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Graves WW, Levinson HJ, Staples R, Boukrina O, Rothlein D, Purcell J. An inclusive multivariate approach to neural localization of language components. Brain Struct Funct 2024; 229:1243-1263. [PMID: 38693340 PMCID: PMC11147878 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-024-02800-9] [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: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
To determine how language is implemented in the brain, it is important to know which brain areas are primarily engaged in language processing and which are not. Existing protocols for localizing language are typically univariate, treating each small unit of brain volume as independent. One prominent example that focuses on the overall language network in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) uses a contrast between neural responses to sentences and sets of pseudowords (pronounceable nonwords). This contrast reliably activates peri-sylvian language areas but is less sensitive to extra-sylvian areas that are also known to support aspects of language such as word meanings (semantics). In this study, we assess areas where a multivariate, pattern-based approach shows high reproducibility across multiple measurements and participants, identifying these areas as multivariate regions of interest (mROI). We then perform a representational similarity analysis (RSA) of an fMRI dataset where participants made familiarity judgments on written words. We also compare those results to univariate regions of interest (uROI) taken from previous sentences > pseudowords contrasts. RSA with word stimuli defined in terms of their semantic distance showed greater correspondence with neural patterns in mROI than uROI. This was confirmed in two independent datasets, one involving single-word recognition, and the other focused on the meaning of noun-noun phrases by contrasting meaningful phrases > pseudowords. In all cases, areas of spatial overlap between mROI and uROI showed the greatest neural association. This suggests that ROIs defined in terms of multivariate reproducibility can help localize components of language such as semantics. The multivariate approach can also be extended to focus on other aspects of language such as phonology, and can be used along with the univariate approach for inclusively mapping language cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- William W Graves
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Smith Hall, Room 301, 101 Warren Street, Newark, NJ, 07102, USA.
| | - Hillary J Levinson
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Smith Hall, Room 301, 101 Warren Street, Newark, NJ, 07102, USA
| | - Ryan Staples
- Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA
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2
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Yang S, Dong H, Albitos PJ, Wang Y, Fang Y, Cao L, Wang J, Sun L, Zhang H. Low-frequency variability in theta activity modulates the attention-fluctuation across task and resting states. Neuropsychologia 2024; 193:108757. [PMID: 38103680 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108757] [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: 08/14/2023] [Revised: 11/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Sustained attention is not constant but fluctuates influencing our task performance. Albeit intensive investigations, it remains unclear whether the attention-fluctuation during tasks is derived from its spontaneous fluctuation in the resting state. Here, we addressed this issue by investigating the attention-fluctuation in both task and resting states, through the EEG measurement of theta-variability. We found significant rest-task modulation of theta-variability, i.e., reduced theta-variability in the task state compared to the resting state. This task and rest modulation was manifested in the low-frequency of theta-variability (<0.1 Hz). Furthermore, the low-frequency theta-variability exhibited a significant rest-task correlation, however, only the low-frequency theta-variability in the task state but not in the resting state was correlated with the behavioral performance. These findings shed light on the low-frequency feature of attention-fluctuation, and advanced our understanding of sustained attention by suggesting that the theta-variability in low-frequencies was relevant to attention level in task state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiyou Yang
- Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Institute of Psychological Science, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairment, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; School of Psychology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, Jilin, China
| | - Huimei Dong
- Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Institute of Psychological Science, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairment, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Princess Jane Albitos
- Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Institute of Psychological Science, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairment, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yaoyao Wang
- Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Institute of Psychological Science, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairment, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yantong Fang
- Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairment, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Longfei Cao
- Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Institute of Psychological Science, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairment, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jinghua Wang
- Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairment, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Department of Neurology the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Li Sun
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Institute of Mental Health, Beijing, China; NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China
| | - Hang Zhang
- Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Institute of Psychological Science, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairment, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
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3
