1
|
Weigard A, Angstadt M, Taxali A, Heathcote A, Heitzeg MM, Sripada C. Flexible adaptation of task-positive brain networks predicts efficiency of evidence accumulation. Commun Biol 2024; 7:801. [PMID: 38956310 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06506-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 06/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Efficiency of evidence accumulation (EEA), an individual's ability to selectively gather goal-relevant information to make adaptive choices, is thought to be a key neurocomputational mechanism associated with cognitive functioning and transdiagnostic risk for psychopathology. However, the neural basis of individual differences in EEA is poorly understood, especially regarding the role of largescale brain network dynamics. We leverage data from 5198 participants from the Human Connectome Project and Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study to demonstrate a strong association between EEA and flexible adaptation to cognitive demand in the "task-positive" frontoparietal and dorsal attention networks. Notably, individuals with higher EEA displayed divergent task-positive network activation across n-back task conditions: higher activation under high cognitive demand (2-back) and lower activation under low demand (0-back). These findings suggest that brain networks' flexible adaptation to cognitive demands is a key neural underpinning of EEA.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Mike Angstadt
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
| | - Aman Taxali
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
| | - Andrew Heathcote
- Department of Psychological Methods, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Mary M Heitzeg
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
| | - Chandra Sripada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Kaduk K, Henry T, Guitton J, Meunier M, Thura D, Hadj-Bouziane F. Atomoxetine and reward size equally improve task engagement and perceptual decisions but differently affect movement execution. Neuropharmacology 2023; 241:109736. [PMID: 37774942 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2023.109736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/01/2023]
Abstract
Our ability to engage and perform daily activities relies on balancing the associated benefits and costs. Rewards, as benefits, act as powerful motivators that help us stay focused for longer durations. The noradrenergic (NA) system is thought to play a significant role in optimizing our performance. Yet, the interplay between reward and the NA system in shaping performance remains unclear, particularly when actions are driven by external incentives (reward). To explore this interaction, we tested four female rhesus monkeys performing a sustained Go/NoGo task under two reward sizes (low/high) and three pharmacological conditions (saline and two doses of atomoxetine, a NA reuptake inhibitor: ATX-0.5 mg/kg and ATX-1 mg/kg). We found that increasing either reward or NA levels equally enhanced the animal's engagement in the task compared to low reward saline; the animals also responded faster and more consistently under these circumstances. Notably, we identified differences between reward size and ATX. When combined with ATX, high reward further reduced the occurrence of false alarms (i.e., incorrect go trials on distractors), implying that it helped further suppress impulsive responses. In addition, ATX (but not reward size) consistently increased movement duration dose-dependently, while high reward did not affect movement duration but decreased its variability. We conclude that noradrenaline and reward modulate performance, but their effects are not identical, suggesting differential underlying mechanisms. Reward might energize/invigorate decisions and action, while ATX might help regulate energy expenditure, depending on the context, through the NA system.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kristin Kaduk
- University UCBL Lyon 1, F-69000, France; INSERM, U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, ImpAct Team, Lyon, F-69000, France; Decision and Awareness Group, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, Goettingen, 37077, Germany.
