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Cabbai G, Racey C, Simner J, Dance C, Ward J, Forster S. Sensory representations in primary visual cortex are not sufficient for subjective imagery. Curr Biol 2024:S0960-9822(24)01330-7. [PMID: 39419033 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.09.062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2024] [Revised: 08/10/2024] [Accepted: 09/23/2024] [Indexed: 10/19/2024]
Abstract
The contemporary definition of mental imagery is characterized by two aspects: a sensory representation that resembles, but does not result from, perception, and an associated subjective experience. Neuroimaging demonstrated imagery-related sensory representations in primary visual cortex (V1) that show striking parallels to perception. However, it remains unclear whether these representations always reflect subjective experience or if they can be dissociated from it. We addressed this question by comparing sensory representations and subjective imagery among visualizers and aphantasics, the latter with an impaired ability to experience imagery. Importantly, to test for the presence of sensory representations independently of the ability to generate imagery on demand, we examined both spontaneous and voluntary imagery forms. Using multivariate fMRI, we tested for decodable sensory representations in V1 and subjective visual imagery reports that occurred either spontaneously (during passive listening of evocative sounds) or in response to the instruction to voluntarily generate imagery of the sound content (always while blindfolded inside the scanner). Among aphantasics, V1 decoding of sound content was at chance during voluntary imagery, and lower than in visualizers, but it succeeded during passive listening, despite them reporting no imagery. In contrast, in visualizers, decoding accuracy in V1 was greater in voluntary than spontaneous imagery (while being positively associated with the reported vividness of both imagery types). Finally, for both conditions, decoding in precuneus was successful in visualizers but at chance for aphantasics. Together, our findings show that V1 representations can be dissociated from subjective imagery, while implicating a key role of precuneus in the latter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Cabbai
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK; Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RH, UK.
| | - Chris Racey
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK; Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RH, UK
| | - Julia Simner
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK; Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RH, UK
| | - Carla Dance
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK
| | - Jamie Ward
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK; Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RH, UK
| | - Sophie Forster
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK; Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RH, UK
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2
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Korda Ž, Walcher S, Körner C, Benedek M. Internal coupling: Eye behavior coupled to visual imagery. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 165:105855. [PMID: 39153584 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2024] [Revised: 08/02/2024] [Accepted: 08/13/2024] [Indexed: 08/19/2024]
Abstract
Our eyes do not only respond to visual perception but also to internal cognition involving visual imagery, which can be referred to as internal coupling. This review synthesizes evidence on internal coupling across diverse domains including episodic memory and simulation, visuospatial memory, numerical cognition, object movement, body movement, and brightness imagery. In each domain, eye movements consistently reflect distinct aspects of mental imagery typically akin to those seen in corresponding visual experiences. Several findings further suggest that internal coupling may not only coincide with but also supports internal cognition as evidenced by improved cognitive performance. Available theoretical accounts suggest that internal coupling may serve at least two functional roles in visual imagery: facilitating memory reconstruction and indicating shifts in internal attention. Moreover, recent insights into the neurobiology of internal coupling highlight substantially shared neural pathways in externally and internally directed cognition. The review concludes by identifying open questions and promising avenues for future research such as exploring moderating roles of context and individual differences in internal coupling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Živa Korda
- Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
| | - Sonja Walcher
- Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
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3
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Ji JL, Woud ML, Rölver A, Notebaert L, Todd J, Clarke PJF, Meeten F, Margraf J, Blackwell SE. Investigating the role of mental imagery use in the assessment of anhedonia. Cogn Emot 2024:1-19. [PMID: 39330940 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2024.2405008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2024] [Revised: 07/01/2024] [Accepted: 09/11/2024] [Indexed: 09/28/2024]
Abstract
Anhedonia, or a deficit in the liking, wanting, and seeking of rewards, is typically assessed via self-reported "in-the-moment" emotional and motivational responses to reward stimuli and activities. Given that mental imagery is known to evoke emotion and motivational responses, we conducted two studies to investigate the relationship between mental imagery use and self-reported anhedonia. Using a novel Reward Response Scale (adapted from the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale, DARS; Rizvi et al., 2015) modified to assess deliberate and spontaneous mental imagery use, Study 1 (N = 394) compared uninstructed and instructed mental imagery use, and Study 2 (N = 586) conducted a test of replication of uninstructed mental imagery use. Results showed that greater mental imagery use was associated with higher reward response scores (Study 1 & 2), and this relationship was not moderated by whether imagery use was uninstructed or instructed (Study 1). Importantly, mental imagery use moderated the convergence between reward response and depression scale measures of anhedonia, with lower convergence for those reporting higher mental imagery use (Study 1 & 2). Results suggest that higher spontaneous mental imagery use may increase self-reported reward response and reduce the convergence between reward response scale and depression questionnaire measures of anhedonia. [199 / 200 words].
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie L Ji
- School of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
- School of Psychological Science, Centre for the Advancement of Research on Emotion, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
| | - Marcella L Woud
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology, Institute of Psychology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Angela Rölver
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Lies Notebaert
- School of Psychological Science, Centre for the Advancement of Research on Emotion, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
| | - Jemma Todd
- School of Psychological Science, Centre for the Advancement of Research on Emotion, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
- School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Perth, Australia
| | | | - Frances Meeten
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Jürgen Margraf
- Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Simon E Blackwell
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology, Institute of Psychology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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4
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Megla E, Prasad D, Bainbridge WA. The Neural Underpinnings of Aphantasia: A Case Study of Identical Twins. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.09.23.614521. [PMID: 39386622 PMCID: PMC11463508 DOI: 10.1101/2024.09.23.614521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/12/2024]
Abstract
Aphantasia is a condition characterized by reduced voluntary mental imagery. As this lack of mental imagery disrupts visual memory, understanding the nature of this condition can provide important insight into memory, perception, and imagery. Here, we leveraged the power of case studies to better characterize this condition by running a pair of identical twins, one with aphantasia and one without, through mental imagery tasks in an fMRI scanner. We identified objective, neural measures of aphantasia, finding less visual information in their memories which may be due to lower connectivity between frontoparietal and occipitotemporal lobes of the brain. However, despite this difference, we surprisingly found more visual information in the aphantasic twin's memory than anticipated, suggesting that aphantasia is a spectrum rather than a discrete condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Megla
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
| | - Deepasri Prasad
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
| | - Wilma A. Bainbridge
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
- Neuroscience Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
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5
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Jin F, Hsu SM, Li Y. A Systematic Review of Aphantasia: Concept, Measurement, Neural Basis, and Theory Development. Vision (Basel) 2024; 8:56. [PMID: 39330760 PMCID: PMC11437436 DOI: 10.3390/vision8030056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2024] [Revised: 09/11/2024] [Accepted: 09/18/2024] [Indexed: 09/28/2024] Open
Abstract
People with aphantasia exhibit the inability to voluntarily generate or form mental imagery in their minds. Since the term "aphantasia" was proposed to describe this, it has gained increasing attention from psychiatrists, neuroscientists, and clinicians. Previous studies have mainly focused on the definition, prevalence, and measurement of aphantasia, its impacts on individuals' cognitive and emotional processing, and theoretical frameworks synthesizing existing findings, which have contributed greatly to our understanding of aphantasia. However, there are still some debates regarding the conclusions derived from existing research and the theories that were constructed from various sources of evidence. Building upon existing endeavors, this systematic review emphasizes that future research is much needed to refine the definition and diagnosis of aphantasia, strengthen empirical investigations at behavioral and neural levels, and, more importantly, develop or update theories. These multiple lines of efforts could lead to a deeper understanding of aphantasia and further guide researchers in future research directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feiyang Jin
- Applied Psychology Program, Department of Life Sciences, BNU-HKBU United International College, Zhuhai 519087, China
- Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Shen-Mou Hsu
- Imaging Center for Integrated Body, Mind and Culture Research, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Yu Li
- Applied Psychology Program, Department of Life Sciences, BNU-HKBU United International College, Zhuhai 519087, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Interdisciplinary Research and Application for Data Science, BNU-HKBU United International College, Zhuhai 519087, China
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Huang J, Chang Y, Li W, Tong J, Du S. A Spatio-Temporal Capsule Neural Network with Self-Correlation Routing for EEG Decoding of Semantic Concepts of Imagination and Perception Tasks. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 24:5988. [PMID: 39338733 PMCID: PMC11436183 DOI: 10.3390/s24185988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2024] [Revised: 09/05/2024] [Accepted: 09/12/2024] [Indexed: 09/30/2024]
Abstract
Decoding semantic concepts for imagination and perception tasks (SCIP) is important for rehabilitation medicine as well as cognitive neuroscience. Electroencephalogram (EEG) is commonly used in the relevant fields, because it is a low-cost noninvasive technique with high temporal resolution. However, as EEG signals contain a high noise level resulting in a low signal-to-noise ratio, it makes decoding EEG-based semantic concepts for imagination and perception tasks (SCIP-EEG) challenging. Currently, neural network algorithms such as CNN, RNN, and LSTM have almost reached their limits in EEG signal decoding due to their own short-comings. The emergence of transformer methods has improved the classification performance of neural networks for EEG signals. However, the transformer model has a large parameter set and high complexity, which is not conducive to the application of BCI. EEG signals have high spatial correlation. The relationship between signals from different electrodes is more complex. Capsule neural networks can effectively model the spatial relationship between electrodes through vector representation and a dynamic routing mechanism. Therefore, it achieves more accurate feature extraction and classification. This paper proposes a spatio-temporal capsule network with a self-correlation routing mechaninsm for the classification of semantic conceptual EEG signals. By improving the feature extraction and routing mechanism, the model is able to more effectively capture the highly variable spatio-temporal features from EEG signals and establish connections between capsules, thereby enhancing classification accuracy and model efficiency. The performance of the proposed model was validated using the publicly accessible semantic concept dataset for imagined and perceived tasks from Bath University. Our model achieved average accuracies of 94.9%, 93.3%, and 78.4% in the three sensory modalities (pictorial, orthographic, and audio), respectively. The overall average accuracy across the three sensory modalities is 88.9%. Compared to existing advanced algorithms, the proposed model achieved state-of-the-art performance, significantly improving classification accuracy. Additionally, the proposed model is more stable and efficient, making it a better decoding solution for SCIP-EEG decoding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianxi Huang
- School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, China
| | - Yinghui Chang
- First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300193, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Chinese Medicine Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Tianjin 300381, China
| | - Wenyu Li
- College of Artificial Intelligence, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Jigang Tong
- School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, China
| | - Shengzhi Du
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
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7
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Della Vedova G, Proverbio AM. Neural signatures of imaginary motivational states: desire for music, movement and social play. Brain Topogr 2024; 37:806-825. [PMID: 38625520 PMCID: PMC11393278 DOI: 10.1007/s10548-024-01047-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024]
Abstract
The literature has demonstrated the potential for detecting accurate electrical signals that correspond to the will or intention to move, as well as decoding the thoughts of individuals who imagine houses, faces or objects. This investigation examines the presence of precise neural markers of imagined motivational states through the combining of electrophysiological and neuroimaging methods. 20 participants were instructed to vividly imagine the desire to move, listen to music or engage in social activities. Their EEG was recorded from 128 scalp sites and analysed using individual standardized Low-Resolution Brain Electromagnetic Tomographies (LORETAs) in the N400 time window (400-600 ms). The activation of 1056 voxels was examined in relation to the 3 motivational states. The most active dipoles were grouped in eight regions of interest (ROI), including Occipital, Temporal, Fusiform, Premotor, Frontal, OBF/IF, Parietal, and Limbic areas. The statistical analysis revealed that all motivational imaginary states engaged the right hemisphere more than the left hemisphere. Distinct markers were identified for the three motivational states. Specifically, the right temporal area was more relevant for "Social Play", the orbitofrontal/inferior frontal cortex for listening to music, and the left premotor cortex for the "Movement" desire. This outcome is encouraging in terms of the potential use of neural indicators in the realm of brain-computer interface, for interpreting the thoughts and desires of individuals with locked-in syndrome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giada Della Vedova
- Cognitive Electrophysiology lab, Dept. of Psychology, University of Milano, Bicocca, Italy
| | - Alice Mado Proverbio
- Cognitive Electrophysiology lab, Dept. of Psychology, University of Milano, Bicocca, Italy.
