A framework for understanding the relationship between externally and internally directed cognition

From mindreading to originality: Exploring the relationship between Theory of Mind and Creativity across the lifespan

In the previous psychoeducational literature, many theorists have argued that creativity and originality require the ability to make predictions and assumptions regarding other individuals' ideas. Thus, it has been widely hypothesized that social cognition and theory of mind (ToM) might be a fundamental component or even a prerequisite of creativity. Despite their common grounds, the empirical evidence examining the potential link between ToM and creative thinking throughout their development seems to be indirect, limited, and fragmented. In this respect, this scoping review aimed to collect and synthesize the existing knowledge about the relationship between ToM and creativity at different ages to identify significant literature gaps and generate updated research questions that might guide future research. The search process led to the inclusion, analysis, and collation of 6 relevant studies only, indicating that this research topic has been poorly investigated. Results demonstrated that ToM and creativity are strongly correlated even after partialling out significant mediators, such as age and intelligence. Such a strong association should be further investigated and explained.

Inner sense of rhythm: percussionist brain activity during rhythmic encoding and synchronization

Introduction

The main objective of this research is to explore the core cognitive mechanisms utilized by exceptionally skilled percussionists as they navigate complex rhythms. Our specific focus is on understanding the dynamic interactions among brain regions, respectively, related to externally directed cognition (EDC), internally directed cognition (IDC), and rhythm processing, defined as the neural correlates of rhythm processing (NCRP).

Methods

The research involved 26 participants each in the percussionist group (PG) and control group (CG), who underwent task-functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sessions focusing on rhythm encoding and synchronization. Comparative analyses were performed between the two groups under each of these conditions.

Results

Rhythmic encoding showed decreased activity in EDC areas, specifically in the right calcarine cortex, left middle occipital gyrus, right fusiform gyrus, and left inferior parietal lobule, along with reduced NCRP activity in the left dorsal premotor, right sensorimotor cortex, and left superior parietal lobule. During rhythmic synchronization, there was increased activity in IDC areas, particularly in the default mode network, and in NCRP areas including the left inferior frontal gyrus and bilateral putamen. Conversely, EDC areas like the right dorsolateral prefrontal gyrus, right superior temporal gyrus, right middle occipital gyrus, and bilateral inferior parietal lobule showed decreased activity, as did NCRP areas including the bilateral dorsal premotor cortex, bilateral ventral insula, bilateral inferior frontal gyrus, and left superior parietal lobule.

Discussion

PG's rhythm encoding is characterized by reduced cognitive effort compared to CG, as evidenced by decreased activity in brain regions associated with EDC and the NCRP. Rhythmic synchronization reveals up-regulated IDC, down-regulated EDC involvement, and dynamic interplay among regions with the NCRP, suggesting that PG engages in both automatic and spontaneous processing simultaneously. These findings provide valuable insights into expert performance and present opportunities for improving music education.

A dual process model of spontaneous conscious thought

In the present article, I review theory and evidence on the psychological mechanisms of mind wandering, paying special attention to its relation with executive control. I then suggest applying a dual-process framework (i.e., automatic vs. controlled processing) to mind wandering and goal-directed thought. I present theoretical arguments and empirical evidence in favor of the view that mind wandering is based on automatic processing, also considering its relation to the concept of working memory. After that, I outline three scenarios for an interplay between mind wandering and goal-directed thought during task performance (parallel automatic processing, off-task thought substituting on-task thought, and non-disruptive mind wandering during controlled processing) and address the ways in which the mind-wandering and focused-attention spells can terminate. Throughout the article, I formulate empirical predictions. In conclusion, I discuss how automatic and controlled processing may be balanced in human conscious cognition.

Decoupling of the pupillary light response during internal attention: The modulating effect of luminance intensity

In a world full of sensory stimuli, attention guides us between the external environment and our internal thoughts. While external attention involves processing sensory stimuli, internal attention is devoted to self-generated representations such as planning or spontaneous mind wandering. They both draw from common cognitive resources, thus simultaneous engagement in both often leads to interference between processes. In order to maintain internal focus, an attentional mechanism known as perceptual decoupling takes effect. This mechanism supports internal cognition by decoupling attention from the perception of sensory information. Two previous studies of our lab investigated to what extent perceptual decoupling is evident in voluntary eye movements. Findings showed that the effect is mediated by the internal task modality and workload (visuospatial > arithmetic and high > low, respectively). However, it remains unclear whether it extends to involuntary eye behavior, which may not share cognitive resources with internal activities. Therefore, the present experiment aimed to further elucidate attentional dynamics by examining whether internal attention affects the pupillary light response (PLR). Specifically, we consistently observed that workload and task modality of the internal task reduced the PLR to luminance changes of medium intensity. However, the PLR to strong luminance changes was less or not at all affected by the internal task. These results suggest that perceptual decoupling effects may be less consistent in involuntary eye behavior, particularly in the context of a salient visual stimulus.

Fluid teams in the metaverse: exploring the (un)familiar

The metaverse is a new and evolving environment for fluid teams and their coordination in organizations. Fluid teams may have no prior familiarity with each other or working together. Yet fluid teams are known to benefit from a degree of familiarity-knowledge about teams, members, and working together-in team coordination and performance. The metaverse is unfamiliar territory that promises fluidity in contexts-seamless traversal between physical and virtual worlds. This fluidity in contexts has implications for familiarity in interaction, identity, and potentially time. We explore the opportunities and challenges that the metaverse presents in terms of (un)familiarity. Improved understandings of (un)familiarity may pave the way for new forms of fluid team experiences and uses.

Individual-level functional connectivity predicts cognitive control efficiency

Cognitive control (CC) is essential for problem-solving in everyday life, and CC-related deficits occur alongside costly and debilitating disorders. The tri-partite model suggests that CC comprises multiple behaviors, including switching, inhibiting, and updating. Activity within the fronto-parietal control network B (FPCN-B), the dorsal attention network (DAN), the cingulo-opercular network (CON), and the lateral default-mode network (L-DMN) is related to switching and inhibiting behaviors. However, our understanding of how these brain regions interact to bring about cognitive switching and inhibiting in individuals is unclear. In the current study, subjects performed two in-scanner tasks that required switching and inhibiting. We used support vector regression (SVR) models containing individually-estimated functional connectivity between the FPCN-B, DAN, CON and L-DMN to predict switching and inhibiting behaviors. We observed that: inter-network connectivity can predict inhibiting and switching behaviors in individuals, and the L-DMN plays a role in switching and inhibiting behaviors. Therefore, individually estimated inter-network connections are markers of CC behaviors, and CC behaviors may arise due to interactions between a set of networks.

Regional activity and effective connectivity within the frontoparietal network during precision walking with visual cueing: an fNIRS study

Precision walking (PW) incorporates precise step adjustments into regular walking patterns to navigate challenging surroundings. However, the brain processes involved in PW control, which encompass cortical regions and interregional interactions, are not fully understood. This study aimed to investigate the changes in regional activity and effective connectivity within the frontoparietal network associated with PW. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy data were recorded from adult subjects during treadmill walking tasks, including normal walking (NOR) and PW with visual cues, wherein the intercue distance was either fixed (FIX) or randomly varied (VAR) across steps. The superior parietal lobule (SPL), dorsal premotor area (PMd), supplementary motor area (SMA), and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) were specifically targeted. The results revealed higher activities in SMA and left PMd, as well as left-to-right SPL connectivity, in VAR than in FIX. Activities in SMA and right dlPFC, along with dlPFC-to-SPL connectivity, were higher in VAR than in NOR. Overall, these findings provide insights into the roles of different brain regions and connectivity patterns within the frontoparietal network in facilitating gait control during PW, providing a useful baseline for further investigations into brain networks involved in locomotion.

