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Bardella G, Giuffrida V, Giarrocco F, Brunamonti E, Pani P, Ferraina S. Response inhibition in premotor cortex corresponds to a complex reshuffle of the mesoscopic information network. Netw Neurosci 2024; 8:597-622. [PMID: 38952814 PMCID: PMC11168728 DOI: 10.1162/netn_a_00365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 07/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have explored functional and effective neural networks in animal models; however, the dynamics of information propagation among functional modules under cognitive control remain largely unknown. Here, we addressed the issue using transfer entropy and graph theory methods on mesoscopic neural activities recorded in the dorsal premotor cortex of rhesus monkeys. We focused our study on the decision time of a Stop-signal task, looking for patterns in the network configuration that could influence motor plan maturation when the Stop signal is provided. When comparing trials with successful inhibition to those with generated movement, the nodes of the network resulted organized into four clusters, hierarchically arranged, and distinctly involved in information transfer. Interestingly, the hierarchies and the strength of information transmission between clusters varied throughout the task, distinguishing between generated movements and canceled ones and corresponding to measurable levels of network complexity. Our results suggest a putative mechanism for motor inhibition in premotor cortex: a topological reshuffle of the information exchanged among ensembles of neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giampiero Bardella
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Valentina Giuffrida
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Franco Giarrocco
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Emiliano Brunamonti
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Pierpaolo Pani
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Ferraina
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
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Bardella G, Franchini S, Pan L, Balzan R, Ramawat S, Brunamonti E, Pani P, Ferraina S. Neural Activity in Quarks Language: Lattice Field Theory for a Network of Real Neurons. ENTROPY (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 26:495. [PMID: 38920504 PMCID: PMC11203154 DOI: 10.3390/e26060495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2024] [Revised: 05/28/2024] [Accepted: 05/30/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024]
Abstract
Brain-computer interfaces have seen extraordinary surges in developments in recent years, and a significant discrepancy now exists between the abundance of available data and the limited headway made in achieving a unified theoretical framework. This discrepancy becomes particularly pronounced when examining the collective neural activity at the micro and meso scale, where a coherent formalization that adequately describes neural interactions is still lacking. Here, we introduce a mathematical framework to analyze systems of natural neurons and interpret the related empirical observations in terms of lattice field theory, an established paradigm from theoretical particle physics and statistical mechanics. Our methods are tailored to interpret data from chronic neural interfaces, especially spike rasters from measurements of single neuron activity, and generalize the maximum entropy model for neural networks so that the time evolution of the system is also taken into account. This is obtained by bridging particle physics and neuroscience, paving the way for particle physics-inspired models of the neocortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giampiero Bardella
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy (E.B.); (P.P.); (S.F.)
| | - Simone Franchini
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy (E.B.); (P.P.); (S.F.)
| | - Liming Pan
- School of Cyber Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China;
| | - Riccardo Balzan
- Laboratoire de Chimie et Biochimie Pharmacologiques et Toxicologiques, UMR 8601, UFR Biomédicale et des Sciences de Base, Université Paris Descartes-CNRS, PRES Paris Sorbonne Cité, 75006 Paris, France;
| | - Surabhi Ramawat
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy (E.B.); (P.P.); (S.F.)
| | - Emiliano Brunamonti
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy (E.B.); (P.P.); (S.F.)
| | - Pierpaolo Pani
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy (E.B.); (P.P.); (S.F.)
| | - Stefano Ferraina
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy (E.B.); (P.P.); (S.F.)
