Examining a supramodal network for conflict processing: a systematic review and novel functional magnetic resonance imaging data for related visual and auditory stroop tasks

Effect of Cognitive Rehabilitation by Auditory Stroop Training on Quality of Life of Individuals with Tinnitus

Background: Studies have shown that tinnitus patients have difficulties in cognitive function such as memory and attention. The Stroop task engages the attention network where one aspect of the stimulus is noticed while the other one is ignored. Thus, Stroop training can improve the patient's cognitive control and ability to ignore the tinnitus signal. Method: Thirty chronic tinnitus (> 6 months) patients were included in this study. They were distributed into two 15-member groups: intervention and control. Common audiometric, psychometric, and psychoacoustic evaluations of tinnitus were performed for two groups before intervention and after auditory Stroop training of group 1. Results: There was significant difference in the quality of life and THI scores, VAS of annoyance, and reaction time of Stroop task before and after intervention in group1. The decreased reaction time was positively correlated with improved quality of life, THI score, and VAS of annoyance. Conclusion: Cognitive rehabilitation using tasks such as auditory Stroop can be effective in controlling tinnitus by improving cognitive control.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12070-023-04011-w.

Crossmodal interference on counting performance: Evidence for shared attentional resources

During the act of counting, our perceptual system may rely on information coming from different sensory channels. However, when the information coming from different sources is discordant, such as in the case of a de-synchronization between visual stimuli to be counted and irrelevant auditory stimuli, the performance in a sequential counting task might deteriorate. Such deterioration may originate from two different mechanisms, both linked to exogenous attention attracted by auditory stimuli. Indeed, exogenous auditory triggers may infiltrate our internal "counter", interfering with the counting process, resulting in an overcount; alternatively, the exogenous auditory triggers may disrupt the internal "counter" by deviating participants' attention from the visual stimuli, resulting in an undercount. We tested these hypotheses by asking participants to count visual discs sequentially appearing on the screen while listening to task-irrelevant sounds, in systematically varied conditions: visual stimuli could be synchronized or de-synchronized with sounds; they could feature regular or irregular pacing; and their speed presentation could be fast (approx. 3/sec), moderate (approx. 2/sec), or slow (approx. 1.5/sec). Our results support the second hypothesis since participants tend to undercount visual stimuli in all harder conditions (de-synchronized, irregular, fast sequences). We discuss these results in detail, adding novel elements to the study of crossmodal interference.

Transdiagnostic brain correlates of self-reported trait impulsivity: A dimensional structure-symptom investigation

Impulsivity transcends psychiatric diagnoses and is often related to anhedonia. This ad hoc cross-sectional investigation explored 1) whether self-reported trait impulsivity mapped onto a common structural brain substrate across healthy controls (HCs) and psychiatric patients, and 2) in a more exploratory fashion, whether impulsivity and anhedonia were related to each other and shared overlapping brain correlates. Structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) datasets from 234 participants including HCs (n = 109) and patients with opioid use disorder (OUD, n = 22), cocaine use disorder (CUD, n = 43), borderline personality disorder (BPD, n = 45) and schizophrenia (SZ, n = 15) were included. Trait impulsivity was measured with the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) and anhedonia with a subscore of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). BIS-11 global score data were available for the entire sample, while data on the BIS-11 2nd order factors attentional, motor and non-planning were additionally in hand for a subsample consisting of HCs, OUD and BPD patients (n = 116). Voxel-based morphometry analyses were conducted for identifying dimensional associations between grey matter volume and impulsivity/anhedonia. Partial correlations were further performed to exploratory test the relationships between impulsivity and anhedonia and their corresponding volumetric brain substrates. Volume of the left opercular part of the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) was negatively related to global impulsivity across the entire sample and specifically to motor impulsivity in the subsample of HCs, OUD and BPD patients. Across patients anhedonia expression was negatively correlated with left putamen volume. Although there was no relationship between global impulsivity and anhedonia across all patients, only across OUD and BPD patients anhedonia was positively associated with attentional impulsivity. Finally, also across OUD and BPD patients, motor impulsivity associated left IFG volume was positively linked with anhedonia-associated volume in the left putamen. Our findings suggest a critical role of left IFG volume in self-reported global impulsivity across healthy participants and patients with substance use disorder, BPD and SZ. Preliminary findings in OUD and BPD patients further suggests associations between impulsivity and anhedonia that are related to grey matter reductions in the left IFG and putamen.

Happy and sad music acutely modulate different types of attention in older adults

Of the three subtypes of attention outlined by the attentional subsystems model, alerting (vigilance or arousal needed for task completion) and executive control (the ability to inhibit distracting information while completing a goal) are susceptible to age-related decline, while orienting remains relatively stable. Yet, few studies have investigated strategies that may acutely maintain or promote attention in typically aging older adults. Music listening may be one potential strategy for attentional maintenance as past research shows that listening to happy music characterized by a fast tempo and major mode increases cognitive task performance, likely by increasing cognitive arousal. The present study sought to investigate whether listening to happy music (fast tempo, major mode) impacts alerting, orienting, and executive control attention in 57 middle and older-aged adults (M = 61.09 years, SD = 7.16). Participants completed the Attention Network Test (ANT) before and after listening to music rated as happy or sad (slow tempo, minor mode), or no music (i.e., silence) for 10 min. Our results demonstrate that happy music increased alerting attention, particularly when relevant and irrelevant information conflicted within a trial. Contrary to what was predicted, sad music modulated executive control performance. Overall, our findings indicate that music written in the major mode with a fast tempo (happy) and minor mode with a slow tempo (sad) modulate different aspects of attention in the short-term.

Cognitive and linguistic abilities and perceptual restoration of missing speech: Evidence from online assessment

When speech is clear, speech understanding is a relatively simple and automatic process. However, when the acoustic signal is degraded, top-down cognitive and linguistic abilities, such as working memory capacity, lexical knowledge (i.e., vocabulary), inhibitory control, and processing speed can often support speech understanding. This study examined whether listeners aged 22-63 (mean age 42 years) with better cognitive and linguistic abilities would be better able to perceptually restore missing speech information than those with poorer scores. Additionally, the role of context and everyday speech was investigated using high-context, low-context, and realistic speech corpi to explore these effects. Sixty-three adult participants with self-reported normal hearing completed a short cognitive and linguistic battery before listening to sentences interrupted by silent gaps or noise bursts. Results indicated that working memory was the most reliable predictor of perceptual restoration ability, followed by lexical knowledge, and inhibitory control and processing speed. Generally, silent gap conditions were related to and predicted by a broader range of cognitive abilities, whereas noise burst conditions were related to working memory capacity and inhibitory control. These findings suggest that higher-order cognitive and linguistic abilities facilitate the top-down restoration of missing speech information and contribute to individual variability in perceptual restoration.

Conflicts influence affects: an FMRI study of emotional effects in a conflict task

Although prior research has confirmed that conflict itself is likely to be aversive, it is unclear whether and how emotional conflicts influence an individual's affective processing. The current fMRI study adopted a lexical valence conflict task via instructing participants to shift lexical valence or not. We found that the involvement of positive emotions enhanced the activation of the middle right temporal gyrus (R-MTG) in the non-conflict condition, whereas such activation attenuated in the conflict condition. In addition, the R-MTG was activated in the opposite way when negative emotions were involved. The functional connectivity and correlation analyses further revealed that the faster the participants processed positive emotional words, the weaker the connectivity between R-MTG and positive emotion-related areas of left MTG in the non-conflict condition would be. In contrast, the faster the participants processed negative emotional words, the stronger the connectivity between R-MTG and negative emotion-related areas of the right cerebellum in the conflict condition would become. These findings suggest that conflicts have different influences on emotional processing.

