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Piccardi L, Nori R, Cimadevilla JM, Kozhevnikov M. The Contribution of Internal and External Factors to Human Spatial Navigation. Brain Sci 2024; 14:585. [PMID: 38928585 PMCID: PMC11201702 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14060585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2024] [Accepted: 06/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Spatial navigation is a multifaceted cognitive function essential for planning and finding routes in one's environment [...].
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Piccardi
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
- San Raffaele Cassino Hospital, 03043 Cassino, Italy
| | - Raffaella Nori
- Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Jose Manuel Cimadevilla
- Faculty of Psychology and Health Research Center, University of Almeria, 04120 Almería, Spain;
| | - María Kozhevnikov
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore 17570, Singapore
- Martinos Canter for Biomedical Imaging, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02129, USA
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2
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Markostamou I, Morrissey S, Hornberger M. Imagery and Verbal Strategies in Spatial Memory for Route and Survey Descriptions. Brain Sci 2024; 14:403. [PMID: 38672053 PMCID: PMC11048460 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14040403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2024] [Revised: 04/12/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Being able to represent and remember verbally-encoded information about spatial environments from different perspectives is important for numerous daily activities. The present study examined how frequently individuals spontaneously engage in visual mental imagery and verbal rehearsal strategies in memory recall of spatial descriptions, and whether using certain strategies is associated with better recall performance. Memory recall for route (person-centred) and survey (object-centred) spatial descriptions was examined in a sample of 105 neurotypical individuals, who also reported to what extent they used route- and survey-based mental imagery and verbal rehearsal strategies in each description. Results showed that participants favoured a path visualisation strategy to recall the route description and a map visualisation strategy to recall the survey description. Regression models further showed that employing both imagery and verbal strategies was associated with better recall for both route and survey descriptions, although imagery strategies held a higher predictive power. The present findings highlight the fact that the spontaneous use of internal strategies in the form of visual imagery and verbal rehearsal is ubiquitous when recalling spatial descriptions and a core part of efficient spatial memory functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioanna Markostamou
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole BH12 5BB, UK
- Division of Psychology, School of Life and Medical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield AL10 9AB, UK
| | - Sol Morrissey
- Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7UQ, UK
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3
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Orti R, Coello Y, Ruotolo F, Vincent M, Bartolo A, Iachini T, Ruggiero G. Cortical Correlates of Visuospatial Switching Processes Between Egocentric and Allocentric Frames of Reference: A fNIRS Study. Brain Topogr 2024:10.1007/s10548-023-01032-0. [PMID: 38315347 DOI: 10.1007/s10548-023-01032-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
Human beings represent spatial information according to egocentric (body-to-object) and allocentric (object-to-object) frames of reference. In everyday life, we constantly switch from one frame of reference to another in order to react effectively to the specific needs of the environment and task demands. However, to the best of our knowledge, no study to date has investigated the cortical activity of switching and non-switching processes between egocentric and allocentric spatial encodings. To this aim, a custom-designed visuo-spatial memory task was administered and the cortical activities underlying switching vs non-switching spatial processes were investigated. Changes in concentrations of oxygenated and deoxygenated haemoglobin were measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Participants were asked to memorize triads of geometric objects and then make two consecutive judgments about the same triad. In the non-switching condition, both spatial judgments considered the same frame of reference: only egocentric or only allocentric. In the switching condition, if the first judgment was egocentric, the second one was allocentric (or vice versa). The results showed a generalized activation of the frontal regions during the switching compared to the non-switching condition. Additionally, increased cortical activity was found in the temporo-parietal junction during the switching condition compared to the non-switching condition. Overall, these results illustrate the cortical activity underlying the processing of switching between body position and environmental stimuli, showing an important role of the temporo-parietal junction and frontal regions in the preparation and switching between egocentric and allocentric reference frames.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renato Orti
- Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Immersive Virtual Reality, CS-IVR, Department of Psychology, University of Campania L. Vanvitelli, Viale Ellittico, 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy
| | - Yann Coello
- UMR 9193, SCALab, Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, Université de Lille, 59000, Lille, France
| | - Francesco Ruotolo
- Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Immersive Virtual Reality, CS-IVR, Department of Psychology, University of Campania L. Vanvitelli, Viale Ellittico, 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy
| | - Marion Vincent
- UMR 9193, SCALab, Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, Université de Lille, 59000, Lille, France
| | - Angela Bartolo
- UMR 9193, SCALab, Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, Université de Lille, 59000, Lille, France
| | - Tina Iachini
- Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Immersive Virtual Reality, CS-IVR, Department of Psychology, University of Campania L. Vanvitelli, Viale Ellittico, 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy
| | - Gennaro Ruggiero
- Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Immersive Virtual Reality, CS-IVR, Department of Psychology, University of Campania L. Vanvitelli, Viale Ellittico, 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy.
