scholarly journals fMRI-based detection of alertness predicts behavioral response variability

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah E Goodale ◽  
Nafis Ahmed ◽  
Chong Zhao ◽  
Jacco A de Zwart ◽  
Pinar S Özbay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Body ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Task Engagement ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Stimulus Interval ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Statistical Detection ◽  
Neural Variability ◽  
Behavior And Cognition

Levels of alertness are closely linked with human behavior and cognition. However, while functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) allows for investigating whole-brain dynamics during behavior and task engagement, concurrent measures of alertness (such as EEG or pupillometry) are often unavailable. Here, we extract a continuous, time-resolved marker of alertness from fMRI data alone. We demonstrate that this fMRI alertness marker, calculated in a short pre-stimulus interval, captures trial-to-trial behavioral responses to incoming sensory stimuli. In addition, we find that the prediction of both EEG and behavioral responses during the task may be accomplished using only a small fraction of fMRI voxels. Furthermore, we observe that accounting for alertness appears to increase the statistical detection of task-activated brain areas. These findings have broad implications for augmenting a large body of existing datasets with information about ongoing arousal states, enriching fMRI studies of neural variability in health and disease.

Activation of Monkey Locus Coeruleus Neurons Varies With Difficulty and Performance in a Target Detection Task

2004 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 361-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janusz Rajkowski ◽  
Henryk Majczynski ◽  
Edwin Clayton ◽  
Gary Aston-Jones
Keyword(s):  
Locus Coeruleus ◽  
Target Detection ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Early Response ◽  
Detection Task ◽  
Correct Rejection ◽  
Small Magnitude ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Target Detection Task

We previously reported that noradrenergic neurons in the monkey locus coeruleus (LC) are activated selectively by target stimuli in a target detection task. Here, we varied the discrimination difficulty in this task and recorded impulse activity of LC neurons to analyze LC responses on error trials and in relation to behavioral response times (RTs). In easy and difficult discrimination conditions, LC neurons responded preferentially to target stimuli with phasic activation. These responses consistently preceded behavioral responses regardless of task difficulty. Latencies for LC and behavioral responses increased similarly for difficult compared with easy discrimination trials. LC response latencies were also shorter for fast RT trials compared with slow RT trials regardless of difficulty, indicating a close temporal relationship between LC and behavioral responses. This relationship was confirmed with response-locked histograms of LC activity, which yielded more temporally synchronized LC responses than stimulus-locked histograms. Population histograms of LC activity revealed that nontarget stimuli resulting in false alarm responses produced phasic LC activation (although smaller than for target-hit trials), and nontarget stimuli resulting in correct rejection responses yielded a small inhibition in LC activity. Population analyses also revealed that LC responses included an early, small excitatory component that was not previously detected. This early response was nondiscriminative because it was similar for target and nontarget stimulus trials. These results indicate that LC neurons exhibit early small magnitude responses that are closely linked to sensory stimuli. In addition, these cells show a later, larger magnitude response that is temporally linked to behavioral responses. These and other results lead us to hypothesize that LC responses are driven by decision processes and help facilitate subsequent behavioral responses.

The neural basis for violations of Weber’s law in self-motion perception

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (36) ◽  
pp. e2025061118
Author(s):  
Jerome Carriot ◽  
Kathleen E. Cullen ◽  
Maurice J. Chacron
Keyword(s):  
Discrimination Performance ◽  
Fundamental Principle ◽  
Weber’S Law ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Weber's Law ◽  
Perceptual Performance ◽  
Improved Performance ◽  
Self Motion ◽  
Neural Variability

A prevailing view is that Weber’s law constitutes a fundamental principle of perception. This widely accepted psychophysical law states that the minimal change in a given stimulus that can be perceived increases proportionally with amplitude and has been observed across systems and species in hundreds of studies. Importantly, however, Weber’s law is actually an oversimplification. Notably, there exist violations of Weber’s law that have been consistently observed across sensory modalities. Specifically, perceptual performance is better than that predicted from Weber’s law for the higher stimulus amplitudes commonly found in natural sensory stimuli. To date, the neural mechanisms mediating such violations of Weber’s law in the form of improved perceptual performance remain unknown. Here, we recorded from vestibular thalamocortical neurons in rhesus monkeys during self-motion stimulation. Strikingly, we found that neural discrimination thresholds initially increased but saturated for higher stimulus amplitudes, thereby causing the improved neural discrimination performance required to explain perception. Theory predicts that stimulus-dependent neural variability and/or response nonlinearities will determine discrimination threshold values. Using computational methods, we thus investigated the mechanisms mediating this improved performance. We found that the structure of neural variability, which initially increased but saturated for higher amplitudes, caused improved discrimination performance rather than response nonlinearities. Taken together, our results reveal the neural basis for violations of Weber’s law and further provide insight as to how variability contributes to the adaptive encoding of natural stimuli with continually varying statistics.