- NeuroMI, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milan, Italy.
- Department of Psychology of University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo nuovo 1, Milan, 20162, Italy.
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8
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Kvamme TL, Sandberg K, Silvanto J. Mental imagery as part of an 'inwardly focused' cognitive style. Neuropsychologia 2024; 204:108988. [PMID: 39222775 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.108988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2024] [Revised: 08/19/2024] [Accepted: 08/30/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
What is the source of individual differences in the experience of mental imagery? While parallels are often drawn between imagery abilities and the perception of external stimuli, we propose that these differences need to be considered in a wider context that encompasses personality traits and tendencies geared towards focusing on one's inner world. Moreover, we suggest that imagery experience is part of a cluster of traits and tendencies that could be described as an 'inwardly focused' cognitive style, characterised by a propensity to engage deeply with internally generated sensations. This trait cluster is negatively associated with alexithymia, indicating that vivid imagery goes hand-in-hand with a greater ability to identify and describe one's emotions, in addition to heightened interoceptive attention. Rather than merely reflecting efficient bottom-up processing of internal signals, we propose that this cognitive style represents a bias or tendency to prioritise and attend to these signals, shaping the overall experience of mental imagery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timo L Kvamme
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, United Kingdom; Center for Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Denmark.
| | - Kristian Sandberg
- Center for Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Denmark
| | - Juha Silvanto
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, United Kingdom.
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9
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Almeida-Antunes N, Antón-Toro L, Crego A, Rodrigues R, Sampaio A, López-Caneda E. Trying to forget alcohol: Brain mechanisms underlying memory suppression in young binge drinkers. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2024; 134:111053. [PMID: 38871018 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2024.111053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2024] [Revised: 06/07/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024]
Abstract
People are able to voluntarily suppress unwanted thoughts or memories, a phenomenon known as suppression-induced forgetting or memory suppression. Despite harmful alcohol use, such as binge drinking, has been linked to impaired inhibitory control (IC) and augmented alcohol-cue reactivity, no study to date has assessed memory inhibition abilities towards alcohol-related cues in binge drinkers (BDs). Thus, the present preregistered study aimed to evaluate the behavioral and neurofunctional mechanisms associated with memory inhibition, specifically those related to the suppression of alcohol-related memories, in young BDs. For this purpose, electroencephalographic activity was recorded in eighty-two college students aged between 18 and 24 years old from the University of Minho (50% females; 40 non/low-drinkers [N/LDS] and 42 BDs) while they performed the Think/No-Think Alcohol task. Brain functional connectivity (FC) was calculated using the phase locking value and, subsequently, a dynamic seed-based analysis was conducted to explore the FC patterns between IC and memory networks. Comparatively to N/LDs, BDs exhibited decreased alpha-band FC between the anterior cingulate cortex and the left fusiform gyrus during attempts to suppress non-alcohol memories, accompanied by unsuccessful forgetting of those memories. Conversely, BDs displayed augmented gamma-band FC between the IC network and memory regions -i.e., hippocampus, parahippocampus and fusiform gyrus- during suppression of alcohol-related memories. Inhibitory abnormalities in BDs may lead to hypoconnectivity between IC and memory networks and deficient suppression of non-alcohol-related memories. However, while suppressing highly salient and reward-predicting stimuli, such as alcohol-related memories, BDs display a hyperconnectivity pattern between IC and memory networks, likely due to their augmented attention towards intrusive alcoholic memories and the attempts to compensate for potential underlying IC deficits. These findings hold important implications for alcohol research and treatment, as they open up new avenues for reducing alcohol use by shifting the focus to empowering suppression/control over alcohol-related memories. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: [http://www.ClinicalTrials.gov], identifier [NCT05237414].
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Affiliation(s)
- Natália Almeida-Antunes
- Psychological Neuroscience Laboratory (PNL), Psychology Research Center (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
| | - Luis Antón-Toro
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), 28223 Madrid, Spain
| | - Alberto Crego
- Psychological Neuroscience Laboratory (PNL), Psychology Research Center (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
| | - Rui Rodrigues
- Psychological Neuroscience Laboratory (PNL), Psychology Research Center (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
| | - Adriana Sampaio
- Psychological Neuroscience Laboratory (PNL), Psychology Research Center (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
| | - Eduardo López-Caneda
- Psychological Neuroscience Laboratory (PNL), Psychology Research Center (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal.
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10
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Uemura M, Katagiri Y, Imai E, Kawahara Y, Otani Y, Ichinose T, Kondo K, Kowa H. Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex Coordinates Contextual Mental Imagery for Single-Beat Manipulation during Rhythmic Sensorimotor Synchronization. Brain Sci 2024; 14:757. [PMID: 39199452 PMCID: PMC11352649 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14080757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2024] [Revised: 07/17/2024] [Accepted: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 09/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Flexible pulse-by-pulse regulation of sensorimotor synchronization is crucial for voluntarily showing rhythmic behaviors synchronously with external cueing; however, the underpinning neurophysiological mechanisms remain unclear. We hypothesized that the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) plays a key role by coordinating both proactive and reactive motor outcomes based on contextual mental imagery. To test our hypothesis, a missing-oddball task in finger-tapping paradigms was conducted in 33 healthy young volunteers. The dynamic properties of the dACC were evaluated by event-related deep-brain activity (ER-DBA), supported by event-related potential (ERP) analysis and behavioral evaluation based on signal detection theory. We found that ER-DBA activation/deactivation reflected a strategic choice of motor control modality in accordance with mental imagery. Reverse ERP traces, as omission responses, confirmed that the imagery was contextual. We found that mental imagery was updated only by environmental changes via perceptual evidence and response-based abductive reasoning. Moreover, stable on-pulse tapping was achievable by maintaining proactive control while creating an imagery of syncopated rhythms from simple beat trains, whereas accuracy was degraded with frequent erroneous tapping for missing pulses. We conclude that the dACC voluntarily regulates rhythmic sensorimotor synchronization by utilizing contextual mental imagery based on experience and by creating novel rhythms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maho Uemura
- Department of Rehabilitation Science, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe 654-0142, Japan; (Y.O.); (H.K.)
- School of Music, Mukogawa Women’s University, Nishinomiya 663-8558, Japan;
| | - Yoshitada Katagiri
- Department of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan;
| | - Emiko Imai
- Department of Biophysics, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe 654-0142, Japan;
| | - Yasuhiro Kawahara
- Department of Human life and Health Sciences, Division of Arts and Sciences, The Open University of Japan, Chiba 261-8586, Japan;
| | - Yoshitaka Otani
- Department of Rehabilitation Science, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe 654-0142, Japan; (Y.O.); (H.K.)
- Faculty of Rehabilitation, Kobe International University, Kobe 658-0032, Japan
| | - Tomoko Ichinose
- School of Music, Mukogawa Women’s University, Nishinomiya 663-8558, Japan;
| | | | - Hisatomo Kowa
- Department of Rehabilitation Science, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe 654-0142, Japan; (Y.O.); (H.K.)
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11
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Hauw F, Béranger B, Cohen L. Subtitled speech: the neural mechanisms of ticker-tape synaesthesia. Brain 2024; 147:2530-2541. [PMID: 38620012 PMCID: PMC11224615 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awae114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Revised: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024] Open
Abstract
The acquisition of reading modifies areas of the brain associated with vision and with language, in addition to their connections. These changes enable reciprocal translation between orthography and the sounds and meaning of words. Individual variability in the pre-existing cerebral substrate contributes to the range of eventual reading abilities, extending to atypical developmental patterns, including dyslexia and reading-related synaesthesias. The present study is devoted to the little-studied but highly informative ticker-tape synaesthesia, in which speech perception triggers the vivid and irrepressible perception of words in their written form in the mind's eye. We scanned a group of 17 synaesthetes and 17 matched controls with functional MRI, while they listened to spoken sentences, words, numbers or pseudowords (Experiment 1), viewed images and written words (Experiment 2) or were at rest (Experiment 3). First, we found direct correlates of the ticker-tape synaesthesia phenomenon: during speech perception, as ticker-tape synaesthesia was active, synaesthetes showed over-activation of left perisylvian regions supporting phonology and of the occipitotemporal visual word form area, where orthography is represented. Second, we provided support to the hypothesis that ticker-tape synaesthesia results from atypical relationships between spoken and written language processing: the ticker-tape synaesthesia-related regions overlap closely with cortices activated during reading, and the overlap of speech-related and reading-related areas is larger in synaesthetes than in controls. Furthermore, the regions over-activated in ticker-tape synaesthesia overlap with regions under-activated in dyslexia. Third, during the resting state (i.e. in the absence of current ticker-tape synaesthesia), synaesthetes showed increased functional connectivity between left prefrontal and bilateral occipital regions. This pattern might reflect a lowered threshold for conscious access to visual mental contents and might imply a non-specific predisposition to all synaesthesias with a visual content. These data provide a rich and coherent account of ticker-tape synaesthesia as a non-detrimental developmental condition created by the interaction of reading acquisition with an atypical cerebral substrate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabien Hauw
- Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, Institut du Cerveau, ICM, Paris 75013, France
- AP-HP, Hôpital de La Pitié Salpêtrière, Fédération de Neurologie, Paris 75013, France
| | - Benoît Béranger
- Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, Institut du Cerveau, ICM, Paris 75013, France
| | - Laurent Cohen
- Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, Institut du Cerveau, ICM, Paris 75013, France
- AP-HP, Hôpital de La Pitié Salpêtrière, Fédération de Neurologie, Paris 75013, France
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12
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Della Sala S, Zhao B. The devil is in the method details. Comment on 'Visual mental imagery: Evidence for a heterarchical neural architecture' by Spagna et al. Phys Life Rev 2024; 49:97-99. [PMID: 38569378 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2024.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Della Sala
- Human Cognitive Neuroscience, Psychology Department, University of Edinburgh, UK.
