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Sack AT, Paneva J, Küthe T, Dijkstra E, Zwienenberg L, Arns M, Schuhmann T. Target Engagement and Brain State Dependence of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: Implications for Clinical Practice. Biol Psychiatry 2024; 95:536-544. [PMID: 37739330 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.09.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Revised: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/24/2023]
Abstract
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is capable of noninvasively inducing lasting neuroplastic changes when applied repetitively across multiple treatment sessions. In recent years, repetitive TMS has developed into an established evidence-based treatment for various neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression. Despite significant advancements in our understanding of the mechanisms of action of TMS, there is still much to learn about how these mechanisms relate to the clinical effects observed in patients. If there is one thing about TMS that we know for sure, it is that TMS effects are state dependent. In this review, we describe how the effects of TMS on brain networks depend on various factors, including cognitive brain state, oscillatory brain state, and recent brain state history. These states play a crucial role in determining the effects of TMS at the moment of stimulation and are therefore directly linked to what is referred to as target engagement in TMS therapy. There is no control over target engagement without considering the different brain state dependencies of our TMS intervention. Clinical TMS protocols are largely ignoring this fundamental principle, which may explain the large variability and often still limited efficacy of TMS treatments. We propose that after almost 30 years of research on state dependency of TMS, it is time to change standard clinical practice by taking advantage of this fundamental principle. Rather than ignoring TMS state dependency, we can use it to our clinical advantage to improve the effectiveness of TMS treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander T Sack
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Brain + Nerve Center, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
| | - Jasmina Paneva
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Tara Küthe
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Eva Dijkstra
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Heart and Brain Group, Brainclinics Foundation, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Neurowave, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Lauren Zwienenberg
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Heart and Brain Group, Brainclinics Foundation, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Synaeda Psycho Medisch Centrum, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands
| | - Martijn Arns
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Brain + Nerve Center, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Heart and Brain Group, Brainclinics Foundation, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Teresa Schuhmann
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
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2
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Borgomaneri S, Vitale F, Battaglia S, de Vega M, Avenanti A. Task-related modulation of motor response to emotional bodies: A TMS motor-evoked potential study. Cortex 2024; 171:235-246. [PMID: 38096756 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2023.10.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
Exposure to emotional body postures during perceptual decision-making tasks has been linked to transient suppression of motor reactivity, supporting the monitoring of emotionally relevant information. However, it remains unclear whether this effect occurs implicitly, i.e., when emotional information is irrelevant to the task. To investigate this issue, we used single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to assess motor excitability while healthy participants were asked to categorize pictures of body expressions as emotional or neutral (emotion recognition task) or as belonging to a male or a female actor (gender recognition task) while receiving TMS over the motor cortex at 100 and 125 ms after picture onset. Results demonstrated that motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) were reduced for emotional body postures relative to neutral postures during the emotion recognition task. Conversely, MEPs increased for emotional body postures relative to neutral postures during the gender recognition task. These findings indicate that motor inhibition, contingent upon observing emotional body postures, is selectively associated with actively monitoring emotional features. In contrast, observing emotional body postures prompts motor facilitation when task-relevant features are non-emotional. These findings contribute to embodied cognition models that link emotion perception and action tendencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Borgomaneri
- Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari", Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena, Cesena, Italy.
| | - Francesca Vitale
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Universidad de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
| | - Simone Battaglia
- Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari", Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena, Cesena, Italy
| | - Manuel de Vega
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Universidad de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari", Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena, Cesena, Italy; Centro de Investigación en Neuropsicología y Neurosciencias Cognitivas, Universidad Católica Del Maule, Talca, Chile.