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4
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Race E, Carlisle C, Tejwani R, Verfaellie M. The language of mental images: Characterizing hippocampal contributions to imageable word use during event construction. Neuropsychologia 2020; 151:107705. [PMID: 33301763 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2020] [Revised: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Accumulating evidence suggests that the hippocampus plays a critical role in the creative and flexible use of language at the sentence or discourse level. Yet it is currently unclear whether the hippocampus also supports language use at the level of single words. A recent study by Hilverman et al. (2017) found that amnesic patients with hippocampal damage use less imageable words when describing autobiographical episodes compared to healthy controls, but this deficit was attributed to patients' deficits in episodic memory rather than impairments in linguistic functions of the hippocampus per se. Yet, in addition to affecting word use by way of its role in memory, the hippocampus could also impact language use more directly. The current study aimed to test this hypothesis by investigating the status of imageable word use in amnesia during two different types of language production tasks. In Experiment 1, participants constructed narratives about events depicted in visually presented pictures (picture narratives). In Experiment 2, participants constructed verbal narratives about remembered events from the past or simulated events in the future (past/future narratives). Across all types of narratives, patients produced words that were rated as having similar levels of imageability compared to controls. Importantly, this was the case both in patients' picture narratives, which did not require generating details from episodic memory and were matched to those of controls with respect to narrative content, and in patients' narratives about past/future events, which required generating details from memory and which were reduced in narrative content compared to those of controls. These results distinguish between the quantity and quality of individual linguistic details produced in amnesia during narrative construction, and suggest that the use of imageable linguistic representations does not depend on intact episodic memory and can be supported by regions outside the hippocampus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Race
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, 02150, USA; Memory Disorders Research Center, VA Boston Healthcare System and Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02130, USA.
| | - Camille Carlisle
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, 02150, USA
| | - Ruchi Tejwani
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, 02150, USA
| | - Mieke Verfaellie
- Memory Disorders Research Center, VA Boston Healthcare System and Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02130, USA
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5
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Edwards-Duric J, Stevenson RJ, Francis HM. The congruence of interoceptive predictions and hippocampal-related memory. Biol Psychol 2020; 155:107929. [PMID: 32659430 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2020.107929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2020] [Revised: 06/28/2020] [Accepted: 07/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Interoceptive deficits are associated with medial temporal lobe (MTL) lesions, and especially the hippocampus, which may relate to interoception's reliance upon predictive coding and hence on mnemonic processes. Here, we develop a new task to assess interoceptive predictions and assess their dependence upon MTL memory systems. Healthy participants were asked to imagine and predict what they would feel like across nine interoceptive situations. Later, each situation was physically experienced, and participants reported what they actually felt. An index of predictive congruence was derived and correlated with a neuropsychological measure of hippocampal dependent learning and memory (HDLM), finding that more accurate predictions were associated with better HDLM (Cohen's d = 0.5). We suggest the MTL, and in particular the hippocampus, generates contextually appropriate episodic memories, providing a predictive framework for interpreting afferent bodily neurohormonal signals. The loss of this capacity may account for the profound interoceptive deficits observed following MTL lesions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jo Edwards-Duric
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia
| | - Richard J Stevenson
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia.