| | - Binglei Zhao
- Institution of Psychology and Behavioral Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
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13
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Stoliker D, Preller KH, Novelli L, Anticevic A, Egan GF, Vollenweider FX, Razi A. Neural mechanisms of psychedelic visual imagery. Mol Psychiatry 2024:10.1038/s41380-024-02632-3. [PMID: 38862674 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-024-02632-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Revised: 05/27/2024] [Accepted: 05/31/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024]
Abstract
Visual alterations under classic psychedelics can include rich phenomenological accounts of eyes-closed imagery. Preclinical evidence suggests agonism of the 5-HT2A receptor may reduce synaptic gain to produce psychedelic-induced imagery. However, this has not been investigated in humans. To infer the directed connectivity changes to visual connectivity underlying psychedelic visual imagery in healthy adults, a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, cross-over study was performed, and dynamic causal modelling was applied to the resting state eyes-closed functional MRI scans of 24 subjects after administration of 0.2 mg/kg of the serotonergic psychedelic drug, psilocybin (magic mushrooms), or placebo. The effective connectivity model included the early visual area, fusiform gyrus, intraparietal sulcus, and inferior frontal gyrus. We observed a pattern of increased self-inhibition of both early visual and higher visual-association regions under psilocybin that was consistent with preclinical findings. We also observed a pattern of reduced inhibition from visual-association regions to earlier visual areas that indicated top-down connectivity is enhanced during visual imagery. The results were analysed with behavioural measures taken immediately after the scans, suggesting psilocybin-induced decreased sensitivity to neural inputs is associated with the perception of eyes-closed visual imagery. The findings inform our basic and clinical understanding of visual perception. They reveal neural mechanisms that, by affecting balance, may increase the impact of top-down feedback connectivity on perception, which could contribute to the visual imagery seen with eyes-closed during psychedelic experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Devon Stoliker
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia.
| | - Katrin H Preller
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy & Psychosomatics, University Hospital for Psychiatry, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Leonardo Novelli
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Alan Anticevic
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Gary F Egan
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
- Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Franz X Vollenweider
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy & Psychosomatics, University Hospital for Psychiatry, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Adeel Razi
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
- Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL, London, UK
- CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars Program, CIFAR, Toronto, ON, Canada
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14
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Gonzalez-Castillo J, Spurney MA, Lam KC, Gephart IS, Pereira F, Handwerker DA, Kam J, Bandettini PA. In-Scanner Thoughts shape Resting-state Functional Connectivity: how participants "rest" matters. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.05.596482. [PMID: 38903114 PMCID: PMC11188111 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.05.596482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/22/2024]
Abstract
Resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) scans-namely those lacking experimentally-controlled stimuli or cognitive demands-are often used to identify aberrant patterns of functional connectivity (FC) in clinical populations. To minimize interpretational uncertainty, researchers control for across-cohort disparities in age, gender, co-morbidities, and head motion. Yet, studies rarely, if ever, consider the possibility that systematic differences in inner experience (i.e., what subjects think and feel during the scan) may directly affect FC measures. Here we demonstrate that is the case using a rs-fMRI dataset comprising 471 scans annotated with experiential data. Wide-spread significant differences in FC are observed between scans that systematically differ in terms of reported in-scanner experience. Additionally, we show that FC can successfully predict specific aspects of in-scanner experience in a manner similar to how it predicts demographics, cognitive abilities, clinical outcomes and labels. Together, these results highlight the key role of in-scanner experience in shaping rs-fMRI estimates of FC.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - M A Spurney
- Section on Functional Imaging Methods, NIMH, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - K C Lam
- Machine Learning Team, NIMH, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - I S Gephart
- Section on Functional Imaging Methods, NIMH, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - F Pereira
- Machine Learning Team, NIMH, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - D A Handwerker
- Section on Functional Imaging Methods, NIMH, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Jwy Kam
- Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - P A Bandettini
- Section on Functional Imaging Methods, NIMH, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- Functional MRI Core, NIMH, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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15
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Stecher R, Kaiser D. Representations of imaginary scenes and their properties in cortical alpha activity. Sci Rep 2024; 14:12796. [PMID: 38834699 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-63320-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/28/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Imagining natural scenes enables us to engage with a myriad of simulated environments. How do our brains generate such complex mental images? Recent research suggests that cortical alpha activity carries information about individual objects during visual imagery. However, it remains unclear if more complex imagined contents such as natural scenes are similarly represented in alpha activity. Here, we answer this question by decoding the contents of imagined scenes from rhythmic cortical activity patterns. In an EEG experiment, participants imagined natural scenes based on detailed written descriptions, which conveyed four complementary scene properties: openness, naturalness, clutter level and brightness. By conducting classification analyses on EEG power patterns across neural frequencies, we were able to decode both individual imagined scenes as well as their properties from the alpha band, showing that also the contents of complex visual images are represented in alpha rhythms. A cross-classification analysis between alpha power patterns during the imagery task and during a perception task, in which participants were presented images of the described scenes, showed that scene representations in the alpha band are partly shared between imagery and late stages of perception. This suggests that alpha activity mediates the top-down re-activation of scene-related visual contents during imagery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rico Stecher
- Mathematical Institute, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Physics, Geography, Justus Liebig University Gießen, 35392, Gießen, Germany.
| | - Daniel Kaiser
- Mathematical Institute, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Physics, Geography, Justus Liebig University Gießen, 35392, Gießen, Germany
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Philipps-University Marburg and Justus Liebig University Gießen, 35032, Marburg, Germany
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16
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Dijkstra N. Uncovering the Role of the Early Visual Cortex in Visual Mental Imagery. Vision (Basel) 2024; 8:29. [PMID: 38804350 PMCID: PMC11130976 DOI: 10.3390/vision8020029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2024] [Revised: 04/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024] Open
Abstract
The question of whether the early visual cortex (EVC) is involved in visual mental imagery remains a topic of debate. In this paper, I propose that the inconsistency in findings can be explained by the unique challenges associated with investigating EVC activity during imagery. During perception, the EVC processes low-level features, which means that activity is highly sensitive to variation in visual details. If the EVC has the same role during visual mental imagery, any change in the visual details of the mental image would lead to corresponding changes in EVC activity. Within this context, the question should not be whether the EVC is 'active' during imagery but how its activity relates to specific imagery properties. Studies using methods that are sensitive to variation in low-level features reveal that imagery can recruit the EVC in similar ways as perception. However, not all mental images contain a high level of visual details. Therefore, I end by considering a more nuanced view, which states that imagery can recruit the EVC, but that does not mean that it always does so.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadine Dijkstra
- Department of Imaging Neuroscience, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
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17
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Hashim S, Küssner MB, Weinreich A, Omigie D. The neuro-oscillatory profiles of static and dynamic music-induced visual imagery. Int J Psychophysiol 2024; 199:112309. [PMID: 38242363 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2024.112309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 01/21/2024]
Abstract
Visual imagery, i.e., seeing in the absence of the corresponding retinal input, has been linked to visual and motor processing areas of the brain. Music listening provides an ideal vehicle for exploring the neural correlates of visual imagery because it has been shown to reliably induce a broad variety of content, ranging from abstract shapes to dynamic scenes. Forty-two participants listened with closed eyes to twenty-four excerpts of music, while a 15-channel EEG was recorded, and, after each excerpt, rated the extent to which they experienced static and dynamic visual imagery. Our results show both static and dynamic imagery to be associated with posterior alpha suppression (especially in lower alpha) early in the onset of music listening, while static imagery was associated with an additional alpha enhancement later in the listening experience. With regard to the beta band, our results demonstrate beta enhancement to static imagery, but first beta suppression before enhancement in response to dynamic imagery. We also observed a positive association, early in the listening experience, between gamma power and dynamic imagery ratings that was not present for static imagery ratings. Finally, we offer evidence that musical training may selectively drive effects found with respect to static and dynamic imagery and alpha, beta, and gamma band oscillations. Taken together, our results show the promise of using music listening as an effective stimulus for examining the neural correlates of visual imagery and its contents. Our study also highlights the relevance of future work seeking to study the temporal dynamics of music-induced visual imagery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Hashim
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom.
| | - Mats B Küssner
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom; Department of Musicology and Media Studies, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
| | - André Weinreich
- Department of Psychology, BSP Business & Law School Berlin, Germany
| | - Diana Omigie
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom
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18
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Dijkstra N, Mazor M, Fleming SM. Confidence ratings do not distinguish imagination from reality. J Vis 2024; 24:13. [PMID: 38814936 PMCID: PMC11146086 DOI: 10.1167/jov.24.5.13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Perceptual reality monitoring refers to the ability to distinguish internally triggered imagination from externally triggered reality. Such monitoring can take place at perceptual or cognitive levels-for example, in lucid dreaming, perceptual experience feels real but is accompanied by a cognitive insight that it is not real. We recently developed a paradigm to reveal perceptual reality monitoring errors during wakefulness in the general population, showing that imagined signals can be erroneously attributed to perception during a perceptual detection task. In the current study, we set out to investigate whether people have insight into perceptual reality monitoring errors by additionally measuring perceptual confidence. We used hierarchical Bayesian modeling of confidence criteria to characterize metacognitive insight into the effects of imagery on detection. Over two experiments, we found that confidence criteria moved in tandem with the decision criterion shift, indicating a failure of reality monitoring not only at a perceptual but also at a metacognitive level. These results further show that such failures have a perceptual rather than a decisional origin. Interestingly, offline queries at the end of the experiment revealed global, task-level insight, which was uncorrelated with local, trial-level insight as measured with confidence ratings. Taken together, our results demonstrate that confidence ratings do not distinguish imagination from reality during perceptual detection. Future research should further explore the different cognitive dimensions of insight into reality judgments and how they are related.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadine Dijkstra
- Department of Imaging Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
- https://sites.google.com/view/nadinedijkstra
| | - Matan Mazor
- All Souls College and Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- matanmazor.github.io
| | - Stephen M Fleming
- Department of Imaging Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, UK
- https://metacoglab.org/
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19
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Zeman A. Aphantasia and hyperphantasia: exploring imagery vividness extremes. Trends Cogn Sci 2024; 28:467-480. [PMID: 38548492 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2023] [Revised: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024]
Abstract
The vividness of imagery varies between individuals. However, the existence of people in whom conscious, wakeful imagery is markedly reduced, or absent entirely, was neglected by psychology until the recent coinage of 'aphantasia' to describe this phenomenon. 'Hyperphantasia' denotes the converse - imagery whose vividness rivals perceptual experience. Around 1% and 3% of the population experience extreme aphantasia and hyperphantasia, respectively. Aphantasia runs in families, often affects imagery across several sense modalities, and is variably associated with reduced autobiographical memory, face recognition difficulty, and autism. Visual dreaming is often preserved. Subtypes of extreme imagery appear to be likely but are not yet well defined. Initial results suggest that alterations in connectivity between the frontoparietal and visual networks may provide the neural substrate for visual imagery extremes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Zeman
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter, UK.