| | - Tiphaine Henry
- University UCBL Lyon 1, F-69000, France; INSERM, U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, ImpAct Team, Lyon, F-69000, France
| | - Jerome Guitton
- Biochemistry and Pharmacology-Toxicology Laboratory, Lyon-Sud Hospital, Hospices Civils de Lyon, F-69495, Pierre Bénite, France
| | - Martine Meunier
- University UCBL Lyon 1, F-69000, France; INSERM, U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, ImpAct Team, Lyon, F-69000, France
| | - David Thura
- University UCBL Lyon 1, F-69000, France; INSERM, U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, ImpAct Team, Lyon, F-69000, France
| | - Fadila Hadj-Bouziane
- University UCBL Lyon 1, F-69000, France; INSERM, U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, ImpAct Team, Lyon, F-69000, France.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Nuiten SA, de Gee JW, Zantvoord JB, Fahrenfort JJ, van Gaal S. Catecholaminergic neuromodulation and selective attention jointly shape perceptual decision-making. eLife 2023; 12:RP87022. [PMID: 38038722 PMCID: PMC10691802 DOI: 10.7554/elife.87022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Perceptual decisions about sensory input are influenced by fluctuations in ongoing neural activity, most prominently driven by attention and neuromodulator systems. It is currently unknown if neuromodulator activity and attention differentially modulate perceptual decision-making and/or whether neuromodulatory systems in fact control attentional processes. To investigate the effects of two distinct neuromodulatory systems and spatial attention on perceptual decisions, we pharmacologically elevated cholinergic (through donepezil) and catecholaminergic (through atomoxetine) levels in humans performing a visuo-spatial attention task, while we measured electroencephalography (EEG). Both attention and catecholaminergic enhancement improved decision-making at the behavioral and algorithmic level, as reflected in increased perceptual sensitivity and the modulation of the drift rate parameter derived from drift diffusion modeling. Univariate analyses of EEG data time-locked to the attentional cue, the target stimulus, and the motor response further revealed that attention and catecholaminergic enhancement both modulated pre-stimulus cortical excitability, cue- and stimulus-evoked sensory activity, as well as parietal evidence accumulation signals. Interestingly, we observed both similar, unique, and interactive effects of attention and catecholaminergic neuromodulation on these behavioral, algorithmic, and neural markers of the decision-making process. Thereby, this study reveals an intricate relationship between attentional and catecholaminergic systems and advances our understanding about how these systems jointly shape various stages of perceptual decision-making.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stijn A Nuiten
- Department of Psychology, University of AmsterdamAmsterdamNetherlands
- Amsterdam Brain & Cognition, University of AmsterdamAmsterdamNetherlands
- Department of Psychiatry (UPK), University of BaselBaselSwitzerland
| | - Jan Willem de Gee
- Amsterdam Brain & Cognition, University of AmsterdamAmsterdamNetherlands
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children’s HospitalHoustonUnited States
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
- Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of AmsterdamAmsterdamNetherlands
| | - Jasper B Zantvoord
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC location University of AmsterdamAmsterdamNetherlands
- Amsterdam NeuroscienceAmsterdamNetherlands
| | - Johannes J Fahrenfort
- Department of Psychology, University of AmsterdamAmsterdamNetherlands
- Amsterdam Brain & Cognition, University of AmsterdamAmsterdamNetherlands
- Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamAmsterdamNetherlands
- Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology - Cognitive Psychology, Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamAmsterdamNetherlands
| | - Simon van Gaal
- Department of Psychology, University of AmsterdamAmsterdamNetherlands
- Amsterdam Brain & Cognition, University of AmsterdamAmsterdamNetherlands
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Warren CV, Kroll CF, Kopp B. Dopaminergic and norepinephrinergic modulation of endogenous event-related potentials: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 151:105221. [PMID: 37150485 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2021] [Revised: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Event-related potentials (ERPs) represent the cortical processing of sensory, motor or cognitive functions invoked by particular events or stimuli. A current theory posits that the catecholaminergic neurotransmitters dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) modulate a number of endogenous ERPs during various cognitive processes. This manuscript aims to evaluate a leading neurotransmitter hypothesis with a systematic overview and meta-analysis of pharmacologic DA and NE manipulation of specific ERPs in healthy subjects during executive function. Specifically, the frontally-distributed P3a, N2, and Ne/ERN (or error-related negativity) are supposedly modulated primarily by DA, whereas the parietally-distributed P3b is thought to be modulated by NE. Based on preceding research, we refer to this distinction between frontally-distributed DA-sensitive and parietally-distributed NE-sensitive ERP components as the Extended Neurobiological Polich (ENP) hypothesis. Our systematic review and meta-analysis indicate that this distinction is too simplistic and many factors interact with DA and NE to influence these specific ERPs. These may include genetic factors, the specific cognitive processes engaged, or elements of study design, i.e. session or sequence effects or data-analysis strategies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Claire V Warren
- Charlotte Fresenius Hochschule, Alte Rabenstraße 32, 20148 Hamburg, Germany; Professorship for Clinical Psychology, Helmut-Schmidt University/ Bundeswehr University Hamburg, Holstenhofweg 85, 22043 Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Charlotte F Kroll
- Department of Psychiatry & Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Minderbroedersberg 4-6. P.O. Box 616, Maastricht, MD, 6200, The Netherlands
| | - Bruno Kopp
- Clinic für Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Weigard A, Sripada C. Task-general efficiency of evidence accumulation as a computationally-defined neurocognitive trait: Implications for clinical neuroscience. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY GLOBAL OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 1:5-15. [PMID: 35317408 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2021.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Quantifying individual differences in higher-order cognitive functions is a foundational area of cognitive science that also has profound implications for research on psychopathology. For the last two decades, the dominant approach in these fields has been to attempt to fractionate higher-order functions into hypothesized components (e.g., "inhibition", "updating") through a combination of experimental manipulation and factor analysis. However, the putative constructs obtained through this paradigm have recently been met with substantial criticism on both theoretical and empirical grounds. Concurrently, an alternative approach has emerged focusing on parameters of formal computational models of cognition that have been developed in mathematical psychology. These models posit biologically plausible and experimentally validated explanations of the data-generating process for cognitive tasks, allowing them to be used to measure the latent mechanisms that underlie performance. One of the primary insights provided by recent applications of such models is that individual and clinical differences in performance on a wide variety of cognitive tasks, ranging from simple choice tasks to complex executive paradigms, are largely driven by efficiency of evidence accumulation (EEA), a computational mechanism defined by sequential sampling models. This review assembles evidence for the hypothesis that EEA is a central individual difference dimension that explains neurocognitive deficits in multiple clinical disorders and identifies ways in which in this insight can advance clinical neuroscience research. We propose that recognition of EEA as a major driver of neurocognitive differences will allow the field to make clearer inferences about cognitive abnormalities in psychopathology and their links to neurobiology.
