1
|
Lunkova E, McCabe S, Chen JK, Saluja RS, Ptito A. Exploring oculomotor functions in a pilot study with healthy controls: Insights from eye-tracking and fMRI. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0303596. [PMID: 38905269 PMCID: PMC11192399 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303596] [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: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 06/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Eye-tracking techniques have gained widespread application in various fields including research on the visual system, neurosciences, psychology, and human-computer interaction, with emerging clinical implications. In this preliminary phase of our study, we introduce a pilot test of innovative virtual reality technology designed for tracking head and eye movements among healthy individuals. This tool was developed to assess the presence of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), given the frequent association of oculomotor function deficits with such injuries. Alongside eye-tracking, we also integrated fMRI due to the complementary nature of these techniques, offering insights into both neural activation patterns and behavioural responses, thereby providing a comprehensive understanding of oculomotor function. We used fMRI with tasks evaluating oculomotor functions: Smooth Pursuit (SP), Saccades, Anti-Saccades, and Optokinetic Nystagmus (OKN). Prior to the scanning, the testing with a system of VR goggles with integrated eye and head tracking was used where subjects performed the same tasks as those used in fMRI. 31 healthy adult controls (HCs) were tested with the purpose of identifying brain regions associated with these tasks and collecting preliminary norms for later comparison with concussed subjects. HCs' fMRI results showed following peak activation regions: SP-cuneus, superior parietal lobule, paracentral lobule, inferior parietal lobule (IPL), cerebellartonsil (CT); Saccades-middle frontal gyrus (MFG), postcentral gyrus, medial frontal gyrus; Anti-saccades-precuneus, IPL, MFG; OKN-middle temporal gyrus, ACC, postcentral gyrus, MFG, CT. These results demonstrated brain regions associated with the performance on oculomotor tasks in healthy controls and most of the highlighted areas are corresponding with those affected in concussion. This suggests that the involvement of brain areas susceptible to mTBI in implementing oculomotor evaluation, taken together with commonly reported oculomotor difficulties post-concussion, may lead to finding objective biomarkers using eye-tracking tasks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ekaterina Lunkova
- Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Sarah McCabe
- Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Jen-Kai Chen
- Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Rajeet Singh Saluja
- Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- McGill University Health Centre Research Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Alain Ptito
- Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Montreal Neurological Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Department of Psychology, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Baltaretu BR, Stevens WD, Freud E, Crawford JD. Occipital and parietal cortex participate in a cortical network for transsaccadic discrimination of object shape and orientation. Sci Rep 2023; 13:11628. [PMID: 37468709 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-38554-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 07/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Saccades change eye position and interrupt vision several times per second, necessitating neural mechanisms for continuous perception of object identity, orientation, and location. Neuroimaging studies suggest that occipital and parietal cortex play complementary roles for transsaccadic perception of intrinsic versus extrinsic spatial properties, e.g., dorsomedial occipital cortex (cuneus) is sensitive to changes in spatial frequency, whereas the supramarginal gyrus (SMG) is modulated by changes in object orientation. Based on this, we hypothesized that both structures would be recruited to simultaneously monitor object identity and orientation across saccades. To test this, we merged two previous neuroimaging protocols: 21 participants viewed a 2D object and then, after sustained fixation or a saccade, judged whether the shape or orientation of the re-presented object changed. We, then, performed a bilateral region-of-interest analysis on identified cuneus and SMG sites. As hypothesized, cuneus showed both saccade and feature (i.e., object orientation vs. shape change) modulations, and right SMG showed saccade-feature interactions. Further, the cuneus activity time course correlated with several other cortical saccade/visual areas, suggesting a 'functional network' for feature discrimination. These results confirm the involvement of occipital/parietal cortex in transsaccadic vision and support complementary roles in spatial versus identity updating.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- B R Baltaretu
- Centre for Vision Research and Vision: Science to Applications (VISTA) Program, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada.
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada.