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20
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Dado T, Papale P, Lozano A, Le L, Wang F, van Gerven M, Roelfsema P, Güçlütürk Y, Güçlü U. Brain2GAN: Feature-disentangled neural encoding and decoding of visual perception in the primate brain. PLoS Comput Biol 2024; 20:e1012058. [PMID: 38709818 PMCID: PMC11098503 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2023] [Revised: 05/16/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/08/2024] Open
Abstract
A challenging goal of neural coding is to characterize the neural representations underlying visual perception. To this end, multi-unit activity (MUA) of macaque visual cortex was recorded in a passive fixation task upon presentation of faces and natural images. We analyzed the relationship between MUA and latent representations of state-of-the-art deep generative models, including the conventional and feature-disentangled representations of generative adversarial networks (GANs) (i.e., z- and w-latents of StyleGAN, respectively) and language-contrastive representations of latent diffusion networks (i.e., CLIP-latents of Stable Diffusion). A mass univariate neural encoding analysis of the latent representations showed that feature-disentangled w representations outperform both z and CLIP representations in explaining neural responses. Further, w-latent features were found to be positioned at the higher end of the complexity gradient which indicates that they capture visual information relevant to high-level neural activity. Subsequently, a multivariate neural decoding analysis of the feature-disentangled representations resulted in state-of-the-art spatiotemporal reconstructions of visual perception. Taken together, our results not only highlight the important role of feature-disentanglement in shaping high-level neural representations underlying visual perception but also serve as an important benchmark for the future of neural coding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thirza Dado
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Paolo Papale
- Department of Vision and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Antonio Lozano
- Department of Vision and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Lynn Le
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Feng Wang
- Department of Vision and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Marcel van Gerven
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Pieter Roelfsema
- Department of Vision and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Laboratory of Visual Brain Therapy, Sorbonne University, Paris, France
- Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Yağmur Güçlütürk
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Umut Güçlü
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
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21
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Proverbio AM, Cesati F. Neural correlates of recalled sadness, joy, and fear states: a source reconstruction EEG study. Front Psychiatry 2024; 15:1357770. [PMID: 38638416 PMCID: PMC11024723 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1357770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction The capacity to understand the others' emotional states, particularly if negative (e.g. sadness or fear), underpins the empathic and social brain. Patients who cannot express their emotional states experience social isolation and loneliness, exacerbating distress. We investigated the feasibility of detecting non-invasive scalp-recorded electrophysiological signals that correspond to recalled emotional states of sadness, fear, and joy for potential classification. Methods The neural activation patterns of 20 healthy and right-handed participants were studied using an electrophysiological technique. Analyses were focused on the N400 component of Event-related potentials (ERPs) recorded during silent recall of subjective emotional states; Standardized weighted Low-resolution Electro-magnetic Tomography (swLORETA) was employed for source reconstruction. The study classified individual patterns of brain activation linked to the recollection of three distinct emotional states into seven regions of interest (ROIs). Results Statistical analysis (ANOVA) of the individual magnitude values revealed the existence of a common emotional circuit, as well as distinct brain areas that were specifically active during recalled sad, happy and fearful states. In particular, the right temporal and left superior frontal areas were more active for sadness, the left limbic region for fear, and the right orbitofrontal cortex for happy affective states. Discussion In conclusion, this study successfully demonstrated the feasibility of detecting scalp-recorded electrophysiological signals corresponding to internal and subjective affective states. These findings contribute to our understanding of the emotional brain, and have potential applications for future BCI classification and identification of emotional states in LIS patients who may be unable to express their emotions, thus helping to alleviate social isolation and sense of loneliness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Mado Proverbio
- Cognitive Electrophysiology Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- NEURO-MI Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milan, Italy
| | - Federico Cesati
- Cognitive Electrophysiology Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
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22
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Wang J, Shen S, Becker B, Hei Lam Tsang M, Mei Y, Wikgren J, Lei Y. Neurocognitive mechanisms of mental imagery-based disgust learning. Behav Res Ther 2024; 175:104502. [PMID: 38402674 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2024.104502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Revised: 02/18/2024] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
Disgust imagery represents a potential pathological mechanism for disgust-related disorders. However, it remains controversial as to whether disgust can be conditioned with disgust-evoking mental imagery serving as the unconditioned stimulus (US). Therefore, we examined this using a conditioned learning paradigm in combination with event-related potential (ERP) analysis in 35 healthy college students. The results indicated that the initial neutral face (conditioned stimulus, CS+) became more disgust-evoking, unpleasant, and arousing after pairing with disgust-evoking imagery (disgust CS+), compared to pairing with neutral (neutral CS+) and no (CS-) imagery. Moreover, we observed that mental imagery-based disgust conditioning was resistant to extinction. While the disgust CS + evoked larger P3 and late positive potential amplitudes than CS- during acquisition, no significant differences were found between disgust CS+ and neutral CS+, indicating a dissociation between self-reported and neurophysiological responses. Future studies may additionally acquire facial EMG as an implicit index of conditioned disgust. This study provides the first neurobiological evidence that associative disgust learning can occur without aversive physical stimuli, with implications for understanding how disgust-related disorders may manifest or deteriorate without external perceptual aversive experiences, such as in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinxia Wang
- Institute for Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610066, China; Centre for Interdisciplinary Brain Research, Department of Psychology, University of Jyvaskyla, Jyvaskyla, Finland
| | - Siyi Shen
- Institute for Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610066, China
| | - Benjamin Becker
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Michelle Hei Lam Tsang
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Ying Mei
- Institute for Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610066, China; Centre for Interdisciplinary Brain Research, Department of Psychology, University of Jyvaskyla, Jyvaskyla, Finland
| | - Jan Wikgren
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Brain Research, Department of Psychology, University of Jyvaskyla, Jyvaskyla, Finland
| | - Yi Lei
- Institute for Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610066, China.
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23
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Krempel R, Monzel M. Aphantasia and involuntary imagery. Conscious Cogn 2024; 120:103679. [PMID: 38564857 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2024.103679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/09/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Aphantasia is a condition that is often characterized as the impaired ability to create voluntary mental images. Aphantasia is assumed to selectively affect voluntary imagery mainly because even though aphantasics report being unable to visualize something at will, many report having visual dreams. We argue that this common characterization of aphantasia is incorrect. Studies on aphantasia are often not clear about whether they are assessing voluntary or involuntary imagery, but some studies show that several forms of involuntary imagery are also affected in aphantasia (including imagery in dreams). We also raise problems for two attempts to show that involuntary images are preserved in aphantasia. In addition, we report the results of a study about afterimages in aphantasia, which suggest that these tend to be less intense in aphantasics than in controls. Involuntary imagery is often treated as a unitary kind that is either present or absent in aphantasia. We suggest that this approach is mistaken and that we should look at different types of involuntary imagery case by case. Doing so reveals no evidence of preserved involuntary imagery in aphantasia. We suggest that a broader characterization of aphantasia, as a deficit in forming mental imagery, whether voluntary or not, is more appropriate. Characterizing aphantasia as a volitional deficit is likely to lead researchers to give incorrect explanations for aphantasia, and to look for the wrong mechanisms underlying it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raquel Krempel
- Center for Logic, Epistemology and History of Science, State University of Campinas, R. Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, 251 - Cidade Universitária, Campinas, SP 13083-859, Brazil; Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, 4200 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.
| | - Merlin Monzel
- Department of Psychology, Personality Psychology and Biological Psychology, University of Bonn, Kaiser-Karl-Ring 9, 53111 Bonn, Germany.