Towards a hybrid approach to unveil the Chimaira of neurosciences: philosophy, aperiodic activity and the neural correlates of consciousness

Contemporary theories of consciousness, although very efficient in postulating testable hypotheses, seem to either neglect its relational aspect or to have a profound difficulty in operationalizing this aspect in a measurable manner. We further argue that the analysis of periodic brain activity is inadequate to reveal consciousness's subjective facet. This creates an important epistemic gap in the quest for the neural correlates of consciousness. We suggest a possible solution to bridge this gap, by analysing aperiodic brain activity. We further argue for the imperative need to inform neuroscientific theories of consciousness with relevant philosophical endeavours, in an effort to define, and therefore operationalise, consciousness thoroughly.

Attentional switch to memory: An early and critical phase of the cognitive cascade allowing autobiographical memory retrieval

Remembering and mentally reliving yesterday's lunch is a typical example of episodic autobiographical memory retrieval. In the present review, we reappraised the complex cascade of cognitive processes involved in memory retrieval, by highlighting one particular phase that has received little interest so far: attentional switch to memory (ASM). As attention cannot be simultaneously directed toward external stimuli and internal memories, there has to be an attentional switch from the external to the internal world in order to initiate memory retrieval. We formulated hypotheses and developed hypothetical models of both the cognitive and brain processes that accompany ASM. We suggest that gaze aversion could serve as an objective temporal marker of the point at which people switch their attention to memory, and highlight several fields (neuropsychology, neuroscience, social cognition, comparative psychology) in which ASM markers could be essential. Our review thus provides a new framework for understanding the early stages of autobiographical memory retrieval.

Why and when do you look away when trying to remember? Gaze aversion as a marker of the attentional switch to the internal world during memory retrieval

It is common to look away while trying to remember specific information, for example during autobiographical memory retrieval, a behavior referred to as gaze aversion. Given the competition between internal and external attention, gaze aversion is assumed to play a role in visual decoupling, i.e., suppressing environmental distractors during internal tasks. This suggests a link between gaze aversion and the attentional switch from the outside world to a temporary internal mental space that takes place during the initial stage of memory retrieval, but this assumption has never been verified so far. We designed a protocol where 33 participants answered 48 autobiographical questions while their eye movements were recorded with an eye-tracker and a camcorder. Results indicated that gaze aversion occurred early (median 1.09 s) and predominantly during the access phase of memory retrieval-i.e., the moment when the attentional switch is assumed to take place. In addition, gaze aversion lasted a relatively long time (on average 6 s), and was notably decoupled from concurrent head movements. These results support a role of gaze aversion in perceptual decoupling. Gaze aversion was also related to higher retrieval effort and was rare during memories which came spontaneously to mind. This suggests that gaze aversion might be required only when cognitive effort is required to switch the attention toward the internal world to help retrieving hard-to-access memories. Compared to eye vergence, another visual decoupling strategy, the association with the attentional switch seemed specific to gaze aversion. Our results provide for the first time several arguments supporting the hypothesis that gaze aversion is related to the attentional switch from the outside world to memory.

The effects of type and workload of internal tasks on voluntary saccades in a target-distractor saccade task

When we engage in internally directed cognition, like doing mental arithmetic or mind wandering, fewer cognitive resources are assigned for other activities like reacting to perceptual input-an effect termed perceptual decoupling. However, the exact conditions under which perceptual decoupling occurs and its underlying cognitive mechanisms are still unclear. Hence, the present study systematically manipulated the task type (arithmetic, visuospatial) and workload (control, low, high) of the internal task in a within-subject design and tested its effects on voluntary saccades in a target-distractor saccade task. As expected, engagement in internal tasks delayed saccades to the target. This effect was moderated by time, task, and workload: The delay was largest right after internal task onset and then decreased, potentially reflecting the intensity of internal task demands. Saccades were also more delayed for the high compared to the low workload condition in the arithmetic task, whereas workload conditions had similarly high effects in the visuospatial task. Findings suggests that perceptual decoupling of eye behavior gradually increases with internal demands on general resources and that perceptual decoupling is specifically sensitive to internal demands on visuospatial resources. The latter may be mediated by interference due to eye behavior elicited by the internal task itself. Internal tasks did not affect the saccade latency-deviation trade-off, indicating that while the internal tasks delayed the execution of the saccade, the perception of the saccade stimuli and spatial planning of the saccade continued unaffected in parallel to the internal tasks. Together, these findings shed further light on the specific mechanisms underlying perceptual decoupling by suggesting that perceptual decoupling of eye behavior increases as internal demands on cognitive resources overlap more strongly with demands of the external task.

The Role of Stimuli-Driven and Goal-Driven Attention in Shopping Decision-Making Behaviors-An EEG and VR Study

The human attention system, similar to other networks in the brain, is of a complex nature. At any moment, our attention can shift between external and internal stimuli. In this study, we aimed to assess three EEG-based measures of attention (Power Spectral Density, Connectivity, and Spectral Entropy) in decision-making situations involving goal-directed and stimulus-driven attention using a Virtual Reality supermarket. We collected the EEG data of 29 participants in 2 shopping phases, planned and unplanned purchases. The three mentioned features were extracted and a statistical analysis was conducted. We evaluated the discriminatory power of these features using an SVM classifier. The results showed a significant (p-value < 0.001) increase in theta power over frontal, central, and temporal lobes for the planned purchase phase. There was also a significant decrease in alpha power over frontal and parietal lobes in the unplanned purchase phase. A significant increase in the frontoparietal connectivity during the planned purchase was observed. Additionally, an increase in spectral entropy was observed in the frontoparietal region for the unplanned purchase phase. The classification results showed that spectral entropy has the highest discriminatory power. This study can provide further insights into the attentional behaviors of consumers and how their type of attentional control can affect their decision-making processes.

Effects of internally directed cognition on smooth pursuit eye movements: A systematic examination of perceptual decoupling

Eye behavior differs between internally and externally directed cognition and thus is indicative of an internal versus external attention focus. Recent work implicated perceptual decoupling (i.e., eye behavior becoming less determined by the sensory environment) as one of the key mechanisms involved in these attention-related eye movement differences. However, it is not yet understood how perceptual decoupling depends on the characteristics of the internal task. Therefore, we systematically examined effects of varying internal task demands on smooth pursuit eye movements. Specifically, we evaluated effects of the internal workload (control vs. low vs. high) and of internal task (arithmetic vs. visuospatial). The results of multilevel modelling showed that effects of perceptual decoupling were stronger for higher workload, and more pronounced for the visuospatial modality. Effects also followed a characteristic time-course relative to internal operations. The findings provide further support of the perceptual decoupling mechanism by showing that it is sensitive to the degree of interference between external and internal information.

