawa ◽  
Yoshifumi Miyazaki
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Forest Environment ◽  
Cortex Area ◽  
Physiological Relaxation ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
The Right ◽  
Hb Concentration

Benefits related to health promotion by getting closer to forests have received increasing attention in modern stressful society; however, evidence-based research about how our brain activity changes when we stay in a forest environment is limited. Thus, the goal of this study was to evaluate the influence of viewing real forest landscapes on the activity in the prefrontal cortex area of young women’s brains. The experiment included 29 women (age: 21.0 ± 1.4 years) and was executed in five forest and five urban areas. The participants stayed in the forest and urban areas and viewed each view for 15 min. While viewing scenery, they had the oxyhemoglobin (oxy-Hb) concentrations in the left and right areas of their prefrontal cortexes measured continuously. Viewing real forest landscapes was associated with a significantly lower oxy-Hb concentration in the right area of the prefrontal cortex than when seeing urban areas. In conclusion, viewing real forest landscapes substantially diminished oxy-Hb concentrations in the right area of the prefrontal cortex, which is linked to physiological relaxation.

Frontal Brain Activity during Episodic and Semantic Retrieval: Insights from Event-Related Potentials

1999 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 598-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charan Ranganath ◽  
Ken A. Paller
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Novelty Detection ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Episodic Retrieval ◽  
Semantic Retrieval ◽  
Retrieval Task ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
The Right

Previous neuropsychological and neuroimaging results have implicated the prefrontal cortex in memory retrieval, although its precise role is unclear. In the present study, we examined patterns of brain electrical activity during retrieval of episodic and semantic memories. In the episodic retrieval task, participants retrieved autobiographical memories in response to event cues. In the semantic retrieval task, participants generated exemplars in response to category cues. Novel sounds presented intermittently during memory retrieval elicited a series of brain potentials including one identifiable as the P3a potential. Based on prior research linking P3a with novelty detection and with the frontal lobes, we predicted that P3a would be reduced to the extent that novelty detection and memory retrieval interfere with each other. Results during episodic and semantic retrieval tasks were compared to results during a task in which subjects attended to the auditory stimuli. P3a amplitudes were reduced during episodic retrieval, particularly at right lateral frontal scalp locations. A similar but less lateralized pattern of frontal P3a reduction was observed during semantic retrieval. These findings support the notion that the right prefrontal cortex is engaged in the service of memory retrieval, particularly for episodic memories.

scholarly journals Prefrontal dysfunction associated with a history of suicide attempts among patients with recent onset schizophrenia

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Matsuoka ◽  
Shinsuke Koike ◽  
Yoshihiro Satomura ◽  
Naohiro Okada ◽  
Yukika Nishimura ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Disease Onset ◽  
Recent Onset ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Right

Abstract Suicide is a major cause of death in patients with schizophrenia, particularly among those with recent disease onset. Although brain imaging studies have identified the neuroanatomical correlates of suicidal behavior, functional brain activity correlates particularly in patients with recent-onset schizophrenia (ROSZ) remain unknown. Using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) recording with a high-density coverage of the prefrontal area, we investigated whether prefrontal activity is altered in patients with ROSZ having a history of suicide attempts. A 52-channel NIRS system was used to examine hemodynamic changes in patients with ROSZ that had a history of suicide attempts (n = 24) or that lacked such a history (n = 62), and age- and sex-matched healthy controls (n = 119), during a block-design letter fluency task (LFT). Patients with a history of suicide attempts exhibited decreased activation in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex compared with those without such a history. Our findings indicate that specific regions of the prefrontal cortex may be associated with suicidal attempts, which may have implications for early intervention for psychosis.

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

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.

Dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex structural changes relative to suicidal ideation in patients with depression

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-91
Author(s):  
Ran Zhang ◽  
Shengnan Wei ◽  
Miao Chang ◽  
Xiaowei Jiang ◽  
Yanqing Tang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Gray Matter Volume ◽  
Major Depressive ◽  
Left Dlpfc ◽  
Healthy Control ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Right

AbstractThe prefrontal cortex (PFC) is enormously important in suicide and major depressive disorder (MDD). However, little is known about the structural alterations in the brains of people with MDD and suicidal ideation. We examined the gray matter volume (GMV) of the PFC of individuals with MDD and suicidal ideation to determine if PFC volumetric differences contribute to suicidal ideation in patients with MDD. Thirty-five subjects with MDD and suicidal ideation, 38 subjects with MDD but without suicidal ideation, and 43 age- and gender-matched healthy control (HC) subjects underwent T1-weighted imaging. A voxel-based morphometric analysis was conducted to compare the PFC GMVs of the three groups. Further GMV reductions in the left and right dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC) and right ventrolateral PFC (VLPFC) were detected in the MDD with suicidal ideation group compared with those in the HC group and the MDD without suicidal ideation group, whereas the MDD without suicidal ideation group only exhibited significant differences in the left DLPFC relative to the HC group. Our findings demonstrated that left DLPFC reductions were associated with MDD and suicidal ideation, and diminished GMV reductions in the right DLPFC and right VLPFC were only associated with suicidal ideation. These results help us better understand the neuropathological changes in MDD with suicidal ideation.

