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Popovova J, Mazloum R, Macauda G, Stämpfli P, Vuilleumier P, Frühholz S, Scharnowski F, Menon V, Michels L. Enhanced attention-related alertness following right anterior insular cortex neurofeedback training. iScience 2024; 27:108915. [PMID: 38318347 PMCID: PMC10839684 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.108915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2023] [Revised: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
The anterior insular cortex, a central node of the salience network, plays a critical role in cognitive control and attention. Here, we investigated the feasibility of enhancing attention using real-time fMRI neurofeedback training that targets the right anterior insular cortex (rAIC). 56 healthy adults underwent two neurofeedback training sessions. The experimental group received feedback from neural responses in the rAIC, while control groups received sham feedback from the primary visual cortex or no feedback. Cognitive functioning was evaluated before, immediately after, and three months post-training. Our results showed that only the rAIC neurofeedback group successfully increased activity in the rAIC. Furthermore, this group showed enhanced attention-related alertness up to three months after the training. Our findings provide evidence for the potential of rAIC neurofeedback as a viable approach for enhancing attention-related alertness, which could pave the way for non-invasive therapeutic strategies to address conditions characterized by attention deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeanette Popovova
- Department of Neuroradiology, University Hospital of Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
- Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, 8050 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Reza Mazloum
- Department of Neuroradiology, University Hospital of Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
- Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Gianluca Macauda
- Department of Neuroradiology, University Hospital of Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Philipp Stämpfli
- MR-Center of the Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics and the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Patrik Vuilleumier
- Department of Neurosciences and Clinic of Neurology, Laboratory for Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, University of Geneva, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Sascha Frühholz
- Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, 0851 Oslo, Norway
| | - Frank Scharnowski
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Vinod Menon
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Neurology & Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Lars Michels
- Department of Neuroradiology, University Hospital of Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
- Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
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Resnik Robida K, Politakis VA, Oblak A, Ozimič AS, Burger H, Pirtošek Z, Bon J. Detecting Subtle Cognitive Impairment in Patients with Parkinson's Disease and Normal Cognition: A Novel Cognitive Control Challenge Task (C3T). Brain Sci 2023; 13:961. [PMID: 37371439 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13060961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Revised: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) often show early deficits in cognitive control, with primary difficulties in flexibility and relatively intact stable representations. The aim of our study was to assess executive function using an ecologically valid approach that combines measures of stability and flexibility. Fourteen patients without cognitive deficits and sixteen comparable control subjects completed a standardized neuropsychological test battery and a newly developed cognitive control challenge task (C3T). We found that the accuracy of C3T performance decreased with age in healthy participants and remained impaired in PD patients regardless of age. In addition, PD patients showed significantly lower overall performance for cognitive control tasks than healthy controls, even when they scored in the normal range on standardized neuropsychological tests. PD Patients responded significantly faster than healthy control subjects regarding flexible cognitive control tasks due to their impulsivity. Correlations showed that the C3T task targets multiple cognitive systems, including working memory, inhibition, and task switching, providing a reliable measure of complex cognitive control. C3T could be a valuable tool for characterizing cognitive deficits associated with PD and appears to be a more sensitive measure than standardized neuropsychological tests. A different assessment approach could potentially detect early signs of the disease and identify opportunities for early intervention with neuroprotective therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karmen Resnik Robida
- University Rehabilitation Institute, University of Ljubljana, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Vida Ana Politakis
- University Rehabilitation Institute, University of Ljubljana, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Aleš Oblak
- University Psychiatric Clinic Ljubljana, SI-1260 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Anka Slana Ozimič
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Helena Burger
- University Rehabilitation Institute, University of Ljubljana, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Zvezdan Pirtošek
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- MRD Center for Active and Healthy Ageing, University of Ljubljana, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Jurij Bon
- University Psychiatric Clinic Ljubljana, SI-1260 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
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