Individual attentional selection capacities are reflected in interhemispheric connectivity of the parietal cortex

Music literacy improves reading skills via bilateral orthographic development

Considerable evidence suggests that musical education induces structural and functional neuroplasticity in the brain. This study aimed to explore the potential impact of such changes on word-reading proficiency. We investigated whether musical training promotes the development of uncharted orthographic regions in the right hemisphere leading to better reading abilities. A total of 60 healthy, right-handed culturally matched professional musicians and controls took part in this research. They were categorised as normo-typical readers based on their reading speed (syl/sec) and subdivided into two groups of relatively good and poor readers. High density EEG/ERPs were recorded while participants engaged in a note or letter detection task. Musicians were more fluent in word, non-word and text reading tests, and faster in detecting both notes and words. They also exhibited greater N170 and P300 responses, and target-non target differences for words than controls. Similarly, good readers showed larger N170 and P300 responses than poor readers. Increased reading skills were associated to a bilateral activation of the occipito/temporal cortex, during music and word reading. Source reconstruction also showed a reduced activation of the left fusiform gyrus, and of areas devoted to attentional/ocular shifting in poor vs. good readers, and in controls vs. musicians. Data suggest that music literacy acquired early in time can shape reading circuits by promoting the specialization of a right-sided reading area, whose activity was here associated with enhanced reading proficiency. In conclusion, music literacy induces measurable neuroplastic changes in the left and right OT cortex responsible for improved word reading ability.

Why do children with autism spectrum disorder have abnormal visual perception?

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with severe impairment in social functioning. Visual information processing provides nonverbal cues that support social interactions. ASD children exhibit abnormalities in visual orientation, continuous visual exploration, and visual-spatial perception, causing social dysfunction, and mechanisms underlying these abnormalities remain unclear. Transmission of visual information depends on the retina-lateral geniculate nucleus-visual cortex pathway. In ASD, developmental abnormalities occur in rapid expansion of the visual cortex surface area with constant thickness during early life, causing abnormal transmission of the peak of the visual evoked potential (P100). We hypothesized that abnormal visual perception in ASD are related to the abnormal visual information transmission and abnormal development of visual cortex in early life, what's more, explored the mechanisms of abnormal visual symptoms to provide suggestions for future research.

Functional connectivity based brain signatures of behavioral regulation in children with ADHD, DCD, and ADHD-DCD

Behavioral regulation problems have been associated with daily-life and mental health challenges in children with neurodevelopmental conditions such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Here, we investigated transdiagnostic brain signatures associated with behavioral regulation. Resting-state fMRI data were collected from 115 children (31 typically developing (TD), 35 ADHD, 21 DCD, 28 ADHD-DCD) aged 7-17 years. Behavioral regulation was measured using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function and was found to differ between children with ADHD (i.e., children with ADHD and ADHD-DCD) and without ADHD (i.e., TD children and children with DCD). Functional connectivity (FC) maps were computed for 10 regions of interest and FC maps were tested for correlations with behavioral regulation scores. Across the entire sample, greater behavioral regulation problems were associated with stronger negative FC within prefrontal pathways and visual reward pathways, as well as with weaker positive FC in frontostriatal reward pathways. These findings significantly increase our knowledge on FC in children with and without ADHD and highlight the potential of FC as brain-based signatures of behavioral regulation across children with differing neurodevelopmental conditions.

Altered effective connectivity within the cingulo-frontal-parietal cognitive attention networks in chronic low back pain: a dynamic causal modeling study

Dysfunction of the cingulo-frontal-parietal (CFP) cognitive attention network has been associated with the pathophysiology of chronic low back pain (cLBP). However, the direction of information processing within this network remains largely unknown. We aimed to study the effective connectivity among the CFP regions in 36 cLBP patients and 36 healthy controls by dynamic causal modeling (DCM). Both the resting-state and task-related (Multi-Source Interference Task, MSIT) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were collected and analyzed. The relationship between the effective connectivity of the CFP regions and clinical measures was also examined. Our results suggested that cLBP had significantly altered resting-state effective connectivity of the prefrontal cortex (PFC)-to-mid-cingulate cortex (MCC) (increased) and MCC-to-left superior parietal cortex (LPC) (decreased) pathways as compared with healthy controls. MSIT-related DCM suggested that the interference task could significantly increase the effective connectivity of the right superior parietal cortex (RPC)-to-PFC and RPC-to-MCC pathways in cLBP than that in healthy controls. The control task could significantly decrease the effective connectivity of the MCC-to-LPC and MCC-to-RPC pathways in cLBP than that in healthy controls. The endogenous connectivity of the PFC-to-RPC pathway in cLBP was significantly lower than that in healthy controls. No significant correlations were found between the effective connectivity within CFP networks and pain/depression scores in patients with cLBP. In summary, our findings suggested altered effective connectivity in multiple pathways within the CFP network in both resting-state and performing attention-demanding tasks in patients with cLBP, which extends our understanding of attention dysfunction in patients with cLBP.