The influence of imagery vividness and internally-directed attention on the neural mechanisms underlying the encoding of visual mental images into episodic memory

Attention can be directed externally toward sensory information or internally toward self-generated information. Using electroencephalography (EEG), we investigated the attentional processes underlying the formation and encoding of self-generated mental images into episodic memory. Participants viewed flickering words referring to common objects and were tasked with forming visual mental images of the objects and rating their vividness. Subsequent memory for the presented object words was assessed using an old-new recognition task. Internally-directed attention during image generation was indexed as a reduction in steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs), oscillatory EEG responses at the frequency of a flickering stimulus. The results yielded 3 main findings. First, SSVEP power driven by the flickering word stimuli decreased as subjects directed attention internally to form the corresponding mental image. Second, SSVEP power returned to pre-imagery baseline more slowly for low- than high-vividness later remembered items, suggesting that longer internally-directed attention is required to generate subsequently remembered low-vividness images. Finally, the event-related-potential difference due to memory was more sustained for subsequently remembered low- versus high-vividness items, suggesting that additional conceptual processing may have been needed to remember the low-vividness visual images. Taken together, the results clarify the neural mechanisms supporting the encoding of self-generated information.

Impaired disengagement from worry: Dissociating the impacts of valence and internally-directed attention

Worry is a repetitive, negative thought process that is widely experienced as difficult to control. Despite the adverse effects of uncontrollable worry on academic and other role functioning, the mechanisms by which worry becomes uncontrollable remain poorly understood. Previous experimental work has historically emphasized valence (negative versus positive or neutral). However, contemporary cognitive neuroscience also distinguishes between internally-directed attention (e.g., to thoughts) and externally-directed attention (e.g., to perceptual stimuli). To date, no studies have experimentally examined potential dissociable contributions of valence versus attentional direction to impaired disengagement from worry. In a 2 (negative or neutral valence) x 2 (internal or external attention) between-subjects, experimental and prospective design (https://osf.io/vdyfn/), participants (N = 200) completed alternating blocks of a randomly-assigned attention manipulation and validated sustained attention task. Participants also rated trait worry and distress during the experimental session (T1) and a naturalistic stressor (the week before finals; T2). There was a main effect, such that internally-directed attention impaired sustained attention (increased commission errors). Worry (internal x negative) also impaired sustained attention (faster and less accurate responding) in planned group contrasts. Trait worry did not moderate these effects. Sustained attention at T1 did not predict distress or worry during the T2 stressor. These findings augment the literature on the attentional consequences of worry and replicate and extend previous findings of altered speed-accuracy tradeoffs following experimentally-induced worry. We also find evidence for impaired disengagement from internally-directed (versus externally-directed) attention, which may help to explain impaired disengagement from related forms of perseverative thought (e.g., rumination).

Mind wandering in reading: An embodied approach

In the last 20 years, the study of mind wandering has attracted the attention of a growing number of researchers from fields like psychology, philosophy, and neuroscience. Mind wandering has been characterized in multiple ways: as task-unrelated, unintentional, stimulus-independent, or unguided thought processes. Those accounts have mostly focused on the identification of neurocognitive mechanisms that enable the emergence of mind-wandering episodes. Reading is one activity in which mind wandering frequently occurs, and it is widely accepted that mind wandering is detrimental for reading flow, comprehension and the capacity to make inferences based on the text. This mind wandering scepsis in reading is based on two unchallenged views: (i) that reading is a disembodied, mental activity of information processing, and (ii) that mind wandering is essentially characterized as a task-unrelated and involuntary thought process that disrupts all kinds of goal-oriented behavior. However, recent developments within cognitive science treat the mind as embodied and thus challenge both ontological and epistemological assumptions about what mind wandering is, where it is located, and how it is being studied empirically during reading. In this article we integrate embodied accounts of mind wandering and reading to show how reading benefits from nested mind wandering processes. Empirically, we investigate how a reader can move successfully in and out of different embodied processes and mesh different cognitive strategies over time, including some forms of mind wandering. While such changes in reading are frequently deemed dysfunctional, we suggest an alternative interpretation: Rather than seeking constant flow and fluency, we propose that reading is multi-actional and benefits from drawing on different cognitive strategies spanning mind wandering processes and goal-oriented behavior. In that sense, we suggest that mind wandering has a potential for enriching cognitive processes underlying reading, such as imagining and reflection. We exemplify these insights through analyses of data obtained in ethnographic and semi-experimental studies of reading practices. We conclude that to capture cognitive phenomena within an embodied framework, a richer methodology must be developed. Such a methodology must not only be capable of accounting for brains, bodies, and contexts in isolation, but must consider an overall brain-body-environment system.

Human thirst behavior requires transformation of sensory inputs by intrinsic brain networks

Background

To survive and thrive, many animals, including humans, have evolved goal-directed behaviors that can respond to specific physiological needs. An example is thirst, where the physiological need to maintain water balance drives the behavioral basic instinct to drink. Determining the neural basis of such behaviors, including thirst response, can provide insights into the way brain-wide systems transform sensory inputs into behavioral outputs. However, the neural basis underlying this spontaneous behavior remains unclear. Here, we provide a model of the neural basis of human thirst behavior.

Results

We used fMRI, coupled with functional connectivity analysis and serial-multiple mediation analysis, we found that the physiological need for water is first detected by the median preoptic nucleus (MnPO), which then regulates the intention of drinking via serial large-scale spontaneous thought-related intrinsic network interactions that include the default mode network, salience network, and frontal-parietal control network.

Conclusions

Our study demonstrates that the transformation in humans of sensory inputs for a single physiological need, such as to maintain water balance, requires large-scale intrinsic brain networks to transform this input into a spontaneous human behavioral response.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12915-022-01446-5.

Functional Coupling between the Fronto-Parietal Network and Default Mode Network Is Associated with Balanced Time Perspective

Balanced time perspective refers to the ability to flexibly switch between different temporal foci in an adaptive manner according to the current context. Functional connectivity within the default mode network (DMN) has been suggested to support balanced time perspective. The coupling between the DMN and fronto-parietal network (FPN) may drive many important expressions of internally directed cognition. However, it remains unclear whether balanced time perspective is supported by the interaction between the FPN and DMN. To examine these issues, we recruited 91 participants (52 males with mean age of 19.6, and 39 females with mean age of 20.0) to undergo resting-state brain imaging scan and to complete a questionnaire measuring balanced time perspective. Seed-based voxel-wise functional connectivity analyses implicated midline DMN regions including the anterior medial prefrontal cortex (amPFC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) along with the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), precuneus, and cerebellum in supporting a balanced time perspective. More importantly, functional connectivity between the right amPFC and right dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in the FPN was found to associate with balanced time perspective. Our findings suggest the importance of coordinated brain activity in supporting a balanced time perspective.

Cognitive Learning and Robotics: Innovative Teaching for Inclusivity

We present the interdisciplinary CoWriting Kazakh project in which a social robot acts as a peer in learning the new Kazakh Latin alphabet, to which Kazakhstan is going to shift from the current Kazakh Cyrillic by 2030. We discuss the past literature on cognitive learning and script acquisition in-depth and present a theoretical framing for this study. The results of word and letter analyses from two user studies conducted between 2019 and 2020 are presented. Learning the new alphabet through Kazakh words with two or more syllables and special native letters resulted in significant learning gains. These results suggest that reciprocal Cyrillic-to-Latin script learning results in considerable cognitive benefits due to mental conversion, word choice, and handwriting practices. Overall, this system enables school-age children to practice the new Kazakh Latin script in an engaging learning scenario. The proposed theoretical framework illuminates the understanding of teaching and learning within the multimodal robot-assisted script learning scenario and beyond its scope.

