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Nono AST, Anziano M, Mouthon M, Chabwine JN, Spierer L. The Role of Anatomic Connectivity in Inhibitory Control Revealed by Combining Connectome-based Lesion-symptom Mapping with Event-related Potentials. Brain Topogr 2024; 37:1033-1042. [PMID: 38858320 PMCID: PMC11408543 DOI: 10.1007/s10548-024-01057-z] [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: 01/26/2024] [Accepted: 05/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/12/2024]
Abstract
Inhibitory control refers to the ability to suppress cognitive or motor processes. Current neurocognitive models indicate that this function mainly involves the anterior cingulate cortex and the inferior frontal cortex. However, how the communication between these areas influence inhibitory control performance and their functional response remains unknown. We addressed this question by injecting behavioral and electrophysiological markers of inhibitory control recorded during a Go/NoGo task as the 'symptoms' in a connectome-based lesion-symptom mapping approach in a sample of 96 first unilateral stroke patients. This approach enables us to identify the white matter tracts whose disruption by the lesions causally influences brain functional activity during inhibitory control. We found a central role of left frontotemporal and frontobasal intrahemispheric connections, as well as of the connections between the left temporoparietal and right temporal areas in inhibitory control performance. We also found that connections between the left temporal and right superior parietal areas modulate the conflict-related N2 event-related potential component and between the left temporal parietal area and right temporal and occipital areas for the inhibition P3 component. Our study supports the role of a distributed bilateral network in inhibitory control and reveals that combining lesion-symptom mapping approaches with functional indices of cognitive processes could shed new light on post-stroke functional reorganization. It may further help to refine the interpretation of classical electrophysiological markers of executive control in stroke patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex S T Nono
- Laboratory for Neurorehabilitation Science, Medicine Section, Faculty of Science and Medicine, University of Fribourg, PER 09, Chemin du Musée 5, 1700, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Marco Anziano
- Laboratory for Neurorehabilitation Science, Medicine Section, Faculty of Science and Medicine, University of Fribourg, PER 09, Chemin du Musée 5, 1700, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Michael Mouthon
- Laboratory for Neurorehabilitation Science, Medicine Section, Faculty of Science and Medicine, University of Fribourg, PER 09, Chemin du Musée 5, 1700, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Joelle N Chabwine
- Laboratory for Neurorehabilitation Science, Medicine Section, Faculty of Science and Medicine, University of Fribourg, PER 09, Chemin du Musée 5, 1700, Fribourg, Switzerland
- Neurology Unit, Department of Internal Medicine and Specialties, Fribourg Hospital, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Lucas Spierer
- Laboratory for Neurorehabilitation Science, Medicine Section, Faculty of Science and Medicine, University of Fribourg, PER 09, Chemin du Musée 5, 1700, Fribourg, Switzerland.
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Chen S, Töllner T, Müller HJ, Conci M. ERPs and alpha oscillations track the encoding and maintenance of object-based representations in visual working memory. Psychophysiology 2024; 61:e14557. [PMID: 38459638 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 03/10/2024]
Abstract
When memorizing an integrated object such as a Kanizsa figure, the completion of parts into a coherent whole is attained by grouping processes which render a whole-object representation in visual working memory (VWM). The present study measured event-related potentials (ERPs) and oscillatory amplitudes to track these processes of encoding and representing multiple features of an object in VWM. To this end, a change detection task was performed, which required observers to memorize both the orientations and colors of six "pacman" items while inducing configurations of the pacmen that systematically varied in terms of their grouping strength. The results revealed an effect of object configuration in VWM despite physically constant visual input: change detection for both orientation and color features was more accurate with increased grouping strength. At the electrophysiological level, the lateralized ERPs and alpha activity mirrored this behavioral pattern. Perception of the orientation features gave rise to the encoding of a grouped object as reflected by the amplitudes of the Ppc. The grouped object structure, in turn, modulated attention to both orientation and color features as indicated by the enhanced N1pc and N2pc. Finally, during item retention, the representation of individual objects and the concurrent allocation of attention to these memorized objects were modulated by grouping, as reflected by variations in the CDA amplitude and a concurrent lateralized alpha suppression, respectively. These results indicate that memorizing multiple features of grouped, to-be-integrated objects involves multiple, sequential stages of processing, providing support for a hierarchical model of object representations in VWM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyi Chen
- Allgemeine und Experimentelle Psychologie, Department Psychologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Thomas Töllner
- Allgemeine und Experimentelle Psychologie, Department Psychologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Hermann J Müller
- Allgemeine und Experimentelle Psychologie, Department Psychologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Markus Conci
- Allgemeine und Experimentelle Psychologie, Department Psychologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
