Article
Neurosciences
James P. Trujillo, Asli Ozyurek, Cornelis C. Kan, Irina Sheftel-Simanova, Harold Bekkering
Summary: Persons with autism and neurotypical individuals process sensory information differently, which directly affects social functioning and communication abilities. This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the organization of the action observation network in autistic and neurotypical individuals during a silent gesture recognition task. The results revealed that autistic individuals have a more clustered and locally-oriented network configuration, while neurotypicals exhibit a more integrated network organization. These findings shed light on the complex interplay between social and sensory processing in autism.
SOCIAL COGNITIVE AND AFFECTIVE NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Antonia Kaiser, Caroline Broeder, Jessica Cohen, Linda Douw, Liesbeth Reneman, Anouk Schrantee
Summary: This study investigated the effects of methylphenidate on brain network connectivity in children and adults with ADHD and found that the effects were age-dependent. Methylphenidate decreased connectivity and centrality in subcortical regions in children, but increased these measures in adults. Interestingly, no major effects were observed in frontal regions. These findings suggest that the effects of methylphenidate treatment should be studied from a developmental perspective.
HUMAN BRAIN MAPPING
(2022)
Article
Psychiatry
Bin Qin, Longlun Wang, Jinhua Cai, Tingyu Li, Yun Zhang
Summary: This study investigates the functional brain network characteristics of preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) using resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) and graph theory analysis. The findings show significant changes in subnetwork connectivity in the ASD group compared to the healthy control group. The study also demonstrates alterations in network properties, with increased clustering coefficient and local efficiency in the functional network of the ASD group.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Won Beom Jung, Haiyan Jiang, Soohyun Lee, Seong-Gi Kim
Summary: In order to advance fMRI-based brain science, it is important to analyze fMRI activity at the circuit level. This study combines whole-brain fMRI with neuronal silencing to dissect the responses and circuits of the somatosensory network.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Neuroimaging
Ting Li, Bin Wang, Yuan Gao, Xin Wang, Ting Yan, Jie Xiang, Yan Niu, Tiantian Liu, Duanduan Chen, Boyan Fang, Yunyan Xie, Shintaro Funahashi, Tianyi Yan
Summary: The years of education have significant effects on the topological properties of the functional network, especially in individuals without the APOE ε4 allele. These effects diminish in individuals with the ε4 allele and decrease as Alzheimer's disease progresses.
BRAIN IMAGING AND BEHAVIOR
(2021)
Article
Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology
Xin Liu, Yin He, Yue Gao, James R. Booth, Lihuan Zhang, Shudong Zhang, Chunming Lu, Li Liu
Summary: Our study compared functional connectivity in language processing between children and adults using brain network analysis. We found that adults showed stronger connectivity between bilateral inferior frontal gyri and left inferior parietal lobule in the rhyming task, and between middle frontal gyrus and angular gyrus, as well as within occipital areas in the meaning task. Children, on the other hand, showed stronger connectivity in Heschl's gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, and subcortical areas. These findings suggest that the development of spoken word processing is characterized by increased functional specialization, with phonological and semantic processing relying on dorsal and ventral pathways, respectively.
BRAIN AND LANGUAGE
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Carlos Alberto Stefano Filho, Romis Attux, Gabriela Castellano
Summary: The use of motor imagery (MI) in motor rehabilitation has potential to enhance traditional treatments, with appropriate training being crucial to benefit from it. Assessing underlying neural changes due to feedback or MI practice remains challenging, with actual neurofeedback impacting functional connectivity (FC) by disrupting common inter-subject patterns. MI practice stimulates visual information processing mechanisms, particularly during resting-state brain activity.
JOURNAL OF NEURAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Xiang Yu, Jingjie Yu, Yuwei Li, Jiying Cong, Chao Wang, Ran Fan, Wanbing Wang, Lige Zhou, Chen Xu, Yiming Li, Yawu Liu
Summary: This study used resting-state functional magnetic imaging to compare the alterations in intrinsic brain functional networks between patients with functional constipation and healthy controls. The results showed significant functional alterations in connectivity and networks, which were associated with emotional and constipation scores in patients.