Predicting memory from the network structure of naturalistic events

When we remember events, we often do not only recall individual events, but also the connections between them. However, extant research has focused on how humans segment and remember discrete events from continuous input, with far less attention given to how the structure of connections between events impacts memory. Here we conduct a functional magnetic resonance imaging study in which participants watch and recall a series of realistic audiovisual narratives. By transforming narratives into networks of events, we demonstrate that more central events-those with stronger semantic or causal connections to other events-are better remembered. During encoding, central events evoke larger hippocampal event boundary responses associated with memory formation. During recall, high centrality is associated with stronger activation in cortical areas involved in episodic recollection, and more similar neural representations across individuals. Together, these results suggest that when humans encode and retrieve complex real-world experiences, the reliability and accessibility of memory representations is shaped by their location within a network of events.

Tasks activating the default mode network map multiple functional systems

Recent developments in network neuroscience suggest reconsidering what we thought we knew about the default mode network (DMN). Although this network has always been seen as unitary and associated with the resting state, a new deconstructive line of research is pointing out that the DMN could be divided into multiple subsystems supporting different functions. By now, it is well known that the DMN is not only deactivated by tasks, but also involved in affective, mnestic, and social paradigms, among others. Nonetheless, it is starting to become clear that the array of activities in which it is involved, might also be extended to more extrinsic functions. The present meta-analytic study is meant to push this boundary a bit further. The BrainMap database was searched for all experimental paradigms activating the DMN, and their activation likelihood estimation maps were then computed. An additional map of task-induced deactivations was also created. A multidimensional scaling indicated that such maps could be arranged along an anatomo-psychological gradient, which goes from midline core activations, associated with the most internal functions, to that of lateral cortices, involved in more external tasks. Further multivariate investigations suggested that such extrinsic mode is especially related to reward, semantic, and emotional functions. However, an important finding was that the various activation maps were often different from the canonical representation of the resting-state DMN, sometimes overlapping with it only in some peripheral nodes, and including external regions such as the insula. Altogether, our findings suggest that the intrinsic-extrinsic opposition may be better understood in the form of a continuous scale, rather than a dichotomy.

Brain Responses to Peer Feedback in Social Media Are Modulated by Valence in Late Adolescence

Previous studies have examined the neural correlates of receiving negative feedback from peers during virtual social interaction in young people. However, there is a lack of studies applying platforms adolescents use in daily life. In the present study, 92 late-adolescent participants performed a task that involved receiving positive and negative feedback to their opinions from peers in a Facebook-like platform, while brain activity was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Peer feedback was shown to activate clusters in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), superior temporal gyrus and sulcus (STG/STS), and occipital cortex (OC). Negative feedback was related to greater activity in the VLPFC, MPFC, and anterior insula than positive feedback, replicating previous findings on peer feedback and social rejection. Real-life habits of social media use did not correlate with brain responses to negative feedback.

Ongoing Brain Activity and Its Role in Cognition: Dual versus Baseline Models

What is the role of the brain's ongoing activity for cognition? The predominant perspectives associate ongoing brain activity with resting state, the default-mode network (DMN), and internally oriented mentation. This triad is often contrasted with task states, non-DMN brain networks, and externally oriented mentation, together comprising a "dual model" of brain and cognition. In opposition to this duality, however, we propose that ongoing brain activity serves as a neuronal baseline; this builds upon Raichle's original search for the default mode of brain function that extended beyond the canonical default-mode brain regions. That entails what we refer to as the "baseline model." Akin to an internal biological clock for the rest of the organism, the ongoing brain activity may serve as an internal point of reference or standard by providing a shared neural code for the brain's rest as well as task states, including their associated cognition. Such shared neural code is manifest in the spatiotemporal organization of the brain's ongoing activity, including its global signal topography and dynamics like intrinsic neural timescales. We conclude that recent empirical evidence supports a baseline model over the dual model; the ongoing activity provides a global shared neural code that allows integrating the brain's rest and task states, its DMN and non-DMN, and internally and externally oriented cognition.

Conflict- and error-related theta activities are coupled to BOLD signals in different brain regions

Both conflict and error processing have been linked to the midfrontal theta power (4-8 Hz) increase as indicated by EEG studies and greater hemodynamic activity in the anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC) as indicated by fMRI studies. Conveniently, the source of the midfrontal theta power was estimated in or nearby aMCC. However, previous studies using concurrent EEG and fMRI recordings in resting-state or other cognitive tasks observed only a negative relationship between theta power and BOLD signal in the brain regions typically showing task-related deactivations. In this study, we used a simultaneous EEG-fMRI technique to investigate a trial-by-trial coupling between theta power and hemodynamic activity during the performance of two conflict tasks. Independent component analysis (ICA) was applied to denoise the EEG signal and select individual midfrontal EEG components, whereas group ICA was applied to fMRI data to obtain a functional parcellation of the frontal cortex. Using a linear mixed-effect model, theta power was coupled with the peak of hemodynamic responses from various frontal, cingulate, and insular cortical sites to unravel the potential brain sources that contribute to conflict- and error-related theta variability. Although several brain regions exhibited conflict-related increases in hemodynamic activity, the conflict pre-response theta showed only a negative correlation to BOLD signal in the midline area 9 (MA9), a region exhibiting conflict-sensitive deactivation. Conversely, and more expectedly, error-related theta showed a positive relationship to activity in the aMCC. Our results provide novel evidence suggesting that the amplitude of pre-response theta reflects the process of active inhibition that suppresses the MA9 activity. This process is affected independently by the stimulus congruency, reaction times variance, and is susceptible to the time-on-task effect. Finally, it predicts the commitment of an omission error. Together, our findings highlight that conflict- and error-related theta oscillations represent fundamentally different processes.

Brain networks are decoupled from external stimuli during internal cognition

Our cognition can be directed to external stimuli or to internal information. While there are many different forms of internal cognition (mind-wandering, recall, imagery etc.), their essential feature is independence from the immediate sensory input, conceptually referred to as perceptual decoupling. Perceptual decoupling is thought to be reflected in brain activity transitioning from a stimulus-processing to internally-processing mode, but a direct investigation of this remains outstanding. Here we present a conceptual and analysis framework that quantifies the extent to which brain networks reflect stimulus processing. We tested this framework by presenting subjects with an audiovisual stimulus and instructing them to either attend to the stimulus (external task) or engage in mental imagery, recall or arithmetic (internal tasks) while measuring the evoked brain activity using functional MRI. We found that stimulus responses were generally attenuated for the internal tasks, though they increased in a subset of tasks and brain networks. However, using our new framework, we showed that brain networks became less reflective of stimulus processing, even in the subset of tasks and brain networks in which stimulus responses increased. These results quantitatively demonstrate that during internal cognition brain networks become decoupled from the external stimuli, opening the door for a fundamental and quantitative understanding of internal cognition.