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24
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Gu J, Deng K, Luo X, Ma W, Tang X. Investigating the different mechanisms in related neural activities: a focus on auditory perception and imagery. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae139. [PMID: 38629796 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2024] [Revised: 03/17/2024] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Neuroimaging studies have shown that the neural representation of imagery is closely related to the perception modality; however, the undeniable different experiences between perception and imagery indicate that there are obvious neural mechanism differences between them, which cannot be explained by the simple theory that imagery is a form of weak perception. Considering the importance of functional integration of brain regions in neural activities, we conducted correlation analysis of neural activity in brain regions jointly activated by auditory imagery and perception, and then brain functional connectivity (FC) networks were obtained with a consistent structure. However, the connection values between the areas in the superior temporal gyrus and the right precentral cortex were significantly higher in auditory perception than in the imagery modality. In addition, the modality decoding based on FC patterns showed that the FC network of auditory imagery and perception can be significantly distinguishable. Subsequently, voxel-level FC analysis further verified the distribution regions of voxels with significant connectivity differences between the 2 modalities. This study complemented the correlation and difference between auditory imagery and perception in terms of brain information interaction, and it provided a new perspective for investigating the neural mechanisms of different modal information representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin Gu
- School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence, Southwest Jiaotong University, No. 999, Xi'an Road, Pidu District, Chengdu, China
- Manufacturing Industry Chains Collaboration and Information Support Technology Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, No. 999, Xi'an Road, Pidu District, Chengdu, China
| | - Kexin Deng
- School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence, Southwest Jiaotong University, No. 999, Xi'an Road, Pidu District, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiaoqi Luo
- School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence, Southwest Jiaotong University, No. 999, Xi'an Road, Pidu District, Chengdu, China
| | - Wanli Ma
- School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence, Southwest Jiaotong University, No. 999, Xi'an Road, Pidu District, Chengdu, China
| | - Xuegang Tang
- School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence, Southwest Jiaotong University, No. 999, Xi'an Road, Pidu District, Chengdu, China
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25
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Contemori G, Oletto CM, Battaglini L, Bertamini M. On the relationship between foveal mask interference and mental imagery in peripheral object recognition. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20232867. [PMID: 38471562 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
A delayed foveal mask affects perception of peripheral stimuli. The effect is determined by the timing of the mask and by the similarity with the peripheral stimulus. A congruent mask enhances performance, while an incongruent one impairs it. It is hypothesized that foveal masks disrupt a feedback mechanism reaching the foveal cortex. This mechanism could be part of a broader circuit associated with mental imagery, but this hypothesis has not as yet been tested. We investigated the link between mental imagery and foveal feedback. We tested the relationship between performance fluctuations caused by the foveal mask-measured in terms of discriminability (d') and criterion (C)-and the scores from two questionnaires designed to assess mental imagery vividness (VVIQ) and another exploring object imagery, spatial imagery and verbal cognitive styles (OSIVQ). Contrary to our hypotheses, no significant correlations were found between VVIQ and the mask's impact on d' and C. Neither the object nor spatial subscales of OSIVQ correlated with the mask's impact. In conclusion, our findings do not substantiate the existence of a link between foveal feedback and mental imagery. Further investigation is needed to determine whether mask interference might occur with more implicit measures of imagery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulio Contemori
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | | | - Luca Battaglini
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Marco Bertamini
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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26
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Bi Z, Li H, Tian L. Top-down generation of low-resolution representations improves visual perception and imagination. Neural Netw 2024; 171:440-456. [PMID: 38150870 DOI: 10.1016/j.neunet.2023.12.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023]
Abstract
Perception or imagination requires top-down signals from high-level cortex to primary visual cortex (V1) to reconstruct or simulate the representations bottom-up stimulated by the seen images. Interestingly, top-down signals in V1 have lower spatial resolution than bottom-up representations. It is unclear why the brain uses low-resolution signals to reconstruct or simulate high-resolution representations. By modeling the top-down pathway of the visual system using the decoder of a variational auto-encoder (VAE), we reveal that low-resolution top-down signals can better reconstruct or simulate the information contained in the sparse activities of V1 simple cells, which facilitates perception and imagination. This advantage of low-resolution generation is related to facilitating high-level cortex to form geometry-respecting representations observed in experiments. Furthermore, we present two findings regarding this phenomenon in the context of AI-generated sketches, a style of drawings made of lines. First, we found that the quality of the generated sketches critically depends on the thickness of the lines in the sketches: thin-line sketches are harder to generate than thick-line sketches. Second, we propose a technique to generate high-quality thin-line sketches: instead of directly using original thin-line sketches, we use blurred sketches to train VAE or GAN (generative adversarial network), and then infer the thin-line sketches from the VAE- or GAN-generated blurred sketches. Collectively, our work suggests that low-resolution top-down generation is a strategy the brain uses to improve visual perception and imagination, which inspires new sketch-generation AI techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zedong Bi
- Lingang Laboratory, Shanghai 200031, China.
| | - Haoran Li
- Department of Physics, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Liang Tian
- Department of Physics, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China; Institute of Computational and Theoretical Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China; Institute of Systems Medicine and Health Sciences, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China; State Key Laboratory of Environmental and Biological Analysis, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China.
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27
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Weber S, Christophel T, Görgen K, Soch J, Haynes J. Working memory signals in early visual cortex are present in weak and strong imagers. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26590. [PMID: 38401134 PMCID: PMC10893972 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/29/2023] [Indexed: 02/26/2024] Open
Abstract
It has been suggested that visual images are memorized across brief periods of time by vividly imagining them as if they were still there. In line with this, the contents of both working memory and visual imagery are known to be encoded already in early visual cortex. If these signals in early visual areas were indeed to reflect a combined imagery and memory code, one would predict them to be weaker for individuals with reduced visual imagery vividness. Here, we systematically investigated this question in two groups of participants. Strong and weak imagers were asked to remember images across brief delay periods. We were able to reliably reconstruct the memorized stimuli from early visual cortex during the delay. Importantly, in contrast to the prediction, the quality of reconstruction was equally accurate for both strong and weak imagers. The decodable information also closely reflected behavioral precision in both groups, suggesting it could contribute to behavioral performance, even in the extreme case of completely aphantasic individuals. Our data thus suggest that working memory signals in early visual cortex can be present even in the (near) absence of phenomenal imagery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Weber
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin and Berlin Center for Advanced NeuroimagingCharité ‐ Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of the Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt‐Universität zu BerlinBerlinGermany
- Research Training Group “Extrospection” and Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt‐Universität zu BerlinBerlinGermany
- Research Cluster of Excellence “Science of Intelligence”Technische Universität BerlinBerlinGermany
| | - Thomas Christophel
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin and Berlin Center for Advanced NeuroimagingCharité ‐ Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of the Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt‐Universität zu BerlinBerlinGermany
- Department of PsychologyHumboldt‐Universität zu BerlinBerlinGermany
| | - Kai Görgen
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin and Berlin Center for Advanced NeuroimagingCharité ‐ Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of the Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt‐Universität zu BerlinBerlinGermany
- Research Cluster of Excellence “Science of Intelligence”Technische Universität BerlinBerlinGermany
| | - Joram Soch
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin and Berlin Center for Advanced NeuroimagingCharité ‐ Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of the Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt‐Universität zu BerlinBerlinGermany
- Institute of Psychology, Otto von Guericke University MagdeburgMagdeburgGermany
| | - John‐Dylan Haynes
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin and Berlin Center for Advanced NeuroimagingCharité ‐ Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of the Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt‐Universität zu BerlinBerlinGermany
- Research Training Group “Extrospection” and Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt‐Universität zu BerlinBerlinGermany
- Research Cluster of Excellence “Science of Intelligence”Technische Universität BerlinBerlinGermany
- Department of PsychologyHumboldt‐Universität zu BerlinBerlinGermany
- Collaborative Research Center “Volition and Cognitive Control”Technische Universität DresdenDresdenGermany
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28
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Koide-Majima N, Nishimoto S, Majima K. Mental image reconstruction from human brain activity: Neural decoding of mental imagery via deep neural network-based Bayesian estimation. Neural Netw 2024; 170:349-363. [PMID: 38016230 DOI: 10.1016/j.neunet.2023.11.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023]
Abstract
Visual images observed by humans can be reconstructed from their brain activity. However, the visualization (externalization) of mental imagery is challenging. Only a few studies have reported successful visualization of mental imagery, and their visualizable images have been limited to specific domains such as human faces or alphabetical letters. Therefore, visualizing mental imagery for arbitrary natural images stands as a significant milestone. In this study, we achieved this by enhancing a previous method. Specifically, we demonstrated that the visual image reconstruction method proposed in the seminal study by Shen et al. (2019) heavily relied on low-level visual information decoded from the brain and could not efficiently utilize the semantic information that would be recruited during mental imagery. To address this limitation, we extended the previous method to a Bayesian estimation framework and introduced the assistance of semantic information into it. Our proposed framework successfully reconstructed both seen images (i.e., those observed by the human eye) and imagined images from brain activity. Quantitative evaluation showed that our framework could identify seen and imagined images highly accurately compared to the chance accuracy (seen: 90.7%, imagery: 75.6%, chance accuracy: 50.0%). In contrast, the previous method could only identify seen images (seen: 64.3%, imagery: 50.4%). These results suggest that our framework would provide a unique tool for directly investigating the subjective contents of the brain such as illusions, hallucinations, and dreams.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naoko Koide-Majima
- Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Osaka 565-0871, Japan; Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Shinji Nishimoto
- Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Osaka 565-0871, Japan; Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Osaka 565-0871, Japan; Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Kei Majima
- Institute for Quantum Life Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, Chiba 263-8555, Japan; JST PRESTO, Saitama 332-0012, Japan.
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29
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Shenyan O, Lisi M, Greenwood JA, Skipper JI, Dekker TM. Visual hallucinations induced by Ganzflicker and Ganzfeld differ in frequency, complexity, and content. Sci Rep 2024; 14:2353. [PMID: 38287084 PMCID: PMC10825158 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-52372-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 01/31/2024] Open
Abstract
Visual hallucinations can be phenomenologically divided into those of a simple or complex nature. Both simple and complex hallucinations can occur in pathological and non-pathological states, and can also be induced experimentally by visual stimulation or deprivation-for example using a high-frequency, eyes-open flicker (Ganzflicker) and perceptual deprivation (Ganzfeld). Here we leverage the differences in visual stimulation that these two techniques involve to investigate the role of bottom-up and top-down processes in shifting the complexity of visual hallucinations, and to assess whether these techniques involve a shared underlying hallucinatory mechanism despite their differences. For each technique, we measured the frequency and complexity of the hallucinations produced, utilising button presses, retrospective drawing, interviews, and questionnaires. For both experimental techniques, simple hallucinations were more common than complex hallucinations. Crucially, we found that Ganzflicker was more effective than Ganzfeld at eliciting simple hallucinations, while complex hallucinations remained equivalent across the two conditions. As a result, the likelihood that an experienced hallucination was complex was higher during Ganzfeld. Despite these differences, we found a correlation between the frequency and total time spent hallucinating in Ganzflicker and Ganzfeld conditions, suggesting some shared mechanisms between the two methodologies. We attribute the tendency to experience frequent simple hallucinations in both conditions to a shared low-level core hallucinatory mechanism, such as excitability of visual cortex, potentially amplified in Ganzflicker compared to Ganzfeld due to heightened bottom-up input. The tendency to experience complex hallucinations, in contrast, may be related to top-down processes less affected by visual stimulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oris Shenyan
- Experimental Psychology, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK.
- Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK.
| | - Matteo Lisi
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University, London, UK
| | - John A Greenwood
- Experimental Psychology, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK
| | - Jeremy I Skipper
- Experimental Psychology, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK
| | - Tessa M Dekker
- Experimental Psychology, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK
- Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK
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30
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Powell A, Sumnall H, Smith J, Kuiper R, Montgomery C. Recovery of neuropsychological function following abstinence from alcohol in adults diagnosed with an alcohol use disorder: Systematic review of longitudinal studies. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0296043. [PMID: 38166127 PMCID: PMC10760842 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0296043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 01/04/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alcohol use disorders (AUD) associate with structural and functional brain differences, including impairments in neuropsychological function; however, reviews (mostly cross-sectional) are inconsistent with regards to recovery of such functions following abstinence. Recovery is important, as these impairments associate with treatment outcomes and quality of life. OBJECTIVE(S) To assess neuropsychological function recovery following abstinence in individuals with a clinical AUD diagnosis. The secondary objective was to assess predictors of neuropsychological recovery in AUD. METHODS Following the preregistered protocol (PROSPERO: CRD42022308686), APA PsycInfo, EBSCO MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Web of Science Core Collection were searched between 1999-2022. Study reporting follows the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Manual for Evidence Synthesis, study quality was assessed using the JBI Checklist for Cohort Studies. Eligible studies were those with a longitudinal design that assessed neuropsychological recovery following abstinence from alcohol in adults with a clinical diagnosis of AUD. Studies were excluded if participant group was defined by another or co-morbid condition/injury, or by relapse. Recovery was defined as function reaching 'normal' performance. RESULTS Sixteen studies (AUD n = 783, controls n = 390) were selected for narrative synthesis. Most functions demonstrated recovery within 6-12 months, including sub-domains within attention, executive function, perception, and memory, though basic processing speed and working memory updating/tracking recovered earlier. Additionally, verbal fluency was not impaired at baseline (while verbal function was not assessed compared to normal levels), and concept formation and reasoning recovery was inconsistent. CONCLUSIONS These results provide evidence that recovery of most functions is possible. While overall robustness of results was good, methodological limitations included lack of control groups, additional methods to self-report to confirm abstinence, description/control for attrition, statistical control of confounds, and of long enough study durations to capture change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Powell
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Liverpool Centre for Alcohol Research, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Harry Sumnall
- Liverpool Centre for Alcohol Research, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Public Health Institute, Faculty of Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Jessica Smith
- Liverpool Centre for Alcohol Research, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Public Health Institute, Faculty of Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Rebecca Kuiper
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Liverpool Centre for Alcohol Research, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Catharine Montgomery
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Liverpool Centre for Alcohol Research, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
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31
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Moriya J. Visual mental imagery of atypical color objects attracts attention to an imagery-matching object. Atten Percept Psychophys 2024; 86:49-61. [PMID: 37872433 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-023-02804-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/01/2023] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
Mental imagery attracts attention to imagery-matching stimuli. However, it remains unknown whether voluntarily imagined atypical color also attracts attention to a stimulus that matches the imagery when the imagined stimuli are color-diagnostic objects, which are strongly associated with typical color. This study investigated whether people can voluntarily imagine atypical colors of such objects and attend to imagery-matching stimuli. Participants in the imagery group were instructed to imagine an atypical color of the black-white objects according to the instructed color or voluntarily selected color, whereas participants in the control group were instructed to attend to the objects without any instruction of imagery. Thereafter, they detected a color target in a visual search task. Results revealed that participants in the imagery group directed attention to the imagery-matching atypical color, not to the original color of the object in the search. Meanwhile, participants in the control group did not demonstrate any attentional guidance. These results suggest that voluntarily imagining atypical color can attenuate mental representations of the original color imagery and change attention to a stimulus that matches imagery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Moriya
- Faculty of Sociology, Kansai University, 3-3-35 Yamate-cho, Suita-shi, Osaka, Japan.
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32
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Yan Y, Zhan J, Garrod O, Cui X, Ince RAA, Schyns PG. Strength of predicted information content in the brain biases decision behavior. Curr Biol 2023; 33:5505-5514.e6. [PMID: 38065096 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.10.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
Prediction-for-perception theories suggest that the brain predicts incoming stimuli to facilitate their categorization.1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17 However, it remains unknown what the information contents of these predictions are, which hinders mechanistic explanations. This is because typical approaches cast predictions as an underconstrained contrast between two categories18,19,20,21,22,23,24-e.g., faces versus cars, which could lead to predictions of features specific to faces or cars, or features from both categories. Here, to pinpoint the information contents of predictions and thus their mechanistic processing in the brain, we identified the features that enable two different categorical perceptions of the same stimuli. We then trained multivariate classifiers to discern, from dynamic MEG brain responses, the features tied to each perception. With an auditory cueing design, we reveal where, when, and how the brain reactivates visual category features (versus the typical category contrast) before the stimulus is shown. We demonstrate that the predictions of category features have a more direct influence (bias) on subsequent decision behavior in participants than the typical category contrast. Specifically, these predictions are more precisely localized in the brain (lateralized), are more specifically driven by the auditory cues, and their reactivation strength before a stimulus presentation exerts a greater bias on how the individual participant later categorizes this stimulus. By characterizing the specific information contents that the brain predicts and then processes, our findings provide new insights into the brain's mechanisms of prediction for perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuening Yan
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, 62 Hillhead Street, Glasgow G12 8QB, UK
| | - Jiayu Zhan
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, 5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Oliver Garrod
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, 62 Hillhead Street, Glasgow G12 8QB, UK
| | - Xuan Cui
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, 62 Hillhead Street, Glasgow G12 8QB, UK
| | - Robin A A Ince
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, 62 Hillhead Street, Glasgow G12 8QB, UK
| | - Philippe G Schyns
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, 62 Hillhead Street, Glasgow G12 8QB, UK.
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Cabbai G, Brown CRH, Dance C, Simner J, Forster S. Mental imagery and visual attentional templates: A dissociation. Cortex 2023; 169:259-278. [PMID: 37967476 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2023.09.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2023] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023]
Abstract
There is a growing interest in the relationship between mental images and attentional templates as both are considered pictorial representations that involve similar neural mechanisms. Here, we investigated the role of mental imagery in the automatic implementation of attentional templates and their effect on involuntary attention. We developed a novel version of the contingent capture paradigm designed to encourage the generation of a new template on each trial and measure contingent spatial capture by a template-matching visual feature (color). Participants were required to search at four different locations for a specific object indicated at the start of each trial. Immediately prior to the search display, color cues were presented surrounding the potential target locations, one of which matched the target color (e.g., red for strawberry). Across three experiments, our task induced a robust contingent capture effect, reflected by faster responses when the target appeared in the location previously occupied by the target-matching cue. Contrary to our predictions, this effect remained consistent regardless of self-reported individual differences in visual mental imagery (Experiment 1, N = 216) or trial-by-trial variation of voluntary imagery vividness (Experiment 2, N = 121). Moreover, contingent capture was observed even among aphantasic participants, who report no imagery (Experiment 3, N = 91). The magnitude of the effect was not reduced in aphantasics compared to a control sample of non-aphantasics, although the two groups reported substantial differences in their search strategy and exhibited differences in overall speed and accuracy. Our results hence establish a dissociation between the generation and implementation of attentional templates for a visual feature (color) and subjectively experienced imagery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Cabbai
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom; Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom.
| | | | - Carla Dance
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Julia Simner
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom; Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Sophie Forster
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom; Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
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Pratts J, Pobric G, Yao B. Bridging phenomenology and neural mechanisms of inner speech: ALE meta-analysis on egocentricity and spontaneity in a dual-mechanistic framework. Neuroimage 2023; 282:120399. [PMID: 37827205 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The neural mechanisms of inner speech remain unclear despite its importance in a variety of cognitive processes and its implication in aberrant perceptions such as auditory verbal hallucinations. Previous research has proposed a corollary discharge model in which inner speech is a truncated form of overt speech, relying on speech production-related regions (e.g. left inferior frontal gyrus). This model does not fully capture the diverse phenomenology of inner speech and recent research suggesting alternative perception-related mechanisms of generation. Therefore, we present and test a framework in which inner speech can be generated by two separate mechanisms, depending on its phenomenological qualities: a corollary discharge mechanism relying on speech production regions and a perceptual simulation mechanism within speech perceptual regions. The results of the activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis examining inner speech studies support the idea that varieties of inner speech recruit different neural mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaydan Pratts
- Division of Psychology, Communication and Human Neuroscience, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, UK
| | - Gorana Pobric
- Division of Psychology, Communication and Human Neuroscience, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, UK
| | - Bo Yao
- Division of Psychology, Communication and Human Neuroscience, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, UK; Department of Psychology, Fylde College, Lancaster University, UK.
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35
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Pace T, Koenig-Robert R, Pearson J. Different Mechanisms for Supporting Mental Imagery and Perceptual Representations: Modulation Versus Excitation. Psychol Sci 2023; 34:1229-1243. [PMID: 37782827 DOI: 10.1177/09567976231198435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent research suggests imagery is functionally equivalent to a weak form of visual perception. Here we report evidence across five independent experiments on adults that perception and imagery are supported by fundamentally different mechanisms: Whereas perceptual representations are largely formed via increases in excitatory activity, imagery representations are largely supported by modulating nonimagined content. We developed two behavioral techniques that allowed us to first put the visual system into a state of adaptation and then probe the additivity of perception and imagery. If imagery drives similar excitatory visual activity to perception, pairing imagery with perceptual adapters should increase the state of adaptation. Whereas pairing weak perception with adapters increased measures of adaptation, pairing imagery reversed their effects. Further experiments demonstrated that these nonadditive effects were due to imagery weakening representations of nonimagined content. Together these data provide empirical evidence that the brain uses categorically different mechanisms to represent imagery and perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Pace
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales
| | | | - Joel Pearson
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales
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36
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Cochrane BA, Uy R, Milliken B, Sun HJ. Imagined object files: Visual imagery produces partial repetition costs where perception does not. Atten Percept Psychophys 2023; 85:2588-2597. [PMID: 37258894 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-023-02733-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/11/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
The present study explored whether object (or event) files can be formed that integrate color imagery and perceptual location features. To assess this issue, a cue-target procedure was used whereby color imagery was cued to be generated at a particular location in space, which was then followed by a perceptual color discrimination task. Partial repetition costs (PRCs) were then measured by varying the overlap of the color and location features of the cue and target to evaluate whether an object/event file was formed. Robust PRCs were observed when imagery was generated at a location, supporting the idea that imagery and perception can be incorporated into a common event file. It was also revealed that the PRC effects for perceptual color cues were tenuous-they did not reach significance in the present study. Overall, the present study indicates that imagery can produce stronger binding effects than perception, offering important insights into the role that active engagement plays in the formation of object/event files.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Rocelyn Uy
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Bruce Milliken
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Hong-Jin Sun
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
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37
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Ibáñez A, Kühne K, Miklashevsky A, Monaco E, Muraki E, Ranzini M, Speed LJ, Tuena C. Ecological Meanings: A Consensus Paper on Individual Differences and Contextual Influences in Embodied Language. J Cogn 2023; 6:59. [PMID: 37841670 PMCID: PMC10573819 DOI: 10.5334/joc.228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Embodied theories of cognition consider many aspects of language and other cognitive domains as the result of sensory and motor processes. In this view, the appraisal and the use of concepts are based on mechanisms of simulation grounded on prior sensorimotor experiences. Even though these theories continue receiving attention and support, increasing evidence indicates the need to consider the flexible nature of the simulation process, and to accordingly refine embodied accounts. In this consensus paper, we discuss two potential sources of variability in experimental studies on embodiment of language: individual differences and context. Specifically, we show how factors contributing to individual differences may explain inconsistent findings in embodied language phenomena. These factors include sensorimotor or cultural experiences, imagery, context-related factors, and cognitive strategies. We also analyze the different contextual modulations, from single words to sentences and narratives, as well as the top-down and bottom-up influences. Similarly, we review recent efforts to include cultural and language diversity, aging, neurodegenerative diseases, and brain disorders, as well as bilingual evidence into the embodiment framework. We address the importance of considering individual differences and context in clinical studies to drive translational research more efficiently, and we indicate recommendations on how to correctly address these issues in future research. Systematically investigating individual differences and context may contribute to understanding the dynamic nature of simulation in language processes, refining embodied theories of cognition, and ultimately filling the gap between cognition in artificial experimental settings and cognition in the wild (i.e., in everyday life).