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Aul C, Brau JM, Sugarman A, DeGutis JM, Germine LT, Esterman M, McGlinchey RE, Fortenbaugh FC. The functional relevance of visuospatial processing speed across the lifespan. Cogn Res Princ Implic 2023; 8:51. [PMID: 37542181 PMCID: PMC10403489 DOI: 10.1186/s41235-023-00504-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Visuospatial processing speed underlies several cognitive functions critical for successful completion of everyday tasks, including driving and walking. While it is widely accepted that visuospatial processing speed peaks in early adulthood, performance across the lifespan remains incompletely characterized. Additionally, there remains a lack of paradigms available to assess visuospatial processing speed in unsupervised web-based testing environments. To address these gaps, we developed a novel visuospatial processing speed (VIPS) task adapted from two tests sensitive to visuospatial processing speed declines in older adults, the Useful Field of View paradigm and the PERformance CEntered Portable Test. The VIPS task requires participants to make a central orientation discrimination and complete a simultaneous peripheral visual search task. Data were collected from 86 in-lab volunteers (18-30 years) to compare performance to traditional neuropsychological measures. Consistent with previous literature, performance on the novel VIPS task significantly correlated with measures of selective attention, executive functioning, visual speed, and working memory. An additional 4395 volunteers (12-62 years) were recruited on TestMyBrain.org to establish lifespan trajectories of visuospatial processing speed and associations with functional disability. VIPS task performance peaked in the early 20's, and steadily decreased such that thresholds doubled in 60-year-olds relative to 20-year-olds (817 ms vs. 412 ms). VIPS task performance significantly correlated with self-reported cognitive functioning deficits broadly across the lifespan but was specifically related to mobility issues in middle-age. These findings have important implications for early detection of cognitive decline and provide insights into potential early intervention targets for younger and middle-aged adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Courtney Aul
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory (BALLAB), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
- National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Julia M Brau
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory (BALLAB), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
- Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Alexander Sugarman
- Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Joseph M DeGutis
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory (BALLAB), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
- Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Laura T Germine
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Institute for Technology in Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - Michael Esterman
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory (BALLAB), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
- National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Regina E McGlinchey
- Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Francesca C Fortenbaugh
- Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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Jayakumar M, Balusu C, Aly M. Attentional fluctuations and the temporal organization of memory. Cognition 2023; 235:105408. [PMID: 36893523 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105408] [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: 02/03/2022] [Revised: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/11/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023]
Abstract
Event boundaries and temporal context shape the organization of episodic memories. We hypothesized that attentional fluctuations during encoding serve as "events" that affect temporal context representations and recall organization. Individuals encoded trial-unique objects during a modified sustained attention task. Memory was tested with free recall. Response time variability during the encoding tasks was used to characterize "in the zone" and "out of the zone" attentional states. We predicted that: 1) "in the zone", vs. "out of the zone", attentional states should be more conducive to maintaining temporal context representations that can cue temporally organized recall; and 2) temporally distant "in the zone" states may enable more recall "leaps" across intervening items. We replicated several important findings in the sustained attention and memory fields, including more online errors during "out of the zone" vs. "in the zone" attentional states and recall that was temporally structured. Yet, across four studies, we found no evidence for either of our main hypotheses. Recall was robustly temporally organized, and there was no difference in recall organization for items encoded "in the zone" vs. "out of the zone". We conclude that temporal context serves as a strong scaffold for episodic memory, one that can support organized recall even for items encoded during relatively poor attentional states. We also highlight the numerous challenges in striking a balance between sustained attention tasks (long blocks of a repetitive task) and memory recall tasks (short lists of unique items) and describe strategies for researchers interested in uniting these two fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manasi Jayakumar
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, United States of America.
| | - Chinmayi Balusu
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, United States of America
| | - Mariam Aly
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, United States of America
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5
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Correspondence between cognitive and neural representations for phonology, orthography, and semantics in supramarginal compared to angular gyrus. Brain Struct Funct 2023; 228:255-271. [PMID: 36326934 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-022-02590-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 10/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
The angular and supramarginal gyri (AG and SMG) together constitute the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) and have been associated with cognitive functions that support reading. How those functions are distributed across the AG and SMG is a matter of debate, the resolution of which is hampered by inconsistencies across stereotactic atlases provided by the major brain image analysis software packages. Schematic results from automated meta-analyses suggest primarily semantic (word meaning) processing in the left AG, with more spatial overlap among phonological (auditory word form), orthographic (visual word form), and semantic processing in the left SMG. To systematically test for correspondence between patterns of neural activation and phonological, orthographic, and semantic representations, we re-analyze a functional magnetic resonance imaging data set of participants reading aloud 465 words. Using representational similarity analysis, we test the hypothesis that within cytoarchitecture-defined subregions of the IPL, phonological representations are primarily associated with the SMG, while semantic representations are primarily associated with the AG. To the extent that orthographic representations can be de-correlated from phonological representations, they will be associated with cortex peripheral to the IPL, such as the intraparietal sulcus. Results largely confirmed these hypotheses, with some nuanced exceptions, which we discuss in terms of neurally inspired computational cognitive models of reading that learn mappings among distributed representations for orthography, phonology, and semantics. De-correlating constituent representations making up complex cognitive processes, such as reading, by careful selection of stimuli, representational formats, and analysis techniques, are promising approaches for bringing additional clarity to brain structure-function relationships.
