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Momi D, Smeralda C, Sprugnoli G, Ferrone S, Rossi S, Rossi A, Di Lorenzo G, Santarnecchi E. Acute and long-lasting cortical thickness changes following intensive first-person action videogame practice. Behav Brain Res 2018; 353:62-73. [PMID: 29944915 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2018.06.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2017] [Revised: 06/01/2018] [Accepted: 06/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Recent evidence shows how an extensive gaming experience might positively impact cognitive and perceptual functioning, leading to brain structural changes observed in cross-sectional studies. Importantly, changes seem to be game-specific, reflecting gameplay styles and therefore opening to the possibility of tailoring videogames according to rehabilitation and enhancement purposes. However, whether if such brain effects can be induced even with limited gaming experience, and whether if they can outlast the gaming period, is still unknown. Here we quantified both cognitive and grey matter thickness changes following 15 daily gaming sessions based on a modified version of a 3D first-person shooter (FPS) played in laboratory settings. Twenty-nine healthy participants were randomly assigned to a control or a gaming group and underwent a cognitive assessment, an in-game performance evaluation and structural magnetic resonance imaging before (T0), immediately after (T1) and three months after the end of the experiment (T2). At T1, a significant increase in thickness of the bilateral parahippocampal cortex (PHC), somatosensory cortex (S1), superior parietal lobule (SPL) and right insula were observed. Changes in S1 matched the hand representation bilaterally, while PHC changes corresponded to the parahippocampal place area (PPA). Surprisingly, changes in thickness were still present at T2 for S1, PHC, SPL and right insula as compared to T0. Finally, surface-based regression identified the lingual gyrus as the best predictor of changes in game performance at T1. Results stress the specific impact of core game elements, such as spatial navigation and visuomotor coordination on structural brain properties, with effects outlasting even a short intensive gaming period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Momi
- Brain Investigation & Neuromodulation Lab, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology Section, University of Siena, Italy
| | - Carmelo Smeralda
- Brain Investigation & Neuromodulation Lab, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology Section, University of Siena, Italy
| | - Giulia Sprugnoli
- Brain Investigation & Neuromodulation Lab, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology Section, University of Siena, Italy
| | - Salvatore Ferrone
- Brain Investigation & Neuromodulation Lab, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology Section, University of Siena, Italy
| | - Simone Rossi
- Brain Investigation & Neuromodulation Lab, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology Section, University of Siena, Italy; Siena Robotics and Systems Lab (SIRS-Lab), Engineering and Mathematics Department, University of Siena, Italy; Human Physiology Section, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, University of Siena, Siena, Italy; Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Alessandro Rossi
- Brain Investigation & Neuromodulation Lab, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology Section, University of Siena, Italy; Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Giorgio Di Lorenzo
- Laboratory of Psychophysiology, Chair of Psychiatry, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy
| | - Emiliano Santarnecchi
- Brain Investigation & Neuromodulation Lab, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology Section, University of Siena, Italy; Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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Seitz AR, Kim R, van Wassenhove V, Shams L. Simultaneous and Independent Acquisition of Multisensory and Unisensory Associations. Perception 2016; 36:1445-53. [DOI: 10.1068/p5843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Although humans are almost constantly exposed to stimuli from multiple sensory modalities during daily life, the processes by which we learn to integrate information from multiple senses to acquire knowledge of multisensory objects are not well understood. Here, we present results of a novel audio – visual statistical learning procedure where participants are passively exposed to a rapid serial presentation of arbitrary audio — visual pairings (comprised of artificial/synthetic audio and visual stimuli). Following this exposure, participants were tested with a two-interval forced-choice procedure in which their degree of familiarity with the experienced audio-visual pairings was evaluated against novel audio — visual combinations drawn from the same stimulus set. Our results show that subjects acquire knowledge of visual — visual, audio — audio, and audio — visual stimulus associations and that the learning of these types of associations occurs in an independent manner.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Robyn Kim
- Department of Psychology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Virginie van Wassenhove
- Department of Psychology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Ladan Shams
- Department of Psychology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
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Seitz AR, Dinse HR. A common framework for perceptual learning. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2007; 17:148-53. [PMID: 17317151 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2007.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 181] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2006] [Accepted: 02/09/2007] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
In this review, we summarize recent evidence that perceptual learning can occur not only under training conditions but also in situations of unattended and passive sensory stimulation. We suggest that the key to learning is to boost stimulus-related activity that is normally insufficient exceed a learning threshold. We discuss how factors such as attention and reinforcement have crucial, permissive roles in learning. We observe, however, that highly optimized stimulation protocols can also boost responses and promote learning. This helps to reconcile observations of how learning can occur (or fail to occur) in seemingly contradictory circumstances, and argues that different processes that affect learning operate through similar mechanisms that are probably based on, and mediated by, neuromodulatory factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron R Seitz