| | - Heather M Francis
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia
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Lowry E, Puthusseryppady V, Coughlan G, Jeffs S, Hornberger M. Path Integration Changes as a Cognitive Marker for Vascular Cognitive Impairment?-A Pilot Study. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:131. [PMID: 32372934 PMCID: PMC7186341 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2019] [Accepted: 03/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Path integration spatial navigation processes are emerging as promising cognitive markers for prodromal and clinical Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, such path integration changes have been less explored in Vascular Cognitive Impairment (VCI), despite neurovascular change being a major contributing factor to dementia and potentially AD. In particular, the sensitivity and specificity of path integration impairments in VCI compared to AD is unclear. In the current pilot study, we explore path integration performance in early-stage AD and VCI patient groups and hypothesize that: (i) medial parietal mediated egocentric processes will be more affected in VCI; and (ii) medial temporal mediated allocentric processes will be more affected in AD. This cross-sectional study included early-stage VCI patients (n = 9), AD patients (n = 10) and healthy age-matched controls (n = 20). All participants underwent extensive neuropsychological testing, as well as spatial navigation testing. The spatial navigation tests included the virtual reality “Supermarket” task assessing egocentric (body-based) and allocentric (map-based) navigation as well as the “Clock Orientation” test assessing egocentric and path integration processes. Results showed that egocentric integration processes are only impaired in VCI, potentially distinguishing it from AD. However, in contrast to our prediction, allocentric integration was not more impaired in AD compared to VCI. These preliminary findings suggest limited specificity of allocentric integration deficits between VCI and AD. By contrast, egocentric path integration deficits emerge as more specific to VCI, potentially allowing for more specific diagnostic and treatment outcome measures for vascular impairment in dementia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen Lowry
- Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom.,School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | | | - Gillian Coughlan
- Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Stephen Jeffs
- Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Michael Hornberger
- Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
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7
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Abstract
In this commentary on Bastin et al., we suggest that spatial context plays a critical role in the encoding and retrieval of events. Specifically, the translation process between the viewpoint-independent content of a memory and the viewpoint-dependent stimuli activating the retrieval (mental frame syncing) plays a critical role in spatial memory recollection. This perspective also provides an explanatory model for pathological disturbances such as Alzheimer's disease.
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8
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Pearson J. The human imagination: the cognitive neuroscience of visual mental imagery. Nat Rev Neurosci 2019; 20:624-634. [DOI: 10.1038/s41583-019-0202-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 181] [Impact Index Per Article: 36.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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9
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Sheldon S, Cool K, El-Asmar N. The processes involved in mentally constructing event- and scene-based autobiographical representations. JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/20445911.2019.1614004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Signy Sheldon
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Kelly Cool
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Nadim El-Asmar
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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Diaz J, Abiola S, Kim N, Avaritt O, Flock D, Yu J, Northington FJ, Chavez-Valdez R. Therapeutic Hypothermia Provides Variable Protection against Behavioral Deficits after Neonatal Hypoxia-Ischemia: A Potential Role for Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor. Dev Neurosci 2017; 39:257-272. [PMID: 28196356 DOI: 10.1159/000454949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2016] [Accepted: 12/05/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Despite treatment with therapeutic hypothermia (TH), infants who survive hypoxic ischemic (HI) encephalopathy (HIE) have persistent neurological abnormalities at school age. Protection by TH against HI brain injury is variable in both humans and animal models. Our current preclinical model of hypoxia-ischemia (HI) and TH displays this variability of outcomes in neuropathological and neuroimaging end points with some sexual dimorphism. The detailed behavioral phenotype of this model is unknown. Whether there is sexual dimorphism in certain behavioral domains is also not known. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) supports neuronal cell survival and repair but may also be a marker of injury. Here, we characterize the behavioral deficits after HI and TH stratified by sex, as well as late changes in BDNF and its correlation with memory impairment. METHODS HI was induced in C57BL6 mice on postnatal day 10 (p10) (modified Vannucci model). Mice were randomized to TH (31°C) or normothermia (NT, 36°C) for 4 h after HI. Controls were anesthesia-exposed, age- and sex-matched littermates. Between p16 and p39, growth was followed, and behavioral testing was performed including reflexes (air righting, forelimb grasp and negative geotaxis) and sensorimotor, learning, and memory skills (open field, balance beam, adhesive removal, Y-maze tests, and object location task [OLT]). Correlations between mature BDNF levels in the forebrain and p42 memory outcomes were studied. RESULTS Both male and female HI mice had an approximately 8-12% lower growth rate (g/day) than shams (p ≤ 0.01) by p39. TH ameliorated this growth failure in females but not in males. In female mice, HI injury prolonged the time spent at the periphery (open field) at p36 (p = 0.004), regardless of treatment. TH prevented motor impairments in the balance beam and adhesive removal tests in male and female mice, respectively (p ≤ 0.05). Male and female HI mice visited the new arm of the Y-maze 12.5% (p = 0.05) and 10% (p = 0.03) less often than shams, respectively. Male HI mice also had 35% lower exploratory preference score than sham (p ≤ 0.001) in the OLT. TH did not prevent memory impairments found with Y-maze testing or OLT in either sex (p ≤ 0.01) at p26. At p42, BDNF levels in the forebrain ipsilateral to the HI insult were 1.7- to 2-fold higher than BDNF levels in the sham forebrain, and TH did not prevent this increase. Higher BDNF levels in the forebrain ipsilateral to the insult correlated with worse performance in the Y-maze in both sexes and in OLT in male mice (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS TH provides benefit in specific domains of behavior following neonatal HI. In general, these benefits accrued to both males and females, but not in all areas. In some domains, such as memory, no benefit of TH was found. Late differences in individual BDNF levels may explain some of these findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johana Diaz
- Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
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Bellmund JL, Deuker L, Navarro Schröder T, Doeller CF. Grid-cell representations in mental simulation. eLife 2016; 5. [PMID: 27572056 PMCID: PMC5005038 DOI: 10.7554/elife.17089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2016] [Accepted: 07/27/2016] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Anticipating the future is a key motif of the brain, possibly supported by mental simulation of upcoming events. Rodent single-cell recordings suggest the ability of spatially tuned cells to represent subsequent locations. Grid-like representations have been observed in the human entorhinal cortex during virtual and imagined navigation. However, hitherto it remains unknown if grid-like representations contribute to mental simulation in the absence of imagined movement. Participants imagined directions between building locations in a large-scale virtual-reality city while undergoing fMRI without re-exposure to the environment. Using multi-voxel pattern analysis, we provide evidence for representations of absolute imagined direction at a resolution of 30° in the parahippocampal gyrus, consistent with the head-direction system. Furthermore, we capitalize on the six-fold rotational symmetry of grid-cell firing to demonstrate a 60° periodic pattern-similarity structure in the entorhinal cortex. Our findings imply a role of the entorhinal grid-system in mental simulation and future thinking beyond spatial navigation. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.17089.001 Recordings of brain activity in moving rats have found neurons that fire when the rat is at specific locations. These neurons are known as grid cells because their activity produces a grid-like pattern. A separate group of neurons, called head direction cells, represents the rat’s facing direction. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies that have tracked brain activity in humans as they navigate virtual environments have found similar grid-like and direction-related responses. A recent study showed grid-like responses even if the people being studied just imagined moving around an arena while lying still. Theoretical work suggests that spatially tuned cells might generally be important for our ability to imagine and simulate future events. However, it is not clear whether these location- and direction-responsive cells are active when people do not visualize themselves moving. Bellmund et al. used fMRI to track brain activity in volunteers as they imagined different views in a virtual reality city. Before the fMRI experiment, the volunteers completed extensive training where they learned the layout of the city and the names of its buildings. Then, during the fMRI experiment, the volunteers had to imagine themselves standing in front of certain buildings and facing different directions. Crucially, they did not imagine themselves moving between these buildings. By using representational similarity analysis, which compares patterns of brain activity, Bellmund et al. could distinguish between the directions the volunteers were imagining. Activity patterns in the parahippocampal gyrus (a brain region known to be important for navigation) were more similar when participants were imagining similar directions. The fMRI results also show grid-like responses in a brain area called entorhinal cortex, which is known to contain grid cells. While participants were imagining, this region exhibited activity patterns with a six-fold symmetry, as Bellmund et al. predicted from the characteristic firing patterns of grid cells. The findings presented by Bellmund et al. provide evidence that suggests that grid cells are involved in planning how to navigate, and so support previous theoretical assumptions. The computations of these cells might contribute to other kinds of thinking too, such as remembering the past or imagining future events. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.17089.002
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob Ls Bellmund
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Neural Computation, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Lorena Deuker
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Department of Neuropsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Tobias Navarro Schröder
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Neural Computation, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Christian F Doeller
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Neural Computation, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
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Abstract
The lesion-deficit model dominates neuropsychology. This is unsurprising given powerful demonstrations that focal brain lesions can affect specific aspects of cognition. Nowhere is this more evident than in patients with bilateral hippocampal damage. In the past 60 years, the amnesia and other impairments exhibited by these patients have helped to delineate the functions of the hippocampus and shape the field of memory. We do not question the value of this approach. However, less prominent are the cognitive processes that remain intact following hippocampal lesions. Here, we collate the piecemeal reports of preservation of function following focal bilateral hippocampal damage, highlighting a wealth of information often veiled by the field's focus on deficits. We consider how a systematic understanding of what is preserved as well as what is lost could add an important layer of precision to models of memory and the hippocampus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian A Clark
- Wellcome Trust Center for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom; ,
| | - Eleanor A Maguire
- Wellcome Trust Center for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom; ,
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Martínez NT. [Mental Imagery: Neurophysiology and Implications in Psychiatry]. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2014; 43:40-6. [PMID: 26573255 DOI: 10.1016/s0034-7450(14)70041-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2013] [Accepted: 09/09/2013] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To provide an explanation about what mental imagery is and some implications in psychiatry. METHODS This article is a narrative literature review. RESULTS There are many terms in which imagery representations are described in different fields of research. They are defined as perceptions in the absence of an external stimulus, and can be created in any sensory modality. Their neurophysiological substrate is almost the same as the one activated during sensory perception. There is no unified theory about its function, but it is possibly the way that our brain uses and manipulates the information to respond to the environment. CONCLUSIONS Mental imagery is an everyday phenomenon, and when it occurs in specific patterns it can be a sign of mental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie Tamayo Martínez
- Especialista en Psiquiatría de Enlace, Maestría en Epidemiología Clínica, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana; Psiquiatra adscrita, Clínica Nuestra Señora de la Paz, Bogotá, Colombia.
