Brain Topography最新文献

Pre-surgical localization of language function in the brain is critical for patients with medically intractable epilepsy. MEG has emerged as a valuable clinical tool for localizing language areas in clinical populations, however, it is limited for widespread application due to the low availability of the system. Recent advances in optically pumped magnetometer (OPM) systems account for some of the limitations of traditional MEG and have been shown to have a similar signal-to-noise ratio. However, the novelty of these systems means that they have only been tested for limited sensory and motor applications. In this work, we aim to validate a novel on-head OPM MEG procedure for lateralizing language processes. OPM recordings, using a soft cap with flexible sensor placement, were collected from 19 healthy, right-handed controls during an auditory word recognition task. The resulting evoked fields were assessed for hemispheric laterality of the response. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the grand average language response indicated that the first two principal components were lateralized to the left hemisphere. The PCA also revealed that all participants had evoked topographies that closely resembled the average left-lateralized response. Left-lateralized responses were consistent with what is expected for a group of healthy right-handed individuals. These findings demonstrate that language-related evoked fields can be elucidated from on-head OPM MEG recordings in a group of healthy adult participants. In the future, on-head OPM MEG and the associated lateralization methods should be validated in patient populations as they may have utility in the pre-surgical mapping of language functions in patients with epilepsy.

Electroencephalogram (EEG) based Neurofeedback training has gained traction as a practical method for enhancing executive functions, particularly attention, among healthy individuals. The neurofeedback protocols based on EEG channel locations, frequency bands, or EEG features has been tested. However, the improvement in attention was not measured by comparing different feedback stimulus types. We believe that multisensory nature feedback even with few training sessions may induce strong effect. Therefore, this study compares the effect of audio-visual and visual feedback stimuli for attention enhancement utilizing neurophysiological, behavioural and neuropsychological measures. Total 21 subjects were recruited, undergoing six alternate days of neurofeedback training sessions to upregulate EEG beta power of frontocentral (FC5). Dwell time, fractional occupancy and transition probability were also estimated from the EEG beta power. Audiovisual group (G1) as compared to visual group (G2) demonstrate a significant increase of global EEG beta activity alongside improved dwell time (t = 2.76, p = 0.003), fractional occupancy (t = 1.73, p = 0.042) and transition probability (t = 2.46, p = 0.008) over the course of six neurofeedback training sessions. Similarly, the group (G1) shows higher scores (t = 2.13, p = 0.032) and faster reaction times (t = 2.22, p = 0.028) in Stroop task, along with increased score in Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS-15) questionnaire (t = 2.306, p = 0.012). Audiovisual neurofeedback may enhance training effectiveness, potentially achieving the same outcomes in fewer sessions compared to visual-only feedback. However, sufficient training days are essential for effect consolidation. This highlights the feasibility of completing neurofeedback training, a significant challenge in practice.

This research investigated the modulation of acupuncture at Quchi (LI11) on the brain activities in healthy individuals. Sub-bands power and EEG microstate analysis were carried out at pre-acupuncture, acupuncture, needle retaining and post-acupuncture periods in both the acupuncture group (n = 16) and control group (n = 18). Four microstate classes (A-D) were derived from the clustering procedure. Regression analysis was conducted, together with a two-way repeated measures ANOVA, which was then followed by Bonferroni correction. In the acupuncture group, we found the beta power during the acupuncture periods was significantly reduced. The channel-by-channel analysis revealed that acupuncture at LI11 mainly altered the power of delta, theta, and alpha waves in specific brain regions. The delta power increased predominantly in parietal, occipital, and central lobes, while theta and alpha power decreased predominantly in temporal, frontal, parietal, and occipital lobes. During the acupuncture period, participants in the acupuncture group showed a significant increase in both duration and contribution of microstate A, as well as the bidirectional transition probabilities A and B/D. Microstate analysis showed that acupuncture at LI11 significantly enhances the activity of microstate A and potentially strengthens the functional connectivity between the auditory network and either the visual network or the dorsal attention network. These correlational results indicate that acupuncture at LI11 mainly affects activities of the frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes. These findings highlight the potential of microstate as neuroimaging evidence and a specific index for elucidating the neuromodulatory effects of acupuncture at LI11.