Oculomotor system can differentially process red and green colors during saccade programming in the presence of a competing distractor

Selective attention filters irrelevant information entering our brain to allow for fine-tuning of the relevant information processing. In the visual domain, shifts of attention are most often followed by a saccadic eye movement to objects and places of high relevance. Recent studies have shown that the stimulus color can affect saccade target selection and saccade trajectories. While those saccade modulations are based on perceptual color space, the level in the visual processing hierarchy at which color selection biases saccade programming remains unclear. As color has also been shown to influence manual response inhibition which is a key function of the prefrontal cortex, we hypothesized that the effects of color on executive functions would also inherently affect saccade programming. To test this hypothesis, we measured behavioral performance and saccade metrics during a modified saccadic Stroop task which reflects competition between color words ("RED" and "GREEN") and their color at the level of the prefrontal cortex. Our results revealed that the oculomotor system can differentially process red and green colors when planning a saccade in the presence of a competing distractor.

Segregation over time in functional networks in prefrontal cortex for individuals suffering from pathological fatigue after traumatic brain injury

Pathological fatigue is present when fatigue is perceived to continually interfere with everyday life. Pathological fatigue has been linked with a dysfunction in the cortico-striatal-thalamic circuits. Previous studies have investigated measures of functional connectivity, such as modularity to quantify levels of segregation. However, previous results have shown both increases and decreases in segregation for pathological fatigue. There are multiple factors why previous studies might have differing results, including: (i) Does the functional connectivity of patients with pathological fatigue display more segregation or integration compared to healthy controls? (ii) Do network properties differ depending on whether patients with pathological fatigue perform a task compared to periods of rest? (iii) Are the brain networks of patients with pathological fatigue and healthy controls differently affected by prolonged cognitive activity? We recruited individuals suffering from pathological fatigue after mild traumatic brain injury (n = 20) and age-matched healthy controls (n = 20) to perform cognitive tasks for 2.5 h. We used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to assess hemodynamic changes in the frontal cortex. The participants had a resting state session before and after the cognitive test session. Cognitive testing included the Digit Symbol Coding test at the beginning and the end of the procedure to measure processing speed. We conducted an exploratory network analysis on these resting state and Digit Symbol Coding sessions with no a priori hypothesis relating to how patients and controls differ in their functional networks since previous research has found results in both directions. Our result showed a Group vs. Time interaction (p = 0.026, η_p² = 0.137), with a post hoc test revealing that the TBI patients developed higher modularity toward the end of the cognitive test session. This work helps to identify how functional networks differ under pathological fatigue compared to healthy controls. Further, it shows how the functional networks dynamically change over time as the patient performs tasks over a time scale that affect their fatigue level.

Association between carotid atherosclerosis and brain activation patterns during the Stroop task in older adults: An fNIRS investigation

There is an increasing body of evidence suggesting that vascular disease could contribute to cognitive decline and overt dementia. Of particular interest is atherosclerosis, as it is not only associated with dementia, but could be a potential mechanism through which cardiovascular disease directly impacts brain health. In this work, we evaluated the differences in functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)-based measures of brain activation, task performance, and the change in central hemodynamics (mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR)) during a Stroop color-word task in individuals with atherosclerosis, defined as bilateral carotid plaques (n = 33) and healthy age-matched controls (n = 33). In the healthy control group, the left prefrontal cortex (LPFC) was the only region showing evidence of activation when comparing the incongruous with the nominal Stroop test. A smaller extent of brain activation was observed in the Plaque group compared with the healthy controls (1) globally, as measured by oxygenated hemoglobin (p = 0.036) and (2) in the LPFC (p = 0.02) and left sensorimotor cortices (LMC)(p = 0.008) as measured by deoxygenated hemoglobin. There were no significant differences in HR, MAP, or task performance (both in terms of the time required to complete the task and number of errors made) between Plaque and control groups. These results suggest that carotid atherosclerosis is associated with altered functional brain activation patterns despite no evidence of impaired performance of the Stroop task or central hemodynamic changes.

Longitudinal changes in network engagement during cognitive control in cocaine use disorder

BACKGROUND

Cocaine use disorder (CUD) is characterized by poor cognitive control and has limited empirically supported treatment options. Furthermore, an understanding of brain mechanisms underlying CUD is at a relatively early stage. Thus, this study aimed to investigate longitudinal alterations in functional neural networks associated with cognitive control in cocaine use disorder (CUD).

METHODS

Secondary analysis was performed on data from 44 individuals who participated in three randomized clinical trials for CUD and completed an fMRI Stroop task both at baseline and post-treatment. Independent component analysis (ICA) was performed to assess changes in functional network engagement and investigate associations with cocaine-use behaviors. Mixed linear models were performed to test for longitudinal effects on network engagement and relationships with baseline patterns of cocaine use (i.e., past-month frequency and lifetime years of use) and periods of abstinence/use between scans (i.e., percent negative urine toxicology and maximum days of contiguous abstinence).

RESULTS

Six functional networks were identified as being related to cognitive control and/or exhibiting changes in engagement following treatment. Results indicated that engagement of amygdala-striatal, middle frontal and right-frontoparietal networks were reduced over time in CUD. Less change in the amygdala-striatal network was associated with greater lifetime years of cocaine use. Additional analyses revealed that negative toxicology results and achievement of continuous abstinence were associated with greater engagement of the right-frontoparietal network.

CONCLUSIONS

Neural systems that underlie cognitive control may change over time in individuals with CUD. A longer history of cocaine-use may hinder changes in network activity, potentially impeding recovery.

An Auditory Stroop Test to Implement in Cognitive Hearing Sciences: Development and Normative Data

Objective:

This study developed and gained insight in an auditory Stroop test, implementable in cognitive hearing sciences.

Methods:

An auditory Stroop test was developed and performed in 178 participants, aged between 18 and 69 years. This Auditory Stroop test consisted of two tests: Stroop-tones and Stroop-words whereby the pitch of pure-tones and spoken words (i.e., the words high and low) had to be identified by high or low, respectively. An interference score was calculated as a measure of verbal executive functioning. Regression models were conducted to examine the effect of age, sex, education, awakeness, hearing, as well as visual and verbal working memory, and processing speed on the auditory Stroop scores. Normative data were obtained per age decade.

Results:

Compared to the visual counterparts, the auditory Stroop outcomes were better predicted by verbal working memory and processing speed. A trend was observed showing a decrease in performances with increasing age. No other participant-related variables had a significant relationship with the auditory Stroop test.

Conclusion:

This auditory Stroop test was considered a good test for measuring executive functioning using auditory stimuli. Implementing this auditory Stroop test within cognitive hearing sciences will contribute to unravel the auditory-cognitive perspective of speech understanding.