Simultaneous modeling of reaction times and brain dynamics in a spatial cueing task

Understanding how brain activity translates into behavior is a grand challenge in neuroscientific research. Simultaneous computational modeling of both measures offers to address this question. The extension of the dynamic causal modeling (DCM) framework for blood oxygenation level‐dependent (BOLD) responses to behavior (bDCM) constitutes such a modeling approach. However, only very few studies have employed and evaluated bDCM, and its application has been restricted to binary behavioral responses, limiting more general statements about its validity. This study used bDCM to model reaction times in a spatial attention task, which involved two separate runs with either horizontal or vertical stimulus configurations. We recorded fMRI data and reaction times (n= 26) and compared bDCM with classical DCM and a behavioral Rescorla–Wagner model using Bayesian model selection and goodness of fit statistics. Results indicate that bDCM performed equally well as classical DCM when modeling BOLD responses and as good as the Rescorla–Wagner model when modeling reaction times. Although our data revealed practical limitations of the current bDCM approach that warrant further investigation, we conclude that bDCM constitutes a promising method for investigating the link between brain activity and behavior.

Adaptive Filtering for Improved EEG-Based Mental Workload Assessment of Ambulant Users

Recently, due to the emergence of mobile electroencephalography (EEG) devices, assessment of mental workload in highly ecological settings has gained popularity. In such settings, however, motion and other common artifacts have been shown to severely hamper signal quality and to degrade mental workload assessment performance. Here, we show that classical EEG enhancement algorithms, conventionally developed to remove ocular and muscle artifacts, are not optimal in settings where participant movement (e.g., walking or running) is expected. As such, an adaptive filter is proposed that relies on an accelerometer-based referential signal. We show that when combined with classical algorithms, accurate mental workload assessment is achieved. To test the proposed algorithm, data from 48 participants was collected as they performed the Revised Multi-Attribute Task Battery-II (MATB-II) under a low and a high workload setting, either while walking/jogging on a treadmill, or using a stationary exercise bicycle. Accuracy as high as 95% could be achieved with a random forest based mental workload classifier with ambulant users. Moreover, an increase in gamma activity was found in the parietal cortex, suggesting a connection between sensorimotor integration, attention, and workload in ambulant users.

Lateralization, functional specialization, and dysfunction of attentional networks

The present review covers the latest findings on the lateralization of the dorsal and ventral attention systems, their functional specialization, and their clinical relevance for stroke-induced attentional dysfunction. First, the original assumption of a bilateral dorsal system for top-down attention and a right-lateralized ventral system for stimulus-driven attention is critically reviewed. The evidence for the involvement of the left parietal cortex in attentional functions is discussed and findings on putative pathways linking the dorsal and ventral network are presented. In the second part of the review, we focus on the different attentional subsystems and their lateralization, discussing the differences between spatial, feature- and object-based attention, and motor attention. We also review studies based on predictive coding frameworks of attentional functions. Finally, in the third section, we provide an overview of the consequences of specific disruption within the attention networks after stroke. The role of the interhemispheric (im)balance is discussed, and the results of new promising therapeutic approaches employing brain stimulation techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) or transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) are presented.

Resting-state Functional Connectivity of the Right Temporoparietal Junction Relates to Belief Updating and Reorienting during Spatial Attention

Although multiple studies characterized the resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) of the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ), little is known about the link between rTPJ rsFC and cognitive functions. Given a putative involvement of rTPJ in both reorienting of attention and the updating of probabilistic beliefs, this study characterized the relationship between rsFC of rTPJ with dorsal and ventral attention systems and these two cognitive processes. Twenty-three healthy young participants performed a modified location-cueing paradigm with true and false prior information about the percentage of cue validity to assess belief updating and attentional reorienting. Resting-state fMRI was recorded before and after the task. Seed-based correlation analysis was employed, and correlations of each behavioral parameter with rsFC before the task, as well as with changes in rsFC after the task, were assessed in an ROI-based approach. Weaker rsFC between rTPJ and right intraparietal sulcus before the task was associated with relatively faster updating of the belief that the cue will be valid after false prior information. Moreover, relatively faster belief updating, as well as faster reorienting, were related to an increase in the interhemispheric rsFC between rTPJ and left TPJ after the task. These findings are in line with task-based connectivity studies on related attentional functions and extend results from stroke patients demonstrating the importance of interhemispheric parietal interactions for behavioral performance. The present results not only highlight the essential role of parietal rsFC for attentional functions but also suggest that cognitive processing during a task changes connectivity patterns in a performance-dependent manner.