Steady-state visual evoked potentials differentiate between internally and externally directed attention

While attention to external visual stimuli has been extensively studied, attention directed internally towards mental contents (e.g., thoughts, memories) or bodily signals (e.g., breathing, heartbeat) has only recently become a subject of increased interest, due to its relation to interoception, contemplative practices and mental health. The present study aimed at expanding the methodological toolbox for studying internal attention, by examining for the first time whether the steady-state visual evoked potential (ssVEP), a well-established measure of attention, can differentiate between internally and externally directed attention. To this end, we designed a task in which flickering dots were used to generate ssVEPs, and instructed participants to count visual targets (external attention condition) or their heartbeats (internal attention condition). We compared the ssVEP responses between conditions, along with alpha-band activity and the heartbeat evoked potential (HEP) - two electrophysiological measures associated with internally directed attention. Consistent with our hypotheses, we found that both the magnitude and the phase synchronization of the ssVEP decreased when attention was directed internally, suggesting that ssVEP measures are able to differentiate between internal and external attention. Additionally, and in line with previous findings, we found larger suppression of parieto-occipital alpha-band activity and an increase of the HEP amplitude in the internal attention condition. Furthermore, we found a trade-off between changes in ssVEP response and changes in HEP and alpha-band activity: when shifting from internal to external attention, increase in ssVEP response was related to a decrease in parieto-occipital alpha-band activity and HEP amplitudes. These findings suggest that shifting between external and internal directed attention prompts a re-allocation of limited processing resources that are shared between external sensory and interoceptive processing.

Involvement of the Rostromedial Prefrontal Cortex in Human-Robot Interaction: fNIRS Evidence From a Robot-Assisted Motor Task

Assistive exoskeleton robots are being widely applied in neurorehabilitation to improve upper-limb motor and somatosensory functions. During robot-assisted exercises, the central nervous system appears to highly attend to external information-processing (IP) to efficiently interact with robotic assistance. However, the neural mechanisms underlying this process remain unclear. The rostromedial prefrontal cortex (rmPFC) may be the core of the executive resource allocation that generates biases in the allocation of processing resources toward an external IP according to current behavioral demands. Here, we used functional near-infrared spectroscopy to investigate the cortical activation associated with executive resource allocation during a robot-assisted motor task. During data acquisition, participants performed a right-arm motor task using elbow flexion-extension movements in three different loading conditions: robotic assistive loading (ROB), resistive loading (RES), and non-loading (NON). Participants were asked to strive for kinematic consistency in their movements. A one-way repeated measures analysis of variance and general linear model-based methods were employed to examine task-related activity. We demonstrated that hemodynamic responses in the ventral and dorsal rmPFC were higher during ROB than during NON. Moreover, greater hemodynamic responses in the ventral rmPFC were observed during ROB than during RES. Increased activation in ventral and dorsal rmPFC subregions may be involved in the executive resource allocation that prioritizes external IP during human-robot interactions. In conclusion, these findings provide novel insights regarding the involvement of executive control during a robot-assisted motor task.

Alpha and theta peak frequency track on- and off-thoughts

Our thoughts are highly dynamic in their contents. At some points, our thoughts are related to external stimuli or tasks focusing on single content (on-single thoughts), While in other moments, they are drifting away with multiple simultaneous items as contents (off-multiple thoughts). Can such thought dynamics be tracked by corresponding neurodynamics? To address this question, here we track thought dynamics during post-stimulus periods by electroencephalogram (EEG) neurodynamics of alpha and theta peak frequency which, as based on the phase angle, must be distinguished from non-phase-based alpha and theta power. We show how, on the psychological level, on-off thoughts are highly predictive of single-multiple thought contents, respectively. Using EEG, on-single and off-multiple thoughts are mediated by opposite changes in the time courses of alpha (high in on-single but low in off-multiple thoughts) and theta (low in on-single but high in off-multiple thoughts) peak frequencies. In contrast, they cannot be distinguished by frequency power. Overall, these findings provide insight into how alpha and theta peak frequency with their phase-related processes track on- and off-thoughts dynamically. In short, neurodynamics track thought dynamics.

A psychophysiological investigation of mourning: There are two sides to the story

Mourning constitutes an important human emotion, which might cause—among other things—major depressive symptoms when lasting for too long. To date, no study investigated whether mourning is related to specific psychophysiological activation patterns. Therefore, we examined physiological reactions induced by iconographic mourning-related stimuli in comparison to neutral and attachment stimuli in healthy adults (N = 77, mean age: 21.9). We evaluated pupillometric and eye-tracking parameters as well as heart rate variability (HRV) and skin conductance (EDA). Eye-tracking revealed a stronger dilated pupil during mourning in comparison to the neutral, but not to the attachment condition; furthermore, fixation patterns revealed less fixations on mourning stimuli. While HF HRV was reduced during mourning and attachment, we found no differences concerning EDA parameters between conditions. Results suggest specific eye-movement and pupil adaptations during representations of mourning, which might point toward inward cognition or avoidance, but no specific physiological pattern concerning HRV and EDA.

Exploring neural correlates of behavioral and academic resilience among children in poverty

Children in poverty must contend with systems that do not meet their needs. We explored what, at a neural level, helps explain children’s resilience in these contexts. Lower coupling between lateral frontoparietal network (LFPN) and default mode network (DMN)—linked, respectively, to externally- and internally-directed thought—has previously been associated with better cognitive performance. However, we recently found the opposite pattern for children in poverty. Here, we probed ecologically-valid assessments of performance. In a pre-registered study, we investigated trajectories of network coupling over ages 9–13 and their relation to school grades and attention problems. We analyzed longitudinal data from ABCD Study (N = 8366 children at baseline; 1303 below poverty). The link between cognitive performance and grades was weaker for children in poverty, highlighting the importance of ecologically-valid measures. As predicted, higher LFPN-DMN connectivity was linked to worse grades and attentional problems for children living above poverty, while children below poverty showed opposite tendencies. This interaction between LFPN-DMN connectivity and poverty related to children’s grades two years later; however, it was attenuated when controlling for baseline grades and was not related to attention longitudinally. Together, these findings suggest network connectivity is differentially related to performance in real-world settings for children above and below poverty.

Brain functional connectivity in children with developmental coordination disorder following rehabilitation intervention

BACKGROUND

Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) show improved motor function after Cognitive Orientation to Occupational Performance (CO-OP) intervention; however, the neural basis for these improvements is unknown.

METHODS

In this randomized waitlist-controlled trial, 78 children with DCD (with/without ADHD) were randomly assigned to either a treatment or waitlist group and underwent three resting-state MRI scans over six months. The treatment group received intervention between the first and second scan; the waitlist group received intervention between the second and third scan.

RESULTS

After CO-OP intervention, children with DCD [13 male, 8 female; mean (SD) age: 10.0 (1.7) years] showed increased functional connectivity between the default mode network and right anterior cingulate gyrus (p < 0.01). Additional gains were noted at follow-up three months after the intervention, with greater functional connectivity between the dorsal attention network and precentral gyrus (p < 0.02). However, children with DCD + ADHD [18 male, 1 female; mean (SD) age: 10.0 (1.14) years] did not show brain changes following CO-OP.

CONCLUSION

For children with DCD, increased functional connectivity in networks associated with self-, emotion-, and attention-regulation may underlie motor skill improvements observed after CO-OP intervention. Modifications to the CO-OP protocol may be required to induce similar brain changes in children with DCD + ADHD.

IMPACT

This study provides neuroscientific evidence for the Cognitive Orientation to Occupational Performance (CO-OP) approach as an effective rehabilitation intervention to induce brain and behavioral changes in children with DCD. While children with DCD ± ADHD showed improved motor function after CO-OP, only children with DCD showed brain changes after intervention. Children with DCD showed increased functional connectivity in networks associated with self-, emotion-, and attention-regulation after the intervention. Treatment modifications may be required to induce similar brain changes in children with DCD + ADHD. Pediatricians are encouraged to refer children with DCD  with and without ADHD for CO-OP intervention to improve their motor skills.