Momentary Induction of Inhibitory Control and Its Effects on Uncertainty

Deficient inhibitory control and difficulty resolving uncertainty are central in psychopathology. How these factors interact remains unclear. Initial evidence suggests that inducing inhibitory control improves resolution of uncertainty. This may occur only when participants overcome action tendencies, which are dominant tendencies to perform certain behaviors. Our study explored the links between inhibitory control and behavioral responses to uncertainty while manipulating action-tendencies’ strength. In three experiments, 132 undergraduates completed a task that combined induction of momentary changes in inhibitory control level (Stroop task), with responses to uncertainty (visual-search task). We manipulated action-tendencies’ strength by varying uncertainty proportions across experiments. Results indicated that momentary induction of inhibitory control improved resolution of high-uncertainty during mostly low-uncertainty trials but hampered resolution of low-uncertainty during mostly high-uncertainty trials. Identical inhibitory control induction did not affect resolution of uncertainty when uncertainty conditions were equalized. Participants’ subjective uncertainty measures were similar across experiments. Our results suggest that momentary inhibitory control induction modifies behavioral responses to uncertainty and selectively affects trials that require overcoming dominant action tendencies. These findings indicate a potentially unique and multifaceted relationship between inhibitory control and behavioral responses to uncertainty. Clinical implications for models of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and experimental implications to post-conflict processes are discussed.

Loneliness and depression dissociated on parietal-centered networks in cognitive and resting states

BACKGROUND

Perceived loneliness, an increasingly prevalent social issue, is closely associated with major depressive disorder (MDD). However, the neural mechanisms previously implicated in key cognitive and affective processes in loneliness and MDD still remain unclear. Such understanding is critical for delineating the psychobiological basis of the relationship between loneliness and MDD.

METHODS

We isolated the unique and interactive cognitive and neural substrates of loneliness and MDD among 27 MDD patients (mean age = 51.85 years, 20 females), and 25 matched healthy controls (HCs; mean age = 48.72 years, 19 females). We assessed participants' behavioral performance and neural regional and network functions on a Stroop color-word task, and their resting-state neural connectivity.

RESULTS

Behaviorally, we found greater incongruence-related accuracy cost in MDD patients, but reduced incongruence effect on reaction time in lonelier individuals. When performing the Stroop task, loneliness positively predicted prefrontal-anterior cingulate-parietal connectivity across all participants, whereas MDD patients showed a decrease in connectivity compared to controls. Furthermore, loneliness negatively predicted parietal and cerebellar activities in MDD patients, but positively predicted the same activities in HCs. During resting state, MDD patients showed reduced parietal-anterior cingulate connectivity, which again positively correlated with loneliness in this group.

CONCLUSIONS

We speculate the distinct neurocognitive profile of loneliness might indicate increase in both bottom-up attention and top-down executive control functions. However, the upregulated cognitive control processes in lonely individuals may eventually become exhausted, which may in turn predispose to MDD onset.

Assessing the Effect of Training on the Cognition and Brain of Older Adults: Protocol for a Three-Arm Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Trial (ACTOP)

BACKGROUND

To prevent age-related cognitive impairment, many intervention programs offer exercises targeting different central cognitive processes. However, the effects of different process-based training programs are rarely compared within equivalent experimental designs.

OBJECTIVE

Using a randomized double-blind controlled trial, this project aims to examine and compare the impact of 2 process-based interventions, inhibition and updating, on the cognition and brain of older adults.

METHODS

A total of 90 healthy older adults were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 training conditions: (1) inhibition (Stroop-like exercises), (2) updating (N-back-type exercises), and (3) control active (quiz game exercise). Training was provided in 12 half-hour sessions over 4 weeks. First, the performance gain observed will be measured on the trained tasks. We will then determine the extent of transfer of gain on (1) untrained tasks that rely on the same cognitive process, (2) complex working memory (WM) measurements hypothesized to involve 1 of the 2 trained processes, and (3) virtual reality tasks that were designed to mimic real-life situations that require WM. We will assess whether training increases cortical volume given that the volume of the cortex is determined by cortical area and thickness in regions known to be involved in WM or changes task-related brain activation patterns measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging. Dose effects will be examined by measuring outcomes at different time points during training. We will also determine whether individual characteristics moderate the effect of training on cognitive and cerebral outcomes. Finally, we will evaluate whether training reduces the age-related deficit on transfer and brain outcomes, by comparing study participants to a group of 30 younger adults.

RESULTS

The project was funded in January 2017; enrollment began in October 2017 and data collection was completed in April 2019. Data analysis has begun in June 2020 and the first results should be published by the end of 2020 or early 2021.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study will help understand the relative efficacy of 2 attentional control interventions on the cognition and the brain of older adults, as well as the moderating role of individual characteristics on training efficiency and transfer.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03532113; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03532113.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/20430.

The Developmental Chronnecto-Genomics (Dev-CoG) study: A multimodal study on the developing brain

Brain development has largely been studied through unimodal analysis of neuroimaging data, providing independent results for structural and functional data. However, structure clearly impacts function and vice versa, pointing to the need for performing multimodal data collection and analysis to improve our understanding of brain development, and to further inform models of typical and atypical brain development across the lifespan. Ultimately, such models should also incorporate genetic and epigenetic mechanisms underlying brain structure and function, although currently this area is poorly specified. To this end, we are reporting here a multi-site, multi-modal dataset that captures cognitive function, brain structure and function, and genetic and epigenetic measures to better quantify the factors that influence brain development in children originally aged 9-14 years. Data collection for the Developmental Chronnecto-Genomics (Dev-CoG) study (http://devcog.mrn.org/) includes cognitive, emotional, and social performance scales, structural and functional MRI, diffusion MRI, magnetoencephalography (MEG), and saliva collection for DNA analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and DNA methylation patterns. Across two sites (The Mind Research Network and the University of Nebraska Medical Center), data from over 200 participants were collected and these children were re-tested annually for at least 3 years. The data collection protocol, sample demographics, and data quality measures for the dataset are presented here. The sample will be made freely available through the collaborative informatics and neuroimaging suite (COINS) database at the conclusion of the study.

Supramodal executive control of attention: Evidence from unimodal and crossmodal dual conflict effects

Although we have demonstrated that the executive control of attention acts supramodally as shown by significant correlation between conflict effect measures in visual and auditory tasks, no direct evidence of the equivalence in the computational mechanisms governing the allocation of executive control resources within and across modalities has been found. Here, in two independent groups of 40 participants each, we examined the interaction effect of conflict processing in both unimodal (visual) and crossmodal (visual and auditory) dual-conflict paradigms (flanker conflict processing in Task 1 and then in the following Task 2) with a manipulation of the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA). In both the unimodal and the crossmodal dual-conflict paradigms, the conflict processing of Task 1 significantly interfered with the processing of Task 2 when the SOA was short, as shown by an additive interference effect of Task 1 on Task 2 under the time constraints. These results suggest that there is a unified supramodal entity that supports conflict processing by implementing comparable mechanisms in unimodal and crossmodal scenarios.

