Review
Behavioral Sciences
Megan A. K. Peters
Summary: Perceptual metacognition possesses unique properties that allow for the study of the neural and computational correlates of subjective experience. Metacognition leads to subjective experiences, involves internal representations, utilizes recursive computations, is anchored to observable behavior, and depends on hierarchical computations.
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Nir Lahav, Zachariah A. Neemeh
Summary: Scientific research has improved our understanding of consciousness, but there is still a lack of fundamental theory regarding its phenomenal aspect. The concept of relativistic consciousness, backed by mathematical arguments, can bridge the explanatory gap and solve the hard problem. Collaboration between philosophers and neuroscientists is valuable in exploring the neural basis of consciousness.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Thomas Andrillon, Angus Burns, Teigane Mackay, Jennifer Windt, Naotsugu Tsuchiya
Summary: Attentional lapses are associated with mind wandering and mind blanking, accompanied by slow waves in neural activity. The location of slow waves can distinguish different behaviors and mental states.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Juri D. D. Kropotov
Summary: The article introduces the discovery of spontaneous infra-slow fluctuations (EEG-ISFs) in the human EEG 60 years ago and mentions the renewed interest in recent years. It is found that the irregular EEG-ISFs correlate with the independent components of the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging signal, which is driven by changes in arousal level. There is no consensus on the temporal organization of EEG-ISFs, and no studies have used the parameters of EEG-ISFs as neuromarkers to discriminate psychiatric patients from healthy controls.
FRONTIERS IN HUMAN NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Ulrich Weger, Terje Sparby, Friedrich Edelhaeuser
Summary: The paper proposes a renewed trichotomic distinction based on epistemological considerations about the nature of thinking, applied to the question of the true self. The differentiation between representational and immersive thinking can help illuminate aspects of the (true) self that are elusive to a dualistic perspective, paving the way for an empirical inquiry into the self and discussing implications for the study of psychological phenomena in more general terms.
EUROPEAN PSYCHOLOGIST
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Aya Khalaf, Sharif Kronemer, Kate Christison-Lagay, Hunki Kwon, Jiajia Li, Kun Wu, Hal Blumenfeld
Summary: This study investigated the earliest cortical neural signals following consciously perceived visual stimuli in humans using intracranial electroencephalography. The findings revealed early changes in gamma power within 30-180 ms from stimulus onset in a distributed network of brain regions, suggesting the involvement of a visual detection network shortly after signal transduction from the retina.
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Terje Sparby, Matthew D. Sacchet
Summary: Classifying different meditation techniques is crucial for the progress of meditation research. This article proposes an integrated model for defining meditation and discusses the challenges in defining meditation and specific techniques. The article also suggests that all meditation techniques are based on a specific set of activities.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Laura Lindenbaum, Inga Steppacher, Alexandra Mehlmann, Johanna Maria Kissler
Summary: The brain activity in people with disorder of consciousness (DoC) is different from healthy people. This study found that there is a correlation between pre-stimulus and post-stimulus brain activity in DoC patients. These findings reveal the differences and variability in brain functioning in DoC patients.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Daniele Telloni, Marco Romoli, Marco Velli, Gary P. Zank, Laxman Adhikari, Cooper Downs, Aleksandr Burtovoi, Roberto Susino, Daniele Spadaro, Lingling Zhao, Alessandro Liberatore, Chen Shi, Yara De Leo, Lucia Abbo, Federica Frassati, Giovanna Jerse, Federico Landini, Gianalfredo Nicolini, Maurizio Pancrazzi, Giuliana Russano, Clementina Sasso, Vincenzo Andretta, Vania Da Deppo, Silvano Fineschi, Catia Grimani, Petr Heinzel, John D. Moses, Giampiero Naletto, Marco Stangalini, Luca Teriaca, Michela Uslenghi, Arkadiusz Berlicki, Roberto Bruno, Gerardo Capobianco, Giuseppe E. Capuano, Chiara Casini, Marta Casti, Paolo Chioetto, Alain J. Corso, Raffaella D'Amicis, Michele Fabi, Fabio Frassetto, Marina Giarrusso, Silvio Giordano, Salvo L. Guglielmino, Enrico Magli, Giuseppe Massone, Mauro Messerotti, Giuseppe Nistico, Maria G. Pelizzo, Fabio Reale, Paolo Romano, Udo Schuehle, Sami K. Solanki, Thomas Straus, Rita Ventura, Cosimo A. Volpicelli, Luca Zangrilli, Gaetano Zimbardo, Paola Zuppella, Stuart D. Bale, Justin C. Kasper
Summary: This study presents the first observational estimate of the heating rate in the slowly expanding solar corona and demonstrates the importance of studying energy dissipation closer to the Sun for coronal heating modeling and solar wind acceleration.
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Biology
Benjamin J. Stauch, Alina Peter, Heike Schuler, Pascal Fries
Summary: Stimulus repetition can modulate neuronal-gamma band synchronization and induce plastic changes in activated neuronal circuits. These changes are stimulus-specific and persist even after intervening stimuli. The strongest effects are observed in the early visual cortex, where there is an increase in interareal feedforward influences.