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Playing Super Mario induces structural brain plasticity: gray matter changes resulting from training with a commercial video game. Mol Psychiatry 2014; 19:265-71. [PMID: 24166407 DOI: 10.1038/mp.2013.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 185] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2013] [Accepted: 08/08/2013] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Video gaming is a highly pervasive activity, providing a multitude of complex cognitive and motor demands. Gaming can be seen as an intense training of several skills. Associated cerebral structural plasticity induced has not been investigated so far. Comparing a control with a video gaming training group that was trained for 2 months for at least 30 min per day with a platformer game, we found significant gray matter (GM) increase in right hippocampal formation (HC), right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and bilateral cerebellum in the training group. The HC increase correlated with changes from egocentric to allocentric navigation strategy. GM increases in HC and DLPFC correlated with participants' desire for video gaming, evidence suggesting a predictive role of desire in volume change. Video game training augments GM in brain areas crucial for spatial navigation, strategic planning, working memory and motor performance going along with evidence for behavioral changes of navigation strategy. The presented video game training could therefore be used to counteract known risk factors for mental disease such as smaller hippocampus and prefrontal cortex volume in, for example, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia and neurodegenerative disease.
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A critical role for the hippocampus and perirhinal cortex in perceptual learning of scenes and faces: complementary findings from amnesia and FMRI. J Neurosci 2013; 33:10490-502. [PMID: 23785161 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2958-12.2013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
It is debated whether subregions within the medial temporal lobe (MTL), in particular the hippocampus (HC) and perirhinal cortex (PrC), play domain-sensitive roles in learning. In the present study, two patients with differing degrees of MTL damage were first exposed to pairs of highly similar scenes, faces, and dot patterns and then asked to make repeated same/different decisions to preexposed and nonexposed (novel) pairs from the three categories (Experiment 1). We measured whether patients would show a benefit of prior exposure (preexposed > nonexposed) and whether repetition of nonexposed (and preexposed) pairs at test would benefit discrimination accuracy. Although selective HC damage impaired learning of scenes, but not faces and dot patterns, broader MTL damage involving the HC and PrC compromised discrimination learning of scenes and faces but left dot pattern learning unaffected. In Experiment 2, a similar task was run in healthy young participants in the MRI scanner. Functional region-of-interest analyses revealed that posterior HC and posterior parahippocampal gyrus showed greater activity during scene pattern learning, but not face and dot pattern learning, whereas PrC, anterior HC, and posterior fusiform gyrus were recruited during discrimination learning for faces, but not scenes and dot pattern learning. Critically, activity in posterior HC and PrC, but not the other functional region-of-interest analyses, was modulated by accuracy (correct > incorrect within a preferred category). Therefore, both approaches revealed a key role for the HC and PrC in discrimination learning, which is consistent with representational accounts in which subregions in these MTL structures store complex spatial and object representations, respectively.
