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Vanstavel S, Coello Y, Mejias S. Processing of numerical representation of fingers depends on their location in space. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2020; 85:2566-2577. [PMID: 33125507 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-020-01436-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Fingers can express quantities and thus contribute to the acquisition and manipulation of numbers as well as the development of arithmetical skills. As embodied entities, the processing of finger numerical configurations should, therefore, be facilitated when they match shared cultural representations and are presented close to the body. To investigate these issues, the present study investigated whether canonical finger configurations are processed faster than noncanonical configurations or spatially matched dot configurations, taking into account their location in the peripersonal or the extrapersonal space. Analysis of verbal responses to the enumeration of small and large numerosities showed that participants (N = 30) processed small numerosities faster than large ones and dots faster than finger configurations despite visuo-spatial matching. Canonical configurations were also processed faster than noncanonical configurations but for finger numerical stimuli only. Furthermore, the difference in response time between dots and fingers processing was greater when the stimuli were located in the peripersonal space than in the extrapersonal space. As a whole, the data suggest that, due to their motor nature, finger numerical configurations are not processed as simple visual stimuli but in relation to corporal and cultural counting habits, in agreement with the embodied framework of numerical cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sébastien Vanstavel
- University of Lille, CNRS, UMR 9193-SCALab-Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, F-59000, Lille, France
| | - Yann Coello
- University of Lille, CNRS, UMR 9193-SCALab-Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, F-59000, Lille, France
| | - Sandrine Mejias
- University of Lille, CNRS, UMR 9193-SCALab-Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, F-59000, Lille, France.
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2
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Matsumoto M, Sakurada T, Yamamoto SI. Distinct bilateral prefrontal activity patterns associated with the qualitative aspect of working memory characterized by individual sensory modality dominance. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0238235. [PMID: 32845925 PMCID: PMC7449398 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0238235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2020] [Accepted: 08/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
In addition to quantitative individual differences in working memory (WM) capacity, qualitative aspects, such as enhanced sensory modality (modality dominance), can characterize individual WM ability. This study aimed to examine the neurological basis underlying the individual modality dominance component of WM using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). To quantify the degree of individual WM modality dominance, 24 participants were required to find seven hidden targets and hold their spatial location and appearance order with vibrotactile or visual stimuli aids. In this searching task, eight participants demonstrated higher performance with the tactile condition (tactile-dominant) whereas sixteen demonstrated visual dominance. We then measured prefrontal activity by fNIRS during memorization of visual stimulus numbers while finger tapping as a cognitive-motor dual-task. Individual modality dominance significantly correlated with bilateral frontopolar and dorsolateral prefrontal activity changes over repeated fNIRS sessions. In particular, individuals with stronger visual dominance showed marked decreases in prefrontal area activity. These results suggest that distinct processing patterns in the prefrontal cortex reflect an individual’s qualitative WM characteristics. Considering the individual modality dominance underlying the prefrontal areas could enhance cognitive or motor performance, possibly by optimizing cognitive resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mayuko Matsumoto
- College of Systems Engineering and Science, Shibaura Institute of Technology, Saitama, Japan
- Functional Brain Science Laboratory, Center for Development of Advanced Medical Technology, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan
| | - Takeshi Sakurada
- Functional Brain Science Laboratory, Center for Development of Advanced Medical Technology, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan
- College of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University, Shiga, Japan
- Department of Neurosurgery, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan
- * E-mail:
| | - Shin-ichiroh Yamamoto
- College of Systems Engineering and Science, Shibaura Institute of Technology, Saitama, Japan
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3
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de Haan EH, Dijkerman HC. Somatosensation in the Brain: A Theoretical Re-evaluation and a New Model. Trends Cogn Sci 2020; 24:529-541. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2020.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Revised: 03/09/2020] [Accepted: 04/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
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4
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Gogulski J, Zetter R, Nyrhinen M, Pertovaara A, Carlson S. Neural Substrate for Metacognitive Accuracy of Tactile Working Memory. Cereb Cortex 2018; 27:5343-5352. [PMID: 28968804 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhx219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The human prefrontal cortex (PFC) has been shown to be important for metacognition, the capacity to monitor and control one's own cognitive processes. Here we dissected the neural architecture of somatosensory metacognition using navigated single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to modulate tactile working memory (WM) processing. We asked subjects to perform tactile WM tasks and to give a confidence rating for their performance after each trial. We circumvented the challenge of interindividual variability in functional brain anatomy by applying TMS to two PFC areas that, according to tractography, were neurally connected with the primary somatosensory cortex (S1): one area in the superior frontal gyrus (SFG), another in the middle frontal gyrus (MFG). These two PFC locations and a control cortical area were stimulated during both spatial and temporal tactile WM tasks. We found that tractography-guided TMS of the SFG area selectively enhanced metacognitive accuracy of tactile temporal, but not spatial WM. Stimulation of the MFG area that was also neurally connected with the S1 had no such effect on metacognitive accuracy of either the temporal or spatial tactile WM. Our findings provide causal evidence that the PFC contains distinct neuroanatomical substrates for introspective accuracy of tactile WM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juha Gogulski