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Giuffrida V, Marc IB, Ramawat S, Fontana R, Fiori L, Bardella G, Fagioli S, Ferraina S, Brunamonti E, Pani P. Reward prospect affects strategic adjustments in stop signal task. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1125066. [PMID: 37008850 PMCID: PMC10064060 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1125066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Interaction with the environment requires us to predict the potential reward that will follow our choices. Rewards could change depending on the context and our behavior adapts accordingly. Previous studies have shown that, depending on reward regimes, actions can be facilitated (i.e., increasing the reward for response) or interfered (i.e., increasing the reward for suppression). Here we studied how the change in reward perspective can influence subjects’ adaptation strategy. Students were asked to perform a modified version of the Stop-Signal task. Specifically, at the beginning of each trial, a Cue Signal informed subjects of the value of the reward they would receive; in one condition, Go Trials were rewarded more than Stop Trials, in another, Stop Trials were rewarded more than Go Trials, and in the last, both trials were rewarded equally. Subjects participated in a virtual competition, and the reward consisted of points to be earned to climb the leaderboard and win (as in a video game contest). The sum of points earned was updated with each trial. After a learning phase in which the three conditions were presented separately, each subject performed 600 trials testing phase in which the three conditions were randomly mixed. Based on the previous studies, we hypothesized that subjects could employ different strategies to perform the task, including modulating inhibition efficiency, adjusting response speed, or employing a constant behavior across contexts. We found that to perform the task, subjects preferentially employed a strategy-related speed of response adjustment, while the duration of the inhibition process did not change significantly across the conditions. The investigation of strategic motor adjustments to reward’s prospect is relevant not only to understanding how action control is typically regulated, but also to work on various groups of patients who exhibit cognitive control deficits, suggesting that the ability to inhibit can be modulated by employing reward prospects as motivational factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Giuffrida
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
- Behavioral Neuroscience PhD Program, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Isabel Beatrice Marc
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
- Behavioral Neuroscience PhD Program, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Surabhi Ramawat
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Roberto Fontana
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Fiori
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, INAIL, Rome, Italy
| | - Giampiero Bardella
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Sabrina Fagioli
- Department of Education, University of Roma Tre, Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Ferraina
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Pierpaolo Pani
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
- *Correspondence: Pierpaolo Pani,
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Pani P, Giarrocco F, Bardella G, Brunamonti E, Ferraina S. Action-stopping models must consider the role of the dorsal premotor cortex. Cortex 2022; 152:160-163. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.03.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2021] [Revised: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Giarrocco F, Averbeck B. Organization of Parieto-Prefrontal and Temporo-Prefrontal Networks in the Macaque. J Neurophysiol 2021; 126:1289-1309. [PMID: 34379536 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00092.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The connectivity among architectonically defined areas of the frontal, parietal, and temporal cortex of the macaque has been extensively mapped through tract tracing methods. To investigate the statistical organization underlying this connectivity, and identify its underlying architecture, we performed a hierarchical cluster analysis on 69 cortical areas based on their anatomically defined inputs. We identified 10 frontal, 4 parietal, and 5 temporal hierarchically related sets of areas (clusters), defined by unique sets of inputs and typically composed of anatomically contiguous areas. Across cortex, clusters that share functional properties were linked by dominant information processing circuits in a topographically organized manner that reflects the organization of the main fiber bundles in the cortex. This led to a dorsal-ventral subdivision of the frontal cortex, where dorsal and ventral clusters showed privileged connectivity with parietal and temporal areas, respectively. Ventrally, temporo-frontal circuits encode information to discriminate objects in the environment, their value, emotional properties, and functions such as memory and spatial navigation. Dorsal parieto-frontal circuits encode information for selecting, generating, and monitoring appropriate actions based on visual-spatial and somatosensory information. This organization may reflect evolutionary antecedents, in which the vertebrate pallium, which is the ancestral cortex, was defined by a ventral and lateral olfactory region and a medial hippocampal region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franco Giarrocco
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Bruno Averbeck
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
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Giarrocco F, Bardella G, Giamundo M, Fabbrini F, Brunamonti E, Pani P, Ferraina S. Neuronal dynamics of signal selective motor plan cancellation in the macaque dorsal premotor cortex. Cortex 2020; 135:326-340. [PMID: 33308980 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.09.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2020] [Revised: 07/23/2020] [Accepted: 09/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Primates adopt various strategies to interact with the environment. Yet, no study has examined the effects of behavioural strategies with regard to how movement inhibition is implemented at the neuronal level. We used a modified version of the stop-task by adding an extra signal - termed the Ignore signal - capable of influencing the inhibition of movements only within a specific strategy. We simultaneously recorded multisite neuronal activity from the dorsal premotor (PMd) cortex of macaque monkeys during the task and applied a state-space approach. As a result, we found that movement generation is characterized by neuronal dynamics that evolve between subspaces. When the movement is halted, this evolution is arrested and inverted. Conversely, when the Ignore signal is presented, inversion of the evolution is observed briefly and only when a specific behavioural strategy is adopted. Moreover, neuronal signatures during the inhibitory process were predictive of how PMd processes inhibitory signals, allowing the classification of the resulting behavioural strategy. Our data further corroborate the PMd as a critical node in movement inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franco Giarrocco
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, CU027, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy; Behavioral Neuroscience PhD Program, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Giampiero Bardella
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, CU027, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy; Behavioral Neuroscience PhD Program, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Margherita Giamundo
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, CU027, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Francesco Fabbrini
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, CU027, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Emiliano Brunamonti
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, CU027, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Pierpaolo Pani
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, CU027, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
| | - Stefano Ferraina
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, CU027, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
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