Slow and Powerless Thought Dynamic Relates to Brooding in Unipolar and Bipolar Depression

INTRODUCTION

Depression can be characterized by rumination that is featured by spontaneity and perseveration of internally oriented thoughts. At the same time, depressed subjects complain about abnormal slowness and lack of power/energy in their thoughts, suggesting abnormal "thought dynamics." The relationship between rumination and thought dynamics in depression remains unclear, though.

METHOD

We investigated thought dynamics and rumination in healthy control, major depressive disorder (MDD), and depressed bipolar disorder (BD) subjects. The dynamics in the spontaneous shift between internally and externally oriented thoughts were measured by a novel method of continuous experience sampling whose time series was subjected to power and frequency analyses. Subjects filled out the Beck Depression Inventory-II and Ruminative Response Scale questionnaires to evaluate current depressive symptoms and ruminative responses to negative affect. The methods used to analyze data included χ2, Pearson correlation, ANOVA, and partial correlation.

RESULTS

Our main findings are: (i) increased number and longer duration of internally oriented thought contents in MDD and BD; (ii) reduced thought dynamics with slower frequency (calculated in Hz) and decreased power (power spectral density) in shifting between internally and externally oriented thoughts, especially in MDD and, less strongly, in BD subjects; and (iii) power spectral density as a dimension of thought dynamics is related to brooding rumination with depression severity explaining high degrees of their variance.

CONCLUSION

Our results show slow frequency and low power in the internal-external thought dynamic of acute MDD and depressed BD. Together with its close relation to depression severity and rumination, our findings highlight the key importance of abnormal dynamics on the cognitive level of depression.

Prefrontal contributions to the stability and variability of thought and conscious experience

The human prefrontal cortex is a structurally and functionally heterogenous brain region, including multiple subregions that have been linked to different large-scale brain networks. It contributes to a broad range of mental phenomena, from goal-directed thought and executive functions to mind-wandering and psychedelic experience. Here we review what is known about the functions of different prefrontal subregions and their affiliations with large-scale brain networks to examine how they may differentially contribute to the diversity of mental phenomena associated with prefrontal function. An important dimension that distinguishes across different kinds of conscious experience is the stability or variability of mental states across time. This dimension is a central feature of two recently introduced theoretical frameworks-the dynamic framework of thought (DFT) and the relaxed beliefs under psychedelics (REBUS) model-that treat neurocognitive dynamics as central to understanding and distinguishing between different mental phenomena. Here, we bring these two frameworks together to provide a synthesis of how prefrontal subregions may differentially contribute to the stability and variability of thought and conscious experience. We close by considering future directions for this work.

Unpleasant Odors Affect Alerting Attention in Young Men: An Event-Related Potential Study Using the Attention Network Test

Attention to unpleasant odors is crucial for human safety because they may signal danger; however, whether odor concentration also plays a role remains debated. Here, we explored the effects of two concentrations of pleasant and unpleasant odors on the attention network, comprising the alerting, orienting, and executive control networks. Behavioral responses were examined using the Attention Network Test, while electrophysiological responses were examined by assessing N1 and N2 amplitudes in 30 young men. We found that irrespective of odor concentration, an unpleasant odor induced larger cue-related N1 and N2 amplitudes in the alerting and executive control networks at occipital and frontal electrode sites and that was only paralleled by a reduced behavioral response time of cue-related trails in the alerting network. Thus, our results do not provide supporting evidence for a concentration-dependent effect, but they do suggest that more attentional resources are allocated to alerting-relevant stimuli to improve behavioral response times to a potential threat in young men.

Brain network coupling associated with cognitive performance varies as a function of a child's environment in the ABCD study

Prior research indicates that lower resting-state functional coupling between two brain networks, lateral frontoparietal network (LFPN) and default mode network (DMN), relates to cognitive test performance, for children and adults. However, most of the research that led to this conclusion has been conducted with non-representative samples of individuals from higher-income backgrounds, and so further studies including participants from a broader range of socioeconomic backgrounds are required. Here, in a pre-registered study, we analyzed resting-state fMRI from 6839 children ages 9-10 years from the ABCD dataset. For children from households defined as being above poverty (family of 4 with income > $25,000, or family of 5+ with income > $35,000), we replicated prior findings; that is, we found that better performance on cognitive tests correlated with weaker LFPN-DMN coupling. For children from households defined as being in poverty, the direction of association was reversed, on average: better performance was instead directionally related to stronger LFPN-DMN connectivity, though there was considerable variability. Among children in households below poverty, the direction of this association was predicted in part by features of their environments, such as school type and parent-reported neighborhood safety. These results highlight the importance of including representative samples in studies of child cognitive development.

Extending the "resting state hypothesis of depression" - dynamics and topography of abnormal rest-task modulation

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by changes in both rest and task states as manifested in temporal dynamics (EEG) and spatial patterns (fMRI). Are rest and task changes related to each other? Extending the "Resting state hypothesis of depression" (RSHD) (Northoff et al., 2011), we, using multimodal imaging, take a tripartite approach: (i) we conduct a review of EEG studies in MDD combining both rest and task states; (ii) we present our own EEG data in MDD on brain dynamics, i.e., intrinsic neural timescales as measured by the autocorrelation window (ACW); and (iii) we review fMRI studies in MDD to probe whether different regions exhibit different rest-task modulation. Review of EEG data shows reduced rest-task change in MDD in different measures of temporal dynamics like peak frequency (and others). Notably, our own EEG data show decreased rest-task change as measured by ACW in frontal electrodes of MDD. The fMRI data reveal that different regions exhibit different rest-task relationships (normal rest-abnormal task, abnormal rest-normal task, abnormal rest-abnormal task) in MDD. Together, we demonstrate altered spatiotemporal dynamics of rest-task modulation in MDD; this further supports and extends the key role of the spontaneous activity in MDD as proposed by the RSHD.

Cognitive and Neural State Dynamics of Narrative Comprehension

Narrative comprehension involves a constant interplay of the accumulation of incoming events and their integration into a coherent structure. This study characterizes cognitive states during narrative comprehension and the network-level reconfiguration occurring dynamically in the functional brain. We presented movie clips of temporally scrambled sequences to human participants (male and female), eliciting fluctuations in the subjective feeling of comprehension. Comprehension occurred when processing events that were highly causally related to the previous events, suggesting that comprehension entails the integration of narratives into a causally coherent structure. The functional neuroimaging results demonstrated that the integrated and efficient brain state emerged during the moments of narrative integration with the increased level of activation and across-modular connections in the default mode network. Underlying brain states were synchronized across individuals when comprehending novel narratives, with increased occurrences of the default mode network state, integrated with sensory processing network, during narrative integration. A model based on time-resolved functional brain connectivity predicted changing cognitive states related to comprehension that are general across narratives. Together, these results support adaptive reconfiguration and interaction of the functional brain networks on causal integration of the narratives.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The human brain can integrate temporally disconnected pieces of information into coherent narratives. However, the underlying cognitive and neural mechanisms of how the brain builds a narrative representation remain largely unknown. We showed that comprehension occurs as the causally related events are integrated to form a coherent situational model. Using fMRI, we revealed that the large-scale brain states and interaction between brain regions dynamically reconfigure as comprehension evolves, with the default mode network playing a central role during moments of narrative integration. Overall, the study demonstrates that narrative comprehension occurs through a dynamic process of information accumulation and causal integration, supported by the time-varying reconfiguration and brain network interaction.