The aim of this study is to investigate activity and functional connectivity (FC) of Papez circuit networks associated with music processing using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in depressed breast cancer patients. Twenty-three breast cancer patients listened to four different Iranian/Persian music paradigms during the resting-state fMRI scanning session: negative stimulation of traditional music, negative stimulation of pop music, positive stimulation of traditional music and positive stimulation of pop music. The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) was used to evaluate the local characteristics of spontaneous brain activity. FC maps were created using multivariate ROI-to-ROI connectivity (mRRC) and Papez circuit-based regions of interest (ROIs) selection. We found that music increases FC within various brain networks which are involved in memory, emotion, and cognitive function, including the limbic system, the default mode network (DMN), salience network (SN), and central executive network (CEN). Moreover, it seems that the traditional types (both positive and negative) of Iranian music may be more effective to affect brain activity in the patients with breast cancer, than the Iranian pop music. These findings demonstrate that music therapy, as an effective and easily applicable approach, supports the neuropsychological recovery and can contribute to standard treatment protocols in patients with breast cancer.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is characterised primarily by motor system degeneration, with clinical evidence of cognitive and behavioural change in up to 50% of cases. We have shown previously that resting-state EEG captures dysfunction in motor and cognitive networks in ALS. However, the longitudinal development of these dysfunctional patterns, especially in networks linked with cognitive-behavioural functions, remains unclear. Longitudinal studies on non-motor changes in ALS are essential to further develop our understanding of disease progression, improve care and enhance the evaluation of new treatments. To address this gap, we examined 124 ALS individuals with 128-channel resting-state EEG recordings, categorised by cognitive impairment (ALSci, n = 25), behavioural impairment (ALSbi, n = 58), or non-impaired (ALSncbi, n = 53), with 12 participants meeting the criteria for both ALSci and ALSbi. Using linear mixed-effects models, we characterised the general and phenotype-specific longitudinal changes in brain network, and their association with cognitive performance, behaviour changes, fine motor symptoms, and survival. Our findings revealed a significant decline in [Formula: see text]-band spectral power over time in the temporal region along with increased [Formula: see text]-band power in the fronto-temporal region in the ALS group. ALSncbi participants showed widespread β-band synchrony decrease, while ALSci participants exhibited increased co-modulation correlated with verbal fluency decline. Longitudinal network-level changes were specific of ALS subgroups and correlated with motor, cognitive, and behavioural decline, as well as with survival. Spectral EEG measures can longitudinally track abnormal network patterns, serving as a candidate stratification tool for clinical trials and personalised treatments in ALS.

Frequent listening to unfamiliar music excerpts forms functional connectivity in the brain as music becomes familiar and memorable. However, where these connections spectrally arise in the cerebral cortex during music familiarization has yet to be determined. This study investigates electrophysiological changes in phase-based functional connectivity recorded with electroencephalography (EEG) from twenty participants' brains during thrice passive listening to initially unknown classical music excerpts. Functional connectivity is evaluated based on measuring phase synchronization between all pairwise combinations of EEG electrodes across all repetitions via repeated measures ANOVA and between every two repetitions of listening to unknown music with the weighted phase lag index (WPLI) method in different frequency bands. The results indicate an increased phase synchronization during gradual short-term familiarization between the right frontal and the right parietal areas in the theta and alpha bands. In addition, the increased phase synchronization is discovered between the right temporal areas and the right parietal areas at the theta band during gradual music familiarization. Overall, this study explores the short-term music familiarization effects on neural responses by revealing that repetitions form phasic coupling in the theta and alpha bands in the right hemisphere during passive listening.