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki 00014, Finland.,Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University School of Science, Aalto 00076, Finland
| | - Rasmus Zetter
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University School of Science, Aalto 00076, Finland
| | - Mikko Nyrhinen
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki 00014, Finland.,Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University School of Science, Aalto 00076, Finland.,Aalto TMS Laboratory, Aalto NeuroImaging, Aalto University, Aalto 00076, Finland
| | - Antti Pertovaara
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki 00014, Finland
| | - Synnöve Carlson
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki 00014, Finland.,Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University School of Science, Aalto 00076, Finland.,Aalto TMS Laboratory, Aalto NeuroImaging, Aalto University, Aalto 00076, Finland
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Site Specificity of Changes in Cortical Oxyhaemoglobin Concentration Induced by Water Immersion. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2017. [PMID: 28685451 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-55231-6_32] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
Our previous studies have shown that water immersion (WI) changes sensorimotor processing and cortical excitability in the sensorimotor regions of the brain. The present study examined the site specificity of the brain activation during WI using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Cortical oxyhaemoglobin (O2Hb) levels in the anterior and posterior parts of the supplementary motor area (pre-SMA and SMA), primary motor cortex (M1), primary somatosensory cortex (S1), and posterior parietal cortex (PPC) were recorded using fNIRS (OMM-3000; Shimadzu Co.) before, during, and after WI in nine healthy participants. The cortical O2Hb levels in SMA, M1, S1, and PPC significantly increased during the WI and increased gradually along with the filling of the WI tank. These changes were not seen in the pre-SMA. The results show that WI-induced increases in cortical O2Hb levels are at least somewhat site specific: there was little brain activation in response to somatosensory input in the pre-SMA, but robust activation in other areas.
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Woolgar A, Zopf R. Multisensory coding in the multiple-demand regions: vibrotactile task information is coded in frontoparietal cortex. J Neurophysiol 2017; 118:703-716. [PMID: 28404826 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00559.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2016] [Revised: 04/10/2017] [Accepted: 04/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
At any given moment, our brains receive input from multiple senses. Successful behavior depends on our ability to prioritize the most important information and ignore the rest. A multiple-demand (MD) network of frontal and parietal regions is thought to support this process by adjusting to code information that is currently relevant (Duncan 2010). Accordingly, the network is proposed to encode a range of different types of information, including perceptual stimuli, task rules, and responses, as needed for the current cognitive operation. However, most MD research has used visual tasks, leaving limited information about whether these regions encode other sensory domains. We used multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA) of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data to test whether the MD regions code the details of somatosensory stimuli, in addition to tactile-motor response transformation rules and button-press responses. Participants performed a stimulus-response task in which they discriminated between two possible vibrotactile frequencies and applied a stimulus-response transformation rule to generate a button-press response. For MD regions, we found significant coding of tactile stimulus, rule, and response. Primary and secondary somatosensory regions encoded the tactile stimuli and the button-press responses but did not represent task rules. Our findings provide evidence that MD regions can code nonvisual somatosensory task information, commensurate with a domain-general role in cognitive control.NEW & NOTEWORTHY How does the brain encode the breadth of information from our senses and use this to produce goal-directed behavior? A network of frontoparietal multiple-demand (MD) regions is implicated but has been studied almost exclusively in the context of visual tasks. We used multivariate pattern analysis of fMRI data to show that these regions encode tactile stimulus information, rules, and responses. This provides evidence for a domain-general role of the MD network in cognitive control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Woolgar
- Perception in Action Research Centre and ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and Its Disorders, Department of Cognitive Science, Faculty of Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Regine Zopf
- Perception in Action Research Centre and ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and Its Disorders, Department of Cognitive Science, Faculty of Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