Building functional connectivity neuromarkers of behavioral self-regulation across children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder

Behavioral self-regulation develops rapidly during childhood and struggles in this area can have lifelong negative outcomes. Challenges with self-regulation are common to several neurodevelopmental conditions, including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Little is known about the neural expression of behavioral regulation in children with and without neurodevelopmental conditions.

We examined whole-brain brain functional correlations (FC) and behavioral regulation through connectome predictive modelling (CPM). CPM is a data-driven protocol for developing predictive models of brain–behavior relationships and assessing their potential as ‘neuromarkers’ using cross-validation. The data stems from the ABIDE II and comprises 276 children with and without ASD (8–13 years).

We identified networks whose FC predicted individual differences in behavioral regulation. These network models predicted novel individuals’ inhibition and shifting from FC data in both a leave-one-out, and split halves, cross-validation. We observed commonalities and differences, with inhibition relying on more posterior networks, shifting relying on more anterior networks, and both involving regions of the DMN.

Our findings substantially add to our knowledge on the neural expressions of inhibition and shifting across children with and without a neurodevelopmental condition. Given the numerous behavioral issues that can be quantified dimensionally, refinement of whole-brain neuromarker techniques may prove useful in the future.

Differential brain mechanisms for processing distracting information in task-relevant and -irrelevant dimensions in visual search

A crucial function of our goal-directed behavior is to select task-relevant targets among distractor stimuli, some of which may share properties with the target and thus compete for attentional selection. Here, by applying functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to a visual search task in which a target was embedded in an array of distractors that were homogeneous or heterogeneous along the task-relevant (orientation or form) and/or task-irrelevant (color) dimensions, we demonstrate that for both (orientation) feature search and (form) conjunction search, the fusiform gyrus is involved in processing the task-irrelevant color information, while the bilateral frontal eye fields (FEF), the cortex along the left intraparietal sulcus (IPS), and the left junction of intraparietal and transverse occipital sulci (IPTO) are involved in processing task-relevant distracting information, especially for target-absent trials. Moreover, in conjunction (but not in feature) search, activity in these frontoparietal regions is affected by stimulus heterogeneity along the task-irrelevant dimension: heterogeneity of the task-irrelevant information increases the activity in these regions only when the task-relevant information is homogeneous, not when it is heterogeneous. These findings suggest that differential neural mechanisms are involved in processing task-relevant and task-irrelevant dimensions of the searched-for objects. In addition, they show that the top-down task set plays a dominant role in determining whether or not task-irrelevant information can affect the processing of the task-relevant dimension in the frontoparietal regions.

Functional Connectivity of the Dorsal Attention Network Predicts Selective Attention in 4-7 year-old Girls

Early childhood is a period of profound neural development and remodeling during which attention skills undergo rapid maturation. Attention networks have been extensively studied in the adult brain, yet relatively little is known about changes in early childhood, and their relation to cognitive development. We investigated the association between age and functional connectivity (FC) within the dorsal attention network (DAN) and the association between FC and attention skills in early childhood. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data was collected during passive viewing in 44 typically developing female children between 4 and 7 years whose sustained, selective, and executive attention skills were assessed. FC of the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and the frontal eye fields (FEF) was computed across the entire brain and regressed against age. Age was positively associated with FC between core nodes of the DAN, the IPS and the FEF, and negatively associated with FC between the DAN and regions of the default-mode network. Further, controlling for age, FC between the IPS and FEF was significantly associated with selective attention. These findings add to our understanding of early childhood development of attention networks and suggest that greater FC within the DAN is associated with better selective attention skills.

Not just social sensitivity: Adolescent neural suppression of social feedback during risk taking

Adolescence is a period of sensitivity to social stimuli. In particular, research has focused on the increased sensitivity to risks and social information seen during adolescence. However, recent evidence also suggests that adolescents can flexibly use information in service of their goals, raising an interesting question: are adolescents able to selectively discount social information if it conflicts with their goals? To test this question, fifty-five children and adolescents (ages 8-17 years) completed a social variant of the Balloon Analogue Risk Task during an fMRI session. Adolescents showed decreased tracking of negative social feedback in regions involved in salience-monitoring (e.g. insula) and social processing (e.g., TPJ, pSTS). Age-related changes in neural processing of risk and social feedback contributed to better performance for older participants. These results suggest that adolescents are able to suppress goal-irrelevant social feedback, rather than being uniformly hyper-sensitive to social information.

