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Adelhöfer N, Stock AK, Beste C. Anodal tDCS modulates specific processing codes during conflict monitoring associated with superior and middle frontal cortices. Brain Struct Funct 2021; 226:1335-1351. [PMID: 33656578 PMCID: PMC8036188 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02245-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2020] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Conflict monitoring processes are central for cognitive control. Neurophysiological correlates of conflict monitoring (i.e. the N2 ERP) likely represent a mixture of different cognitive processes. Based on theoretical considerations, we hypothesized that effects of anodal tDCS (atDCS) in superior frontal areas affect specific subprocesses in neurophysiological activity during conflict monitoring. To investigate this, young healthy adults performed a Simon task while EEG was recorded. atDCS and sham tDCS were applied in a single-blind, cross-over study design. Using temporal signal decomposition in combination with source localization analyses, we demonstrated that atDCS effects on cognitive control are very specific: the detrimental effect of atDCS on response speed was largest in case of response conflicts. This however only showed in aspects of the decomposed N2 component, reflecting stimulus-response translation processes. In contrast to this, stimulus-related aspects of the N2 as well as purely response-related processes were not modulated by atDCS. EEG source localization analyses revealed that the effect was likely driven by activity modulations in the superior frontal areas, including the supplementary motor cortex (BA6), as well as middle frontal (BA9) and medial frontal areas (BA32). atDCS did not modulate effects of proprioceptive information on hand position, even though this aspect is known to be processed within the same brain areas. Physiological effects of atDCS likely modulate specific aspects of information processing during cognitive control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nico Adelhöfer
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, TU Dresden, Fetscherstrasse 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany
| | - Ann-Kathrin Stock
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, TU Dresden, Fetscherstrasse 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany
| | - Christian Beste
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, TU Dresden, Fetscherstrasse 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany.
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Takacs A, Bluschke A, Kleimaker M, Münchau A, Beste C. Neurophysiological mechanisms underlying motor feature binding processes and representations. Hum Brain Mapp 2021; 42:1313-1327. [PMID: 33236838 PMCID: PMC7927300 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Revised: 10/24/2020] [Accepted: 11/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Coherent, voluntary action requires an integrated representation of these actions and their defining features. Although theories delineate how action integration requiring binding between different action features may be accomplished, the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms are largely elusive. The present study examined the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying binding processes in actions. To this end, we conducted EEG recordings and applied standard event-related potential analyses, temporal EEG signal decomposition and multivariate pattern analyses (MVPA). According to the code occupation account, an overlap between a planned and a to-be-performed action impairs performance. The level, to which performance is attenuated depends on the strength of binding of action features. This binding process then determines the representation of them, the so-called action files. We show that code occupation and bindings between action features specifically modulate processes preceding motor execution as showed by the stimulus-locked lateralized readiness potential (LRP). Conversely, motor execution processes reflected by the response-locked LRP were not modulated by action file binding. The temporal decomposition of the EEG signal, further distinguished between action file related processes: the planned response determining code occupation was reflected in general (voluntary) response selection but not in involuntary (response priming-related) activation. Moreover, MVPA on temporally decomposed neural signals indicated that action files are represented as a continuous chain of activations. Within this chain, inhibitory and response re-activation patterns can be distinguished. Taken together, the neurophysiological correlates of action file binding suggest that parallel, stimulus- and response-related pre-motor processes are responsible for the code occupation in the human motor system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Takacs
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of MedicineTU DresdenDresdenGermany
| | - Annet Bluschke
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of MedicineTU DresdenDresdenGermany
| | - Maximilian Kleimaker
- Institute of Systems Motor ScienceUniversity of LübeckLübeckGermany
- Department of NeurologyUniversity of LübeckLübeckGermany
| | | | - Christian Beste
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of MedicineTU DresdenDresdenGermany
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Colzato LS, Zhang W, Brandt MD, Stock AK, Beste C. Cognitive profile in Restless Legs Syndrome: A signal-to-noise ratio account. CURRENT RESEARCH IN NEUROBIOLOGY 2021; 2:100021. [PMID: 36246509 PMCID: PMC9559071 DOI: 10.1016/j.crneur.2021.100021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Revised: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 07/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common neurological disorder characterized by a sensorimotor condition, where patients feel an uncontrollable urge to move the lower limbs in the evening and/or during the night. RLS does not only have a profound impact on quality of life due to the disturbed night-time sleep, but there is growing evidence that untreated or insufficiently managed RLS might also cause cognitive changes in patients affected by this syndrome. It has been proposed that RLS is caused by alterations in the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and in dopamine (DA) neurotransmission in the nervous system. Based on this evidence, we propose the “SNR-DA hypothesis” as an explanation of how RLS could affect cognitive performance. According to this hypothesis, variations/reductions in the SNR underlie RLS-associated cognitive deficits, which follow an inverted U-shaped function: In unmedicated patients, low dopamine levels worsen the SNR, which eventually impairs cognition. Pharmacological treatment enhances DA levels in medicated patients, which likely improves/normalizes the SNR in case of optimal doses, thus restoring cognition to a normal level. However, overmedication might push patients past the optimal point on the inverted U-shaped curve, where an exaggerated SNR potentially impairs cognitive performance relying on cortical noise such as cognitive flexibility. Based on these assumptions of SNR alterations, we propose to directly measure neural noise via “1/f noise” and related metrics to use transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS), a noninvasive brain stimulation method which manipulates the SNR, as a research tool and potential treatment option for RLS. Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common neurological disorder. RLS is caused by alterations in the SNR ratio and in DA neurotransmission. The SNR- DA hypothesis how RLS affects cognitive performance is presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorenza S. Colzato
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Germany
- Cognitive Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China
- University Neuropsychology Center, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Germany
| | - Wenxin Zhang
- Cognitive Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China
| | - Moritz D. Brandt
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Ann-Kathrin Stock
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Germany
- University Neuropsychology Center, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Germany
- Biopsychology, Faculty of Psychology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Christian Beste
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Germany
- Cognitive Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China
- University Neuropsychology Center, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Germany
- Corresponding author. Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine of the TU Dresden, Germany Schubertstrasse 42, D-01309, Dresden, Germany.
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Vahid A, Mückschel M, Stober S, Stock AK, Beste C. Applying deep learning to single-trial EEG data provides evidence for complementary theories on action control. Commun Biol 2020; 3:112. [PMID: 32152375 PMCID: PMC7062698 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-020-0846-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2019] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Efficient action control is indispensable for goal-directed behaviour. Different theories have stressed the importance of either attention or response selection sub-processes for action control. Yet, it is unclear to what extent these processes can be identified in the dynamics of neurophysiological (EEG) processes at the single-trial level and be used to predict the presence of conflicts in a given moment. Applying deep learning, which was blind to cognitive theory, on single-trial EEG data allowed to predict the presence of conflict in ~95% of subjects ~33% above chance level. Neurophysiological features related to attentional and motor response selection processes in the occipital cortex and the superior frontal gyrus contributed most to prediction accuracy. Importantly, deep learning was able to identify predictive neurophysiological processes in single-trial neural dynamics. Hence, mathematical (artificial intelligence) approaches may be used to foster the validation and development of links between cognitive theory and neurophysiology of human behavior. Vahid et al. use a deep-learning approach to analyze single-trial EEG data to examine theories on action control. Their approach enables the identification of spatial and temporal neurophysiological features that are predictive of the response control during the Simon task. The results confirm cognitive theory-driven approaches on the relationship between neurophysiology and human behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amirali Vahid
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Germany
| | - Moritz Mückschel
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Germany
| | - Sebastian Stober
- Artificial Intelligence Lab, Institute for Intelligent Cooperating Systems, Faculty of Computer Science, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Ann-Kathrin Stock
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Germany
| | - Christian Beste
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Germany.
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Low and high stimulation frequencies differentially affect automated response selection in the superior parietal cortex - implications for somatosensory area processes. Sci Rep 2020; 10:3954. [PMID: 32127632 PMCID: PMC7054528 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-61025-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2019] [Accepted: 02/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Response inhibition as a central facet of executive functioning is no homogeneous construct. Interference inhibition constitutes a subcomponent of response inhibition and refers to inhibitory control over responses that are automatically triggered by irrelevant stimulus dimensions as measured by the Simon task. While there is evidence that the area-specific modulation of tactile information affects the act of action withholding, effects in the context of interference inhibition remain elusive. We conducted a tactile version of the Simon task with stimuli designed to be predominantly processed in the primary (40 Hz) or secondary (150 Hz) somatosensory cortex. On the basis of EEG recordings, we performed signal decomposition and source localization. Behavioral results reveal that response execution is more efficient when sensory information is mainly processed via SII, compared to SI sensory areas during non-conflicting trials. When accounting for intermingled coding levels by temporally decomposing EEG data, the results show that experimental variations depending on sensory area-specific processing differences specifically affect motor and not sensory processes. Modulations of motor-related processes are linked to activation differences in the superior parietal cortex (BA7). It is concluded that the SII cortical area supporting cognitive preprocessing of tactile input fosters automatic tactile information processing by facilitating stimulus-response mapping in posterior parietal regions.