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3
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Brown L, White LK, Makhoul W, Teferi M, Sheline YI, Balderston NL. Role of the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) in anxiety and cognition: Opportunities for intervention for anxiety-related disorders. Int J Clin Health Psychol 2023; 23:100385. [PMID: 37006335 PMCID: PMC10060180 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2023.100385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2023] [Indexed: 04/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Our objective was to review the literature on the parietal cortex and intraparietal sulcus (IPS) in anxiety-related disorders, as well as opportunities for using neuromodulation to target this region and reduce anxiety. We provide an overview of prior research demonstrating: 1) the importance of the IPS in attention, vigilance, and anxious arousal, 2) the potential for neuromodulation of the IPS to reduce unnecessary attention toward threat and anxious arousal as demonstrated in healthy samples; and 3) limited data on the potential for neuromodulation of the IPS to reduce hyper-attention toward threat and anxious arousal among clinical samples with anxiety-related disorders. Future research should evaluate the efficacy of IPS neuromodulation in fully powered clinical trials, as well as the value in augmenting evidence-based treatments for anxiety with IPS neuromodulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lily Brown
- Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Lauren K. White
- Lifespan Brain Institute, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Walid Makhoul
- Center for Neuromodulation in Depression and Stress, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Marta Teferi
- Center for Neuromodulation in Depression and Stress, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Yvette I. Sheline
- Center for Neuromodulation in Depression and Stress, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Nicholas L. Balderston
- Center for Neuromodulation in Depression and Stress, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
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Zhang M, Yu L, Zhang K, Du B, Zhan B, Jia S, Chen S, Han F, Li Y, Liu S, Yi X, Liu S, Luo W. Construction and validation of the Dalian emotional movement open-source set (DEMOS). Behav Res Methods 2023; 55:2353-2366. [PMID: 35931937 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-022-01887-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Human body movements are important for emotion recognition and social communication and have received extensive attention from researchers. In this field, emotional biological motion stimuli, as depicted by point-light displays, are widely used. However, the number of stimuli in the existing material library is small, and there is a lack of standardized indicators, which subsequently limits experimental design and conduction. Therefore, based on our prior kinematic dataset, we constructed the Dalian Emotional Movement Open-source Set (DEMOS) using computational modeling. The DEMOS has three views (i.e., frontal 0°, left 45°, and left 90°) and in total comprises 2664 high-quality videos of emotional biological motion, each displaying happiness, sadness, anger, fear, disgust, and neutral. All stimuli were validated in terms of recognition accuracy, emotional intensity, and subjective movement. The objective movement for each expression was also calculated. The DEMOS can be downloaded for free from https://osf.io/83fst/ . To our knowledge, this is the largest multi-view emotional biological motion set based on the whole body. The DEMOS can be applied in many fields, including affective computing, social cognition, and psychiatry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingming Zhang
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, 116029, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, 116029, China
| | - Lu Yu
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, 116029, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, 116029, China
| | - Keye Zhang
- School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Bixuan Du
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, 116029, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, 116029, China
| | - Bin Zhan
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Shuxin Jia
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, 116029, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, 116029, China
| | - Shaohua Chen
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, 116029, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, 116029, China
| | - Fengxu Han
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, 116029, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, 116029, China
| | - Yiwen Li
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, 116029, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, 116029, China
| | - Shuaicheng Liu
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, 116029, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, 116029, China
| | - Xi Yi
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, 116029, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, 116029, China
| | - Shenglan Liu
- School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China.
- Faculty of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China.
| | - Wenbo Luo
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, 116029, China.
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, 116029, China.
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5
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Pavlova MA, Romagnano V, Kubon J, Isernia S, Fallgatter AJ, Sokolov AN. Ties between reading faces, bodies, eyes, and autistic traits. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:997263. [PMID: 36248653 PMCID: PMC9554539 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.997263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
While reading covered with masks faces during the COVID-19 pandemic, for efficient social interaction, we need to combine information from different sources such as the eyes (without faces hidden by masks) and bodies. This may be challenging for individuals with neuropsychiatric conditions, in particular, autism spectrum disorders. Here we examined whether reading of dynamic faces, bodies, and eyes are tied in a gender-specific way, and how these capabilities are related to autistic traits expression. Females and males accomplished a task with point-light faces along with a task with point-light body locomotion portraying different emotional expressions. They had to infer emotional content of displays. In addition, participants were administered the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, modified and Autism Spectrum Quotient questionnaire. The findings show that only in females, inferring emotions from dynamic bodies and faces are firmly linked, whereas in males, reading in the eyes is knotted with face reading. Strikingly, in neurotypical males only, accuracy of face, body, and eyes reading was negatively tied with autistic traits. The outcome points to gender-specific modes in social cognition: females rely upon merely dynamic cues while reading faces and bodies, whereas males most likely trust configural information. The findings are of value for examination of face and body language reading in neuropsychiatric conditions, in particular, autism, most of which are gender/sex-specific. This work suggests that if male individuals with autistic traits experience difficulties in reading covered with masks faces, these deficits may be unlikely compensated by reading (even dynamic) bodies and faces. By contrast, in females, reading covered faces as well as reading language of dynamic bodies and faces are not compulsorily connected to autistic traits preventing them from paying high costs for maladaptive social interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina A. Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- *Correspondence: Marina A. Pavlova,