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6
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Jagger-Rickels A, Rothlein D, Stumps A, Evans TC, Bernstein J, Milberg W, McGlinchey R, DeGutis J, Esterman M. An executive function subtype of PTSD with unique neural markers and clinical trajectories. Transl Psychiatry 2022; 12:262. [PMID: 35760805 PMCID: PMC9237057 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-02011-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Revised: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous work identified a cognitive subtype of PTSD with impaired executive function (i.e., impaired EF-PTSD subtype) and aberrant resting-state functional connectivity between frontal parietal control (FPCN) and limbic (LN) networks. To better characterize this cognitive subtype of PTSD, this study investigated (1) alterations in specific FPCN and LN subnetworks and (2) chronicity of PTSD symptoms. In a post-9/11 veteran sample (N = 368, 89% male), we identified EF subgroups using a standardized neuropsychological battery and a priori cutoffs for impaired, average, and above-average EF performance. Functional connectivity between two subnetworks of the FPCN and three subnetworks of the LN was assessed using resting-state fMRI (n = 314). PTSD chronicity over a 1-2-year period was assessed using a reliable change index (n = 175). The impaired EF-PTSD subtype had significantly reduced negative functional connectivity between the FPCN subnetwork involved in top-down control of emotion and two LN subnetworks involved in learning/memory and social/emotional processing. This impaired EF-PTSD subtype had relatively chronic PTSD, while those with above-average EF and PTSD displayed greater symptom reduction. Lastly, FPCN-LN subnetworks partially mediated the relationship between EF and PTSD chronicity (n = 121). This study reveals (1) that an impaired EF-PTSD subtype has a specific pattern of FPCN-LN subnetwork connectivity, (2) a novel above-average EF-PTSD subtype displays reduced PTSD chronicity, and (3) both cognitive and neural functioning predict PTSD chronicity. The results indicate a need to investigate how individuals with this impaired EF-PTSD subtype respond to treatment, and how they might benefit from personalized and novel approaches that target these neurocognitive systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Audreyana Jagger-Rickels
- National Center for PTSD (NCPTSD), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA. .,Boston Attention and Learning Lab (BALLAB), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA. .,Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - David Rothlein
- grid.410370.10000 0004 4657 1992National Center for PTSD (NCPTSD), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA USA ,grid.410370.10000 0004 4657 1992Boston Attention and Learning Lab (BALLAB), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA USA
| | - Anna Stumps
- grid.410370.10000 0004 4657 1992Boston Attention and Learning Lab (BALLAB), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA USA ,grid.33489.350000 0001 0454 4791Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE USA ,grid.410370.10000 0004 4657 1992Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA USA
| | - Travis Clark Evans
- grid.410370.10000 0004 4657 1992Boston Attention and Learning Lab (BALLAB), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA USA ,grid.189504.10000 0004 1936 7558Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA USA
| | - John Bernstein
- grid.410370.10000 0004 4657 1992Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA USA
| | - William Milberg
- grid.410370.10000 0004 4657 1992Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA USA ,grid.38142.3c000000041936754XDepartment of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA USA ,grid.410370.10000 0004 4657 1992Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA USA
| | - Regina McGlinchey
- grid.410370.10000 0004 4657 1992Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA USA ,grid.38142.3c000000041936754XDepartment of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA USA ,grid.410370.10000 0004 4657 1992Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA USA
| | - Joseph DeGutis
- grid.410370.10000 0004 4657 1992Boston Attention and Learning Lab (BALLAB), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA USA ,grid.410370.10000 0004 4657 1992Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA USA ,grid.38142.3c000000041936754XDepartment of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA USA
| | - Michael Esterman