Cognitive and neural predictors of speech comprehension in noisy backgrounds in older adults

Older adults often experience difficulties comprehending speech in noisy backgrounds, which hearing loss does not fully explain. It remains unknown how cognitive abilities, brain networks, and age-related hearing loss may uniquely contribute to speech in noise comprehension at the sentence level. In 31 older adults, using cognitive measures and resting-state fMRI, we investigated the cognitive and neural predictors of speech comprehension with energetic (broadband noise) and informational masking (multi-speakers) effects. Better hearing thresholds and greater working memory abilities were associated with better speech comprehension with energetic masking. Conversely, faster processing speed and stronger functional connectivity between frontoparietal and language networks were associated with better speech comprehension with informational masking. Our findings highlight the importance of the frontoparietal network in older adults' ability to comprehend speech in multi-speaker backgrounds, and that hearing loss and working memory in older adults contributes to speech comprehension abilities related to energetic, but not informational masking.

Supramodal Mechanisms of the Cognitive Control Network in Uncertainty Processing

Information processing under conditions of uncertainty requires the involvement of cognitive control. Despite behavioral evidence of the supramodal function (i.e., independent of sensory modality) of cognitive control, the underlying neural mechanism needs to be directly tested. This study used functional magnetic imaging together with visual and auditory perceptual decision-making tasks to examine brain activation as a function of uncertainty in the two stimulus modalities. The results revealed a monotonic increase in activation in the cortical regions of the cognitive control network (CCN) as a function of uncertainty in the visual and auditory modalities. The intrinsic connectivity between the CCN and sensory regions was similar for the visual and auditory modalities. Furthermore, multivariate patterns of activation in the CCN predicted the level of uncertainty within and across stimulus modalities. These findings suggest that the CCN implements cognitive control by processing uncertainty as abstract information independent of stimulus modality.

The Influence of Hearing Loss on Cognitive Control in an Auditory Conflict Task: Behavioral and Pupillometry Findings

Purpose The pupil dilation response is sensitive not only to auditory task demand but also to cognitive conflict. Conflict is induced by incompatible trials in auditory Stroop tasks in which participants have to identify the presentation location (left or right ear) of the words "left" or "right." Previous studies demonstrated that the compatibility effect is reduced if the trial is preceded by another incompatible trial (conflict adaptation). Here, we investigated the influence of hearing status on cognitive conflict and conflict adaptation in an auditory Stroop task. Method Two age-matched groups consisting of 32 normal-hearing participants (M _age = 52 years, age range: 25-67 years) and 28 participants with hearing impairment (M _age = 52 years, age range: 23-64 years) performed an auditory Stroop task. We assessed the effects of hearing status and stimulus compatibility on reaction times (RTs) and pupil dilation responses. We furthermore analyzed the Pearson correlation coefficients between age, degree of hearing loss, and the compatibility effects on the RT and pupil response data across all participants. Results As expected, the RTs were longer and pupil dilation was larger for incompatible relative to compatible trials. Furthermore, these effects were reduced for trials following incompatible (as compared to compatible) trials (conflict adaptation). No general effect of hearing status was observed, but the correlations suggested that higher age and a larger degree of hearing loss were associated with more interference of current incompatibility on RTs. Conclusions Conflict processing and adaptation effects were observed on the RTs and pupil dilation responses in an auditory Stroop task. No general effects of hearing status were observed, but the correlations suggested that higher age and a greater degree of hearing loss were related to reduced conflict processing ability. The current study underlines the relevance of taking into account cognitive control and conflict adaptation processes.

Reproducibility in Cognitive Hearing Research: Theoretical Considerations and Their Practical Application in Multi-Lab Studies

In this article, we consider the issue of reproducibility within the field of cognitive hearing science. First, we examine how retest reliability can provide useful information for the generality of results and intervention effectiveness. Second, we provide an overview of retest reliability coefficients within three areas of cognitive hearing science (cognition, speech perception, and self-reported measures of communication) and show how the reporting of these coefficients differs between fields. We argue that practices surrounding the provision of retest coefficients are currently most rigorous in clinical assessment and that basic science research would benefit from adopting similar standards. Finally, based on a distinction between direct replications (which aim to keep materials as close to the original study as possible) and conceptual replications (which test the same purported mechanism using different materials), we discuss new initiatives which address the need for both. Using the example of the auditory Stroop task, we provide practical illustrations of how these theoretical issues can be addressed within the context of a multi-lab replication study. By illustrating how theoretical concepts can be put into practice in empirical research, we hope to encourage others to set up and participate in a wide variety of reproducibility-related studies.

Involuntary Orienting and Conflict Resolution during Auditory Attention: The Role of Ventral and Dorsal Streams

Selective attention to sound object features such as pitch and location is associated with enhanced brain activity in ventral and dorsal streams, respectively. We examined the role of these pathways in involuntary orienting and conflict resolution using fMRI. Participants were presented with two tones that may, or may not, share the same nonspatial (frequency) or spatial (location) auditory features. In separate blocks of trials, participants were asked to attend to sound frequency or sound location and ignore the change in the task-irrelevant feature. In both attend-frequency and attend-location tasks, RTs were slower when the task-irrelevant feature changed than when it stayed the same (involuntary orienting). This behavioral cost coincided with enhanced activity in the pFC and superior temporal gyrus. Conflict resolution was examined by comparing situations where the change in stimulus features was congruent (both features changed) and incongruent (only one feature changed). Participants were slower and less accurate for incongruent than congruent sound features. This congruency effect was associated with enhanced activity in the pFC and was greater in the right superior temporal gyrus and medial frontal cortex during the attend-location task than during the attend-frequency task. Together, these findings do not support a strict division of "labor" into ventral and dorsal streams but rather suggest interactions between these pathways in situations involving changes in task-irrelevant sound feature and conflict resolution. These findings also validate the Test of Attention in Listening task by revealing distinct neural correlates for involuntary orienting and conflict resolution.

EncephalApp Stroop App predicts poor sleep quality in patients with minimal hepatic encephalopathy due to hepatitis B-induced liver cirrhosis

BACKGROUND/AIM

A novel computerised Stroop test- EncephalApp Stroop App (EncephalApp) has good diagnostic validity for minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) in cirrhotic patients. The Stroop test is correlated with sleep disturbances which are common, and severely affects health-related quality of life in cirrhotic patients with MHE. We evaluated the relationship between sleep quality and EncephalApp results in patients with MHE due to hepatitis B-induced liver cirrhosis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We enrolled 180 adult patients with hepatitis B-induced cirrhosis. All patients were tested using the psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score (PHES) and EncephalApp. We analysed the diagnostic validity of EncephalApp for MHE using PHES as the gold standard for reference. The sleep quality of included patients was evaluated using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The predictive factors for poor sleep quality were analysed using backwards conditional stepwise logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

Ninety-eight patients (54.4%) were diagnosed with MHE by PHES. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that the threshold value of EncephalApp for MHE diagnosis was 225.60 s. EncephalApp showed 85.2% sensitivity and 77.3% specificity for diagnosing MHE; the area under the ROC curve was 0.864. PSQI scores of cirrhotic patients with MHE were significantly lower than those without MHE (P < 0.05). Child Turcotte Pugh grades (Odds ratio [OR] = 2.11 [1.55-2.85], P < 0.01) and the total Off-time plus On-time of EncephalApp (OR = 4.14 [1.95-6.29], P < 0.01) were independent predictors of poor sleep quality in MHE patients.

CONCLUSIONS

The total Off-time plus On-time of EncephalApp predicts poor sleep quality in patients with MHE due to hepatitis B-induced cirrhosis.