| | - Valentina Romagnano
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Julian Kubon
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Sara Isernia
- IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, Milan, Italy
| | - Andreas J. Fallgatter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Alexander N. Sokolov
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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6
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Lega C, Cattaneo L, Costantini G. How to Test the Association Between Baseline Performance Level and the Modulatory Effects of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation Techniques. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:920558. [PMID: 35814951 PMCID: PMC9265211 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.920558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioral effects of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques (NIBS) can dramatically change as a function of different factors (e.g., stimulation intensity, timing of stimulation). In this framework, lately there has been a growing interest toward the importance of considering the inter-individual differences in baseline performance and how they are related with behavioral NIBS effects. However, assessing how baseline performance level is associated with behavioral effects of brain stimulation techniques raises up crucial methodological issues. How can we test whether the performance at baseline is predictive of the effects of NIBS, when NIBS effects themselves are estimated with reference to baseline performance? In this perspective article, we discuss the limitations connected to widely used strategies for the analysis of the association between baseline value and NIBS effects, and review solutions to properly address this type of question.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlotta Lega
- Department of Psychology and Milan Center for Neuroscience (NeuroMI), University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- *Correspondence: Carlotta Lega
| | - Luigi Cattaneo
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Trento, Italy
- Centre for Medical Sciences (CISMed), University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Giulio Costantini
- Department of Psychology and Milan Center for Neuroscience (NeuroMI), University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
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Liu P, Sutherland M, Pollick FE. Incongruence effects in cross-modal emotional processing in autistic traits: An fMRI study. Neuropsychologia 2021; 161:107997. [PMID: 34425144 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2020] [Revised: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
In everyday life, emotional information is often conveyed by both the face and the voice. Consequently, information presented by one source can alter the way in which information from the other source is perceived, leading to emotional incongruence. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine neutral correlates of two different types of emotional incongruence in audiovisual processing, namely incongruence of emotion-valence and incongruence of emotion-presence. Participants were in two groups, one group with a low Autism Quotient score (LAQ) and one with a high score (HAQ). Each participant experienced emotional (happy, fearful) or neutral faces or voices while concurrently being exposed to emotional (happy, fearful) or neutral voices or faces. They were instructed to attend to either the visual or auditory track. The incongruence effect of emotion-valence was characterized by activation in a wide range of brain regions in both hemispheres involving the inferior frontal gyrus, cuneus, superior temporal gyrus, and middle frontal gyrus. The incongruence effect of emotion-presence was characterized by activation in a set of temporal and occipital regions in both hemispheres, including the middle occipital gyrus, middle temporal gyrus and inferior temporal gyrus. In addition, the present study identified greater recruitment of the right inferior parietal lobule in perceiving audio-visual emotional expressions in HAQ individuals, as compared to the LAQ individuals. Depending on face or voice-to-be attended, different patterns of emotional incongruence were found between the two groups. Specifically, the HAQ group tend to show more incidental processing to visual information whilst the LAQ group tend to show more incidental processing to auditory information during the crossmodal emotional incongruence decoding. These differences might be attributed to different attentional demands and different processing strategies between the two groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peipei Liu
- Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China; School of Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QB, UK; School of Education, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G3 6NH, UK
| | | | - Frank E Pollick
- School of Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QB, UK.
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New Horizons on Non-invasive Brain Stimulation of the Social and Affective Cerebellum. THE CEREBELLUM 2021; 21:482-496. [PMID: 34270081 DOI: 10.1007/s12311-021-01300-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The cerebellum is increasingly attracting scientists interested in basic and clinical research of neuromodulation. Here, we review available studies that used either transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) or transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to examine the role of the posterior cerebellum in different aspects of social and affective cognition, from mood regulation to emotion discrimination, and from the ability to identify biological motion to higher-level social inferences (mentalizing). We discuss how at the functional level the role of the posterior cerebellum in these different processes may be explained by a generic prediction mechanism and how the posterior cerebellum may exert this function within different cortico-cerebellar and cerebellar limbic networks involved in social cognition. Furthermore, we suggest to deepen our understanding of the cerebro-cerebellar circuits involved in different aspects of social cognition by employing promising stimulation approaches that have so far been primarily used to study cortical functions and networks, such as paired-pulse TMS, frequency-tuned stimulation, state-dependent protocols, and chronometric TMS. The ability to modulate cerebro-cerebellar connectivity opens up possible clinical applications for improving impairments in social and affective skills associated with cerebellar abnormalities.