- Department of Psychology, Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Otto-Behaghel-Strasse 10F, 35394, Giessen, Hesse, Germany.
| | - W Dale Stevens
- Centre for Vision Research and Vision: Science to Applications (VISTA) Program, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Graduate Diploma Program, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - E Freud
- Centre for Vision Research and Vision: Science to Applications (VISTA) Program, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Graduate Diploma Program, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - J D Crawford
- Centre for Vision Research and Vision: Science to Applications (VISTA) Program, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Graduate Diploma Program, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada
- School of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Fabius JH, Fracasso A, Deodato M, Melcher D, Van der Stigchel S. Bilateral increase in MEG planar gradients prior to saccade onset. Sci Rep 2023; 13:5830. [PMID: 37037892 PMCID: PMC10086038 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-32980-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 04/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Every time we move our eyes, the retinal locations of objects change. To distinguish the changes caused by eye movements from actual external motion of the objects, the visual system is thought to anticipate the consequences of eye movements (saccades). Single neuron recordings have indeed demonstrated changes in receptive fields before saccade onset. Although some EEG studies with human participants have also demonstrated a pre-saccadic increased potential over the hemisphere that will process a stimulus after a saccade, results have been mixed. Here, we used magnetoencephalography to investigate the timing and lateralization of visually evoked planar gradients before saccade onset. We modelled the gradients from trials with both a saccade and a stimulus as the linear combination of the gradients from two conditions with either only a saccade or only a stimulus. We reasoned that any residual gradients in the condition with both a saccade and a stimulus must be uniquely linked to visually-evoked neural activity before a saccade. We observed a widespread increase in residual planar gradients. Interestingly, this increase was bilateral, showing activity both contralateral and ipsilateral to the stimulus, i.e. over the hemisphere that would process the stimulus after saccade offset. This pattern of results is consistent with predictive pre-saccadic changes involving both the current and the future receptive fields involved in processing an attended object, well before the start of the eye movement. The active, sensorimotor coupling of vision and the oculomotor system may underlie the seamless subjective experience of stable and continuous perception.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jasper H Fabius
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
- Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, 3584 CS, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Alessio Fracasso
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Michele Deodato
- Psychology Program, Division of Science, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - David Melcher
- Psychology Program, Division of Science, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Stefan Van der Stigchel
- Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, 3584 CS, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Wu X, Lu X, Zhang H, Wang X, Kong Y, Hu L. The association between ballroom dance training and empathic concern: Behavioral and brain evidence. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 44:315-326. [PMID: 35972315 PMCID: PMC9842917 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2022] [Revised: 07/11/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Dance is unique in that it is a sport and an art simultaneously. Beyond improving sensorimotor functions, dance training could benefit high-level emotional and cognitive functions. Duo dances also confer the possibility for dancers to develop the abilities to recognize, understand, and share the thoughts and feelings of their dance partners during the long-term dance training. To test this possibility, we collected high-resolution structural and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from 43 expert-level ballroom dancers (a model of long-term exposure to duo dance training) and 40 age-matched and sex-matched nondancers, and measured their empathic ability using a self-report trait empathy scale. We found that ballroom dancers showed higher scores of empathic concern (EC) than controls. The EC scores were positively correlated with years with dance partners but negatively correlated with the number of dance partners for ballroom dancers. These behavioral results were supported by the structural and functional MRI data. Structurally, we observed that the gray matter volumes in the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and EC scores were positively correlated. Functionally, the connectivity between ACC and occipital gyrus was positively correlated with both EC scores and years with dance partners. In addition, the relationship between years with dance partners and EC scores was indirect-only mediated by the ACC-occipital gyrus functional connectivity. Therefore, our findings provided solid evidence for the close link between long-term ballroom dance training and empathy, which deepens our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying this phenomenon.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Wu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral ScienceInstitute of PsychologyBeijingChina,Department of PsychologyUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Xuejing Lu
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina,CAS Key Laboratory of Mental HealthInstitute of PsychologyBeijingChina
| | - Huijuan Zhang
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina,CAS Key Laboratory of Mental HealthInstitute of PsychologyBeijingChina
| | - Xiao Wang
- School of ArtBeijing Sport UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Yazhuo Kong
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral ScienceInstitute of PsychologyBeijingChina,Department of PsychologyUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Li Hu
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina,CAS Key Laboratory of Mental HealthInstitute of PsychologyBeijingChina
| |
Collapse
|