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Affiliation(s)
- Agustín Ibáñez
- Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago de Chile, Chile
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andrés and CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), University of California San Francisco (UCSF), California, US
- Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Dublin, Ireland, IE
| | - Katharina Kühne
- Potsdam Embodied Cognition Group, Cognitive Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, DE
| | - Alex Miklashevsky
- Potsdam Embodied Cognition Group, Cognitive Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, DE
| | - Elisa Monaco
- Laboratory for Cognitive and Neurological Sciences, Department of Neuroscience and Movement Science, Faculty of Science and Medicine, University of Fribourg, CH
| | - Emiko Muraki
- Department of Psychology & Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, CA
| | | | | | - Cosimo Tuena
- Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, IT
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38
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Dietz CD, Albonico A, Tree JJ, Barton JJS. Visual imagery deficits in posterior cortical atrophy. Cogn Neuropsychol 2023; 40:351-366. [PMID: 38698499 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2024.2346362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2024]
Abstract
Visual imagery has a close overlapping relationship with visual perception. Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is a neurodegenerative syndrome marked by early impairments in visuospatial processing and visual object recognition. We asked whether PCA would therefore also be marked by deficits in visual imagery, tested using objective forced-choice questionnaires, and whether imagery deficits would be selective for certain properties. We recruited four patients with PCA and a patient with integrative visual agnosia due to bilateral occipitotemporal strokes for comparison. We administered a test battery probing imagery for object shape, size, colour lightness, hue, upper-case letters, lower-case letters, word shape, letter construction, and faces. All subjects showed significant impairments in visual imagery, with imagery for lower-case letters most likely to be spared. We conclude that PCA subjects can show severe deficits in visual imagery. Further work is needed to establish how frequently this occurs and how early it can be found.
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Affiliation(s)
- Connor D Dietz
- Human Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Medicine (Neurology) and Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Andrea Albonico
- Human Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Medicine (Neurology) and Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Jeremy J Tree
- Department of Psychology, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Jason J S Barton
- Human Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Medicine (Neurology) and Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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39
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Moyal R, Bhamani C, Edelman S. Revisiting the effects of configuration, predictability, and relevance on visual detection during interocular suppression. Cognition 2023; 238:105506. [PMID: 37300930 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/29/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Statistical regularities and predictions can influence the earliest stages of visual processing. Studies examining their effects on detection, however, have yielded inconsistent results. In continuous flash suppression (CFS), where a static image projected to one eye is suppressed by a dynamic image presented to the other, the predictability of the suppressed signal may facilitate or delay detection. To identify the factors that differentiate these outcomes and dissociate the effects of expectation from those of behavioral relevance, we conducted three CFS experiments that addressed confounds related to the use of reaction time measures and complex images. In experiment 1, orientation recognition performance and visibility rates increased when a suppressed line segment completed a partial shape surrounding the CFS patch, demonstrating that valid configuration cues facilitate detection. In Experiment 2, however, predictive cues marginally affected visibility and did not modulate localization performance, challenging existing findings. In experiment 3, a relevance manipulation was introduced; participants pressed a key upon detecting lines of a particular orientation, ignoring the other possible orientation. Visibility and localization were enhanced for relevant orientations. Predictive cues modulated visibility, orientation recognition sensitivity, and response latencies, but not localization-an objective measure sensitive to partial breakthrough. Thus, while a consistent surround can strongly enhance detection during passive observation, predictive cueing primarily affects post-detection factors such as response readiness and recognition confidence. Relevance and predictability did not interact, suggesting that the contributions of these two processes to detection are mostly orthogonal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roy Moyal
- Department of Psychology & Cognitive Science Program, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States of America.
| | - Conrad Bhamani
- Department of Psychology & Cognitive Science Program, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States of America
| | - Shimon Edelman
- Department of Psychology & Cognitive Science Program, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States of America
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40
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Sulfaro AA, Robinson AK, Carlson TA. Modelling perception as a hierarchical competition differentiates imagined, veridical, and hallucinated percepts. Neurosci Conscious 2023; 2023:niad018. [PMID: 37621984 PMCID: PMC10445666 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niad018] [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: 12/12/2022] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Mental imagery is a process by which thoughts become experienced with sensory characteristics. Yet, it is not clear why mental images appear diminished compared to veridical images, nor how mental images are phenomenologically distinct from hallucinations, another type of non-veridical sensory experience. Current evidence suggests that imagination and veridical perception share neural resources. If so, we argue that considering how neural representations of externally generated stimuli (i.e. sensory input) and internally generated stimuli (i.e. thoughts) might interfere with one another can sufficiently differentiate between veridical, imaginary, and hallucinatory perception. We here use a simple computational model of a serially connected, hierarchical network with bidirectional information flow to emulate the primate visual system. We show that modelling even first approximations of neural competition can more coherently explain imagery phenomenology than non-competitive models. Our simulations predict that, without competing sensory input, imagined stimuli should ubiquitously dominate hierarchical representations. However, with competition, imagination should dominate high-level representations but largely fail to outcompete sensory inputs at lower processing levels. To interpret our findings, we assume that low-level stimulus information (e.g. in early visual cortices) contributes most to the sensory aspects of perceptual experience, while high-level stimulus information (e.g. towards temporal regions) contributes most to its abstract aspects. Our findings therefore suggest that ongoing bottom-up inputs during waking life may prevent imagination from overriding veridical sensory experience. In contrast, internally generated stimuli may be hallucinated when sensory input is dampened or eradicated. Our approach can explain individual differences in imagery, along with aspects of daydreaming, hallucinations, and non-visual mental imagery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander A Sulfaro
- School of Psychology, Griffith Taylor Building, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Amanda K Robinson
- School of Psychology, Griffith Taylor Building, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
- Queensland Brain Institute, QBI Building 79, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4067, Australia
| | - Thomas A Carlson
- School of Psychology, Griffith Taylor Building, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
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41
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Xu Z, Zhai Y, Kang Y. Mutual information measure of visual perception based on noisy spiking neural networks. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1155362. [PMID: 37655008 PMCID: PMC10467273 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1155362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 09/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Note that images of low-illumination are weak aperiodic signals, while mutual information can be used as an effective measure for the shared information between the input stimulus and the output response of nonlinear systems, thus it is possible to develop novel visual perception algorithm based on the principle of aperiodic stochastic resonance within the frame of information theory. To confirm this, we reveal this phenomenon using the integrate-and-fire neural networks of neurons with noisy binary random signal as input first. And then, we propose an improved visual perception algorithm with the image mutual information as assessment index. The numerical experiences show that the target image can be picked up with more easiness by the maximal mutual information than by the minimum of natural image quality evaluation (NIQE), which is one of the most frequently used indexes. Moreover, the advantage of choosing quantile as spike threshold has also been confirmed. The improvement of this research should provide large convenience for potential applications including video tracking in environments of low illumination.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Yanmei Kang
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
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42
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Leoni J, Strada SC, Tanelli M, Proverbio AM. MIRACLE: MInd ReAding CLassification Engine. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng 2023; 31:3212-3222. [PMID: 37535483 DOI: 10.1109/tnsre.2023.3301507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/05/2023]
Abstract
Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have revolutionized the way humans interact with machines, particularly for patients with severe motor impairments. EEG-based BCIs have limited functionality due to the restricted pool of stimuli that they can distinguish, while those elaborating event-related potentials up to now employ paradigms that require the patient's perception of the eliciting stimulus. In this work, we propose MIRACLE: a novel BCI system that combines functional data analysis and machine-learning techniques to decode patients' minds from the elicited potentials. MIRACLE relies on a hierarchical ensemble classifier recognizing 10 different semantic categories of imagined stimuli. We validated MIRACLE on an extensive dataset collected from 20 volunteers, with both imagined and perceived stimuli, to compare the system performance on the two. Furthermore, we quantify the importance of each EEG channel in the decision-making process of the classifier, which can help reduce the number of electrodes required for data acquisition, enhancing patients' comfort.
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Liao MR, Grindell JD, Anderson BA. A comparison of mental imagery and perceptual cueing across domains of attention. Atten Percept Psychophys 2023; 85:1834-1845. [PMID: 37349626 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-023-02747-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/24/2023]
Abstract
Mental imagery and perceptual cues can influence subsequent visual search performance, but examination of this influence has been limited to low-level features like colors and shapes. The present study investigated how the two types of cues influence low-level visual search, visual search with realistic objects, and executive attention. On each trial, participants were either presented with a colored square or tasked with using mental imagery to generate a colored square that could match the target (valid trial) or distractor (invalid trial) in the search array that followed (Experiments 1 and 3). In a separate experiment, the colored square displayed or generated was replaced with a realistic object in a specific category that could appear as a target or distractor in the search array (Experiment 2). Although the displayed object was in the same category as an item in the search display, they were never a perfect match (e.g., jam drop cookie instead of chocolate chip). Our findings revealed that the facilitation of performance on valid trials compared with invalid trials was greater for perceptual cues than imagery cues for low-level features (Experiment 1), whereas the influence of these two types of cues was comparable in the context of realistic objects (Experiment 2) The influence of mental imagery appears not to extend to the resolution of conflict generated by color-word Stroop stimuli (Experiment 3). The present findings extend our understanding of how mental imagery influences the allocation of attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming-Ray Liao
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, 4235 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843-4235, USA.
| | - James D Grindell
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, 4235 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843-4235, USA
| | - Brian A Anderson
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, 4235 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843-4235, USA
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44
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Janik RA. Aesthetics and neural network image representations. Sci Rep 2023; 13:11428. [PMID: 37454170 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-38443-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023] Open
Abstract
We analyze the spaces of images encoded by generative neural networks of the BigGAN architecture. We find that generic multiplicative perturbations of neural network parameters away from the photo-realistic point often lead to networks generating images which appear as "artistic renditions" of the corresponding objects. This demonstrates an emergence of aesthetic properties directly from the structure of the photo-realistic visual environment as encoded in its neural network parametrization. Moreover, modifying a deep semantic part of the neural network leads to the appearance of symbolic visual representations. None of the considered networks had any access to images of human-made art.