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Mazzoni N, Ricciardelli P, Actis-Grosso R, Venuti P. Difficulties in Recognising Dynamic but not Static Emotional Body Movements in Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 2021; 52:1092-1105. [PMID: 33866488 PMCID: PMC8854267 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-05015-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
In this study, we investigated whether the difficulties in body motion (BM) perception may led to deficit in emotion recognition in Autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To this aim, individuals with high-functioning ASD were asked to recognise fearful, happy, and neutral BM depicted as static images or dynamic point-light and full-light displays. Results showed slower response times in participants with ASD only in recognising dynamic stimuli, but no group differences in accuracy. This suggests that i) a deficit in action chaining mechanism in ASD may prevent the recognition of dynamic BM automatically and rapidly, ii) individuals with ASD and high cognitive resources can develop alternative—but equally successful—strategies to recognise emotional body expressions. Implications for treatment are discussed
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Affiliation(s)
- Noemi Mazzoni
- OFDLab - Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Via Matteo del Ben, 5B, 38068 Rovereto, Italy
| | - Paola Ricciardelli
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano - Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- Milan Centre for Neuroscience, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell’Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126 Milan, Italy
| | - Rossana Actis-Grosso
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano - Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- Milan Centre for Neuroscience, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell’Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126 Milan, Italy
| | - Paola Venuti
- OFDLab - Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Via Matteo del Ben, 5B, 38068 Rovereto, Italy
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Abstract
The development of the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in the study of psychological functions has entered a new phase of sophistication. This is largely due to an increasing physiological knowledge of its effects and to its being used in combination with other experimental techniques. This review presents the current state of our understanding of the mechanisms of TMS in the context of designing and interpreting psychological experiments. We discuss the major conceptual advances in behavioral studies using TMS. There are meaningful physiological and technical achievements to review, as well as a wealth of new perceptual and cognitive experiments. In doing so we summarize the different uses and challenges of TMS in mental chronometry, perception, awareness, learning, and memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Pitcher
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom;
| | - Beth Parkin
- Department of Psychology, University of Westminster, London W1W 6UW, United Kingdom;
| | - Vincent Walsh
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, United Kingdom;
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11
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Borgomaneri S, Vitale F, Avenanti A. Early motor reactivity to observed human body postures is affected by body expression, not gender. Neuropsychologia 2020; 146:107541. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2020] [Revised: 06/06/2020] [Accepted: 06/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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12
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Penton T, Catmur C, Banissy MJ, Bird G, Walsh V. Non-invasive stimulation in the social brain: the methodological challenges. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2020; 17:15-25. [PMID: 32734295 PMCID: PMC9083106 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2019] [Revised: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 07/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Use of non-invasive brain stimulation methods (NIBS) has become a common approach to study social processing in addition to behavioural, imaging and lesion studies. However, research using NIBS to investigate social processing faces challenges. Overcoming these is important to allow valid and reliable interpretation of findings in neurotypical cohorts, but also to allow us to tailor NIBS protocols to atypical groups with social difficulties. In this review, we consider the utility of brain stimulation as a technique to study and modulate social processing. We also discuss challenges that face researchers using NIBS to study social processing in neurotypical adults with a view to highlighting potential solutions. Finally, we discuss additional challenges that face researchers using NIBS to study and modulate social processing in atypical groups. These are important to consider given that NIBS protocols are rarely tailored to atypical groups before use. Instead, many rely on protocols designed for neurotypical adults despite differences in brain function that are likely to impact response to NIBS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tegan Penton
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, SE14 6NW, UK.,MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Caroline Catmur
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Michael J Banissy
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, SE14 6NW, UK
| | - Geoffrey Bird
- MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 8AF, UK.,Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PH
| | - Vincent Walsh
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
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13