- grid.410370.10000 0004 4657 1992National Center for PTSD (NCPTSD), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA USA ,grid.410370.10000 0004 4657 1992Boston Attention and Learning Lab (BALLAB), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA USA ,grid.189504.10000 0004 1936 7558Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA USA ,grid.410370.10000 0004 4657 1992Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA USA ,grid.410370.10000 0004 4657 1992Neuroimaging Research for Veterans (NeRVe) Center, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA USA
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7
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Brau JM, Sugarman A, Rothlein D, DeGutis J, Esterman M, Fortenbaugh FC. The impact of image degradation and temporal dynamics on sustained attention. J Vis 2022; 22:8. [PMID: 35297998 PMCID: PMC8944397 DOI: 10.1167/jov.22.4.8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Many clinical populations that have sustained attention deficits also have visual deficits. Therefore, it is necessary to understand how the quality of visual input and different forms of image degradation can contribute to worse performance on sustained attention tasks, particularly those with dynamic and complex visual stimuli. This study investigated the impact of image degradation on an adapted version of the gradual-onset continuous performance task (gradCPT), where participants must discriminate between gradually fading city and mountain scenes. Thirty-six normal-vision participants completed the task, which featured two blocks of six resolution and contrast levels. Subjects either completed a version with gradually fading or static image presentations. The results show decreases in image resolution impair performance under both types of temporal dynamics, whereas performance is only impaired under gradual temporal dynamics for decreases in image contrast. Image similarity analyses showed that performance has a higher association with an observer's ability to gather an image's global spatial layout (i.e. gist) than local variations in pixel luminance, particularly under gradual image presentation. This work suggests that gradually fading attention paradigms are sensitive to deficits in primary visual function, potentially leading to these issues being misinterpreted as attentional failures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia M Brau
- Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA.,
| | - Alexander Sugarman
- Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA.,
| | - David Rothlein
- Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA.,Boston Attention and Learning Lab (BALLAB), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA.,National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA.,
| | - Joseph DeGutis
- Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA.,Boston Attention and Learning Lab (BALLAB), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA.,
| | - Michael Esterman
- National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA.,Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA.,Boston Attention and Learning Lab (BALLAB), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.,
| | - Francesca C Fortenbaugh
- Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA.,
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8
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Variable rather than extreme slow reaction times distinguish brain states during sustained attention. Sci Rep 2021; 11:14883. [PMID: 34290318 PMCID: PMC8295386 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-94161-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
A common behavioral marker of optimal attention focus is faster responses or reduced response variability. Our previous study found two dominant brain states during sustained attention, and these states differed in their behavioral accuracy and reaction time (RT) variability. However, RT distributions are often positively skewed with a long tail (i.e., reflecting occasional slow responses). Therefore, a larger RT variance could also be explained by this long tail rather than the variance around an assumed normal distribution (i.e., reflecting pervasive response instability based on both faster and slower responses). Resolving this ambiguity is important for better understanding mechanisms of sustained attention. Here, using a large dataset of over 20,000 participants who performed a sustained attention task, we first demonstrated the utility of the exGuassian distribution that can decompose RTs into a strategy factor, a variance factor, and a long tail factor. We then investigated which factor(s) differed between the two brain states using fMRI. Across two independent datasets, results indicate unambiguously that the variance factor differs between the two dominant brain states. These findings indicate that ‘suboptimal’ is different from ‘slow’ at the behavior and neural level, and have implications for theoretically and methodologically guiding future sustained attention research.