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Affiliation(s)
- Romuald A Janik
- Institute of Theoretical Physics and Mark Kac Center for Complex Systems Research, Jagiellonian University, ul. Łojasiewicza 11, 30-348, Kraków, Poland.
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45
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Kwon S, Kim J, Kim T. Neuropsychological Activations and Networks While Performing Visual and Kinesthetic Motor Imagery. Brain Sci 2023; 13:983. [PMID: 37508915 PMCID: PMC10377687 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13070983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 06/18/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to answer the questions 'What are the neural networks and mechanisms involved in visual and kinesthetic motor imagery?', and 'Is part of cognitive processing included during visual and kinesthetic motor imagery?' by investigating the neurophysiological networks and activations during visual and kinesthetic motor imagery using motor imagery tasks (golf putting). The experiment was conducted with 19 healthy adults. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to examine neural activations and networks during visual and kinesthetic motor imagery using golf putting tasks. The findings of the analysis on cerebral activation patterns based on the two distinct types of motor imagery indicate that the posterior lobe, occipital lobe, and limbic lobe exhibited activation, and the right hemisphere was activated during the process of visual motor imagery. The activation of the temporal lobe and the parietal lobe were observed during the process of kinesthetic motor imagery. This study revealed that visual motor imagery elicited stronger activation in the right frontal lobe, whereas kinesthetic motor imagery resulted in greater activation in the left frontal lobe. It seems that kinesthetic motor imagery activates the primary somatosensory cortex (BA 2), the secondary somatosensory cortex (BA 5 and 7), and the temporal lobe areas and induces human sensibility. The present investigation evinced that the neural network and the regions of the brain that are activated exhibit variability contingent on the category of motor imagery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sechang Kwon
- Department of Humanities & Arts, Korea Science Academy of KAIST, 105-47, Baegyanggwanmun-ro, Busanjin-gu, Busan 47162, Republic of Korea
- Global Institute for Talented Education, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291, Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Jingu Kim
- Department of Physical Education, Kyungpook National University, 80 Daehak-ro, Buk-gu, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea
| | - Teri Kim
- Institute of Sports Science, Kyungpook National University, 80 Daehak-ro, Buk-gu, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea
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46
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Wilson H, Golbabaee M, Proulx MJ, Charles S, O'Neill E. EEG-based BCI Dataset of Semantic Concepts for Imagination and Perception Tasks. Sci Data 2023; 10:386. [PMID: 37322034 PMCID: PMC10272218 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-023-02287-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Electroencephalography (EEG) is a widely-used neuroimaging technique in Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs) due to its non-invasive nature, accessibility and high temporal resolution. A range of input representations has been explored for BCIs. The same semantic meaning can be conveyed in different representations, such as visual (orthographic and pictorial) and auditory (spoken words). These stimuli representations can be either imagined or perceived by the BCI user. In particular, there is a scarcity of existing open source EEG datasets for imagined visual content, and to our knowledge there are no open source EEG datasets for semantics captured through multiple sensory modalities for both perceived and imagined content. Here we present an open source multisensory imagination and perception dataset, with twelve participants, acquired with a 124 EEG channel system. The aim is for the dataset to be open for purposes such as BCI related decoding and for better understanding the neural mechanisms behind perception, imagination and across the sensory modalities when the semantic category is held constant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly Wilson
- Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK.
| | - Mohammad Golbabaee
- Department of Engineering Mathematics, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TW, UK
| | | | - Stephen Charles
- Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
| | - Eamonn O'Neill
- Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK.
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47
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Ramon C, Graichen U, Gargiulo P, Zanow F, Knösche TR, Haueisen J. Spatiotemporal phase slip patterns for visual evoked potentials, covert object naming tasks, and insight moments extracted from 256 channel EEG recordings. Front Integr Neurosci 2023; 17:1087976. [PMID: 37384237 PMCID: PMC10293627 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2023.1087976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Phase slips arise from state transitions of the coordinated activity of cortical neurons which can be extracted from the EEG data. The phase slip rates (PSRs) were studied from the high-density (256 channel) EEG data, sampled at 16.384 kHz, of five adult subjects during covert visual object naming tasks. Artifact-free data from 29 trials were averaged for each subject. The analysis was performed to look for phase slips in the theta (4-7 Hz), alpha (7-12 Hz), beta (12-30 Hz), and low gamma (30-49 Hz) bands. The phase was calculated with the Hilbert transform, then unwrapped and detrended to look for phase slip rates in a 1.0 ms wide stepping window with a step size of 0.06 ms. The spatiotemporal plots of the PSRs were made by using a montage layout of 256 equidistant electrode positions. The spatiotemporal profiles of EEG and PSRs during the stimulus and the first second of the post-stimulus period were examined in detail to study the visual evoked potentials and different stages of visual object recognition in the visual, language, and memory areas. It was found that the activity areas of PSRs were different as compared with EEG activity areas during the stimulus and post-stimulus periods. Different stages of the insight moments during the covert object naming tasks were examined from PSRs and it was found to be about 512 ± 21 ms for the 'Eureka' moment. Overall, these results indicate that information about the cortical phase transitions can be derived from the measured EEG data and can be used in a complementary fashion to study the cognitive behavior of the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ceon Ramon
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
- Regional Epilepsy Center, Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Uwe Graichen
- Department of Biostatistics and Data Science, Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Krems an der Donau, Austria
| | - Paolo Gargiulo
- Institute of Biomedical and Neural Engineering, Reykjavik University, Reykjavik, Iceland
- Department of Science, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | | | - Thomas R. Knösche
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Neurosciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jens Haueisen
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Informatics, Technische Universität Ilmenau, Ilmenau, Germany
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48
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Stephan-Otto C, Núñez C, Lombardini F, Cambra-Martí MR, Ochoa S, Senior C, Brébion G. Neurocognitive bases of self-monitoring of inner speech in hallucination prone individuals. Sci Rep 2023; 13:6251. [PMID: 37069194 PMCID: PMC10110610 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-32042-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 04/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Verbal hallucinations in schizophrenia patients might be seen as internal verbal productions mistaken for perceptions as a result of over-salient inner speech and/or defective self-monitoring processes. Similar cognitive mechanisms might underpin verbal hallucination proneness in the general population. We investigated, in a non-clinical sample, the cerebral activity associated with verbal hallucinatory predisposition during false recognition of familiar words -assumed to stem from poor monitoring of inner speech-vs. uncommon words. Thirty-seven healthy participants underwent a verbal recognition task. High- and low-frequency words were presented outside the scanner. In the scanner, the participants were then required to recognize the target words among equivalent distractors. Results showed that verbal hallucination proneness was associated with higher rates of false recognition of high-frequency words. It was further associated with activation of language and decisional brain areas during false recognitions of low-, but not high-, frequency words, and with activation of a recollective brain area during correct recognitions of low-, but not high-, frequency words. The increased tendency to report familiar words as targets, along with a lack of activation of the language, recollective, and decisional brain areas necessary for their judgement, suggests failure in the self-monitoring of inner speech in verbal hallucination-prone individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Stephan-Otto
- Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain
- Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Christian Núñez
- Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain
- Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain
| | | | | | - Susana Ochoa
- Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain
- Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Carl Senior
- School of Life & Health Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham, UK.
- University of Gibraltar, Gibraltar, UK.
| | - Gildas Brébion
- Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain.
- Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain.
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain.
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49
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Dijkstra N, Fleming SM. Subjective signal strength distinguishes reality from imagination. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1627. [PMID: 36959279 PMCID: PMC10036541 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37322-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans are voracious imaginers, with internal simulations supporting memory, planning and decision-making. Because the neural mechanisms supporting imagery overlap with those supporting perception, a foundational question is how reality and imagination are kept apart. One possibility is that the intention to imagine is used to identify and discount self-generated signals during imagery. Alternatively, because internally generated signals are generally weaker, sensory strength is used to index reality. Traditional psychology experiments struggle to investigate this issue as subjects can rapidly learn that real stimuli are in play. Here, we combined one-trial-per-participant psychophysics with computational modelling and neuroimaging to show that imagined and perceived signals are in fact intermixed, with judgments of reality being determined by whether this intermixed signal is strong enough to cross a reality threshold. A consequence of this account is that when virtual or imagined signals are strong enough, they become subjectively indistinguishable from reality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadine Dijkstra
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK.
| | - Stephen M Fleming
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Aging Research, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, UK
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50
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Proverbio AM, Tacchini M, Jiang K. What do you have in mind? ERP markers of visual and auditory imagery. Brain Cogn 2023; 166:105954. [PMID: 36657242 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2023.105954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Revised: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the psychophysiological markers of imagery processes through EEG/ERP recordings. Visual and auditory stimuli representing 10 different semantic categories were shown to 30 healthy participants. After a given interval and prompted by a light signal, participants were asked to activate a mental image corresponding to the semantic category for recording synchronized electrical potentials. Unprecedented electrophysiological markers of imagination were recorded in the absence of sensory stimulation. The following peaks were identified at specific scalp sites and latencies, during imagination of infants (centroparietal positivity, CPP, and late CPP), human faces (anterior negativity, AN), animals (anterior positivity, AP), music (P300-like), speech (N400-like), affective vocalizations (P2-like) and sensory (visual vs auditory) modality (PN300). Overall, perception and imagery conditions shared some common electro/cortical markers, but during imagery the category-dependent modulation of ERPs was long latency and more anterior, with respect to the perceptual condition. These ERP markers might be precious tools for BCI systems (pattern recognition, classification, or A.I. algorithms) applied to patients affected by consciousness disorders (e.g., in a vegetative or comatose state) or locked-in-patients (e.g., spinal or SLA patients).
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Mado Proverbio
- Cognitive Electrophysiology lab, Dept. of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy.
| | - Marta Tacchini
- Cognitive Electrophysiology lab, Dept. of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy
| | - Kaijun Jiang
- Cognitive Electrophysiology lab, Dept. of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy; Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
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