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Vigotsky AD, Iannetti GD, Apkarian AV. Mental state decoders: game-changers or wishful thinking? Trends Cogn Sci 2024; 28:884-895. [PMID: 38991876 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2024] [Revised: 06/12/2024] [Accepted: 06/13/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024]
Abstract
Decoding mental and perceptual states using fMRI has become increasingly popular over the past two decades, with numerous highly-cited studies published in high-profile journals. Nevertheless, what have we learned from these decoders? In this opinion, we argue that fMRI-based decoders are not neurophysiologically informative and are not, and likely cannot be, applicable to real-world decision-making. The former point stems from the fact that decoding models cannot disentangle neural mechanisms from their epiphenomena. The latter point stems from both logical and ethical constraints. Constructing decoders requires precious time and resources that should instead be directed toward scientific endeavors more likely to yield meaningful scientific progress.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gian Domenico Iannetti
- Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Rome, Italy; University College London (UCL), London, UK
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Ceja IFT, Gladytz T, Starke L, Tabelow K, Niendorf T, Reimann HM. Precision fMRI and cluster-failure in the individual brain. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26813. [PMID: 39185695 PMCID: PMC11345700 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2024] [Revised: 06/06/2024] [Accepted: 07/20/2024] [Indexed: 08/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Advances in neuroimaging acquisition protocols and denoising techniques, along with increasing magnetic field strengths, have dramatically improved the temporal signal-to-noise ratio (tSNR) in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). This permits spatial resolution with submillimeter voxel sizes and ultrahigh temporal resolution and opens a route toward performing precision fMRI in the brains of individuals. Yet ultrahigh spatial and temporal resolution comes at a cost: it reduces tSNR and, therefore, the sensitivity to the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) effect and other functional contrasts across the brain. Here we investigate the potential of various smoothing filters to improve BOLD sensitivity while preserving the spatial accuracy of activated clusters in single-subject analysis. We introduce adaptive-weight smoothing with optimized metrics (AWSOM), which addresses this challenge extremely well. AWSOM employs a local inference approach that is as sensitive as cluster-corrected inference of data smoothed with large Gaussian kernels, but it preserves spatial details across multiple tSNR levels. This is essential for examining whole-brain fMRI data because tSNR varies across the entire brain, depending on the distance of a brain region from the receiver coil, the type of setup, acquisition protocol, preprocessing, and resolution. We found that cluster correction in single subjects results in inflated family-wise error and false positive rates. AWSOM effectively suppresses false positives while remaining sensitive even to small clusters of activated voxels. Furthermore, it preserves signal integrity, that is, the relative activation strength of significant voxels, making it a valuable asset for a wide range of fMRI applications. Here we demonstrate these features and make AWSOM freely available to the research community for download.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Fabian Tellez Ceja
- Max‐Delbrück‐Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility (B.U.F.F.)BerlinGermany
- Charité—Universitätsmedizin BerlinBerlinGermany
| | - Thomas Gladytz
- Max‐Delbrück‐Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility (B.U.F.F.)BerlinGermany
| | - Ludger Starke
- Max‐Delbrück‐Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility (B.U.F.F.)BerlinGermany
| | - Karsten Tabelow
- Weierstrass Institute for Applied Analysis and StochasticsBerlinGermany
| | - Thoralf Niendorf
- Max‐Delbrück‐Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility (B.U.F.F.)BerlinGermany
- Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), A Joint Cooperation between the Charité Medical Faculty and the Max‐Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz AssociationBerlinGermany
| | - Henning Matthias Reimann
- Max‐Delbrück‐Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility (B.U.F.F.)BerlinGermany
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Roberts H, Schreiner MW, Pocius S, Dillahunt AK, Farstead B, Feldman D, Bessette KL, Kaufman EA, Slattery W, Jacobs RH, Jago D, Crowell SE, Watkins ER, Langenecker SA. State rumination predicts inhibitory control failures and dysregulation of default, salience, and cognitive control networks in youth at risk of depressive relapse: Findings from the RuMeChange trial. JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS REPORTS 2024; 16:100729. [PMID: 38769946 PMCID: PMC11105748 DOI: 10.1016/j.jadr.2024.100729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Trait rumination is a habitual response to negative experiences that can emerge during adolescence, increasing risk of depression. Trait rumination is correlated with poor inhibitory control (IC) and altered default mode network (DMN) and cognitive control network (CCN) engagement. Provoking state rumination in high ruminating youth permits investigation of rumination and IC at the neural level, highlighting potential treatment targets. Methods Fifty-three high-ruminating youth were cued with an unresolved goal that provoked state rumination, then completed a modified Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) that measures IC (commissions on no-go trials) in a functional MRI study. Thought probes measured state rumination about that unresolved goal and task-focused thoughts during the SART. Results Greater state rumination during the SART was correlated with more IC failures. CCN engagement increased during rumination (relative to task-focus), including left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and dorsalmedial prefrontal cortex. Relative to successful response suppression, DMN engagement increased during IC failures amongst individuals with higher state and trait rumination. Exploratory analyzes suggested more bothersome unresolved goals predicted higher left DLPFC activation during rumination. Limitations The correlational research design did not permit a direct contrast of causal accounts of the relationship between rumination and IC. Conclusions State rumination was associated with impaired IC and disrupted modulation of DMN and CCN. Increased CCN engagement during rumination suggested effortful suppression of negative thoughts, and this was greater for more bothersome unresolved goals. Relative task disengagement was observed during rumination-related errors. DMN-CCN dysregulation in high-ruminating youth may be an important treatment target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henrietta Roberts