Light aerobic exercise modulates executive function and cortical excitability

Single bouts of aerobic exercise can modulate cortical excitability and executive cognitive function, but less is known about the effect of light-intensity exercise, an intensity of exercise more achievable for certain clinical populations. Fourteen healthy adults (aged 22 to 30) completed the following study procedures twice (≥7 days apart) before and after 30 min of either light aerobic exercise (cycling) or seated rest: neurocognitive battery (multitasking performance, inhibitory control and spatial working memory), paired-pulse TMS measures of cortical excitability. Significant improvements in response times during multitasking performance and increases in intracortical facilitation (ICF) were seen following light aerobic exercise. Light aerobic exercise can modulate cortical excitability and some executive function tasks. Populations with deficits in multitasking ability may benefit from this intervention.

Tai Chi Chuan vs General Aerobic Exercise in Brain Plasticity: A Multimodal MRI Study

This study contrasted the impact of Tai Chi Chuan and general aerobic exercise on brain plasticity in terms of an increased grey matter volume and functional connectivity during structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI), explored the advantages of Tai Chi Chuan in improving brain structure and function. Thirty-six college students were grouped into Tai Chi Chuan (Bafa Wubu of Tai Chi), general aerobic exercise (brisk walking) and control groups. Individuals were assessed with a sMRI and rs-fMRI scan before and after an 8-week training period. The VBM toolbox was used to conduct grey matter volume analyses. The CONN toolbox was used to conduct several seed-to-voxel functional connectivity analyses. We can conclude that compared with general aerobic exercise, eight weeks of Tai Chi Chuan exercise has a stronger effect on brain plasticity, which is embodied in the increase of grey matter volume in left middle occipital gyrus, left superior temporal gyrus and right middle temporal gyrus and the enhancement of functional connectivity between the left middle frontal gyrus and left superior parietal lobule. These findings demonstrate the potential and advantages of Tai Chi Chuan exercises in eliciting brain plasticity.

Functional Connectivity of Heschl's Gyrus Associated With Age-Related Hearing Loss: A Resting-State fMRI Study

A large proportion of older adults experience hearing loss. Yet, the impact of hearing loss on the aging brain, particularly on large-scale brain networks that support cognition and language, is relatively unknown. We used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify hearing loss-related changes in the functional connectivity of primary auditory cortex to determine if these changes are distinct from age and cognitive measures known to decline with age (e.g., working memory and processing speed). We assessed the functional connectivity of Heschl's gyrus in 31 older adults (60-80 years) who expressed a range of hearing abilities from normal hearing to a moderate hearing loss. Our results revealed that both left and right Heschl's gyri were significantly connected to regions within auditory, sensorimotor, and visual cortices, as well as to regions within the cingulo-opercular network known to support attention. Participant age, working memory, and processing speed did not significantly correlate with any connectivity measures once variance due to hearing loss was removed. However, hearing loss was associated with increased connectivity between right Heschl's gyrus and the dorsal anterior cingulate in the cingulo-opercular network even once variance due to age, working memory, and processing speed was removed. This greater connectivity was not driven by high frequency hearing loss, but rather by hearing loss measured in the 0.5-2 kHz range, particularly in the left ear. We conclude that hearing loss-related differences in functional connectivity in older adults are distinct from other aging-related differences and provide insight into a possible neural mechanism of compensation for hearing loss in older adults.

Poverty and Puberty: A Neurocognitive Study of Inhibitory Control in the Transition to Adolescence

Pubertal development during early adolescence is modestly associated with individual differences in slowly developing inhibitory control of impulses-an aspect of self-regulation associated with reward-seeking behaviors such as the onset and frequency of sexual activity. However, this effect may be much stronger in resource-poor environments. On the basis of life-history and r/K-selection theories, we tested the hypothesis that early pubertal timing would be more strongly associated with less mature neurocognitive inhibitory control in lower-income environments. In an economically diverse Appalachian sample (N = 157; 138 with complete neuroimaging data) of 14-year-olds (52% male), inhibitory control was measured using the multisource-interference task during functional MRI. Results showed that among poor youths only, more advanced puberty for one's age was linked with lower inhibitory control for the neural but not the behavioral measure. This finding has implications regarding poverty, neurocognitive development, and health-risk behaviors in adolescence.

A population stereotaxic positron emission tomography brain template for the macaque and its application to ischemic model

PURPOSE

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a non-invasive imaging tool for the evaluation of brain function and neuronal activity in normal and diseased conditions with high sensitivity. The macaque monkey serves as a valuable model system in the field of translational medicine, for its phylogenetic proximity to man. To translation of non-human primate neuro-PET studies, an effective and objective data analysis platform for neuro-PET studies is needed.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A set of stereotaxic templates of macaque brain, namely the Institute of High Energy Physics & Jinan University Macaque Template (HJT), was constructed by iteratively registration and averaging, based on 30 healthy rhesus monkeys. A brain atlas image was created in HJT space by combining sub-anatomical regions and defining new 88 bilateral functional regions, in which a unique integer was assigned for each sub-anatomical region.

RESULTS

The HJT comprised a structural MRI T1 weighted image (T1WI) template image, a functional FDG-PET template image, intracranial tissue segmentations accompanied with a digital macaque brain atlas image. It is compatible with various commercially available software tools, such as SPM and PMOD. Data analysis was performed on a stroke model compared with a group of healthy controls to demonstrate the usage of HJT.

CONCLUSION

We have constructed a stereotaxic template set of macaque brain named HJT, which standardizes macaque neuroimaging data analysis, supports novel radiotracer development and facilitates translational neuro-disorders research.

Mental Fatigue and Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) - Based Assessment of Cognitive Performance After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Pathological mental fatigue after mild traumatic brain injury (TBI-MF) is characterized by pronounced mental fatigue after cognitive activity. The neurological origin is unknown, and we aimed in the present study to investigate how prolonged mental activity affects cognitive performance and its neural correlates in individuals with TBI-MF. We recruited individuals with TBI-MF (n = 20) at least 5 months after injury, and age-matched healthy controls (n = 20). We used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to assess hemodynamic changes in the frontal cortex. The self-assessed mental energy level was measured with a visual analog scale (VAS) before and after the experimental procedure. A battery of six neuropsychological tests including Stroop–Simon, Symbol Search, Digit Span, Parallel Serial Mental Operation (PaSMO), Sustained Attention and Working Memory test, and Digit Symbol Coding (DSC) were used. The sequence was repeated once after an 8 min sustained-attention test. The test procedure lasted 2½ h. The experimental procedure resulted in a decrease in mental energy in the TBI-MF group, compared to controls (interaction, p < 0.001, η_p² = 0.331). The TBI-MF group performed at a similar level on both DSC tests, whereas the controls improved their performance in the second session (interaction, p < 0.01, η_p² = 0.268). During the Stroop–Simon test, the fNIRS event-related response showed no time effect. However, the TBI-MF group exhibited lower oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) concentrations in the frontal polar area (FPA), ventrolateral motor cortex, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) from the beginning of the test session. A Stroop and Group interaction was found in the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex showing that the TBI-MF group did have the same oxy-Hb concentration for both congruent and incongruent trials, whereas the controls had more oxy-Hb in the incongruent trial compared to the congruent trial (interaction, p < 0.01, η_p² = 0.227). In sum these results indicate that individuals with TBI-MF have a reduced ability to recruit the frontal cortex, which is correlated with self-reported mental fatigue. This may result both in deterioration of cognitive function and the experience of a mental fatigue after extended mental activity.