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9
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Park H, Aul C, DeGutis J, Lo OY, Poole VN, McGlinchey R, Bean JF, Leritz E, Esterman M. Evidence for a Specific Association Between Sustained Attention and Gait Speed in Middle-to-Older-Aged Adults. Front Aging Neurosci 2021; 13:703434. [PMID: 34290601 PMCID: PMC8289388 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.703434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Although cognitive decline has previously been associated with mobility limitations and frailty, the relationship between sustained attention and gait speed is incompletely characterized. To better quantify the specificity of the sustained attention and gait speed association, we examined the extent to which this relationship is unique rather than accounted for by executive functioning and physical health characteristics. 58 middle-to-older-aged community-dwelling adults without overt evidence of cognitive impairment (45-90 years old; 21 females) participated in the study. Each participant completed a 4-meter gait speed assessment and validated neuropsychological tests to examine various domains of executive functioning including working memory (i.e., Digit Span), inhibitory control (i.e., D-KEFS Color-Word Interference), and task switching (i.e., D-KEFS Number/Letter Switching). Multiple physical and vascular risk factors were also evaluated. Sustained attention was assessed using the gradual onset continuous performance task (gradCPT), a well-validated go/no-go sustained attention task. A series of linear regression models were used to examine how different aspects of cognition, including sustained attention and traditional measures of executive functioning, related to gait speed while controlling for a variety of physical and vascular risk factors. Among all predictors, gradCPT accuracy explained the most variance in gait speed (R 2 = 0.19, p < 0.001) and was the only significant predictor (β = 0.35, p = 0.01) when accounting for executive functioning and other physical and vascular risk factors. The present results indicate that sustained attention may be uniquely sensitive and mechanistically linked to mobility limitations in middle-to-older adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Park
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory (BALLAB), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, United States
| | - Courtney Aul
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory (BALLAB), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, United States
- National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Joseph DeGutis
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory (BALLAB), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, United States
- Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - On-Yee Lo
- Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA, United States
- Division of Gerontology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Victoria N. Poole
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center and Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Regina McGlinchey
- Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- New England Geriatric Research, Educational and Clinical Center (NEGRECC), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Jonathan F. Bean
- New England Geriatric Research, Educational and Clinical Center (NEGRECC), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Elizabeth Leritz
- Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- New England Geriatric Research, Educational and Clinical Center (NEGRECC), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Michael Esterman
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory (BALLAB), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, United States
- National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, United States
- Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
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10
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Yamashita A, Rothlein D, Kucyi A, Valera EM, Esterman M. Brain state-based detection of attentional fluctuations and their modulation. Neuroimage 2021; 236:118072. [PMID: 33882346 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2020] [Revised: 03/30/2021] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
In the search for brain markers of optimal attentional focus, the mainstream approach has been to first define attentional states based on behavioral performance, and to subsequently investigate "neural correlates" associated with these performance variations. However, this approach constrains the range of contexts in which attentional states can be operationalized by relying on overt behavior, and assumes a one-to-one correspondence between behavior and brain state. Here, we reversed the logic of these previous studies and sought to identify behaviorally-relevant brain states based solely on brain activity, agnostic to behavioral performance. In four independent datasets, we found that the same two brain states were dominant during a sustained attention task. One state was behaviorally optimal, with higher accuracy and stability, but a greater tendency to mind wander (State1). The second state was behaviorally suboptimal, with lower accuracy and instability (State2). We further demonstrate how these brain states were impacted by motivation and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Individuals with ADHD spent more time in suboptimal State2 and less time in optimal State1 than healthy controls. Motivation overcame the suboptimal behavior associated with State2. Our study provides compelling evidence for the existence of two attentional states from the sole viewpoint of brain activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayumu Yamashita
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Massachusetts, 02118. United States; Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, Massachusetts,02130. United States; Overseas Research Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo,102-0083. Japan.