Depth perception and evoked brain activity: The influence of horizontal disparity and visual field location

1997 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 527-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Skrandies
Keyword(s):  
Visual Field ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Evoked Potential ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Right Visual Field ◽  
Functional Difference ◽  
Horizontal Disparity ◽  
Random Dot Stereograms ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
The Right

AbstractThe perception of dynamic random-dot stereograms (RDS) depends on the physiological fusion of horizontally disparate binocular visual input. Thus, the use of RDS offers the possibility to study selectively cortical processing of visual information in man. We investigated the influence of horizontal disparity on the scalp topography of RDS evoked brain activity in 33 healthy subjects. Stereoscopic checkerboard patterns were presented in the center or lateralized in the left or right visual field with horizontal disparities changing at temporal frequencies of six or eight depth reversals/s using different disparity values ranging from 3.5 to 28 min of arc. In 11 subjects evoked potential fields were recorded from 16 electrodes, and 21 subjects participated in 30-channel recordings with electrodes located over the parietal and occipital brain areas. Stimulation frequency-related brain activity was obtained with all disparity values; however, with large or small disparities the potential field strength decreased significantly while largest responses were obtained with intermediate disparities. Significant differences were observed in RDS evoked brain activity when central and lateralized stimulus locations were compared. With lateral stimuli (extending from the fovea to 17.1-deg eccentricity) maximal amplitudes were obtained at larger disparities than with central stimuli. In addition there were pronounced differences between brain activity evoked with stimuli presented in the left or right visual field; however, there were very similar evoked potential signals recorded from electrodes located over the left and right hemispheres. Our findings indicate that the processing of disparity information with lateralized stimuli is different from the processing in the center of the visual field. In addition, lateralized stimulation yields a significant disparity tuning mainly with stereoscopic targets occurring to the right from the fixation point (but not with stimuli to the left) suggesting a functional difference between the visual half-fields.

scholarly journals Manipulating placebo analgesia and nocebo hyperalgesia by changing brain excitability

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (19) ◽  
pp. e2101273118
Author(s):  
Yiheng Tu ◽  
Georgia Wilson ◽  
Joan Camprodon ◽  
Darin D. Dougherty ◽  
Mark Vangel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Medical Practice ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Placebo Analgesia ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Cathodal Tdcs ◽  
Nocebo Effects ◽  
The Right ◽  
Manipulation Model ◽  
Pain Regulation

Harnessing placebo and nocebo effects has significant implications for research and medical practice. Placebo analgesia and nocebo hyperalgesia, the most well-studied placebo and nocebo effects, are thought to initiate from the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and then trigger the brain’s descending pain modulatory system and other pain regulation pathways. Combining repeated transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), an expectancy manipulation model, and functional MRI, we investigated the modulatory effects of anodal and cathodal tDCS at the right DLPFC on placebo analgesia and nocebo hyperalgesia using a randomized, double-blind and sham-controlled design. We found that compared with sham tDCS, active tDCS could 1) boost placebo and blunt nocebo effects and 2) modulate brain activity and connectivity associated with placebo analgesia and nocebo hyperalgesia. These results provide a basis for mechanistic manipulation of placebo and nocebo effects and may lead to improved clinical outcomes in medical practice.

scholarly journals Cholinergic Enhancement Eliminates Modulation of Neural Activity by Task Difficulty in the Prefrontal Cortex during Working Memory

2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 1342-1353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maura L. Furey ◽  
Emiliano Ricciardi ◽  
Mark B. Schapiro ◽  
Stanley I. Rapoport ◽  
Pietro Pietrini
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Blood Flow ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Reaction Time ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
The Right

Previously, we demonstrated that enhancing cholinergic activity during a working memory (WM) task improves performance and reduces blood flow in the right anterior middle/superior frontal cortex, an area known to be important for WM. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the interaction between WM task demands and cholinergic enhancement on neural responses in the prefrontal cortex. Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured using H215O and positron emission tomography, as 10 young healthy volunteers performed a parametrically varied match-to-sample WM for faces task. For each item, a picture of a face was presented, followed by a delay (1, 6, 11, or 16 sec), then by the presentation of two faces. Subjects were instructed to identify which face they previously had seen. For control items, nonsense pictures were presented in the same spatial and temporal manner. All conditions were performed during an intravenous infusion of saline and physostigmine (1 mg/hr). Subjects were blind to the substance being infused. Reaction time increased significantly with WM delay, and physostigmine decreased reaction time across delay conditions. Significant task-related rCBF increases during saline infusion were seen in superior frontal, middle frontal, and inferior frontal regions, and the response magnitudes in the regions increased systematically with task difficulty. In all of these prefrontal regions, physostigmine administration significantly reduced rCBF during task, particularly at longer task delays, so that no correlation between task delay and rCBF was observed. In the ventral visual cortex, physostigmine increased rCBF at longer task delays in medial regions, and decreased rCBF over delay conditions in lateral cortical areas. These results indicate that, during cholinergic potentiation, brain activity in prefrontal regions is not modulated by increases in WM task demands, and lends further support to the hypothesis that cholinergic modulation enhances visual processing, making the task easier to perform, and thus, compensate for the need to recruit prefrontal cortical regions as task demands increase.