Article
Cell Biology
Jordan N. Haidey, Govind Peringod, Adam Institoris, Kelsea A. Gorzo, Wilten Nicola, Milene Vandal, Kenichi Ito, Shiying Liu, Cameron Fielding, Frank Visser, Minh Dang Nguyen, Grant R. Gordon
Summary: The study reveals that enhancing tone can trigger a Ca2+ elevation in astrocyte end-feet, leading to feedback vasodilators that limit vasoconstriction and constrain vasomotion. Additionally, in vivo experiments show that knocking out the Ptgs1 gene in astrocytes increases the energy of arteriole oscillations, while clamping astrocyte Ca2+ decreases vasomotion energy.
Article
Neurosciences
Qianwen Li, Wenjia Zhu, Xinmei Wen, Zhenxiang Zang, Yuwei Da, Jie Lu
Summary: The study found that the local activity and network functional connectivity in the PSMA region can explain disease severity differently in fast and slow progression groups of ALS patients.
HUMAN BRAIN MAPPING
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Experimental
Liliana Albertazzi
Summary: Experimental phenomenology is the science of subjective experience conducted with scientific methods, aiming to develop a science of consciousness per se. It distinguishes itself from psychophysics and introspectionism by emphasizing its differences with these theories.
PSYCHOLOGY OF CONSCIOUSNESS-THEORY RESEARCH AND PRACTICE
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Lulu Cheng, Hongyu Xi, Haiyan Gu, Yanyan Gao, Su Hu, Mengting Li, Zeqi Hao, Jianjie Wen, Jianxin Zhang, Yating Lv, Linlin Zhan, Xize Jia
Summary: Poststroke aphasia is an acquired language disorder that negatively impacts patients' social skills and quality of life. Neuroimaging studies investigating poststroke aphasia have shown inconsistent results regarding regional alterations. This meta-analysis examined abnormal regional spontaneous brain activity in poststroke aphasia using several resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging studies, revealing increased activity in several brain regions and decreased activity in others. This study provides further understanding of the pathophysiological mechanism of poststroke aphasia and indicates potential treatment targets.
Article
Neurosciences
Talia L. Retter, Fang Jiang, Michael A. Webster, Caroline Michel, Christine Schiltz, Bruno Rossion
Summary: The study investigated the relationship between neural activity and behavioral performance in visual discrimination of complex images, finding that the optimal neural face individuation response emerged at 50 ms and 170 ms stimulus durations. Behavioral accuracy correlated with neural response amplitude in the 50-125 ms range, suggesting predictive value of early neural responses in predicting performance differences.
Editorial Material
Biology
Zirui Huang
PHYSICS OF LIFE REVIEWS
(2020)
Article
Neurosciences
Justin M. Campbell, Zirui Huang, Jun Zhang, Xuehai Wu, Pengmin Qin, Georg Northoff, George A. Mashour, Anthony G. Hudetz
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zirui Huang, Jun Zhang, Jinsong Wu, George A. Mashour, Anthony G. Hudetz
Article
Anesthesiology
Sean Tanabe, Zirui Huang, Jun Zhang, Yali Chen, Stuart Fogel, Julien Doyon, Jinsong Wu, Jianghui Xu, Jianfeng Zhang, Pengmin Qin, Xuehai Wu, Ying Mao, George A. Mashour, Anthony G. Hudetz, Georg Northoff
Article
Psychology, Clinical
Marina Farinelli, Daniela Cevolani, Laura Gestieri, Caterina Romaniello, Monica Maffei, Raffaele Agati, Maria Rosaria Leo, Zirui Huang, Vincenzo Pedone, Georg Northoff
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL NEUROPSYCHOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jianfeng Zhang, Zirui Huang, Shankar Tumati, Georg Northoff
Article
Neurosciences
Federico Zilio, Javier Gomez-Pilar, Shumei Cao, Jun Zhang, Di Zang, Zengxin Qi, Jiaxing Tan, Tanigawa Hiromi, Xuehai Wu, Stuart Fogel, Zirui Huang, Matthias R. Hohmann, Tatiana Fomina, Matthis Synofzik, Moritz Grosse-Wentrup, Adrian M. Owen, Georg Northoff
Summary: The intrinsic neural timescale of spontaneous brain activity is related to the neural capacity that specifically supports sensory rather than motor information processing in the healthy brain. Prolonged neural timescales accompanied by a shift towards slower frequencies were observed in conditions with sensory deficits, but not in conditions with motor deficits. This suggests that the brain's temporal structure plays a role in differentiating between sensory and motor information processing.
Article
Neurosciences
Pengmin Qin, Xuehai Wu, Changwei Wu, Hang Wu, Jun Zhang, Zirui Huang, Xuchu Weng, Di Zang, Zengxin Qi, Weijun Tang, Tanikawa Hiromi, Jiaxing Tan, Sean Tanabe, Stuart Fogel, Anthony G. Hudetz, Yihong Yang, Emmanuel A. Stamatakis, Ying Mao, Georg Northoff
Summary: The study aimed to identify critical nodes within the brain's global functional network that support consciousness. Using graph-theoretical measure of degree centrality and ROI-based functional connectivity, the researchers found higher-order sensory and motor regions as well as a sensorimotor circuit to be important hubs whose degree centrality was significantly reduced when consciousness was reduced or absent. This suggests potential mechanism-guided treatment targets for disorders of consciousness.