| | - David Rothlein
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Massachusetts, 02118. United States; Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, Massachusetts,02130. United States; National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System, Massachusetts, 02130. United States
| | - Aaron Kucyi
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Massachusetts, 02115. United States
| | - Eve M Valera
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts, 02215. United States; Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts, 02125, United States
| | - Michael Esterman
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Massachusetts, 02118. United States; Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, Massachusetts,02130. United States; National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System, Massachusetts, 02130. United States
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11
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Kucyi A, Esterman M, Capella J, Green A, Uchida M, Biederman J, Gabrieli JDE, Valera EM, Whitfield-Gabrieli S. Prediction of stimulus-independent and task-unrelated thought from functional brain networks. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1793. [PMID: 33741956 PMCID: PMC7979817 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22027-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Neural substrates of "mind wandering" have been widely reported, yet experiments have varied in their contexts and their definitions of this psychological phenomenon, limiting generalizability. We aimed to develop and test the generalizability, specificity, and clinical relevance of a functional brain network-based marker for a well-defined feature of mind wandering-stimulus-independent, task-unrelated thought (SITUT). Combining functional MRI (fMRI) with online experience sampling in healthy adults, we defined a connectome-wide model of inter-regional coupling-dominated by default-frontoparietal control subnetwork interactions-that predicted trial-by-trial SITUT fluctuations within novel individuals. Model predictions generalized in an independent sample of adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In three additional resting-state fMRI studies (total n = 1115), including healthy individuals and individuals with ADHD, we demonstrated further prediction of SITUT (at modest effect sizes) defined using multiple trait-level and in-scanner measures. Our findings suggest that SITUT is represented within a common pattern of brain network interactions across time scales and contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron Kucyi
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Michael Esterman
- National Center for PTSD & Neuroimaging Research for Veterans Center (NeRVe), Veterans Administration Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - James Capella
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Allison Green
- Clinical and Research Program in Pediatric Psychopharmacology and Adult ADHD, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mai Uchida
- Clinical and Research Program in Pediatric Psychopharmacology and Adult ADHD, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Joseph Biederman
- Clinical and Research Program in Pediatric Psychopharmacology and Adult ADHD, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - John D E Gabrieli
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Imaging Center at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Eve M Valera
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
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12
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Integration and segregation across large-scale intrinsic brain networks as a marker of sustained attention and task-unrelated thought. Neuroimage 2021; 229:117610. [PMID: 33418073 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2020] [Revised: 11/23/2020] [Accepted: 11/25/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Sustained attention is a fundamental cognitive process that can be decoupled from distinct external events, and instead emerges from ongoing intrinsic large-scale network interdependencies fluctuating over seconds to minutes. Lapses of sustained attention are commonly associated with the subjective experience of mind wandering and task-unrelated thoughts. Little is known about how fluctuations in information processing underpin sustained attention, nor how mind wandering undermines this information processing. To overcome this, we used fMRI to investigate brain activity during subjects' performance (n=29) of a cognitive task that was optimized to detect and isolate continuous fluctuations in both sustained attention (via motor responses) and task-unrelated thought (via subjective reports). We then investigated sustained attention with respect to global attributes of communication throughout the functional architecture, i.e., by the segregation and integration of information processing across large scale-networks. Further, we determined how task-unrelated thoughts related to these global information processing markers of sustained attention. The results show that optimal states of sustained attention favor both enhanced segregation and reduced integration of information processing in several task-related large-scale cortical systems with concurrent reduced segregation and enhanced integration in the auditory and sensorimotor systems. Higher degree of mind wandering was associated with losses of the favored segregation and integration of specific subsystems in our sustained attention model. Taken together, we demonstrate that intrinsic ongoing neural fluctuations are characterized by two converging communication modes throughout the global functional architecture, which give rise to optimal and suboptimal attention states. We discuss how these results might potentially serve as neural markers for clinically abnormal attention. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Most of our brain activity unfolds in an intrinsic manner, i.e., is unrelated to immediate external stimuli or tasks. Here we use a gradual continuous performance task to map this intrinsic brain activity to both fluctuations of sustained attention and mind wandering. We show that optimal sustained attention is associated with concurrent segregation and integration of information processing within many large-scale brain networks, while task-unrelated thought is related to sub-optimal information processing in specific subsystems of this sustained attention network model. These findings provide a novel information processing framework for investigating the neural basis of sustained attention, by mapping attentional fluctuations to genuinely global features of intra-brain communication.