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Ito T, Matsuda T, Shimojo S. Functional connectivity of the striatum in experts of stenography. Brain Behav 2015; 5:e00333. [PMID: 25874166 PMCID: PMC4396401 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2014] [Revised: 01/17/2015] [Accepted: 01/25/2015] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Stenography, or shorthand, is a unique set of skills that involves intensive training which is nearly life-long and orchestrating various brain functional modules, including auditory, linguistic, cognitive, mnemonic, and motor. Stenography provides cognitive neuroscientists with a unique opportunity to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying the neural plasticity that enables such a high degree of expertise. However, shorthand is quickly being replaced with voice recognition technology. We took this nearly final opportunity to scan the brains of the last alive shorthand experts of the Japanese language. METHODS Thirteen right-handed stenographers and fourteen right-handed controls participated in the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study. RESULTS The fMRI data revealed plastic reorganization of the neural circuits around the putamen. The acquisition of expert skills was accompanied by structural and functional changes in the area. The posterior putamen is known as the execution center of acquired sensorimotor skills. Compared to nonexperts, the posterior putamen in stenographers had high covariation with the cerebellum and midbrain.The stenographers' brain developed different neural circuits from those of the nonexpert brain. CONCLUSIONS The current data illustrate the vigorous plasticity in the putamen and in its connectivity to other relevant areas in the expert brain. This is a case of vigorous neural plastic reorganization in response to massive overtraining, which is rare especially considering that it occurred in adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takehito Ito
- Brain Science Institute, Tamagawa University 6-1-1 Tamagawa Gakuen, Machida, Tokyo, 194-8610, Japan ; Molecular Neuroimaging Program, Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Matsuda
- Brain Science Institute, Tamagawa University 6-1-1 Tamagawa Gakuen, Machida, Tokyo, 194-8610, Japan
| | - Shinsuke Shimojo
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering/Computation and Neural Systems, California Institute of Technology 139-74, Pasadena, California, 91125
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Penner-Wilger M, Anderson ML. The relation between finger gnosis and mathematical ability: why redeployment of neural circuits best explains the finding. Front Psychol 2013; 4:877. [PMID: 24367341 PMCID: PMC3851991 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2013] [Accepted: 11/04/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper elaborates a novel hypothesis regarding the observed predictive relation between finger gnosis and mathematical ability. In brief, we suggest that these two cognitive phenomena have overlapping neural substrates, as the result of the re-use (“redeployment”) of part of the finger gnosis circuit for the purpose of representing numbers. We offer some background on the relation and current explanations for it; an outline of our alternate hypothesis; some evidence supporting redeployment over current views; and a plan for further research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcie Penner-Wilger
- Department of Psychology, King's University College at Western University London, ON, Canada
| | - Michael L Anderson
- Department of Psychology, Franklin & Marshall College Lancaster, PA, USA ; Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, University of Maryland, College Park MD, USA
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Gogulski J, Boldt R, Savolainen P, Guzmán-López J, Carlson S, Pertovaara A. A Segregated Neural Pathway for Prefrontal Top-Down Control of Tactile Discrimination. Cereb Cortex 2013; 25:161-6. [DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bht211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Arsalidou M, Duerden EG, Taylor MJ. The centre of the brain: topographical model of motor, cognitive, affective, and somatosensory functions of the basal ganglia. Hum Brain Mapp 2012; 34:3031-54. [PMID: 22711692 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 146] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2012] [Revised: 04/09/2012] [Accepted: 04/20/2012] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The basal ganglia have traditionally been viewed as motor processing nuclei; however, functional neuroimaging evidence has implicated these structures in more complex cognitive and affective processes that are fundamental for a range of human activities. Using quantitative meta-analysis methods we assessed the functional subdivisions of basal ganglia nuclei in relation to motor (body and eye movements), cognitive (working-memory and executive), affective (emotion and reward) and somatosensory functions in healthy participants. We document affective processes in the anterior parts of the caudate head with the most overlap within the left hemisphere. Cognitive processes showed the most widespread response, whereas motor processes occupied more central structures. On the basis of these demonstrated functional roles of the basal ganglia, we provide a new comprehensive topographical model of these nuclei and insight into how they are linked to a wide range of behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Arsalidou
- Diagnostic Imaging and Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
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11
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Anderson ML, Penner-Wilger M. Neural reuse in the evolution and development of the brain: evidence for developmental homology? Dev Psychobiol 2012; 55:42-51. [PMID: 22711453 DOI: 10.1002/dev.21055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2011] [Accepted: 05/11/2012] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
This article lays out some of the empirical evidence for the importance of neural reuse-the reuse of existing (inherited and/or early developing) neural circuitry for multiple behavioral purposes-in defining the overall functional structure of the brain. We then discuss in some detail one particular instance of such reuse: the involvement of a local neural circuit in finger awareness, number representation, and other diverse functions. Finally, we consider whether and how the notion of a developmental homology can help us understand the relationships between the cognitive functions that develop out of shared neural supports.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael L Anderson
- Department of Psychology, Franklin & Marshall College, P.O. Box 3003, Lancaster, PA 17604-3003, USA.