Behavioral Responses to Sensory Stimuli During Play at Community-Based Events

2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (4_Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 7311505184p1
Author(s):  
Kelle DeBoth ◽  
Paige Brown ◽  
Emily Barnard
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Sensory Stimuli

Neurons in the Thalamic CM-Pf Complex Supply Striatal Neurons With Information About Behaviorally Significant Sensory Events

2001 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 960-976 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoyuki Matsumoto ◽  
Takafumi Minamimoto ◽  
Ann M. Graybiel ◽  
Minoru Kimura
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Striatal Neurons ◽  
Task Context ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Response Characteristics ◽  
Sensory Responsiveness ◽  
Input System ◽  
Tonically Active Neurons ◽  
Long Latency ◽  
Sensory Responses

The projection from the thalamic centre médian–parafascicular (CM-Pf) complex to the caudate nucleus and putamen forms a massive striatal input system in primates. We examined the activity of 118 neurons in the CM and 62 neurons in the Pf nuclei of the thalamus and 310 tonically active neurons (TANs) in the striatum in awake behaving macaque monkeys and analyzed the effects of pharmacologic inactivation of the CM-Pf on the sensory responsiveness of the striatal TANs. A large proportion of CM and Pf neurons responded to visual (53%) and/or auditory beep (61%) or click (91%) stimuli presented in behavioral tasks, and many responded to unexpected auditory, visual, or somatosensory stimuli presented outside the task context. The neurons fell into two classes: those having short-latency facilitatory responses (SLF neurons, predominantly in the Pf) and those having long-latency facilitatory responses (LLF neurons, predominantly in the CM). Responses of both types of neuron appeared regardless of whether or not the sensory stimuli were associated with reward. These response characteristics of CM-Pf neurons sharply contrasted with those of TANs in the striatum, which under the same conditions responded preferentially to stimuli associated with reward. Many CM-Pf neurons responded to alerting stimuli such as unexpected handclaps and noises only for the first few times that they occurred; after that, the identical stimuli gradually became ineffective in evoking responses. Habituation of sensory responses was particularly common for the LLF neurons. Inactivation of neuronal activity in the CM and Pf by local infusion of the GABAA receptor agonist, muscimol, almost completely abolished the pause and rebound facilitatory responses of TANs in the striatum. Such injections also diminished behavioral responses to stimuli associated with reward. We suggest that neurons in the CM and Pf supply striatal neurons with information about behaviorally significant sensory events that can activate conditional responses of striatal neurons in combination with dopamine-mediated nigrostriatal inputs having motivational value.

scholarly journals Group Behavior: Social Context Modulates Behavioral Responses to Sensory Stimuli

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. R467-R469
Author(s):  
Sara M. Wasserman ◽  
Mark A. Frye
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Group Behavior ◽  
Sensory Stimuli

scholarly journals Soft Matter Sample Environments for Time-Resolved Small Angle Neutron Scattering Experiments: A Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 5566
Author(s):  
Volker S. Urban ◽  
William T. Heller ◽  
John Katsaras ◽  
Wim Bras
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Scattering ◽  
Small Angle ◽  
High Intensity ◽  
Small Angle Neutron Scattering ◽  
Soft Matter ◽  
Condensed Matter ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Soft Condensed Matter ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Neutron Sources

With the promise of new, more powerful neutron sources in the future, the possibilities for time-resolved neutron scattering experiments will improve and are bound to gain in interest. While there is already a large body of work on the accurate control of temperature, pressure, and magnetic fields for static experiments, this field is less well developed for time-resolved experiments on soft condensed matter and biomaterials. We present here an overview of different sample environments and technique combinations that have been developed so far and which might inspire further developments so that one can take full advantage of both the existing facilities as well as the possibilities that future high intensity neutron sources will offer.

scholarly journals Inter-subject Correlation While Listening to Minimalist Music: A Study of Electrophysiological and Behavioral Responses to Steve Reich's Piano Phase

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tysen Dauer ◽  
Duc T. Nguyen ◽  
Nick Gang ◽  
Jacek P. Dmochowski ◽  
Jonathan Berger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Local Level ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Formal Structure ◽  
Music Listening ◽  
Limit Case ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Expectation Formation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Piano Phase

Musical minimalism utilizes the temporal manipulation of restricted collections of rhythmic, melodic, and/or harmonic materials. One example, Steve Reich's Piano Phase, offers listeners readily audible formal structure with unpredictable events at the local level. For example, pattern recurrences may generate strong expectations which are violated by small temporal and pitch deviations. A hyper-detailed listening strategy prompted by these minute deviations stands in contrast to the type of listening engagement typically cultivated around functional tonal Western music. Recent research has suggested that the inter-subject correlation (ISC) of electroencephalographic (EEG) responses to natural audio-visual stimuli objectively indexes a state of “engagement,” demonstrating the potential of this approach for analyzing music listening. But can ISCs capture engagement with minimalist music, which features less obvious expectation formation and has historically received a wide range of reactions? To approach this question, we collected EEG and continuous behavioral (CB) data while 30 adults listened to an excerpt from Steve Reich's Piano Phase, as well as three controlled manipulations and a popular-music remix of the work. Our analyses reveal that EEG and CB ISC are highest for the remix stimulus and lowest for our most repetitive manipulation, no statistical differences in overall EEG ISC between our most musically meaningful manipulations and Reich's original piece, and evidence that compositional features drove engagement in time-resolved ISC analyses. We also found that aesthetic evaluations corresponded well with overall EEG ISC. Finally we highlight co-occurrences between stimulus events and time-resolved EEG and CB ISC. We offer the CB paradigm as a useful analysis measure and note the value of minimalist compositions as a limit case for the neuroscientific study of music listening. Overall, our participants' neural, continuous behavioral, and question responses showed strong similarities that may help refine our understanding of the type of engagement indexed by ISC for musical stimuli.