The Causal Role of Right Frontopolar Cortex in Moral Judgment, Negative Emotion Induction, and Executive Control

Introduction:

Converging evidence suggests that both emotional and cognitive processes are critically involved in moral judgment, and may be mediated by discrete parts of the prefrontal cortex. The current study aimed at investigating the mediatory effect of right Frontopolar Cortex (rFPC) on the way that emotions affect moral judgments.

Methods:

Six adult patients affected by rFPC and 10 healthy controls were included in the study. Participants made judgements on moral dilemmas after being shown either neutral or emotional pictures. The role of rFPC in executive control and emotional experience was also examined.

Results:

The study results showed that inducing an emotional state increased the number of utilitarian responses both in the patients and controls. However, no significant differences were observed between the patients and controls in response time or the number of utilitarian responses. Also, no significant differences were observed in personal and impersonal dilemmas before and after the emotion induction in intergroup comparisons. Results of the executive control tasks showed reduced performance in patients affected by rFPC compared with the controls.

Conclusion:

The results of the current study suggested that rFPC might not have a direct role in mediating emotional processes during moral judgments, but possibly this region is important in a network supporting executive control functions.

A functional MRI investigation of crossmodal interference in an audiovisual Stroop task

The visual color-word Stroop task is widely used in clinical and research settings as a measure of cognitive control. Numerous neuroimaging studies have used color-word Stroop tasks to investigate the neural resources supporting cognitive control, but to our knowledge all have used unimodal (typically visual) Stroop paradigms. Thus, it is possible that this classic measure of cognitive control is not capturing the resources involved in multisensory cognitive control. The audiovisual integration and crossmodal correspondence literatures identify regions sensitive to congruency of auditory and visual stimuli, but it is unclear how these regions relate to the unimodal cognitive control literature. In this study we aimed to identify brain regions engaged by crossmodal cognitive control during an audiovisual color-word Stroop task, and how they relate to previous unimodal Stroop and audiovisual integration findings. First, we replicated previous behavioral audiovisual Stroop findings in an fMRI-adapted audiovisual Stroop paradigm: incongruent visual information increased reaction time towards an auditory stimulus and congruent visual information decreased reaction time. Second, we investigated the brain regions supporting cognitive control during an audiovisual color-word Stroop task using fMRI. Similar to unimodal cognitive control tasks, a left superior parietal region exhibited an interference effect of visual information on the auditory stimulus. This superior parietal region was also identified using a standard audiovisual integration localizing procedure, indicating that audiovisual integration resources are sensitive to cognitive control demands. Facilitation of the auditory stimulus by congruent visual information was found in posterior superior temporal cortex, including in the posterior STS which has been found to support audiovisual integration. The dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, often implicated in unimodal Stroop tasks, was not modulated by the audiovisual Stroop task. Overall the findings indicate that an audiovisual color-word Stroop task engages overlapping resources with audiovisual integration and overlapping but distinct resources compared to unimodal Stroop tasks.

The cognitive and psychosocial effects of auditory training and hearing aids in adults with hearing loss

Purpose

Our study assessed the efficacy of the simultaneous use of hearing aids and auditory training for improving cognition and psychosocial function in adults with hearing loss, and the relationships between hearing loss, speech perception and cognition.

Participants and methods

A 40-person (aged 50–90 years) pilot study in Melbourne, Australia, was conducted. Participants with hearing impairment completed the Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form, questions about social activity participation, a wide range of cognitive tasks and a speech perception test at baseline, 3 and 6 months. Participants underwent auditory training for 6 months and used hearing aids for 3 months.

Results

Correlations and structural equation modeling suggested that several cognitive domains were associated with speech perception at baseline, but only the Incongruent Stroop cognition measure was associated with hearing loss. Hearing aid use reduced problems with communication, but there were no significant improvements in speech perception, social interaction or cognition. The effect of hearing aids and auditory training for improving depressive symptoms was significant with a moderate to large effect size (Cohen’s d=0.87).

Conclusion

The small sample size and a relatively high rate of attrition meant that this study was underpowered. However, baseline results suggested relationships between hearing loss, speech perception and cognition, and the hearing intervention provided evidence of reduced depressive symptoms. A full-scale, randomized hearing loss intervention and a longer neuroim-aging study with cognitive outcomes measured in the short term as well as after several years of hearing aid use are needed.

Brain activation during human defensive behaviour: A systematic review and preliminary meta-analysis

The neural underpinnings of defensive behaviour have implications for both basic research and clinical translation. This review systematically collates published research on neural response during simple avoidance of threat and approach-avoidance behaviour during goal-conflicting situations and presents an exploratory meta-analysis of available whole-brain data. Scopus, PsychInfo and Web of Science databases were searched for the period up to March 2018. 1348 simple avoidance and 1910 goal-conflict publications were initially identified; following review, 8 simple avoidance and 11 goal-conflict studies were included, with 5 datasets used in a preliminary meta-analysis. A move from forebrain-to-midbrain activation as threat becomes more pertinent was noted, indicating support for the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of behaviour and general compatibility with animal work. However, these findings were not reflected in the subsequent preliminary meta-analysis. This review highlights the considerable heterogeneity in currently available defensive behaviour paradigms and the lack of research in clinically relevant populations.

Stress matters: Randomized controlled trial on the effect of probiotics on neurocognition

Probiotics are microorganisms that provide health benefits when consumed. In animals, probiotics reverse gut microbiome-related alterations in depression-like symptoms, in cognition, and in hormonal stress response. However, in humans, a causal understanding of the gut-brain link in emotion and cognition is lacking. Additionally, whether the effects of probiotics on neurocognition are visible only in presence of stress, remains unclear. We investigated the effects of a multispecies probiotic (Ecologic^®Barrier) on specific neurocognitive measures of emotion reactivity, emotion regulation, and cognitive control using fMRI. Critically, we also tested whether probiotics can buffer against the detrimental effects of acute stress on working memory. In a double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, between-subjects intervention study, 58 healthy participants were tested once before and once after a 28-day intervention.

Without stress induction, probiotics did not affect brain, behavioral, or related self-report measures. However, relative to placebo, the probiotics group did show a significant stress-related increase in working memory performance after supplementation. This change was associated with intervention-related neural changes in frontal cortex during cognitive control exclusively in the probiotics group. Overall, our results show neurocognitive effects of a multispecies probiotic in healthy women only under challenging situations, buffering against the detrimental effects of stress on cognition.

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We ran a randomized placebo-controlled fMRI study with a multispecies probiotic.

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Probiotics did not affect neurocognitive measures of emotion and cognitive control.

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Probiotics did affect stress-related working memory and neural correlates.

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Probiotics in healthy individuals can support cognition under stress.