Article
Cell Biology
Zirui Huang, Vijay Tarnal, Phillip E. Vlisides, Ellen L. Janke, Amy M. McKinney, Paul Picton, George A. Mashour, Anthony G. Hudetz
Summary: Conscious access to sensory information is likely gated at an intermediate site between primary sensory and transmodal association cortices, with the anterior insular cortex (AIC) playing a role in regulating brain network transitions that gate conscious access. The study found that dysfunction of the AIC is associated with impairment of dynamic transitions of default-mode and dorsal attention networks.
Article
Neurosciences
Zirui Huang, Vijay Tarnal, Phillip E. Vlisides, Ellen L. Janke, Amy M. McKinney, Paul Picton, George A. Mashour, Anthony G. Hudetz
Summary: The study shows that the neural dynamics during induction and emergence from anesthesia are asymmetric, with an increase in temporal autocorrelation and decrease in functional connectivity en route to unconsciousness, and a rapid boost of cortical neural processing speed and subcorticocortical neural interactions during regaining consciousness. Pharmacokinetic effects do not explain the difference in neural dynamics between induction and emergence.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zirui Huang, George A. A. Mashour, Anthony G. G. Hudetz
Summary: Consciousness is a multidimensional phenomenon, and the dimensions of consciousness are encoded in multiple neurofunctional dimensions of the brain. Disruptions of consciousness are associated with degradation of cortical gradients and network-specific reconfigurations within the cortical gradient space. This study provides a neurofunctional framework for understanding consciousness in both health and disease.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Biology
Philipp Klar, Yasir Catal, Robert Langner, Zirui Huang, Georg Northoff
Summary: Investigation of scale-free brain dynamics via rest-task modulation across awake, sedative, and anesthetic states of consciousness shows that brain dynamics lose alignment to the task's temporal structure in anesthesia as in wakefulness. Resting-state functional MRI studies observed the loss of scale-free dynamics under anesthesia. In contrast, the modulation of scale-free dynamics during task-related activity remains an open question. We investigate scale-free dynamics in the cerebral cortex's unimodal periphery and transmodal core topography in rest and task states during three conscious levels (awake, sedation, and anesthesia) complemented by computational modelling (Stuart-Landau model).
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Zirui Huang
Summary: Time and space play significant roles in neural activity and consciousness, with their relationship yet to be fully explored. The Temporospatial Theory of Consciousness (TTC) provides a framework that connects these dimensions, shedding light on their intricate relationships. This review focuses on the concept of temporospatial nestedness and extends it to incorporate the nested relationship between the temporal circuit and functional geometry of the brain. Further research should emphasize characterizing functional geometry and temporal circuit across various scales to enhance our understanding of the neural basis of consciousness and the world-brain dynamic.
Article
Biology
Federico Zilio, Javier Gomez-Pilar, Ujwal Chaudhary, Stuart Fogel, Tatiana Fomina, Matthis Synofzik, Ludger Schols, Shumei Cao, Jun Zhang, Zirui Huang, Niels Birbaumer, Georg Northoff
Summary: EEG-based measures such as power-law exponent (PLE) and Lempel-Ziv complexity (LZC) can be used to identify biomarkers associated with complete locked-in syndrome (CLIS), allowing for better treatment and communication options.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Rui Dai, Zirui Huang, Tony E. Larkin, Vijay Tarnal, Paul Picton, Phillip E. Vlisides, Ellen Janke, Amy Mckinney, Anthony G. Hudetz, Richard E. Harris, George A. Mashour
Summary: Despite the long history of nitrous oxide usage and understanding of its psychological effects, there has been limited research on the neurobiological investigation of associated psychedelic experiences. This study utilized human resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data to measure the effects of nitrous oxide on the brain's functional geometry and temporal dynamics. The results showed that nitrous oxide reduced functional differentiation in the frontoparietal and somatomotor networks, and the subjective psychedelic experience induced by nitrous oxide was inversely correlated with the degree of functional differentiation.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Edna C. Cieslik, Markus Ullsperger, Martin Gell, Simon B. Eickhoff, Robert Langner
Summary: Previous studies on error processing have primarily focused on the posterior medial frontal cortex, but the role of other brain regions has been underestimated. This study used activation likelihood estimation meta-analyses to explore brain activity related to committing errors and responding successfully in interference tasks. It was found that the salience network and the temporoparietal junction were commonly involved in both correct and incorrect responses, indicating their general involvement in coping with situations that require increased cognitive control. Error-specific convergence was observed in the dorsal posterior cingulate cortex, posterior thalamus, and left superior frontal gyrus, while successful responding showed stronger convergence in the dorsal attention network and lateral prefrontal regions. Underrecruitment of these regions in error trials may reflect failures in activating the appropriate stimulus-response contingencies necessary for successful response execution.
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
(2024)