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Alonso-Navarro H, García-Martín E, Agúndez JAG, Jiménez-Jiménez FJ. Association between restless legs syndrome and other movement disorders. Neurology 2019; 92:948-964. [PMID: 31004074 DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000007500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2018] [Accepted: 02/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This review focuses on the possible association between restless legs syndrome (RLS) and movement disorders, including Parkinson disease (PD), other parkinsonian syndromes, essential tremor, choreic and dystonic syndromes, Tourette syndrome, and heredodegenerative ataxias. METHODS Review of PubMed from 1966 to September 2018 and identification of references of interest for the topic. A meta-analysis of eligible studies on the frequency of RLS in patients with PD and controls using Meta-DiSc1.1.1 software and using the PRISMA guidelines was performed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Although there are substantial clinical, neuroimaging, neuropathologic, and genetic differences between RLS and PD, many reports describe a higher than expected prevalence of RLS in patients with PD, when compared with the general population or with matched control groups; several studies have also suggested that RLS could be an early clinical feature of PD. RLS symptoms are frequent in multiple system atrophy, essential tremor, Tourette syndrome, Friedreich ataxia, and spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 as well. Finally, possible genetic links between PD and RLS (the presence of allele 2 of the complex microsatellite repeat Rep1 within the α-synuclein gene promoter) and between Tourette syndrome and RLS (several variants in the BTBD9 gene) have been reported in 2 case-control association studies, although these data, based on preliminary data with small sample sizes, need to be replicated in further studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hortensia Alonso-Navarro
- From the Section of Neurology (H.A.-N., F.J.J.-J.), Hospital Universitario del Sureste, Arganda del Rey, Madrid; and University Institute of Molecular Pathology Biomarkers (E.G.-M., J.A.G.A), UNEx, ARADyAL Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Cáceres, Spain
| | - Elena García-Martín
- From the Section of Neurology (H.A.-N., F.J.J.-J.), Hospital Universitario del Sureste, Arganda del Rey, Madrid; and University Institute of Molecular Pathology Biomarkers (E.G.-M., J.A.G.A), UNEx, ARADyAL Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Cáceres, Spain
| | - José A G Agúndez
- From the Section of Neurology (H.A.-N., F.J.J.-J.), Hospital Universitario del Sureste, Arganda del Rey, Madrid; and University Institute of Molecular Pathology Biomarkers (E.G.-M., J.A.G.A), UNEx, ARADyAL Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Cáceres, Spain
| | - Félix Javier Jiménez-Jiménez
- From the Section of Neurology (H.A.-N., F.J.J.-J.), Hospital Universitario del Sureste, Arganda del Rey, Madrid; and University Institute of Molecular Pathology Biomarkers (E.G.-M., J.A.G.A), UNEx, ARADyAL Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Cáceres, Spain.
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Stock AK, Colzato L, Beste C. On the effects of tyrosine supplementation on interference control in a randomized, double-blind placebo-control trial. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2018; 28:933-944. [PMID: 29980424 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2018.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2017] [Revised: 03/22/2018] [Accepted: 05/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Exerting cognitive control is an effortful endeavor that is strongly modulated by the availability of dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE), which are both synthesized from the amino acid precursor tyrosine. Supplementing tyrosine may increase the synthesis of both catecholamines. This has been suggested to improve executive functioning and potentially even counteract depletion effects in this domain. Yet, it has remained unclear whether tyrosine also improves interference control and whether subliminally and consciously triggered response conflicts are subject to the same modulation. We investigated this question in a double-blind intra-individual study design. N = 26 young healthy subjects performed two consecutive cognitive control tasks that triggered automatic incorrect response tendencies; once with tyrosine supplementation and once with a placebo. The results show that tyrosine decreased the size of consciously perceived conflicts in a Simon Task, but not a Flanker task, thus suggesting that stimulus-response conflicts might be modulated differently from stimulus-stimulus conflicts. At the same time, tyrosine supplementation increased the size of subliminally triggered conflicts whenever a different, consciously perceived conflict was also present. This suggests that control-related DA and NE release may increase visuo-motor priming, especially when no conflict-specific top-down control may be triggered to counteract subliminal priming effects. Also, these subliminal conflicts might be aggravated by concurrent control investments in other kinds of conflict. Taken together, our data suggest that beneficial effects of tyrosine supplementation do not require depletion effects, but may be limited to situations where we consciously perceive a conflict and the associated need for conflict-specific control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann-Kathrin Stock
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Schubertstr. 42, D-01307 Dresden, Germany; Cognitive Psychology Unit and Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands.
| | - Lorenza Colzato
- Cognitive Psychology Unit and Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany; Institute for Sports and Sport Science, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany
| | - Christian Beste
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Schubertstr. 42, D-01307 Dresden, Germany
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