- Department of Psychology, Boston University, 64 Cummington Street, Boston, MA 02215, USA
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Serfaty CA, Campello-Costa P, Linden R. Rapid and long-term plasticity in the neonatal and adult retinotectal pathways following a retinal lesion. Brain Res Bull 2005; 66:128-34. [PMID: 15982529 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2005.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2004] [Revised: 04/12/2005] [Accepted: 04/12/2005] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The uncrossed retinotectal projection restricts its terminal fields to the ventral boundary of the visual layers at the rostral tectum during early post natal development. During this critical period, temporal retinal lesions in one eye induce laminar rearrangements in the uncrossed pathway of the intact eye toward the collicular surface previously occupied, almost exclusively, by the crossed retinal axon population. We have compared, using anterograde tracing techniques, the time course and magnitude of the axonal sprouting resulting from retinal lesions in neonates and adults. Early retinal lesions (within the first two post natal weeks) induced extensive and rapid plasticity of the ipsilateral projection 48 h after the lesions. On the third post natal week, similar retinal lesions induced a small reorganization of the intact eye's uncrossed projection within a 3-week survival time. Nevertheless, giving the animals a long-term survival, resulted in an increased plastic capability, suggesting that even after the critical period, intact retinal axons can respond efficiently to injury. The results suggest two phases of axonal reorganization within this subcortical pathway: a rapid plasticity within the critical period and a slow, but continuous plasticity in adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- C A Serfaty
- Programa de Neuroimunologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil, Caixa Postal: 100180, Niterói, RJ, CEP 24001-970, Brazil.
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Abstract
Brain hermeneutics and chaotic itinerancy proposed by Tsuda are attractive characterizations of perceptual dynamics in the mammalian olfactory system. This theory proposes that perception occurs at the interface between itinerant neural representation and interaction with the environment. Quantifiable application of these dynamics has been hampered by the lack of definable history and action processes which characterize the changes induced by behavioral state, attention, and learning. Local field potentials measured from several brain areas were used to characterize dynamic activity patterns for their use as representations of history and action processes. The signals were recorded from olfactory areas (olfactory bulb, OB, and pyriform cortex) and hippocampal areas (entorhinal cortex and dentate gyrus, DG) in the brains of rats. During odor-guided behavior the system shows dynamics at three temporal scales. Short time-scale changes are system-wide and can occur in the space of a single sniff. They are predictable, associated with learned shifts in behavioral state and occur periodically on the scale of the intertrial interval. These changes occupy the theta (2-12 Hz), beta (15-30 Hz), and gamma (40-100 Hz) frequency bands within and between all areas. Medium time-scale changes occur relatively unpredictably, manifesting in these data as alterations in connection strength between the OB and DG. These changes are strongly correlated with performance in associated trial blocks (5-10 min) and may be due to fluctuations in attention, mood, or amount of reward received. Long time-scale changes are likely related to learning or decline due to aging or disease. These may be modeled as slow monotonic processes that occur within or across days or even weeks or years. The folding of different time scales is proposed as a mechanism for chaotic itinerancy, represented by dynamic processes instead of static connection strengths. Thus, the individual maintains continuity of experience within the stability of fast periodic and slow monotonic processes, while medium scale events alter experience and performance dramatically but temporarily. These processes together with as yet to be determined action effects from motor system feedback are proposed as an instantiation of brain hermeneutics and chaotic itinerancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leslie M Kay
- Department of Psychology and Institute for Mind & Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
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Almeida SS, Duntas LH, Dye L, Nunes ML, Prasad C, Rocha JBT, Wainwright P, Zaia CTBV, Guedes RCA. Nutrition and brain function: a multidisciplinary virtual symposium. Nutr Neurosci 2002; 5:311-20. [PMID: 12385593 DOI: 10.1080/1028415021000033776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
A few months ago, the Brazilian Society for Neuroscience and Behavior (SBNeC) promoted a "virtual symposium" (by Internet, under the coordination of R.C.A. Guedes) on "Nutrition and Brain Function". The discussions generated during that symposium originated the present text, which analyzes current topics on the theme, based on the multidisciplinary experience of the authors. The way the brain could be non-homogeneously affected by nutritional alterations, as well as questions like early malnutrition and the development of late obesity and hormone abnormalities were discussed. Also, topics like the role of essential fatty acids (EFAs) on brain development, increased seizure susceptibility and changes in different neurotransmitters and in cognitive performance in malnourished animals, as well as differences between overall changes in nutrient intake and excess or deficiency of specific nutrients (e.g. iodine deficiency) were analyzed. It was pointed out that different types of neurons, possibly in distinct brain structures, might be differently affected by nutritional manipulation, including not only lack-but also excess of nutrient intake. Such differences could help in explaining discrepancies between data on humans and in animals and so, could aid in determining the basic mechanisms underlying lesions or changes in brain function and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- S S Almeida
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras (FFCLRP), USP, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
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