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Mazzoni N, Landi I, Ricciardelli P, Actis-Grosso R, Venuti P. "Motion or Emotion? Recognition of Emotional Bodily Expressions in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder With and Without Intellectual Disability". Front Psychol 2020; 11:478. [PMID: 32269539 PMCID: PMC7109394 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2019] [Accepted: 03/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The recognition of emotional body movement (BM) is impaired in individuals with Autistic Spectrum Disorder ASD, yet it is not clear whether the difficulty is related to the encoding of body motion, emotions, or both. Besides, BM recognition has been traditionally studied using point-light displays stimuli (PLDs) and is still underexplored in individuals with ASD and intellectual disability (ID). In the present study, we investigated the recognition of happy, fearful, and neutral BM in children with ASD with and without ID. In a non-verbal recognition task, participants were asked to recognize pure-body-motion and visible-body-form stimuli (by means of point-light displays-PLDs and full-light displays-FLDs, respectively). We found that the children with ASD were less accurate than TD children in recognizing both the emotional and neutral BM, either when presented as FLDs or PLDs. These results suggest that the difficulty in understanding the observed BM may rely on atypical processing of BM information rather than emotion. Moreover, we found that the accuracy improved with age and IQ only in children with ASD without ID, suggesting that high level of cognitive resources can mediate the acquisition of compensatory mechanisms which develop with age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noemi Mazzoni
- ODFLab - Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Isotta Landi
- ODFLab - Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.,MPBA, Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Trento, Italy
| | - Paola Ricciardelli
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano - Bicocca, Milan, Italy.,Milan Centre for Neuroscience, Milan, Italy
| | - Rossana Actis-Grosso
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano - Bicocca, Milan, Italy.,Milan Centre for Neuroscience, Milan, Italy
| | - Paola Venuti
- ODFLab - Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
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14
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Halovic S, Kroos C, Stevens C. Adaptation aftereffects influence the perception of specific emotions from walking gait. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2020; 204:103026. [PMID: 32087419 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2020.103026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2019] [Revised: 02/03/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2020] [Indexed: 10/25/2022] Open
Abstract
We investigated the existence and nature of adaptation aftereffects on the visual perception of basic emotions displayed through walking gait. Stimuli were previously validated gender-ambiguous point-light walker models displaying various basic emotions (happy, sad, anger and fear). Results indicated that both facilitative and inhibitive aftereffects influenced the perception of all displayed emotions. Facilitative aftereffects were found between theoretically opposite emotions (i.e. happy/sad and anger/fear). Evidence suggested that low-level and high-level visual processes contributed to both stimulus aftereffect and conceptual aftereffect mechanisms. Significant aftereffects were more frequently evident for the time required to identify the displayed emotion than for emotion identification rates. The perception of basic emotions from walking gait is influenced by a number of different perceptual mechanisms which shift the categorical boundaries of each emotion as a result of perceptual experience.
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15
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Blocking facial mimicry affects recognition of facial and body expressions. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0229364. [PMID: 32078668 PMCID: PMC7032686 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2019] [Accepted: 02/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Facial mimicry is commonly defined as the tendency to imitate-at a sub-threshold level-facial expressions of other individuals. Numerous studies support a role of facial mimicry in recognizing others' emotions. However, the underlying functional mechanism is unclear. A prominent hypothesis considers facial mimicry as based on an action-perception loop, leading to the prediction that facial mimicry should be observed only when processing others' facial expressions. Nevertheless, previous studies have also detected facial mimicry during observation of emotional bodily expressions. An emergent alternative hypothesis is that facial mimicry overtly reflects the simulation of an "emotion", rather than the reproduction of a specific observed motor pattern. In the present study, we tested whether blocking mimicry ("Bite") on the lower face disrupted recognition of happy expressions conveyed by either facial or body expressions. In Experiment 1, we tested participants' ability to identify happy, fearful and neutral expressions in the Bite condition and in two control conditions. In Experiment 2, to ensure that such a manipulation selectively affects emotion recognition, we tested participants' ability to recognize emotional expressions, as well as the actors' gender, under the Bite condition and a control condition. Finally, we investigated the relationship between dispositional empathy and emotion recognition under the condition of blocked mimicry. Our findings demonstrated that blocking mimicry on the lower face hindered recognition of happy facial and body expressions, while the recognition of neutral and fearful expressions was not affected by the mimicry manipulation. The mimicry manipulation did not affect the gender discrimination task. Furthermore, the impairment of happy expression recognition correlated with empathic traits. These results support the role of facial mimicry in emotion recognition and suggest that facial mimicry reflects a global sensorimotor simulation of others' emotions rather than a muscle-specific reproduction of an observed motor expression.