scholarly journals Brain Functional and Structural Alterations in Women With Bipolar Disorder and Suicidality

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huiling Guo ◽  
Ran Zhang ◽  
Pengshuo Wang ◽  
Luheng Zhang ◽  
Zhiyang Yin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bipolar Disorder ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Gray Matter Volume ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Neural Mechanism ◽  
Women Patients ◽  
History Of ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
The Right ◽  
Neuroimaging Techniques

Objective: Suicide is the leading cause of death from bipolar disorder (BD). At least 25–50% of the patients with BD will attempt suicide, with suicide rates much higher in women patients than in men. It is crucial to explore the potential neural mechanism underlying suicidality in women with BD, which will lead to understanding and detection of suicidality and prevent death and injury from suicide.Methods: Brain function and structure were measured by amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and gray matter volume (GMV) in 155 women [30 women with BD and a history of suicidality, 50 women with BD without suicidality, and 75 healthy controls (HC)]. The differences in ALFF and GMV across the BD with suicidality, BD without suicidality, and HC groups were investigated.Results: BD with suicidality showed significantly increased ALFF in the left and right cuneus compared with BD without suicidality and HC groups. Moreover, the GMV in the left lateral prefrontal cortex and left cuneus in BD with suicidality were significantly lower than those in BD without suicidality and HC groups, while the GMV of the right ventral prefrontal cortex was significantly decreased in both BD with and without suicidality groups.Conclusions: This study, combining functional and structural neuroimaging techniques, may help to identify specific pathophysiological changes in women with BD and suicidality. Increased ALFF and less GMV in cuneus might represent the neuroimaging features of suicidality in women with BD. Investigating this potential neuromarker for suicidality in women with BD may lead to the ability to prevent suicidality.

scholarly journals BRAIN ACTIVITY OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGNERS IN CONSTRAINED AND OPEN DESIGN: THE EFFECT OF GENDER ON FREQUENCY BANDS

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 571-580
Author(s):  
Sonia Liliana da Silva Vieira ◽  
Mathias Benedek ◽  
John S. Gero ◽  
Gaetano Cascini ◽  
Shumin Li
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Frequency Bands ◽  
Open Design ◽  
Main Effect ◽  
Industrial Designers ◽  
The Right

AbstractIn this paper, we present results from an experiment using EEG to measure brain activity and explore EEG frequency power associated with gender differences of professional industrial designers while performing two prototypical stages of constrained and open design tasks, problem-solving and design sketching. Results indicate no main effect of gender. However, among other main effects, a consistent main effect of hemisphere for the six frequency bands under analysis was found. In the problem-solving stage, male designers show higher alpha and beta bands in channels of the prefrontal cortices and female designers in the right occipitotemporal cortex and secondary visual cortices. In the design sketching stage, male designers show higher alpha and beta bands in the right prefrontal cortex, and female designers in the right temporal cortex and left prefrontal cortex, where higher theta is also found. Prioritising different cognitive functions seem to play a role in each gender's approach to constrained and open design tasks. Results can be useful to design professionals, students and design educators, and for the development of methodological approaches in design research and education.

scholarly journals Altered Spontaneous Brain Activity in Cortical and Subcortical Regions in Parkinson’s Disease

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Xiang ◽  
Xiuqin Jia ◽  
Huizhuo Li ◽  
Jiawei Qin ◽  
Peipeng Liang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Gray Matter Volume ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Head Motion ◽  
Gender Education ◽  
Subcortical Regions ◽  
The Right

Purpose. The present study aimed to explore the changes of amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) at rest in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD).Methods. Twenty-four PD patients and 22 healthy age-matched controls participated in the study. ALFF was measured on the whole brain of all participants. A two-samplet-test was then performed to detect the group differences with age, gender, education level, head motion, and gray matter volume as covariates.Results. It was showed that PD patients had significantly decreased ALFF in the left thalamus/caudate and right insula/inferior prefrontal gyrus, whereas they had increased ALFF in the right medial prefrontal cortex (BA 8/6) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (BA 9/10).Conclusions. Our results indicated that significant alterations of ALFF in the subcortical regions and prefrontal cortex have been detected in PD patients, independent of age, gender, education, head motion, and structural atrophy. The current findings further provide insights into the biological mechanism of the disease.

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