Spontaneous thought-related network connectivity predicts sertraline effect on major depressive disorder

Sertraline is one of the most commonly prescribed antidepressants. Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by spontaneous thoughts that are laden with negative affect-a "malignant sadness". Prior neuroimaging studies have identified abnormal resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in the spontaneous brain networks of MDD patients. But how antidepressant medication acts to relieve the experience of depression as well as adjust its associated spontaneous networks and mood-regulation circuits remains an open question. In this study, we recruited 22 drug-naïve MDD patients along with 35 normal controls and investigated whether the functional integrity of cortical networks associated with spontaneous thoughts is modulated by sertraline treatment. We attempted to predict post-treatment effects based upon what we observed in the pre-treatment rsFC of drug-naïve MDD patients. In the result, we demonstrated that (1) after the sertraline treatment, the medial temporal lobe of default network (DN_MTL) and mood regulation pathway-the fronto-parietal control network (FPCN), the thalamus, and the salience network (SN)-were restored to normal connectivity, relative to the pre-treatment condition; however, the altered connections of FPCN-core DN (DN_CORE), FPCN-SN, and intra-FPCN among MDD patients remained impaired; (2) thalamo-prefrontal connectivity provides moderate predictive power (r² = 0.63) for the effectiveness of sertraline treatment. In summary, our findings contribute to a body of evidence that suggests salubrious effects of sertraline treatment primarily involve the FPCN-thalamus-SN pathway. The pre-treatment rsFC in this pathway could serve as a predictor of sertraline treatment outcome.

The dynamic framework of mind wandering revisited: How mindful meta-awareness affects mental states' constraints

The dynamic framework of mind wandering (Christoff, Irving, Fox, Spreng, & Andrews-Hanna, 2016) is reviewed and modified through integrating the construct of mindful meta-awareness. The dynamic framework maintains that mind wandering belongs to a family of spontaneous thought phenomena. The key defining feature of mind wandering is 'spontaneity' which characterizes the dynamic nature of thoughts in the framework. The argument is made that incorporating the mindful meta-awareness construct modifies the dynamic framework as follows: (1) the framework's criteria for mind wandering do not hold anymore as meta-awareness changes the relationship between thoughts and constraints, and (2) lucid dreaming can be categorized as unguided thought while at the same time being dependent on deliberate constraints. Finally, the application of this modified framework will be discussed in terms of the treatment of mental disorders related to spontaneous thought alterations, in particular depression and nightmares.

Neurofunctional Symmetries and Asymmetries during Voluntary out-of- and within-Body Vivid Imagery Concurrent with Orienting Attention and Visuospatial Detection

We explored whether two visual mental imagery experiences may be differentiated by electroencephalographic (EEG) and performance interactions with concurrent orienting external attention (OEA) to stimulus location and subsequent visuospatial detection. We measured within-subject (N = 10) event-related potential (ERP) changes during out-of-body imagery (OBI)—vivid imagery of a vertical line outside of the head/body—and within-body imagery (WBI)—vivid imagery of the line within one’s own head. Furthermore, we measured ERP changes and line offset Vernier acuity (hyperacuity) performance concurrent with those imagery, compared to baseline detection without imagery. Relative to OEA baseline, OBI yielded larger N200 and P300, whereas WBI yielded larger P50, P100, N400, and P800. Additionally, hyperacuity dropped significantly when concurrent with both imagery types. Partial least squares analysis combined behavioural performance, ERPs, and/or event-related EEG band power (ERBP). For both imagery types, hyperacuity reduction correlated with opposite frontal and occipital ERP amplitude and polarity changes. Furthermore, ERP modulation and ERBP synchronizations for all EEG frequencies correlated inversely with hyperacuity. Dipole Source Localization Analysis revealed unique generators in the left middle temporal gyrus (WBI) and in the right frontal middle gyrus (OBI), whereas the common generators were in the left precuneus and middle occipital cortex (cuneus). Imagery experiences, we conclude, can be identified by symmetric and asymmetric combined neurophysiological-behavioural patterns in interactions with the width of attentional focus.

Modulation of Negative Affect Predicts Acceptance of Music Streaming Services, While Personality Does Not

Music streaming services (MSS) offer their users numerous ways of choosing and implementing their individual approaches to music listening. Personality, uses of music, and the acceptance of MSS can be conceptualized as interdependent. This study investigates whether negative affect modulation strategies explain differences in the acceptance of MSS and integrates findings from previous research into a structural equation model. As for measurements, the Big Five Inventory 2, the Inventory for the Assessment of Activation and Arousal modulation through Music, and adapted scales from previous research on the Technology Acceptance Model were used. A convenience sample of 825 participants (24.3 years; 74% females and 89% students) successfully completed an online questionnaire. In total, 89 percent of the sample reported using MSS regularly. The results show that the tendency to modulate negative affect through music is positively influenced by openness and neuroticism. In turn, the tendency to modulate negative affect through music is shown to increase the perceived usefulness of MSS. However, this study failed to replicate the previous findings that openness increases the attitude toward using and that neuroticism decreases the perceived usefulness. This implies that uses of music are more effective than personality traits at predicting the individual acceptance of MSS. However, personality can be viewed as a predictor for uses of music. The interwovenness of stable and situational factors of music choices is supported. MSS seem to assist their users in coping with negative affect in everyday life, increasing wellbeing. MSS should expand their personalization features to optimize user experience with respect to individual uses of music.

Neurophysiological indicators of internal attention: An fMRI-eye-tracking coregistration study

Many goal-directed, as well as spontaneous everyday activities (e.g., planning, mind-wandering), rely on an internal focus of attention. This fMRI-eye-tracking coregistration study investigated brain mechanisms and eye behavior related to internally versus externally directed cognition. Building on an established paradigm, we manipulated internal attention demands within tasks utilizing conditional stimulus masking. Internally directed cognition involved bilateral activation of the lingual gyrus and inferior parietal lobe areas as well as wide-spread deactivation of visual networks. Moreover, internally directed cognition was related to greater pupil diameter, pupil diameter variance, blink duration, fixation disparity variance, and smaller amounts of microsaccades. FMRI-eye-tracking covariation analyses further revealed that larger pupil diameter was related to increased activation of basal ganglia and lingual gyrus. It can be concluded that internally and externally directed cognition are characterized by distinct neurophysiological signatures. The observed neurophysiological differences indicate that internally directed cognition is associated with reduced processing of task-irrelevant information and increased mental load. These findings shed further light on the interplay between neural and perceptual mechanisms contributing to an internal focus of attention.

White Matter Changes With Rehabilitation in Children With Developmental Coordination Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background and Objectives: Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) have difficulty learning motor skills, which can affect their participation in activities of daily living and psychosocial well-being. Over 50% of children with DCD also have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which further exacerbates their motor problems and impact on quality of life. A rehabilitation approach known as Cognitive Orientation to Occupational Performance uses problem-solving strategies to help children learn motor skills they wish to achieve. While this cognitive approach has been effective for children with DCD, few studies have examined the effectiveness of this approach for children with co-occurring ADHD. Further, the underlying mechanism and neural basis of this intervention are largely unknown.