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Abstract
We currently lack a unified and mechanistic account of how the hippocampus supports a range of disparate cognitive functions that includes episodic memory, imagining the future, and spatial navigation. Here, we argue that in order to leverage this long-standing issue, traditional notions regarding the architecture of memory should be eschewed. Instead, we invoke the idea that scenes are central to hippocampal information processing. This view is motivated by mounting evidence that the hippocampus is constantly constructing spatially coherent scenes, automatically anticipating and synthesizing representations of the world beyond the immediate sensorium. By characterizing the precise relationship between scenes and the hippocampus, we believe a theoretically enriched understanding of its fundamental role and its breakdown in pathology can emerge.
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Wang L, Paul N, Stanton SJ, Greeson JM, Smoski MJ. Loss of sustained activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex in response to repeated stress in individuals with early-life emotional abuse: implications for depression vulnerability. Front Psychol 2013; 4:320. [PMID: 23761775 PMCID: PMC3671570 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2013] [Accepted: 05/17/2013] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Repeated psychosocial stress in early-life has significant impact on both behavior and neural function which, together, increase vulnerability to depression. However, neural mechanisms related to repeated stress remain unclear. We hypothesize that early-life stress may result in a reduced capacity for cognitive control in response to a repeated stressor, particularly in individuals who developed maladaptive emotional processing strategies, namely trait rumination. Individuals who encountered early-life stress but have adaptive emotional processing, namely trait mindfulness, may demonstrate an opposite pattern. Using a mental arithmetic task to induce mild stress and a mindful breathing task to induce a mindful state, we tested this hypothesis by examining blood perfusion changes over time in healthy young men. We found that subjects with early-life stress, particularly emotional abuse, failed to sustain neural activation in the orbitofrontal and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) over time. Given that the vmPFC is known to regulate amygdala activity during emotional processing, we subsequently compared the perfusion in the vmPFC and the amygdala in depression-vulnerable (having early-life stress and high in rumination) and resilient (having early-life stress and high in mindfulness) subjects. We found that depression-vulnerable subjects had increased amygdala perfusion and reduced vmPFC perfusion during the later runs than that during the earlier stressful task runs. In contrast, depression-resilient individuals showed the reverse pattern. Our results indicate that the vmPFC of depression-vulnerable subjects may have a limited capacity to inhibit amygdala activation to repeated stress over time, whereas the vmPFC in resilient individuals may adapt to stress quickly. This pilot study warrants future investigation to clarify the stress-related neural activity pattern dynamically to identify depression vulnerability at an individual level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lihong Wang
- Center for Biomedical Research Imaging, Tsinghua University , Beijing , China ; Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center , Durham, NC , USA ; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Duke University Medical Center , Durham, NC , USA
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Chadwick MJ, Mullally SL, Maguire EA. The hippocampus extrapolates beyond the view in scenes: an fMRI study of boundary extension. Cortex 2012; 49:2067-79. [PMID: 23276398 PMCID: PMC3764338 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2012.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2012] [Revised: 09/10/2012] [Accepted: 11/23/2012] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Boundary extension (BE) is a pervasive phenomenon whereby people remember seeing more of a scene than was present in the physical input, because they extrapolate beyond the borders of the original stimulus. This automatic embedding of a scene into a wider context supports our experience of a continuous and coherent world, and is therefore highly adaptive. BE, whilst occurring rapidly, is nevertheless thought to comprise two stages. The first involves the active extrapolation of the scene beyond its physical boundaries, and is constructive in nature. The second phase occurs at retrieval, where the initial extrapolation beyond the original scene borders is revealed by a subsequent memory error. The brain regions associated with the initial, and crucial, extrapolation of a scene beyond the view have never been investigated. Here, using functional MRI (fMRI) and a classic BE paradigm, we found that this extrapolation of scenes occurred rapidly around the time a scene was first viewed, and was associated with engagement of the hippocampus (HC) and parahippocampal cortex (PHC). Using connectivity analyses we determined that the HC in particular seemed to drive the BE effect, exerting top–down influence on PHC and indeed as far back down the processing stream as early visual cortex (VC). These cortical regions subsequently displayed activity profiles that tracked the trial-by-trial subjective perception of the scenes, rather than physical reality, thereby reflecting the behavioural expression of the BE error. Together our results show that the HC is involved in the active extrapolation of scenes beyond their physical borders. This information is then automatically and rapidly channelled through the scene processing hierarchy as far back as early VC. This suggests that the anticipation and construction of scenes is a pervasive and important aspect of our online perception, with the HC playing a central role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin J Chadwick
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.
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