Neural Cognitive Control Moderates the Relation between Negative Life Events and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents

The present longitudinal study examined the role of neural cognitive control in the relation between negative and positive life events and depressive symptoms in adolescents. The sample comprised 138 adolescents (52% male, M_age = 13.49 at baseline) and their parents. At Time 1, adolescents participated in a functional neuroimaging session in which neural cognitive control was measured as hemodynamic activity during an inhibitory control task, and parents reported on adolescents' positive and negative life events within the past year. Adolescents and parents reported on adolescent depressive symptoms at Time 1, Time 2 (1 year later), and Time 3 (2 years later). Conditional latent growth curve model was used to test the main and interaction effects of neural cognitive control and positive/negative life events on the growth factors of depressive symptoms. Higher neural cognitive control moderated the relation between negative life events and the intercept of depressive symptoms. Adolescents with higher neural cognitive control did not experience higher depressive symptoms when confronted with more negative life events, whereas their counterparts with lower neural cognitive control did. The interaction effect between neural cognitive control and positive life events on depressive symptoms was not significant. Results suggest that neural cognitive control acts as a protective factor such that adolescents with higher neural cognitive control are protected against depressionogenic effects of negative life events, whereas adolescents with lower cognitive control are at greater risk for depressive symptoms in response to negative life events.

Neural Correlates of Compulsive Alcohol Seeking in Heavy Drinkers

BACKGROUND

Compulsive alcohol use, the tendency to continue alcohol seeking and taking despite negative consequences, is a hallmark of alcohol use disorder. Preclinical rodent studies have suggested a role for the medial prefrontal cortex, anterior insula, and nucleus accumbens in compulsive alcohol seeking. It is presently unknown whether these findings translate to humans. We used a novel functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigm and tested the hypothesis that heavy drinkers would compulsively seek alcohol despite the risk of an aversive consequence, and that this behavior would be associated with the activity of frontostriatal circuitry.

METHODS

Non-treatment-seeking heavy and light drinkers (n = 21 per group) completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigm in which they could earn alcohol or food points at various threat levels (i.e., various probabilities of incurring an aversive consequence). Brain function was evaluated when individuals had the opportunity to earn reward points at the risk of an aversive consequence, an electric shock on the wrist.

RESULTS

Compared with light drinkers, heavy drinkers attempted to earn more aversion-paired alcohol points. Frontostriatal circuitry, including the medial prefrontal cortex, anterior insula, and striatum, was more active in this group when viewing threat-predictive alcohol cues. Heavy drinkers had increased connectivity between the anterior insula and the nucleus accumbens. Greater connectivity was associated with more attempts to earn aversion-paired alcohol points and self-reported compulsive alcohol use scores.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher activation of frontostriatal circuitry in heavy drinkers may contribute to compulsive alcohol seeking. Treatments that disrupt this circuitry may result in a decrease in compulsive alcohol use.

Dissociations of cognitive inhibition, response inhibition, and emotional interference: Voxelwise ALE meta-analyses of fMRI studies

Inhibitory control is the stopping of a mental process with or without intention, conceptualized as mental suppression of competing information because of limited cognitive capacity. Inhibitory control dysfunction is a core characteristic of many major psychiatric disorders. Inhibition is generally thought to involve the prefrontal cortex; however, a single inhibitory mechanism is insufficient for interpreting the heterogeneous nature of human cognition. It remains unclear whether different dimensions of inhibitory processes-specifically cognitive inhibition, response inhibition, and emotional interference-rely on dissociated neural systems. We conducted systematic meta-analyses of fMRI studies in the BrainMap database supplemented by PubMed using whole-brain activation likelihood estimation. A total of 66 study experiments including 1,447 participants and 987 foci revealed that while the left anterior insula was concordant in all inhibitory dimensions, cognitive inhibition reliably activated specific dorsal frontal inhibitory system, engaging dorsal anterior cingulate, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and parietal areas, whereas emotional interference reliably implicated a ventral inhibitory system, involving the ventral surface of the inferior frontal gyrus and the amygdala. Response inhibition showed concordant clusters in the fronto-striatal system, including the dorsal anterior cingulate region and extended supplementary motor areas, the dorsal and ventral lateral prefrontal cortex, basal ganglia, midbrain regions, and parietal regions. We provide an empirically derived dimensional model of inhibition characterizing neural systems underlying different aspects of inhibitory mechanisms. This study offers a fundamental framework to advance current understanding of inhibition and provides new insights for future clinical research into disorders with different types of inhibition-related dysfunctions.

Effects of a 7-Day Meditation Retreat on the Brain Function of Meditators and Non-Meditators During an Attention Task

Meditation as a cognitive enhancement technique is of growing interest in the field of health and research on brain function. The Stroop Word-Color Task (SWCT) has been adapted for neuroimaging studies as an interesting paradigm for the understanding of cognitive control mechanisms. Performance in the SWCT requires both attention and impulse control, which is trained in meditation practices. We presented SWCT inside the MRI equipment to measure the performance of meditators compared with non-meditators before and after a meditation retreat. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a 7-day Zen intensive meditation training (a retreat) on meditators and non-meditators in this task on performance level and neural mechanisms. Nineteen meditators and 14 non-meditators were scanned before and after a 7-day Zen meditation retreat. No significant differences were found between meditators and non-meditators in the number of the correct responses and response time (RT) during SWCT before and after the retreat. Probably, due to meditators training in attention, their brain activity in the contrast incongruent > neutral during the SWCT in the anterior cingulate, ventromedial prefrontal cortex/anterior cingulate, caudate/putamen/pallidum/temporal lobe (center), insula/putamen/temporal lobe (right) and posterior cingulate before the retreat, were reduced compared with non-meditators. After the meditation retreat, non-meditators had reduced activation in these regions, becoming similar to meditators before the retreat. This result could be interpreted as an increase in the brain efficiency of non-meditators (less brain activation in attention-related regions and same behavioral response) promoted by their intensive training in meditation in only 7 days. On the other hand, meditators showed an increase in brain activation in these regions after the same training. Intensive meditation training (retreat) presented distinct effects on the attention-related regions in meditators and non-meditators probably due to differences in expertise, attention processing as well as neuroplasticity.

Audio-visual speech processing in age-related hearing loss: Stronger integration and increased frontal lobe recruitment

Hearing loss is associated with difficulties in understanding speech, especially under adverse listening conditions. In these situations, seeing the speaker improves speech intelligibility in hearing-impaired participants. On the neuronal level, previous research has shown cross-modal plastic reorganization in the auditory cortex following hearing loss leading to altered processing of auditory, visual and audio-visual information. However, how reduced auditory input effects audio-visual speech perception in hearing-impaired subjects is largely unknown. We here investigated the impact of mild to moderate age-related hearing loss on processing audio-visual speech using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Normal-hearing and hearing-impaired participants performed two audio-visual speech integration tasks: a sentence detection task inside the scanner and the McGurk illusion outside the scanner. Both tasks consisted of congruent and incongruent audio-visual conditions, as well as auditory-only and visual-only conditions. We found a significantly stronger McGurk illusion in the hearing-impaired participants, which indicates stronger audio-visual integration. Neurally, hearing loss was associated with an increased recruitment of frontal brain areas when processing incongruent audio-visual, auditory and also visual speech stimuli, which may reflect the increased effort to perform the task. Hearing loss modulated both the audio-visual integration strength measured with the McGurk illusion and brain activation in frontal areas in the sentence task, showing stronger integration and higher brain activation with increasing hearing loss. Incongruent compared to congruent audio-visual speech revealed an opposite brain activation pattern in left ventral postcentral gyrus in both groups, with higher activation in hearing-impaired participants in the incongruent condition. Our results indicate that already mild to moderate hearing loss impacts audio-visual speech processing accompanied by changes in brain activation particularly involving frontal areas. These changes are modulated by the extent of hearing loss.