Methods: In this randomized waitlist-controlled trial, we used MRI to examine white matter microstructure after intervention in 8–12-year-old children with DCD (n = 28) and with DCD and co-occurring ADHD (n = 25). Children in both groups were randomized to either a treatment group or waitlist group at their first MRI. The treatment group began the intervention after their MRI scan and returned for a post-treatment scan at 3 months, and follow-up scan at 6 months; the waitlist group waited 3 months before their second MRI, received the intervention, and then had a post-treatment scan. Each child received intervention once weekly for 10 weeks. Diffusion tensor imaging was used to acquire white matter diffusion parameters and was analyzed using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS).

Results and Conclusion: Children with DCD showed significant improvement in white matter microstructure in the bilateral anterior thalamic radiation, bilateral sensorimotor tract, bilateral cingulum, fornix, splenium and body of corpus callosum, right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, and white matter pathways to bilateral inferior gyri, right middle frontal gyrus, frontal medial cortex, and left cuneus. We suggest that these rehabilitation-induced neural changes in children with DCD occurred in regions associated with attention, self-regulation, motor planning, and inter-hemispheric communication, which positively affected brain connectivity and motor function. In contrast, children with DCD and co-occurring ADHD did not show any brain changes following the intervention. Modifications to the treatment protocol might help address the attentional and self-regulatory needs of children with a dual diagnosis.

Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02597751.

Manual motor reaction while being absorbed into popular music

In three experiments, we investigated the behavioral consequences of being absorbed into music on performance in a concurrent task. We tested two competing hypotheses: Based on a cognitive load account, captivation of attention by the music and state absorption might slow down reactions in the decisional task. Alternatively, music could induce spontaneous motor activity, and being absorbed in music might result in a more autonomous, flow-driven behavior with quicker motor reactions. Participants performed a simple, visual, two-alternative forced-choice task while listening to popular musical excerpts. Subsequently, they rated their subjective experience using a short questionnaire. We presented music in four tempo categories (between 80 and 140 BPM) to account for a potential effect of tempo and an interaction between tempo and absorption. In Experiment 1, absorption was related to decreased reaction times (RTs) in the visual task. This effect was small, as expected in this setting, but replicable in Experiment 2. There was no effect of the music's tempo on RTs but a tendency of mind wandering to relate to task performance. After slightly changing the study setting in Experiment 3, flow predicted decreased RTs, but absorption alone - as part of the flow construct - did not predict RTs. To sum up, we demonstrated that being absorbed in music can have the behavioral consequence of speeded manual reactions in specific task contexts, and people seem to integrate the music into an active, flow-driven and therefore enhanced performance. However, shown relations depend on task settings, and a systematic study of context is necessary to understand how induced states and their measurement contribute to the findings.

Simulating thoughts to measure and study internal attention in mental health

Our mind's eye and the role of internal attention in mental life and suffering has intrigued scholars for centuries. Yet, experimental study of internal attention has been elusive due to our limited capacity to control the timing and content of internal stimuli. We thus developed the Simulated Thoughts Paradigm (STP) to experimentally deliver own-voice thought stimuli that simulate the content and experience of thinking and thereby experimental study of internal attentional processes. In independent experiments (N = 122) integrating STP into established cognitive-experimental tasks, we found and replicated evidence that emotional reactivity to negative thoughts predicts difficulty disengaging internal attention from, as well as biased selective internal attention of, those thoughts; these internal attention processes predict cognitive vulnerability (e.g., negative repetitive thinking) which thereby predict anxiety and depression. Proposed methods and findings may have implications for the study of information processing and attention in mental health broadly and models of internal attentional (dys)control in cognitive vulnerability and mental health more specifically.

Iranian Brain Imaging Database: A Neuropsychiatric Database of Healthy Brain

INTRODUCTION

The Iranian Brain Imaging Database (IBID) was initiated in 2017, with 5 major goals: provide researchers easy access to a neuroimaging database, provide normative quantitative measures of the brain for clinical research purposes, study the aging profile of the brain, examine the association of brain structure and function, and join the ENIGMA consortium. Many prestigious databases with similar goals are available. However, they were not done on an Iranian population, and the battery of their tests (e.g. cognitive tests) is selected based on their specific questions and needs.

METHODS

The IBID will include 300 participants (50% female) in the age range of 20 to 70 years old, with an equal number of participants (#60) in each age decade. It comprises a battery of cognitive, lifestyle, medical, and mental health tests, in addition to several Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) protocols. Each participant completes the assessments on two referral days.

RESULTS

The study currently has a cross-sectional design, but longitudinal assessments are considered for the future phases of the study. Here, details of the methodology and the initial results of assessing the first 152 participants of the study are provided.

CONCLUSION

IBID is established to enable research into human brain function, to aid clinicians in disease diagnosis research, and also to unite the Iranian researchers with interests in the brain.

Eye behavior predicts susceptibility to visual distraction during internally directed cognition

When we engage in internally directed cognition (e.g., planning or imagination), our eye behavior decouples from external stimuli and couples to internal representations (e.g., internal visualizations of ideas). Here, we investigated whether eye behavior predicts the susceptibility to visual distraction during internally directed cognition. To this end, participants performed a divergent thinking task, which required internally directed attention, and we measured distraction in terms of attention capture by unrelated images. We used multilevel mixed models to predict visual distraction by eye behavior right before distractor onset. In Study 1 (N = 38), visual distraction was predicted by increased saccade and blink rate, and higher pupil dilation. We replicated these findings in Study 2 using the same task, but with less predictable distractor onsets and a larger sample (N = 144). We also explored whether individual differences in susceptibility to visual distraction were related to cognitive ability and task performance. Taken together, variation in eye behavior was found to be a consistent predictor of visual distraction during internally directed cognition. This highlights the relevance of eye parameters as objective indicators of internal versus external attentional focus and distractibility during complex mental tasks.

Meditation and the Wandering Mind: A Theoretical Framework of Underlying Neurocognitive Mechanisms

During the practice of meditation, the tendency of the mind to wander away from the object of focus is ubiquitous. The occurrence of mind wandering in the context of meditation provides individuals a unique and intimate opportunity to closely examine the nature of the wandering mind by cultivating an awareness of ongoing thought patterns, while simultaneously aiming to cultivate equanimity (evenness of temper or disposition) and compassion toward the content of thoughts, interpretations, and bodily sensations. In this article we provide a theoretical framework that highlights the neurocognitive mechanisms by which contemplative practices influence the neural and phenomenological processes underlying spontaneous thought. Our theoretical model focuses on several converging mechanisms: the role of meta-awareness in facilitating an increased moment-to-moment awareness of spontaneous thought processes, the effects of meditation practice on key structures underlying both the top-down cognitive processes and bottom-up sensory processes implicated in attention and emotion regulation, and the influence of contemplative practice on the neural substrates underlying perception and perceptual decoupling.

Flexible recruitment of memory-based choice representations by the human medial frontal cortex

Decision-making in complex environments relies on flexibly using prior experience. This process depends on the medial frontal cortex (MFC) and the medial temporal lobe, but it remains unknown how these structures implement selective memory retrieval. We recorded single neurons in the MFC, amygdala, and hippocampus while human subjects switched between making recognition memory-based and categorization-based decisions. The MFC rapidly implemented changing task demands by using different subspaces of neural activity and by representing the currently relevant task goal. Choices requiring memory retrieval selectively engaged phase-locking of MFC neurons to amygdala and hippocampus field potentials, thereby enabling the routing of memories. These findings reveal a mechanism for flexibly and selectively engaging memory retrieval and show that memory-based choices are preferentially represented in the frontal cortex when required.