scholarly journals Evolutionary Advantages of Stimulus-Driven EEG Phase Transitions in the Upper Cortical Layers

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Kozma ◽  
Bernard J. Baars ◽  
Natalie Geld
Keyword(s):  
Phase Transitions ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Gamma Oscillations ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Brain Dynamics ◽  
Isotropic Phase ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Self Organized ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Spatio-temporal brain activity monitored by EEG recordings in humans and other mammals has identified beta/gamma oscillations (20–80 Hz), which are self-organized into spatio-temporal structures recurring at theta/alpha rates (4–12 Hz). These structures have statistically significant correlations with sensory stimuli and reinforcement contingencies perceived by the subject. The repeated collapse of self-organized structures at theta/alpha rates generates laterally propagating phase gradients (phase cones), ignited at some specific location of the cortical sheet. Phase cones have been interpreted as neural signatures of transient perceptual experiences according to the cinematic theory of brain dynamics. The rapid expansion of essentially isotropic phase cones is consistent with the propagation of perceptual broadcasts postulated by Global Workspace Theory (GWT). What is the evolutionary advantage of brains operating with repeatedly collapsing dynamics? This question is answered using thermodynamic concepts. According to neuropercolation theory, waking brains are described as non-equilibrium thermodynamic systems operating at the edge of criticality, undergoing repeated phase transitions. This work analyzes the role of long-range axonal connections and metabolic processes in the regulation of critical brain dynamics. Historically, the near 10 Hz domain has been associated with conscious sensory integration, cortical “ignitions” linked to conscious visual perception, and conscious experiences. We can therefore combine a very large body of experimental evidence and theory, including graph theory, neuropercolation, and GWT. This cortical operating style may optimize a tradeoff between rapid adaptation to novelty vs. stable and widespread self-organization, therefore resulting in significant Darwinian benefits.

The Lower Bounds of Cognition: What Do Spinal Cords Reveal?

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Allen ◽  
James W. Grau ◽  
Mary W. Meagher
Keyword(s):  
Instrumental Conditioning ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Learning System ◽  
Animal Science ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Interesting Learning ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Philosophical Understanding

This article examines the role of the spinal cords in cognition. It reviews animal science research that challenges the view that behavioral responses to sensory stimuli that do not involve brain mediation are fixed, automatic, and non-cognitive in nature. This research has shown the spinal cord to be a flexible and interesting learning system in its own right. This article discusses the consequences of these findings for philosophical understanding of the relationship between learning, cognition, and even consciousness. The article also explains the relevant concepts of instrumental conditioning and antinociception and conditioned antinociception.

scholarly journals Dynamic flexibility in striatal-cortical circuits supports reinforcement learning

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raphael T. Gerraty ◽  
Juliet Y. Davidow ◽  
Karin Foerde ◽  
Adriana Galvan ◽  
Danielle S. Bassett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Information Integration ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Brain Networks ◽  
Network Dynamics ◽  
Dynamic Network ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Dynamic Changes ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Sensory Stimuli

AbstractComplex learned behaviors must involve the integrated action of distributed brain circuits. While the contributions of individual regions to learning have been extensively investigated, understanding how distributed brain networks orchestrate their activity over the course of learning remains elusive. To address this gap, we used fMRI combined with tools from dynamic network neuroscience to obtain time-resolved descriptions of network coordination during reinforcement learning. We found that learning to associate visual cues with reward involves dynamic changes in network coupling between the striatum and distributed brain regions, including visual, orbitofrontal, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Moreover, we found that flexibility in striatal network dynamics correlates with participants’ learning rate and inverse temperature, two parameters derived from reinforcement learning models. Finally, we found that not all forms of learning relate to this circuit: episodic memory, measured in the same participants at the same time, was related to dynamic connectivity in distinct brain networks. These results suggest that dynamic changes in striatal-centered networks provide a mechanism for information integration during reinforcement learning.Significance StatementLearning from the outcomes of actions–referred to as reinforcement learning–is an essential part of life. The roles of individual brain regions in reinforcement learning have been well characterized in terms of the updating of values for actions or sensory stimuli. Missing from this account, however, is a description of the manner in which different brain areas interact during learning to integrate sensory and value information. Here we characterize flexible striatal-cortical network dynamics that relate to reinforcement learning behavior.

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