Theta Burst Stimulation Enhances Connectivity of the Dorsal Attention Network in Young Healthy Subjects: An Exploratory Study

We examined effects of theta burst stimulation (TBS) applied over two distinct cortical areas (the right inferior frontal gyrus and the left superior parietal lobule) on the Stroop task performance in 20 young healthy subjects. Neural underpinnings of the behavioral effect were tested using fMRI. A single session of intermittent TBS of the left superior parietal lobule induced certain cognitive speed enhancement and significantly increased resting-state connectivity of the dorsal attention network. This is an exploratory study that prompts further research with multiple-session TBS in subjects with cognitive impairment.

Positive and Negative Affect and Adolescent Adjustment: Moderation Effects of Prefrontal Functioning

We examined whether cognitive control moderates the effects of emotion on adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptomatology in a longitudinal study of 138 adolescents. Self-reported positive affect (PA) and negative affect and behavioral and neural indicators of cognitive control, indexed by performance and prefrontal hemodynamic response during a cognitive interference task, were collected at Time 1. Self-reported internalizing and externalizing symptomatology were collected at Time 1 and Time 2 (1 year later). Results indicated that higher PA predicted decreases in externalizing symptomatology, but only for adolescents with poor neural cognitive control. No moderation effects were found for behavioral cognitive control. Findings imply the beneficial effects of PA on the development of externalizing problems among adolescents with poor prefrontal functioning.

Inhibitory Control Mediates the Association between Perceived Stress and Secure Relationship Quality

Past research has demonstrated negative associations between exposure to stressors and quality of interpersonal relationships among children and adolescents. Nevertheless, underlying mechanisms of this association remain unclear. Chronic stress has been shown to disrupt prefrontal functioning in the brain, including inhibitory control abilities, and evidence is accumulating that inhibitory control may play an important role in secure interpersonal relationship quality, including peer problems and social competence. In this prospective longitudinal study, we examine whether changes in inhibitory control, measured at both behavioral and neural levels, mediate the association between stress and changes in secure relationship quality with parents and peers. The sample included 167 adolescents (53% males) who were first recruited at age 13 or 14 years and assessed annually three times. Adolescents' inhibitory control was measured by their behavioral performance and brain activities, and adolescents self-reported perceived stress levels and relationship quality with mothers, fathers, and peers. Results suggest that behavioral inhibitory control mediates the association between perceived stress and adolescent's secure relationship quality with their mothers and fathers, but not their peers. In contrast, given that stress was not significantly correlated with neural inhibitory control, we did not further test the mediation path. Our results highlight the role of inhibitory control as a process through which stressful life experiences are related to impaired secure relationship quality between adolescents and their mothers and fathers.

Cognitive control and midline theta adjust across multiple timescales

Cognitive control of attention in conflict situations is a basic skill that is vital for goal-oriented behavior. Behavioral evidence shows that conflict control occurs over successive trials as well as longer time scales of trial blocks, but the relation among time scales as well as their neural mechanisms are unclear. This study used measures of behavior, EEG, and a simple quantitative model to test the hypothesis that conflict control at the block level is not exclusively driven by control adjustments over successive trials. Young adults performed an auditory Simon task, and the base rate of compatible vs. incompatible trials was manipulated in separate blocks (25, 50, 75% compatible). EEG data were analyzed using independent component analysis (ICA) to define cortical mechanisms of any base rate and trial-by-trial sequence effects. Reaction time measures had both sequence and base rate effects. Two fronto-medial ICA components indexed sequence and base rate effects, with specific profiles for evoked potentials and oscillations in the theta and alpha frequency bands. Predictive modeling showed that sequence effects accounted for a minority of the variance on behavioral and ICA measures (all < 36%). The results strongly suggest that the base rate manipulation affected behavior and many neural measures beyond the influence of sequence effects.

Deficit of supramodal executive control of attention in schizophrenia

Although a deficit in executive control of attention is one of the hallmarks in schizophrenia that has significant impact on everyday functioning due to its relationship with thought processing, whether this deficit occurs across modalities, i.e., is supramodal, remains unclear. To investigate the supramodal mechanism in SZ, we examined cross-modal correlations between visual and auditory executive control of attention in a group of patients with schizophrenia (SZ, n = 55) compared to neurotypical controls (NC, n = 55). While the executive control effects were significantly correlated between the two modalities in the NC group, these effects were not correlated in the SZ group, with a significant group difference in the correlation. Further, the inconsistency and magnitude of the cross-modal executive control effects were significantly larger in the SZ group compared to the NC group. Together, these results suggest that there is a disruption of a common supramodal executive control mechanism in patients with schizophrenia, which may be related to the thought processing disorder characterizing the disorder.

Behavioral and Brain Activity Indices of Cognitive Control Deficits in Binge Drinkers

Heavy episodic drinking is prevalent among young adults and is a public issue of increasing importance. Its initiation and maintenance are associated with deficits in the capacity to inhibit automatic processing in favor of non-habitual responses. This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine behavioral and brain activity indices of cognitive control during the Stroop task as a function of binge drinking. Heavy episodic drinkers (HED) reported consuming 5+/6+ drinks in two hours at least five times in the past six months and were compared to light drinkers (LED) who reported two or fewer binge episodes but were matched on demographics, intelligence and family history of alcoholism. Greater conflict-induced activity in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) and thalamus was observed in HED participants and it was positively correlated with alcohol intake and alcohol-related harmful consequences. HEDs maintained intact accuracy but at a cost of prolonged reaction times to high-conflict trials and increased ratings of task difficulty. Greater activation of the areas implicated in cognitive control is consistent with compensatory network expansion to meet higher cognitive demands. These results provide further insight into degradation of cognitive control in HEDs which may benefit development of detection and prevention strategies.

Increased engagement of the cognitive control network associated with music training in children during an fMRI Stroop task

Playing a musical instrument engages various sensorimotor processes and draws on cognitive capacities collectively termed executive functions. However, while music training is believed to associated with enhancements in certain cognitive and language abilities, studies that have explored the specific relationship between music and executive function have yielded conflicting results. As part of an ongoing longitudinal study, we investigated the effects of music training on executive function using fMRI and several behavioral tasks, including the Color-Word Stroop task. Children involved in ongoing music training (N = 14, mean age = 8.67) were compared with two groups of comparable general cognitive abilities and socioeconomic status, one involved in sports ("sports" group, N = 13, mean age = 8.85) and another not involved in music or sports ("control" group, N = 17, mean age = 9.05). During the Color-Word Stroop task, children with music training showed significantly greater bilateral activation in the pre-SMA/SMA, ACC, IFG, and insula in trials that required cognitive control compared to the control group, despite no differences in performance on behavioral measures of executive function. No significant differences in brain activation or in task performance were found between the music and sports groups. The results suggest that systematic extracurricular training, particularly music-based training, is associated with changes in the cognitive control network in the brain even in the absence of changes in behavioral performance.