- Mood Disorders Centre, School of Psychology, Sir Henry Wellcome Building for Mood Disorders Research, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4LN, UK
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Katie L. Bessette
- University of Utah, USA
- University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
- University of California at Los Angeles, USA
| | | | | | | | - David Jago
- Mood Disorders Centre, School of Psychology, Sir Henry Wellcome Building for Mood Disorders Research, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4LN, UK
| | | | - Edward R Watkins
- Mood Disorders Centre, School of Psychology, Sir Henry Wellcome Building for Mood Disorders Research, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4LN, UK
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Zuo ZX, Price CJ, Farb NAS. A machine learning approach towards the differentiation between interoceptive and exteroceptive attention. Eur J Neurosci 2023; 58:2523-2546. [PMID: 37170067 PMCID: PMC10727490 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.16045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Revised: 04/07/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Interoception, the representation of the body's internal state, plays a central role in emotion, motivation and wellbeing. Interoceptive sensibility, the ability to engage in sustained interoceptive awareness, is particularly relevant for mental health but is exclusively measured via self-report, without methods for objective measurement. We used machine learning to classify interoceptive sensibility by contrasting using data from a randomized control trial of interoceptive training, with functional magnetic resonance imaging assessment before and after an 8-week intervention (N = 44 scans). The neuroimaging paradigm manipulated attention targets (breath vs. visual stimuli) and reporting demands (active reporting vs. passive monitoring). Machine learning achieved high accuracy in distinguishing between interoceptive and exteroceptive attention, both for within-session classification (~80% accuracy) and out-of-sample classification (~70% accuracy), revealing the reliability of the predictions. We then explored the classifier potential for 'reading out' mental states in a 3-min sustained interoceptive attention task. Participants were classified as actively engaged about half of the time, during which interoceptive training enhanced their ability to sustain interoceptive attention. These findings demonstrate that interoceptive and exteroceptive attention is distinguishable at the neural level; these classifiers may help to demarcate periods of interoceptive focus, with implications for developing an objective marker for interoceptive sensibility in mental health research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoey X. Zuo
- Department of Psychological Clinical Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
| | - Cynthia J. Price
- Department of Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Informatics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Norman A. S. Farb
- Department of Psychological Clinical Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
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Chen ZS, Wilson MA. How our understanding of memory replay evolves. J Neurophysiol 2023; 129:552-580. [PMID: 36752404 PMCID: PMC9988534 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00454.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Revised: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Memory reactivations and replay, widely reported in the hippocampus and cortex across species, have been implicated in memory consolidation, planning, and spatial and skill learning. Technological advances in electrophysiology, calcium imaging, and human neuroimaging techniques have enabled neuroscientists to measure large-scale neural activity with increasing spatiotemporal resolution and have provided opportunities for developing robust analytic methods to identify memory replay. In this article, we first review a large body of historically important and representative memory replay studies from the animal and human literature. We then discuss our current understanding of memory replay functions in learning, planning, and memory consolidation and further discuss the progress in computational modeling that has contributed to these improvements. Next, we review past and present analytic methods for replay analyses and discuss their limitations and challenges. Finally, looking ahead, we discuss some promising analytic methods for detecting nonstereotypical, behaviorally nondecodable structures from large-scale neural recordings. We argue that seamless integration of multisite recordings, real-time replay decoding, and closed-loop manipulation experiments will be essential for delineating the role of memory replay in a wide range of cognitive and motor functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhe Sage Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States
- Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, New York, United States
| | - Matthew A Wilson
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
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Berger SE, Baria AT. Assessing Pain Research: A Narrative Review of Emerging Pain Methods, Their Technosocial Implications, and Opportunities for Multidisciplinary Approaches. FRONTIERS IN PAIN RESEARCH 2022; 3:896276. [PMID: 35721658 PMCID: PMC9201034 DOI: 10.3389/fpain.2022.896276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Pain research traverses many disciplines and methodologies. Yet, despite our understanding and field-wide acceptance of the multifactorial essence of pain as a sensory perception, emotional experience, and biopsychosocial condition, pain scientists and practitioners often remain siloed within their domain expertise and associated techniques. The context in which the field finds itself today-with increasing reliance on digital technologies, an on-going pandemic, and continued disparities in pain care-requires new collaborations and different approaches to measuring pain. Here, we review the state-of-the-art in human pain research, summarizing emerging practices and cutting-edge techniques across multiple methods and technologies. For each, we outline foreseeable technosocial considerations, reflecting on implications for standards of care, pain management, research, and societal impact. Through overviewing alternative data sources and varied ways of measuring pain and by reflecting on the concerns, limitations, and challenges facing the field, we hope to create critical dialogues, inspire more collaborations, and foster new ideas for future pain research methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara E. Berger
- Responsible and Inclusive Technologies Research, Exploratory Sciences Division, IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY, United States
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