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Leibovici Anat, Raizman Reut, Itzhaki Nofar, Tik Niv, Sapir Maayan, Tsarfaty Galia, Livny Abigail
Summary: Traditionally, neuroimaging studies have focused on brain activation in frontal-parietal regions for fluid intelligence. However, recent evidence suggests the involvement of the cerebellum in higher cognitive function. This study investigates the role of the cerebellum in processing fluid intelligence and provides evidence through task brain activation and network analysis.
COGNITIVE SYSTEMS RESEARCH
(2024)
Article
Neurosciences
Alessandra Griffa, Enrico Amico, Raphael Liegeois, Dimitri Van de Ville, Maria Giulia Preti
Summary: This study explores the specificity of structure-function coupling in different brain states and individual identification. The results demonstrate that structure-function coupling measures accurately classify task decoding and fingerprinting, with key information found in the liberal portion of functional signals.
Article
Neurosciences
Torge Dellert, Miriam Mueller-Bardorff, Insa Schlossmacher, Michael Pitts, David Hofmann, Maximilian Bruchmann, Thomas Straube
Summary: Conscious visual perception is associated with early processing in stimulus-specific sensory brain areas and occipitotemporal processes, while task-related processes lead to widespread brain activations, including late frontoparietal activity.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Michael A. Cohen, Jonathan Keefe, Timothy F. Brady
Summary: In this study, the researchers investigated different paradigms of visual awareness to determine whether conscious awareness occurs in a discrete or gradual manner. They found that a continuous signal detection model could account for the data from all the paradigms, surpassing the models supporting a discrete view of consciousness. These findings suggest that conscious awareness operates along a graded continuum.
PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lucia Jajcay, David Tomecek, Jiri Horacek, Filip Spaniel, Jaroslav Hlinka
Summary: This study used graph-theoretical methods to analyze resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data of 90 healthy subjects and found that the left hemisphere is more modular compared to the right hemisphere. This result was consistent across different binarization thresholds, whether the two hemispheres were thresholded together or separately.
Article
Neuroimaging
Kamil Bonna, Karolina Finc, Maria Zimmermann, Lukasz Bola, Piotr Mostowski, Maciej Szul, Pawel Rutkowski, Wlodzislaw Duch, Artur Marchewka, Katarzyna Jednorog, Marcin Szwed
Summary: Early sensory deprivation, such as deafness, not only shapes brain development in multiple ways, but also alters the coupling between various large-scale networks in the brain, contributing to the superior behavioral performance of deaf individuals in visual and attentional tasks. Deaf adults exhibit reduced network segregation and an altered modular structure compared to hearing controls, indicating widespread functional connectivity changes beyond just the auditory cortex.
BRAIN IMAGING AND BEHAVIOR
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Haneen Alsuradi, Wanjoo Park, Mohamad Eid
Summary: This study investigates the underlying neural networks associated with processing haptic delay in both passive and active haptic interactions. Results suggest that haptic delay significantly affects brain network characteristics, with increased connectivity between the middle central region and the parietal and occipital regions. This may indicate the detection of conflicting visuo-haptic information at the middle central region and their resolution and integration at the parietal and occipital regions.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Experimental
Josefin Robbig, Miray Erbey, Anahit Babayan, Andrea M. F. Reiter, Deniz Kumral, H. Lina Schaare, Janis D. Reinelt, Michael Gaebler, Ute Kunzmann, Arno Villringer
Summary: This study examines the differences in emotion regulation strategy choices between younger and older adults, finding that only older adults' regulation choices are influenced by the emotional intensity of autobiographical memories and habitual reappraisal. The significance of habitual reappraisal in emotion regulation choices for older adults is highlighted.