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16
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Isernia S, Sokolov AN, Fallgatter AJ, Pavlova MA. Untangling the Ties Between Social Cognition and Body Motion: Gender Impact. Front Psychol 2020; 11:128. [PMID: 32116932 PMCID: PMC7016199 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2020] [Accepted: 01/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
We proved the viability of the general hypothesis that biological motion (BM) processing serves as a hallmark of social cognition. We assumed that BM processing and inferring emotions through BM (body language reading) are firmly linked and examined whether this tie is gender-specific. Healthy females and males completed two tasks with the same set of point-light BM displays portraying angry and neutral locomotion of female and male actors. For one task, perceivers had to indicate actor gender, while for the other, they had to infer the emotional content of locomotion. Thus, with identical visual input, we directed task demands either to BM processing or inferring of emotion. This design allows straight comparison between sensitivity to BM and recognition of emotions conveyed by the same BM. In addition, perceivers were administered a set of photographs from the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET), with which they identified either emotional state or actor gender. Although there were no gender differences in performance on BM tasks, a tight link occurred between recognition accuracy of emotions and gender through BM in males. In females only, body language reading (both accuracy and response time) was associated with performance on the RMET. The outcome underscores gender-specific modes in visual social cognition and triggers investigation of body language reading in a wide range of neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Isernia
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy
- CADITeR, IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, Milan, Italy
| | - Alexander N. Sokolov
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andreas J. Fallgatter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marina A. Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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17
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Effects of High-Definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Theta Burst Stimulation for Modulating the Posterior Parietal Cortex. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2019; 25:972-984. [PMID: 31397255 DOI: 10.1017/s1355617719000766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Noninvasive brain stimulation methods, including high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) and theta burst stimulation (TBS) have emerged as novel tools to modulate and explore brain function. However, the relative efficacy of these newer stimulation approaches for modulating cognitive functioning remains unclear. This study investigated the cognitive effects of HD-tDCS, intermittent TBS (iTBS) and prolonged continuous TBS (ProcTBS) and explored the potential of these approaches for modulating hypothesized functions of the left posterior parietal cortex (PPC). METHODS Twenty-two healthy volunteers attended four experimental sessions in a cross-over experimental design. In each session, participants either received HD-tDCS, iTBS, ProcTBS or sham, and completed cognitive tasks, including a divided attention task, a working memory maintenance task and an attention task (emotional Stroop test). RESULTS The results showed that compared to sham, HD-tDCS, iTBS and ProcTBS caused significantly faster response times on the emotional Stroop task. The effect size (Cohen's d) was d = .32 for iTBS (p < .001), .21 for ProcTBS (p = .01) and .15 for HD-tDCS (p = .044). However, for the performance on the divided attention and working memory maintenance tasks, no significant effect of stimulation was found. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation techniques, including TBS, may have greater efficacy for modulating cognition compared with HD-tDCS, and extend existing knowledge about specific functions of the left PPC.