Collapse
|
6
|
Efficiently adding up our sensory evidence. Nat Hum Behav 2020; 4:778-779. [DOI: 10.1038/s41562-020-0857-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
|
7
|
Evidence accumulation during perceptual decisions in humans varies as a function of dorsal frontoparietal organization. Nat Hum Behav 2020; 4:844-855. [PMID: 32313233 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-020-0863-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2019] [Accepted: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Animal neurophysiological studies have identified neural signals within dorsal frontoparietal areas that trace a perceptual decision by accumulating sensory evidence over time and trigger action upon reaching a threshold. Although analogous accumulation-to-bound signals are identifiable on extracranial human electroencephalography, their cortical origins remain unknown. Here neural metrics of human evidence accumulation, predictive of the speed of perceptual reports, were isolated using electroencephalography and related to dorsal frontoparietal network (dFPN) connectivity using diffusion and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. The build-up rate of evidence accumulation mediated the relationship between the white matter macrostructure of dFPN pathways and the efficiency of perceptual reports. This association between steeper build-up rates of evidence accumulation and the dFPN was recapitulated in the resting-state networks. Stronger connectivity between dFPN regions is thus associated with faster evidence accumulation and speeded perceptual decisions. Our findings identify an integrated network for perceptual decisions that may be targeted for neurorehabilitation in cognitive disorders.
Collapse
|
8
|
Weigard A, Heathcote A, Sripada C. Modeling the effects of methylphenidate on interference and evidence accumulation processes using the conflict linear ballistic accumulator. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2019; 236:2501-2512. [PMID: 31302719 PMCID: PMC6697566 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-019-05316-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2019] [Accepted: 06/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Although methylphenidate and other stimulants have been demonstrated to improve task performance across a variety of domains, a computationally rigorous account of how these drugs alter cognitive processing remains elusive. Recent applications of mathematical models of cognitive processing and electrophysiological methods to this question have suggested that stimulants improve the integrity of evidence accumulation processes for relevant choices, potentially through catecholaminergic modulation of neural signal-to-noise ratios. However, this nascent line of work has thus far been limited to simple perceptual tasks and has largely omitted more complex conflict paradigms that contain experimental manipulations of specific top-down interference resolution processes. OBJECTIVES AND METHODS To address this gap, this study applied the conflict linear ballistic accumulator (LBA), a newly proposed model designed for conflict tasks, to data from healthy adults who performed the Multi-Source Interference Task (MSIT) after acute methylphenidate or placebo challenge. RESULTS Model-based analyses revealed that methylphenidate improved performance by reducing individuals' response thresholds and by enhancing evidence accumulation processes across all task conditions, either by improving the quality of evidence or by reducing variability in accumulation processes. In contrast, the drug did not reduce bottom-up interference or selectively facilitate top-down interference resolution processes probed by the experimental conflict manipulation. CONCLUSIONS Enhancement of evidence accumulation is a biologically plausible and task-general mechanism of stimulant effects on cognition. Moreover, the assumption that methylphenidate's effects on behavior are only visible with complex executive tasks may be misguided.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Weigard
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Rachel Upjohn Building, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA. .,Addiction Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|