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Ferrari V, Canturi F, De Cesarei A, Codispoti M. Sustained training with novel distractors attenuates the behavioral interference of emotional pictures but does not affect the electrocortical markers of emotional processing. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1322792. [PMID: 38384346 PMCID: PMC10880733 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1322792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Research has recently shown that behavioral interference prompted by emotional distractors is subject to habituation when the same exemplars are repeated, but promptly recovers in response to novel stimuli. The present study investigated whether prolonged experience with distractors that were all novel was effective in shaping the attentional filter, favoring stable and generalizable inhibition effects. Methods To test this, the impact of emotional distractors was measured before and after a sustained training phase with only novel distractor pictures, and that for a group of participants depicted only a variety of neutral contents, whereas a different group was exposed only to emotional contents. Results Results showed that emotional interference on reaction times was attenuated after the training phase (compared to the pre-test), but emotional distractors continued to interfere more than neutral ones in the post-test. The two groups did not differ in terms of training effect, suggesting that the distractor suppression mechanism developed during training was not sensitive to the affective category of natural scenes with which one had had experience. The affective modulation of neither the LPP or Alpha-ERD showed any effect of training. Discussion Altogether, these findings suggest that sustained experience with novel distractors may attenuate attention allocation toward task irrelevant emotional stimuli, but the evaluative processes and the engagement of motivational systems are always needed to support the monitoring of the environment for significant cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vera Ferrari
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Francesca Canturi
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
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Pronina MV, Ponomarev VA, Poliakov YI, Martins-Mourao A, Plotnikova IV, Müller A, Kropotov YD. Event-related EEG synchronization and desynchronization in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14403. [PMID: 37578353 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Revised: 04/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
Symptoms in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are associated with impairment in cognitive control, attention, and action inhibition. We investigated OCD group differences relative to healthy subjects in terms of event-related alpha and beta range synchronization (ERS) and desynchronization (ERD) during a visually cued Go/NoGo task. Subjects were 62 OCD patients and 296 healthy controls (HC). The OCD group in comparison with HC, showed a changed value of alpha/beta oscillatory power over the central cortex, in particular, an increase in the alpha/beta ERD over the central-parietal cortex during the interstimulus interval (Cue condition) as well as changes in the postmovement beta synchronization topography and frequency. Over the frontal cortex, the OCD group showed an increase in magnitude of the beta ERS in NoGo condition. Within the parietal-occipital ERS/ERD modulations, the OCD group showed an increase in the alpha/beta ERD over the parietal cortex after the presentation of the visual stimuli as well as a decrease in the beta ERD over the occipital cortex after the presentation of the Cue and Go stimuli. The specific properties in the ERS/ERD patterns observed in the OCD group may reflect high involvement of the frontal and central cortex in action preparation and action inhibition processes and, possibly, in maintaining the motor program, which might be a result of the dysfunction of the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuits involving prefrontal cortex. The data about enhanced involvement of the parietal cortex in the evaluation of the visual stimuli are in line with the assumption about overfocused attention in OCD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina V Pronina
- N.P. Bechtereva Institute of the Human Brain of Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint-Petersburg, Russia
| | - Valery A Ponomarev
- N.P. Bechtereva Institute of the Human Brain of Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint-Petersburg, Russia
| | - Yury I Poliakov
- Pavlov First Saint-Petersburg State Medical University, Saint-Petersburg, Russia
- Pavlov Institute of Physiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint-Petersburg, Russia
| | - Antonio Martins-Mourao
- QEEG & Brain Research Lab, Life, Health and Chemical Sciences, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
| | - Irina V Plotnikova
- N.P. Bechtereva Institute of the Human Brain of Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint-Petersburg, Russia
| | | | - Yury D Kropotov
- N.P. Bechtereva Institute of the Human Brain of Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint-Petersburg, Russia
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Codispoti M, De Cesarei A, Ferrari V. Alpha-band oscillations and emotion: A review of studies on picture perception. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14438. [PMID: 37724827 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Revised: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023]
Abstract
Although alpha-band activity has long been a focus of psychophysiological research, its modulation by emotional value during picture perception has only recently been studied systematically. Here, we review these studies and report that the most consistent alpha oscillatory pattern indexing emotional processing is an enhanced desynchronization (ERD) over posterior sensors when viewing emotional compared with neutral pictures. This enhanced alpha ERD is not specific to unpleasant picture content, as previously proposed for other measures of affective response, but has also been observed for pleasant stimuli. Evidence suggests that this effect is not confined to the alpha band but that it also involves a desynchronization of the lower beta frequencies (8-20 Hz). The emotional modulation of alpha ERD occurs even after massive stimulus repetition and when emotional cues serve as task-irrelevant distractors, consistent with the hypothesis that evaluative processes are mandatory in emotional picture processing. A similar enhanced ERD has been observed for other significant cues (e.g., conditioned aversive stimuli, or in anticipation of a potential threat), suggesting that it reflects cortical excitability associated with the engagement of the motivational systems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Vera Ferrari
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