Article
Neurosciences
Natalie Kohler, Giacomo Novembre, Katarzyna Gugnowska, Peter E. Keller, Arno Villringer, Daniela Sammler
Summary: Joint music performance requires flexible sensorimotor coordination between self and other, influenced by shared knowledge and temporal synchrony. A study found that pianists who practiced their partner's part showed stronger activity and connectivity within cortico-cerebellar audio-motor networks, indicating internal model simulation and anticipation of partner's feedback. However, when there were subtle asynchronies between model-based anticipations and perceived sensory outcomes of partner actions, pianists exhibited stronger cerebellar activity and reduced behavioral adaptation, indicating a shift towards self-other segregation.
Article
Psychology
Norman Forschack, Christopher Gundlach, Steven Hillyard, Matthias M. Mueller
Summary: This study examined top-down control over attentional capture using a typical four-item search display. The results showed that more salient targets led to faster reaction times and a shorter latency of the N2pc component in the event-related potential (ERP). However, the presence of a salient distractor resulted in slower reaction times, contradicting the hypothesis that the Pd component reflects proactive distractor suppression.
ATTENTION PERCEPTION & PSYCHOPHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Biological
Christopher Gundlach, Norman Forschack, Matthias M. Mueller
Summary: Attending to a single feature leads to global modulation of neural processing. Alpha-band dynamics are hypothesized to be a marker of this modulation. This study examined the link between alpha-band dynamics and sustained feature-based attentional (FBA) selection, and found that alpha-band modulations may not index the sustained global selection of attended features.
Article
Neurosciences
Ahmed A. Khalil, Ayse C. Tanritanir, Ulrike Grittner, Evgeniya Kirilina, Arno Villringer, Jochen B. Fiebach, Ralf Mekle
Summary: In this study, the reproducibility of BOLD delay was assessed in 136 subjects with normal cerebral perfusion. The highest reproducibility was observed in the posterior cerebral artery territory. Overall, BOLD delay showed good reproducibility, but caution should be exercised when interpreting longitudinal BOLD delay changes that are either very small or located in certain brain regions.
HUMAN BRAIN MAPPING
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
H. Lina Schaare, Maria Bloechl, Deniz Kumral, Marie Uhlig, Lorenz Lemcke, Sofie L. Valk, Arno Villringer
Summary: The study demonstrates an association between blood pressure and depressive symptoms, well-being, and emotion-related brain activity, which may be relevant to hypertension. Using extensive data from the UK Biobank, the study resolves contradictions and explores the relationship between mental health, systolic blood pressure, and hypertension. It shows that higher systolic blood pressure is associated with fewer depressive symptoms, greater well-being, and lower emotion-related brain activity.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Psychiatry
Dirk Alexander Wittekind, Juergen Kratzsch, Roland Mergl, Kerstin Wirkner, Ronny Baber, Christian Sander, A. Veronica Witte, Arno Villringer, Michael Kluge
Summary: The study found that childhood trauma has long-term effects on the ghrelin system, with childhood sexual abuse being significantly associated with higher ghrelin serum levels. However, other childhood traumas did not show a significant association with ghrelin levels.
TRANSLATIONAL PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Haiko Schloegl, Arno Villringer, Konstanze Miehle, Mathias Fasshauer, Michael Stumvoll, Karsten Mueller
Summary: This study replicated previous findings on the increase of brain connectivity in the hypothalamus and posterior cingulate gyrus in patients with lipodystrophy (LD) undergoing metreleptin treatment. These results contribute to understanding the central nervous effects of leptin and provide a foundation for future research.
JOURNAL OF THE ENDOCRINE SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Haiko Schloegl, Lieneke Janssen, Mathias Fasshauer, Konstanze Miehle, Arno Villringer, Michael Stumvoll, Karsten Mueller
Summary: Using functional MRI, the study investigated the effects of metreleptin on the reward system in a non-eating behavior reward task. The results showed that patients with lipodystrophy treated with metreleptin experienced a decrease in reward-related brain activity, suggesting that leptin has functions in the human reward system that are unrelated to eating behavior.