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13
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Experience sampling of the degree of mind wandering distinguishes hidden attentional states. Cognition 2020; 205:104380. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2019] [Revised: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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14
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Kucyi A, Daitch A, Raccah O, Zhao B, Zhang C, Esterman M, Zeineh M, Halpern CH, Zhang K, Zhang J, Parvizi J. Electrophysiological dynamics of antagonistic brain networks reflect attentional fluctuations. Nat Commun 2020; 11:325. [PMID: 31949140 PMCID: PMC6965628 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-14166-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2019] [Accepted: 12/08/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuroimaging evidence suggests that the default mode network (DMN) exhibits antagonistic activity with dorsal attention (DAN) and salience (SN) networks. Here we use human intracranial electroencephalography to investigate the behavioral relevance of fine-grained dynamics within and between these networks. The three networks show dissociable profiles of task-evoked electrophysiological activity, best captured in the high-frequency broadband (HFB; 70-170 Hz) range. On the order of hundreds of milliseconds, HFB responses peak fastest in the DAN, at intermediate speed in the SN, and slowest in the DMN. Lapses of attention (behavioral errors) are marked by distinguishable patterns of both pre- and post-stimulus HFB activity within each network. Moreover, the magnitude of temporally lagged, negative HFB coupling between the DAN and DMN (but not SN and DMN) is associated with greater sustained attention performance and is reduced during wakeful rest. These findings underscore the behavioral relevance of temporally delayed coordination between antagonistic brain networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron Kucyi
- Department of Neurology & Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94304, USA
| | - Amy Daitch
- Department of Neurology & Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94304, USA
| | - Omri Raccah
- Department of Neurology & Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94304, USA
| | - Baotian Zhao
- Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Beijing, 100070, China.,Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100070, China
| | - Chao Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Beijing, 100070, China.,Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100070, China
| | - Michael Esterman
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory & Neuroimaging Research for Veterans Center, Veterans Administration, Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, 02130, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02130, USA
| | - Michael Zeineh
- Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94304, USA
| | - Casey H Halpern
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94304, USA
| | - Kai Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Beijing, 100070, China.,Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100070, China
| | - Jianguo Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Beijing, 100070, China. .,Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100070, China.
| | - Josef Parvizi
- Department of Neurology & Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94304, USA.
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15
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Models of sustained attention. Curr Opin Psychol 2019; 29:174-180. [DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2018] [Revised: 01/04/2019] [Accepted: 03/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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16
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Mitko A, Rothlein D, Poole V, Robinson M, McGlinchey R, DeGutis J, Salat D, Esterman M. Individual differences in sustained attention are associated with cortical thickness. Hum Brain Mapp 2019; 40:3243-3253. [PMID: 30980462 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2018] [Revised: 03/23/2019] [Accepted: 03/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Several studies have examined how individual differences in sustained attention relate to functional brain measures (e.g., functional connectivity), but far fewer studies relate sustained attention ability, or cognition in general, to individual differences in cortical structure. Functional magnetic resonance imaging meta-analyses and patient work have highlighted that frontoparietal regions, lateralized to the right hemisphere, are critical for sustained attention, though recent work implicates a broader expanse of brain regions. The current study sought to determine if and where variation in cortical thickness is significantly associated with sustained attention performance. Sustained attention was measured using the gradual onset continuous performance task and the Test of Variables of Attention in 125 adult Veteran participants after acquiring two high-resolution structural MRI scans. Whole-brain vertex-wise analyses of the cortex demonstrated that better sustained attention was associated with increased thickness in visual, somatomotor, frontal, and parietal cortices, especially in the right hemisphere. Network-based analyses revealed relationships between sustained attention and cortical thickness in the dorsal attention, ventral attention, somatomotor, and visual networks. These results indicate cortical thickness in multiple regions and networks is associated with sustained attention, and add to the growing knowledge of how structural MRI can help explain individual differences in cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex Mitko
- Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA RR&D TBI National Research Center, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts.,Neuroimaging Research for Veterans (NeRVe) Center, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - David Rothlein
- Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA RR&D TBI National Research Center, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts.,Neuroimaging Research for Veterans (NeRVe) Center, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Victoria Poole
- Neuroimaging Research for Veterans (NeRVe) Center, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts.,Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, Massachusetts.,Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Meghan Robinson
- Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA RR&D TBI National Research Center, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts.,Neuroimaging Research for Veterans (NeRVe) Center, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts.,Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), Boston Division VA Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts.,Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Regina McGlinchey
- Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA RR&D TBI National Research Center, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts.,Neuroimaging Research for Veterans (NeRVe) Center, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts.,Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), Boston Division VA Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts.,Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Joseph DeGutis
- Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA RR&D TBI National Research Center, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts.,Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), Boston Division VA Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts.,Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - David Salat
- Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA RR&D TBI National Research Center, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts.,Neuroimaging Research for Veterans (NeRVe) Center, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts.,Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, Massachusetts.,Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Michael Esterman
- Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS), VA RR&D TBI National Research Center, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts.,Neuroimaging Research for Veterans (NeRVe) Center, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts.,Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), Boston Division VA Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts.,Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
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