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12
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Kaas AL, van Mier H, Visser M, Goebel R. The neural substrate for working memory of tactile surface texture. Hum Brain Mapp 2012; 34:1148-62. [PMID: 22576840 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.21500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2010] [Revised: 09/09/2011] [Accepted: 09/28/2011] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Fine surface texture is best discriminated by touch, in contrast to macro geometric features like shape. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging and a delayed match-to-sample task to investigate the neural substrate for working memory of tactile surface texture. Blindfolded right-handed males encoded the texture or location of up to four sandpaper stimuli using the dominant or non-dominant hand. They maintained the information for 10-12 s and then answered whether a probe stimulus matched the memory array. Analyses of variance with the factors Hand, Task, and Load were performed on the estimated percent signal change for the encoding and delay phase. During encoding, contralateral effects of Hand were found in sensorimotor regions, whereas Load effects were observed in bilateral postcentral sulcus (BA2), secondary somatosensory cortex (S2), pre-SMA, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), and superior parietal lobule (SPL). During encoding and delay, Task effects (texture > location) were found in central sulcus, S2, pre-SMA, dlPFC, and SPL. The Task and Load effects found in hand- and modality-specific regions BA2 and S2 indicate involvement of these regions in the tactile encoding and maintenance of fine surface textures. Similar effects in hand- and modality-unspecific areas dlPFC, pre-SMA and SPL suggest that these regions contribute to the cognitive monitoring required to encode and maintain multiple items. Our findings stress both the particular importance of S2 for the encoding and maintenance of tactile surface texture, as well as the supramodal nature of parieto-frontal networks involved in cognitive control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda L Kaas
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Maastricht University, The Netherlands.
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Water Immersion to the Femur Level Affects Cerebral Cortical Activity in Humans: Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study. Brain Topogr 2011; 25:220-7. [DOI: 10.1007/s10548-011-0204-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2011] [Accepted: 10/06/2011] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
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Current perspectives and methods in studying neural mechanisms of multisensory interactions. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2011; 36:111-33. [PMID: 21569794 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2011.04.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2011] [Accepted: 04/21/2011] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
In the past decade neuroscience has witnessed major advances in the field of multisensory interactions. A large body of research has revealed several new types of cross-sensory interactions. In addition, multisensory interactions have been reported at temporal and spatial system levels previously thought of as strictly unimodal. We review the findings that have led to the current broad consensus that most, if not all, higher, as well as lower level neural processes are in some form multisensory. We continue by outlining the progress that has been made in identifying the functional significance of different types of interactions, for example, in subserving stimulus binding and enhancement of perceptual certainty. Finally, we provide a critical introduction to cutting edge methods from bayes optimal integration to multivoxel pattern analysis as applied to multisensory research at different system levels.
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Kitada R, Johnsrude IS, Kochiyama T, Lederman SJ. Brain networks involved in haptic and visual identification of facial expressions of emotion: An fMRI study. Neuroimage 2010; 49:1677-89. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.09.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2009] [Revised: 09/10/2009] [Accepted: 09/12/2009] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
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Hannula H, Neuvonen T, Savolainen P, Hiltunen J, Ma YY, Antila H, Salonen O, Carlson S, Pertovaara A. Increasing top-down suppression from prefrontal cortex facilitates tactile working memory. Neuroimage 2009; 49:1091-8. [PMID: 19643184 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.07.049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2009] [Revised: 07/20/2009] [Accepted: 07/21/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) combined with diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) and tractography allows investigating functional anatomy of the human brain with high precision. Here we demonstrate that working memory (WM) processing of tactile temporal information is facilitated by delivering a single TMS pulse to the middle frontal gyrus (MFG) during memory maintenance. Facilitation was obtained only with a TMS pulse applied to a location of the MFG with anatomical connectivity to the primary somatosensory cortex (S1). TMS improved tactile WM also when distractive tactile stimuli interfered with memory maintenance. Moreover, TMS to the same MFG site attenuated somatosensory evoked responses (SEPs). The results suggest that the TMS-induced memory improvement is explained by increased top-down suppression of interfering sensory processing in S1 via the MFG-S1 link. These results demonstrate an anatomical and functional network that is involved in maintenance of tactile temporal WM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henri Hannula