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18
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Allart E, Devanne H, Delval A. Contribution of transcranial magnetic stimulation in assessing parietofrontal connectivity during gesture production in healthy individuals and brain-injured patients. Neurophysiol Clin 2019; 49:115-123. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neucli.2018.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2018] [Revised: 12/14/2018] [Accepted: 12/17/2018] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
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19
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Pattamadilok C, Planton S, Bonnard M. Spoken language coding neurons in the Visual Word Form Area: Evidence from a TMS adaptation paradigm. Neuroimage 2019; 186:278-285. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.11.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2018] [Revised: 09/19/2018] [Accepted: 11/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
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20
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Keysers C, Paracampo R, Gazzola V. What neuromodulation and lesion studies tell us about the function of the mirror neuron system and embodied cognition. Curr Opin Psychol 2018; 24:35-40. [PMID: 29734039 PMCID: PMC6173305 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2018] [Revised: 03/28/2018] [Accepted: 04/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
We review neuromodulation and lesion studies that address how activations in the mirror neuron system contribute to our perception of observed actions. Past reviews showed disruptions of this parieto-premotor network impair imitation and goal and kinematic processing. Recent studies bring five new themes. First, focal perturbations of a node of that circuit lead to changes across all nodes. Second, primary somatosensory cortex is an integral part of this network suggesting embodied representations are somatosensory-motor. Third, disturbing this network impairs the ability to predict the actions of others in the close (∼300ms) future. Fourth, disruptions impair our ability to coordinate our actions with others. Fifth, disrupting this network, the insula or cingulate also impairs emotion recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Keysers
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Amsterdam (UvA), 1001 NK Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Riccardo Paracampo
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Valeria Gazzola
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW), Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Amsterdam (UvA), 1001 NK Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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21
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Dynamic Interactions between Emotion Perception and Action Preparation for Reacting to Social Threat: A Combined cTBS-fMRI Study. eNeuro 2018; 5:eN-NWR-0408-17. [PMID: 29971249 PMCID: PMC6027957 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0408-17.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2017] [Revised: 04/24/2018] [Accepted: 04/25/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Expressions of emotion are powerful triggers for situation-appropriate responses by the observer. Of particular interest regarding the preparation of such adaptive actions are parietal and premotor cortices, given their potential for interaction with the amygdala (AMG), which is known to play a crucial role in the processing of affective information and in motor response. We set out to disentangle the respective roles of the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) and ventral premotor cortex (PMv) in humans in the processing of emotional body expressions by assessing remote effects of continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) in the action network and in AMG. Participants were presented with blocks of short videos showing either angry or neutral whole-body actions. The experiment consisted of three fMRI sessions: two sessions were preceded by stimulation of either right IPL (rIPL) or right PMv (rPMv); and a third session assessed baseline activity. Interestingly, whereas at baseline the left AMG did not differentiate between neutral and angry body postures, a significant difference between these conditions emerged after stimulation of either rIPL or rPMv, with much larger responses to angry than to neutral stimuli. In addition, the effects of cTBS stimulation and emotion were also observed in two other action-relevant areas, the supplementary motor area and the superior parietal cortex. Together, these results show how areas involved in action and emotion perception and in action preparation interact dynamically.
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22
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Paracampo R, Pirruccio M, Costa M, Borgomaneri S, Avenanti A. Visual, sensorimotor and cognitive routes to understanding others' enjoyment: An individual differences rTMS approach to empathic accuracy. Neuropsychologia 2018; 116:86-98. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.01.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2017] [Revised: 01/15/2018] [Accepted: 01/31/2018] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
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23
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Mei G, Yuan Q, Liu G, Pan Y, Bao M. Spontaneous recovery and time course of biological motion adaptation. Vision Res 2018; 149:40-46. [PMID: 29913245 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2018.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2018] [Revised: 05/02/2018] [Accepted: 06/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Adaptation to changes of the environment is an essential function of the visual system. Recent studies have revealed that prolonged viewing of a point-light display of a human walker can produce the perception of a point-light walker facing in the opposite direction in a subsequent ambiguous test. Similar effects of biological motion adaptation have been documented for various properties of the point-light walkers. However, the time course and controlling mechanisms for biological motion adaptation have not yet been examined. The present study investigated whether a single mechanism or multiple mechanisms controlled biological motion adaptation. In Experiment 1, a relatively long duration of initial adaptation to one facing direction of a point-light walker was followed by a relatively short duration of deadaptation in which the adapter was a point-light walker of the opposite facing direction. Chimeric ambiguous walkers were used to test the aftereffect in a top-up manner. We observed spontaneous recovery of the adaptation effects in the post-test period. The Experiment 2 further delineated the build-up and decay of biological motion adaptation that accorded well with the duration scaling law (i.e., effects of adaptation become stronger and longer-lasting as adaptation duration increases). Further analysis indicated that the slower but not the faster component of the adaptation effects complied with the law. These findings suggest that biological motion adaptation is controlled by the multiple mechanisms tuned to differing timescales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaoxing Mei
- Department of Psychology, School of Educational Science, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, PR China; CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China
| | - Qi Yuan
- Department of Psychology, School of Educational Science, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, PR China
| | - Guoqing Liu
- Department of Psychology, School of Educational Science, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, PR China
| | - Yun Pan
- Department of Psychology, School of Educational Science, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, PR China
| | - Min Bao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Beijing, PR China.