Distinctive Correspondence Between Separable Visual Attention Functions and Intrinsic Brain Networks

Separable visual attention functions are assumed to rely on distinct but interacting neural mechanisms. Bundesen's “theory of visual attention” (TVA) allows the mathematical estimation of independent parameters that characterize individuals' visual attentional capacity (i.e., visual processing speed and visual short-term memory storage capacity) and selectivity functions (i.e., top-down control and spatial laterality). However, it is unclear whether these parameters distinctively map onto different brain networks obtained from intrinsic functional connectivity, which organizes slowly fluctuating ongoing brain activity. In our study, 31 demographically homogeneous healthy young participants performed whole- and partial-report tasks and underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Report accuracy was modeled using TVA to estimate, individually, the four TVA parameters. Networks encompassing cortical areas relevant for visual attention were derived from independent component analysis of rs-fMRI data: visual, executive control, right and left frontoparietal, and ventral and dorsal attention networks. Two TVA parameters were mapped on particular functional networks. First, participants with higher (vs. lower) visual processing speed showed lower functional connectivity within the ventral attention network. Second, participants with more (vs. less) efficient top-down control showed higher functional connectivity within the dorsal attention network and lower functional connectivity within the visual network. Additionally, higher performance was associated with higher functional connectivity between networks: specifically, between the ventral attention and right frontoparietal networks for visual processing speed, and between the visual and executive control networks for top-down control. The higher inter-network functional connectivity was related to lower intra-network connectivity. These results demonstrate that separable visual attention parameters that are assumed to constitute relatively stable traits correspond distinctly to the functional connectivity both within and between particular functional networks. This implies that individual differences in basic attention functions are represented by differences in the coherence of slowly fluctuating brain activity.

Combining region- and network-level brain-behavior relationships in a structural equation model

Brain-behavior associations in fMRI studies are typically restricted to a single level of analysis: either a circumscribed brain region-of-interest (ROI) or a larger network of brain regions. However, this common practice may not always account for the interdependencies among ROIs of the same network or potentially unique information at the ROI-level, respectively. To account for both sources of information, we combined measurement and structural components of structural equation modeling (SEM) approaches to empirically derive networks from ROI activity, and to assess the association of both individual ROIs and their respective whole-brain activation networks with task performance using three large task-fMRI datasets and two separate brain parcellation schemes. The results for working memory and relational tasks revealed that well-known ROI-performance associations are either non-significant or reversed when accounting for the ROI's common association with its corresponding network, and that the network as a whole is instead robustly associated with task performance. The results for the arithmetic task revealed that in certain cases, an ROI can be robustly associated with task performance, even when accounting for its associated network. The SEM framework described in this study provides researchers additional flexibility in testing brain-behavior relationships, as well as a principled way to combine ROI- and network-levels of analysis.

Developing brain networks of attention

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Attention is a primary cognitive function critical for perception, language, and memory. We provide an update on brain networks related to attention, their development, training, and pathologies.

RECENT FINDINGS

An executive attention network, also called the cingulo-opercular network, allows voluntary control of behavior in accordance with goals. Individual differences among children in self-regulation have been measured by a higher order factor called effortful control, which is related to the executive network and to the size of the anterior cingulate cortex.

SUMMARY

Brain networks of attention arise in infancy and are related to individual differences, including pathology during childhood. Methods of training attention may improve performance and ameliorate pathology.

Alteration of spontaneous brain activity in COPD patients

Background and objective

Airflow limitation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) results in a decrease in oxygen transport to the brain. The aim of the present study was to explore the alteration of spontaneous brain activity induced by hypoxia in patients with COPD.

Patients and methods

Twenty-five stable patients with COPD and 25 matching healthy volunteers were investigated. Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) of blood oxygenation level-dependent signal at resting state in the brain was analyzed using functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Results

Whole-brain analysis using functional magnetic resonance imaging revealed significant decreases in ALFF in the bilateral posterior cingulate gyri and right lingual gyrus and an increase in ALFF in the left postcentral gyrus of patients with COPD. After controlling for SaO₂, patients with COPD only showed an increase in ALFF in the left postcentral gyrus. Region of interest analysis showed a decrease in ALFF in the left precentral gyrus and an increase in ALFF in the left caudate nucleus of patients with COPD. In all subjects, ALFF in the bilateral posterior cingulate gyri and right lingual gyrus showed positive correlations with visual reproduction.

Conclusion

We demonstrated abnormal spontaneous brain activity of patients with COPD, which may have a pathophysiologic meaning.

From regions to connections and networks: new bridges between brain and behavior

Connections and interactions among distributed brain areas are increasingly recognized as the basis for cognitive operations and a diverse repertoire of behaviors. Analytic advances have allowed for brain connectivity to be represented and quantified at multiple levels: from single connections to communities and networks. This review traces the trajectory of network neuroscience, focusing on how connectivity patterns can be related to cognition and behavior. As recent initiatives for open science provide access to imaging and phenotypic data with great detail and depth, we argue that approaches capable of directly modeling multivariate relationships between brain and behavior will become increasingly important in the field.