Tactile and motor imagery are crucial components of sensorimotor functioning and cognitive neuroscience research, yet the neural mechanisms of tactile imagery remain underexplored compared to motor imagery. This study employs multichannel functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) combined with image reconstruction techniques to investigate the neural hemodynamics associated with tactile (TI) and motor imagery (MI). In a study of 15 healthy participants, we found that MI elicited significantly greater hemodynamic responses (HRs) in the precentral area compared to TI, suggesting the involvement of different cortical areas involved in two different types of sensorimotor mental imagery. Concurrently, the HRs in S1 and parietal areas exhibited comparable patterns in both TI and MI. During MI, both motor and somatosensory areas demonstrated comparable HRs. However, in TI, somatosensory activation was observed to be more pronounced. Our results highlight the distinctive neural profiles of motor versus tactile imagery and indicate fNIRS technique to be sensitive for this. This distinction is significant for fundamental understanding of sensorimotor integration and for developing advanced neurotechnologies, including imagery-based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) that can differentiate between different types of mental imagery.

Microstates represent brief periods of quasi-stable electroencephalography (EEG) scalp topography, offering insights into dynamic fluctuations in event-related potential (ERP) topographies. Despite this, there is a lack of a comprehensive systematic overview of microstate findings concerning cognitive face processing. This review aims to summarize ERP findings on face processing using microstate analyses and assess their effectiveness in characterizing face-related neural representations. A literature search was conducted for microstate ERP studies involving healthy individuals and psychiatric populations, utilizing PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, PsychInfo, and Scopus databases. Twenty-two studies were identified, primarily focusing on healthy individuals (n = 16), with a smaller subset examining psychiatric populations (n = 6). The evidence reviewed in this study suggests that various microstates are consistently associated with distinct ERP stages involved in face processing, encompassing the processing of basic visual facial features to more complex functions such as analytical processing, facial recognition, and semantic representations. Furthermore, these studies shed light on atypical attentional neural mechanisms in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), facial recognition deficits among emotional dysregulation disorders, and encoding and semantic dysfunctions in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In conclusion, this review underscores the practical utility of ERP microstate analyses in investigating face processing. Methodologies have evolved towards greater automation and data-driven approaches over time. Future research should aim to forecast clinical outcomes and conduct validation studies to directly demonstrate the efficacy of such analyses in inverse space.

Objective: To identify local and functional connectivity abnormalities in the brain's reward network in depressed adolescents and young adults with and without suicidal behavior.

Methods: Magnetic resonance imaging data were obtained from 41 major depressive disorder (MDD) patients with suicidal behavior (sMDD, males/females: 12/29), 44 MDD patients without suicidal behavior (nMDD, males/females: 13/32), and 52 healthy controls (HCs, males/females: 17/35). The Young Mania Scale, Hamilton Depression Scale, Columbia Suicide Scale, and Scale for Suicide Ideation were used to evaluate emotional state and suicidal ideation and behaviors. The amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (ALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo) and functional connectivity of 11 regions of interest (ROIs) in the reward network were determined.

Results: ALFF values in the vmPFC of the nMDD group were significantly lower than those in the HC group (p = 0.031). The ReHo values of the nMDD group were lower in the lVS but higher in the vmPFC than those of the HC group (P = 0.018 and 0.025, respectively). Functional connectivity of the AC with the vmPFC, lVS, rVS, and vmPFC was increased in the sMDD group compared with that in the nMDD group (P = 0.038, 0.034, 0.006, respectively).

Conclusion: Local and functional connectivity abnormalities in the reward network were found in the MDD groups. However, increased functional connectivity was found in only the sMDD group.

The resting-state paradigm is frequently applied to study spontaneous activity of the brain in normal and clinical conditions. To assess the relationship between brain activity and subjective experiences, various questionnaires are used. Previous studies using Amsterdam Resting State Questionnaire were focusing on fMRI functional connectivity or EEG microstates and spectral aspect. Here, we utilized Global Field Synchronization as the parameter to estimate global functional connectivity. By re-analyzing the resting-state data from 226 young healthy participants we showed a strong evidence of relationship between ARSQ domain of Comfort and GFS values in the alpha range (r = 0.210, BF₁₀ = 12.338) and substantial evidence for positive relationship between ARSQ domain of Comfort and GFS in the beta frequency range (r = 196, BF₁₀ = 6.307). Our study indicates the relevance of assessments of spontaneous thought occurring during the resting-state for the understanding of the individual intrinsic electrical brain activity.