- Neuroscience Unit, Institute of Biomedicine/Physiology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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Kaas AL, van Mier H, Goebel R. The neural correlates of human working memory for haptically explored object orientations. Cereb Cortex 2006; 17:1637-49. [PMID: 16966490 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhl074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Skillful object manipulation requires that haptically explored spatial object characteristics like orientation be adequately represented in working memory. In the current functional magnetic resonance imaging study, healthy right-handed participants explored a bar-shaped reference object with the left hand, memorizing its orientation. After a variable delay (0.5, 5, or 10 s), participants used their right hand to match the orientation by rotating a second, identical object. In the first seconds of the delay, right sensorimotor cortex was active, whereas clusters in left anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC) (Brodmann area 10) became dominant 2 s after the end of exploration, showing sustained activity for several seconds. In contrast, left parieto-occipital cortex was involved toward the end of the delay interval. Our results indicate that a dynamic network of brain areas subserves hapticospatial information processing in the delay between haptic stimulus exploration and orientation matching. We propose that haptic sensory traces, maintained in contralateral sensorimotor cortex, are transformed into more abstract hapticospatial representations in the early delay stages. Maintenance of these representations engages aPFC and parieto-occipital cortex. Whereas aPFC possibly integrates spatial and motor components of hapticospatial working memory, parieto-occipital cortex might be involved in orientation imagery, supporting working memory, and the preparation of haptic matching.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda L Kaas
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
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Piefke M, Weiss PH, Markowitsch HJ, Fink GR. Gender differences in the functional neuroanatomy of emotional episodic autobiographical memory. Hum Brain Mapp 2005; 24:313-24. [PMID: 15704151 PMCID: PMC6871670 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.20092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 141] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Autobiographical memory is based on interactions between episodic memory contents, associated emotions, and a sense of self-continuity along the time axis of one's life. The functional neuroanatomy subserving autobiographical memory is known to include prefrontal, medial and lateral temporal, as well as retrosplenial brain areas; however, whether gender differences exist in neural correlates of autobiographical memory remains to be clarified. We reanalyzed data from a previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment to investigate gender-related differences in the neural bases of autobiographical memories with differential remoteness and emotional valence. On the behavioral level, there were no significant gender differences in memory performance or emotional intensity of memories. Activations common to males and females during autobiographical memory retrieval were observed in a bilateral network of brain areas comprising medial and lateral temporal regions, including hippocampal and parahippocampal structures, posterior cingulate, as well as prefrontal cortex. In males (relative to females), all types of autobiographical memories investigated were associated with differential activation of the left parahippocampal gyrus. By contrast, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was activated differentially by females. In addition, the right insula was activated differentially in females during remote and negative memory retrieval. The data show gender-related differential neural activations within the network subserving autobiographical memory in both genders. We suggest that the differential activations may reflect gender-specific cognitive strategies during access to autobiographical memories that do not necessarily affect the behavioral level of memory performance and emotionality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Piefke
- Institute of Medicine, Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
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Mulert C, Menzinger E, Leicht G, Pogarell O, Hegerl U. Evidence for a close relationship between conscious effort and anterior cingulate cortex activity. Int J Psychophysiol 2005; 56:65-80. [PMID: 15725491 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2004.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 115] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2004] [Revised: 09/28/2004] [Accepted: 10/07/2004] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The function of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) has been discussed in the last years in the context of conflict monitoring and error detection. In addition, ACC activity has been described in the context of "conscious effort". Recent neurophysiological and neuroimaging studies have described a negative correlation between ACC activity and reaction times in simple or choice reaction time experiments. One suggested explanation for this finding has been that there is a relationship between effort and ACC activity. The present ERP-LORETA study of healthy volunteers (n=35) was intended to directly investigate this relationship. In this experiment, three conditions were investigated: condition I was a choice reaction task with the instruction to stay relaxed during the task (relaxed condition), condition II was the same choice reaction task with the instruction to press the respective button as fast and correct as possible (effort condition). Condition III was just listening to the tones without button press (control condition). Subjects had to score directly after each experimental run on a visual analogue scale the amount of effort they have actually spent. The subjects showed significantly shorter reaction times during the high effort condition in comparison to the relaxed condition, as well as increased N1 amplitudes and increased ACC activity. In a subgroup analysis, this effect was present only in subjects who were (according to their self-ratings) following the instructions closely. These results provide direct evidence for a close relationship between conscious effort and ACC activity and suggest the usefulness of the applied effort-self-rating.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph Mulert
- Department of Psychiatry, Nussbaumstrasse 7, LMU, Munich 80336 München, Germany.
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