JOURNAL OF THE ENDOCRINE SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Karsten Mueller, Friederike Thiel, Birol Taskin, Frank Beutner, Andrej Teren, Vladimir K. Dubovoy, Harald E. Moeller, Arno Villringer, Matthias L. Schroeter
Summary: The study aimed to detect the functional correlates of heart failure in terms of alterations in functional brain connectivity related to cognitive performance. The results show that heart failure is associated with reduced functional connectivity between the precuneus and widely distributed brain regions, and decline in cognitive performance is specifically correlated with diminished functional brain connectivity in patients with heart failure.
BRAIN COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Evelyn Medawar, Frauke Beyer, Ronja Thieleking, Sven-Bastiaan Haange, Ulrike Rolle-Kampczyk, Madlen Reinicke, Rima Chakaroun, Martin von Bergen, Michael Stumvoll, Arno Villringer, A. Veronica Witte
Summary: This study investigated the effects of high-dosed prebiotic fiber on reward-related food decision-making in overweight young adults. The results showed that prebiotic intake decreased brain activation towards high-caloric food stimuli and caused shifts in gut microbiota.
Article
Neurosciences
Julia Huck, Anna-Thekla Jaeger, Uta Schneider, Sophia Grahl, Audrey P. Fan, Christine Tardif, Arno Villringer, Pierre-Louis Bazin, Christopher J. Steele, Claudine J. Gauthier
Summary: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) is used to detect low-frequency fluctuations in the BOLD signal across brain regions. Venous biases can affect the amplitude and location of the BOLD signal, as well as connectivity measures derived from rs-fMRI. This study investigated the impact of vein diameter and distance on various rs-fMRI measures in the grey matter. It was found that smaller veins had higher values across all distances, while values associated with larger veins decreased with increasing distance. Models were proposed to correct for this venous bias in rs-fMRI metrics.
HUMAN BRAIN MAPPING
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Biological
Felix Klotzsche, Michael Gaebler, Arno Villringer, Werner Sommer, Vadim Nikulin, Sven Ohl
Summary: Virtual reality (VR) is a powerful tool for studying cognitive processes, allowing researchers to observe behaviors and mental states in complex and controlled scenarios. This study used a VR headset to investigate the spatial limitations of two well-known EEG markers in visual short-term memory. The results showed that the amplitude of the contralateral delay activity (CDA) differed between high and low memory load at smaller eccentricities, but not at the largest eccentricity. Memory load and eccentricity had no significant effect on lateralized alpha power. The study concluded that commercial VR hardware can be used to study these EEG markers of visual memory, with some limitations.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Daniel S. Kluger, Carina Forster, Omid Abbasi, Nikos Chalas, Arno Villringer, Joachim Gross
Summary: Bodily rhythms such as respiration modulate neural oscillations underlying human action, perception, and cognition. The link between respiration and aperiodic brain activity has been unstudied, but this study shows that fluctuations of aperiodic brain activity are synchronized with the respiratory cycle. These findings highlight the role of respiration as a physiological influence on brain signaling.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Evelyn Medawar, Marie Zedler, Larissa de Biasi, Arno Villringer, A. Veronica Witte
Summary: Adopting plant-based diets high in fiber may reduce global warming and obesity prevalence, but the physiological and psychological determinants of plant-based food intake remain unclear.
NPJ SCIENCE OF FOOD
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Jose Sanchez-Bornot, Roberto C. Sotero, J. A. Scott Kelso, Ozguer Simsek, Damien Coyle
Summary: This study proposes a multi-penalized state-space model for analyzing unobserved dynamics, using a data-driven regularization method. Novel algorithms are developed to solve the model, and a cross-validation method is introduced to evaluate regularization parameters. The effectiveness of this method is validated through simulations and real data analysis, enabling a more accurate exploration of cognitive brain functions.