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24
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Silvanto J, Cattaneo Z. Common framework for "virtual lesion" and state-dependent TMS: The facilitatory/suppressive range model of online TMS effects on behavior. Brain Cogn 2017; 119:32-38. [PMID: 28963993 PMCID: PMC5652969 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2017.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2017] [Revised: 09/06/2017] [Accepted: 09/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Transcranial magnetic stimulation can either facilitate or impair behavior. Nature of behavioral effects depends on factors such as brain state and intensity. We present a common framework to account for these effects. There are distinct intensity ranges for facilitatory and suppressive effects of TMS. Changes in excitability shift these ranges and account for behavioral effects.
The behavioral effects of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) are often nonlinear; factors such as stimulation intensity and brain state can modulate the impact of TMS on observable behavior in qualitatively different manner. Here we propose a theoretical framework to account for these effects. In this model, there are distinct intensity ranges for facilitatory and suppressive effects of TMS – low intensities facilitate neural activity and behavior whereas high intensities induce suppression. The key feature of the model is that these ranges are shifted by changes in neural excitability: consequently, a TMS intensity, which normally induces suppression, can have a facilitatory effect if the stimulated neurons are being inhibited by ongoing task-related processes or preconditioning. For example, adaptation reduces excitability of adapted neurons; the outcome is that TMS intensities which inhibit non-adapted neurons induce a facilitation on adapted neural representations, leading to reversal of adaptation effects. In conventional “virtual lesion” paradigms, similar effects occur because neurons not involved in task-related processes are inhibited by the ongoing task. The resulting reduction in excitability can turn high intensity “inhibitory” TMS to low intensity “facilitatory” TMS for these neurons, and as task-related neuronal representations are in the inhibitory range, the outcome is a reduction in signal-to-noise ratio and behavioral impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juha Silvanto
- University of Westminster, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Psychology, 115 New Cavendish Street, W1W 6UW London, UK.
| | - Zaira Cattaneo
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy; Brain Connectivity Center, National Neurological Institute C. Mondino, 27100 Pavia, Italy
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Silvanto J, Bona S, Cattaneo Z. Initial activation state, stimulation intensity and timing of stimulation interact in producing behavioral effects of TMS. Neuroscience 2017; 363:134-141. [PMID: 28893648 PMCID: PMC5648046 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2017.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2017] [Revised: 08/31/2017] [Accepted: 09/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
TMS effects depend on various factors such as intensity, brain state and timing. We examined how these factors interact to give rise to behavioral effects. TMS was applied while participants performed a behavioral priming task. State dependency of TMS effect was found to interact with intensity and timing.
Behavioral effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) have been shown to depend on various factors, such as neural activation state, stimulation intensity, and timing of stimulation. Here we examined whether these factors interact, by applying TMS at either sub- or suprathreshold intensity (relative to phosphene threshold, PT) and at different time points during a state-dependent TMS paradigm. The state manipulation involved a behavioral task in which a visual prime (color grating) was followed by a target stimulus which could be either congruent, incongruent or partially congruent with the color and orientation of the prime. In Experiment 1, single-pulse TMS was applied over the early visual cortex (V1/V2) or Vertex (baseline) at the onset of the target stimulus – timing often used in state-dependent TMS studies. With both subthreshold and suprathreshold stimulation, TMS facilitated the detection of incongruent stimuli while not significantly affecting other stimulus types. In Experiment 2, TMS was applied at 100 ms after target onset –a time window in which V1/V2 is responding to visual input. Only TMS applied at suprathreshold intensity facilitated the detection of incongruent stimuli, with no effect with subthreshold stimulation. The need for higher stimulation intensity is likely to reflect reduced susceptibility to TMS of neurons responding to visual stimulation. Furthermore, the finding that in Experiment 2 only suprathreshold TMS induced a behavioral facilitation on incongruent targets (whereas facilitations in the absence of priming have been reported with subthreshold TMS) indicates that priming, by reducing neural excitability to incongruent targets, shifts the facilitatory/inhibitory range of TMS effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juha Silvanto
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Westminster, 309 Regent Street, W1B 2HW London, UK.
| | - Silvia Bona
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
| | - Zaira Cattaneo
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy; Brain Connectivity Center, National Neurological Institute C. Mondino, 27100 Pavia, Italy
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