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Feldman R. The neurobiology of hatred: Tools of Dialogue© intervention for youth reared amidst intractable conflict impacts brain, behaviour, and peacebuilding attitudes. Acta Paediatr 2023; 112:603-616. [PMID: 36655828 DOI: 10.1111/apa.16676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Revised: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Myths, drama, and sacred texts have warned against the fragile nature of human love; the closer the affiliative bond, the quicker it can turn into hatred, suggesting similarities in the neurobiological underpinnings of love and hatred. Here, I offer a theoretical account on the neurobiology of hatred based on our model on the biology of human attachments and its three foundations; the oxytocin system, the "affiliative brain", comprising the neural network sustaining attachment, and biobehavioural synchrony, the process by which humans create a coupled biology through coordinated action. These systems mature in mammals in the context of the mother-infant bond and then transfer to support life within social groups. During this transition, they partition to support affiliation and solidarity to one's group and fear and hatred towards out-group based on minor variations in social behaviour. I present the Tools of Dialogue© intervention for outgroup members based on social synchrony. Applied to Israeli and Palestinian youth and implementing RCT, we measured social behaviour, attitudes, hormones, and social brain response before and after the 8-session intervention. Youth receiving the intervention increased reciprocity and reduced hostile behaviour towards outgroup, attenuated the neural marker of prejudice and increased neural empathic response, reduced cortisol and elevated oxytocin, and adapted attitudes of compromise. These neural changes predicted peacebuilding support 7 years later, when young adults can engage in civil responsibilities. Our intervention, the first to show long-term effects of inter-group intervention on brain and behaviour, demonstrates how social synchrony can tilt the neurobiology of hatred towards the pole of affiliation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Feldman
- Center of Developmental Social Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzlia, Israel
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Jia LX, Ye JY, Cui JF, Shi HS, Yang TX, Wang Y. Proactive and reactive cognitive control for emotional conflict in individuals with high schizotypy: An ERP study. Clin Neurophysiol 2023; 145:36-44. [PMID: 36413979 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2022.10.016] [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: 05/26/2022] [Revised: 10/10/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The present study aimed to examine how individuals with high schizotypy, a high risk group of schizophrenia patients, resolve emotional conflict in proactive and reactive control and the underlying neural mechanisms. METHODS Thirty-two individuals with high schizotypy and 30 matched individuals with low schizotypy completed an emotional face-word Stroop task with electroencephalographic data recorded. The proportion of incongruent trials was manipulated in the task to induce proactive control (mostly incongruent trials context, MI context) or reactive control (mostly congruent trials context, MC context). Two event-related potential (ERP) components (N170 and N2) were examined, which represent face processing and cognitive control processes, respectively. RESULTS In the MC context, significantly decreased N2 and N170 amplitudes were found in high schizotypy individuals compared with low schizotypy individuals, suggesting abnormal neural activity of reactive control in high schizotypy individuals. No significant differences were found between the two groups in the MI context. CONCLUSIONS These results provide initial evidence for dissociation of neural activity of proactive and reactive control on emotional conflict in individuals with high schizotypy. SIGNIFICANCE The current findings provide important insight into the emotional conflict resolution in the schizophrenia spectrum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu-Xia Jia
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jun-Yan Ye
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ji-Fang Cui
- Research Center for Information and Statistics, National Institute of Education Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Hai-Song Shi
- North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China
| | - Tian-Xiao Yang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ya Wang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
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Levy J, Influs M, Masalha S, Goldstein A, Feldman R. Dialogue intervention for youth amidst intractable conflict attenuates neural prejudice response and promotes adults' peacemaking. PNAS NEXUS 2022; 1:pgac236. [PMID: 36712372 PMCID: PMC9802066 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Humans' dependence on group living has led to the formation of tenacious, often nonconscious negative perceptions of other social groups, a phenomenon termed "intergroup bias" that sustains one of the world's most imminent problem: intergroup conflicts. Adolescents' participation in intergroup conflicts has been continuously on the rise, rendering the need to devise interventions that can mitigate some of their deleterious effects on youth an urgent societal priority. Framed within the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and targeting youth, we implemented a dialogue-enhancing intervention for adolescents (16 to 18 years) reared amidst intractable conflict that builds on social synchrony and the neurobiology of affiliation. Implementing a randomized controlled trial design, before and after the 8-week intervention adolescents underwent magnetoencephalography to assess a neural marker of implicit prejudice and interviewed on their attitudes toward the conflict. Adolescents who received the intervention showed attenuation of the neural prejudice response, as indexed by sustained occipital alpha that was significantly reduced at post-intervention and adopted attitudes of peacemaking. Change in the neural prejudice response predicted attitudes of compromise and support in peacebuilding 7 years later, when young adults can already engage in active civil duties and responsibilities. These results underscore adolescence as a window of opportunity for enhancing inter-group dialogue and demonstrate the long-term associations between the neural evaluation of prejudice and self-reported measures of proclivity for compromise and peace in the context of an intractable century-long conflict.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Levy
- Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University, 8 Ha'universita Street, Herzliya 4610101, Israel
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland
| | - Moran Influs
- Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University, 8 Ha'universita Street, Herzliya 4610101, Israel
| | | | - Abraham Goldstein
- Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center and Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University, 8 Ha'universita Street, Herzliya 4610101, Israel
- Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
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Arana L, Melcón M, Kessel D, Hoyos S, Albert J, Carretié L, Capilla A. Suppression of alpha-band power underlies exogenous attention to emotional distractors. Psychophysiology 2022; 59:e14051. [PMID: 35318692 PMCID: PMC9540775 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Revised: 02/22/2022] [Accepted: 02/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Alpha-band oscillations (8-14 Hz) are essential for attention and perception processes by facilitating the selection of relevant information. Directing visuospatial endogenous (voluntary) attention to a given location consistently results in a power suppression of alpha activity over occipito-parietal areas contralateral to the attended visual field. In contrast, the neural oscillatory dynamics underlying the involuntary capture of attention, or exogenous attention, are currently under debate. By exploiting the inherent capacity of emotionally salient visual stimuli to capture attention, we aimed to investigate whether exogenous attention is characterized by either a reduction or an increase in alpha-band activity. Electroencephalographic activity was recorded while participants completed a Posner visuospatial cueing task, in which a lateralized image with either positive, negative, or neutral emotional content competed with a target stimulus presented in the opposite hemifield. Compared with trials with no distractors, alpha power was reduced over occipital regions contralateral to distracting images. This reduction of alpha activity turned out to be functionally relevant, as it correlated with impaired behavioral performance on the ongoing task and was enhanced for distractors with negative valence. Taken together, our results demonstrate that visuospatial exogenous attention is characterized by a suppression of alpha-band activity contralateral to distractor location, similar to the oscillatory underpinnings of endogenous attention. Further, these results highlight the key role of exogenous attention as an adaptive mechanism for the efficient detection of biologically salient stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lydia Arana
- Departamento de Psicología Biológica y de la Salud, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - María Melcón
- Departamento de Psicología Biológica y de la Salud, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Dominique Kessel
- Departamento de Psicología Biológica y de la Salud, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sandra Hoyos
- Departamento de Neurociencia y Aprendizaje, Universidad Católica de Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Jacobo Albert
- Departamento de Psicología Biológica y de la Salud, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Luis Carretié
- Departamento de Psicología Biológica y de la Salud, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Almudena Capilla
- Departamento de Psicología Biológica y de la Salud, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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Ahumada-Méndez F, Lucero B, Avenanti A, Saracini C, Muñoz-Quezada MT, Cortés-Rivera C, Canales-Johnson A. Affective modulation of cognitive control: A systematic review of EEG studies. Physiol Behav 2022; 249:113743. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2022.113743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Revised: 01/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Levy J, Goldstein A, Influs M, Masalha S, Feldman R. Neural Rhythmic Underpinnings of Intergroup Bias: Implications for Peace-Building Attitudes and Dialogue. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 17:408-420. [PMID: 34519338 PMCID: PMC8972238 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsab106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Revised: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 09/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Intergroup bias is a ubiquitous socio-cognitive phenomenon that, while sustaining human dependence on group living, often leads to prejudice, inequity, and violence; yet, its neural underpinnings remain unclear. Framed within the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and targeting youth, this study utilized magnetoencephalography to describe intrinsic neural oscillatory processes that represent the intergroup bias and may link with engagement in peacemaking in order to shed further light on the neural mechanisms underpinning intergroup conflict. Across the oscillatory spectrum, from very low to very high frequency bands, the only rhythm found to underlie the intergroup bias was the alpha rhythm. Alpha was continuously activated across the task and integrated a rapid perceptual component in occipital cortex with a top-down cognitive-control component in medial cingulate cortex. These components were distinctly associated with real-life intergroup dialog style and expressed attitudes that promote active engagement in peacemaking. Our findings suggest that the cortical alpha rhythm plays a crucial role in sustaining intergroup bias and address its impact on concrete intergroup experiences. Results highlight the need to provide opportunities for active peace-building dialog to youth reared amidst intractable conflicts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Levy
- Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya 46150, Israel.,Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, Espoo 02150, Finland
| | - Abraham Goldstein
- Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center and Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Moran Influs
- Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya 46150, Israel
| | | | - Ruth Feldman
- Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya 46150, Israel.,Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
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