Lateralization of spatial information processing in response monitoring

Influence of Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Motor Planning: A Resting-State and Task-State EEG Study

Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) shows a potential regulatory role for motor planning. Still, existing research mainly focuses on behavioral studies, and the neural modulation mechanism needs to be clarified. Therefore, we designed a multi-condition (active or sham, pre or under, difficult or easy, left-hand or right-hand) motor planning experiment to explore the effect of online tVNS (i.e., tVNS and tasks synchronized). Twenty-eight subjects were recruited and randomly assigned to active and sham groups. Both groups performed the same tasks in the experiment and separately collected task-state EEG and 5-min eye-open resting-state EEG. The results showed that the changes in event-related potential (ERP) and movement-related cortical potential (MRCP) amplitudes were more significant for the left-hand difficult task (LD) under active-tVNS. According to the power spectrum results, active-tVNS significantly modulated the activities of the contralateral motor cortex at beta and gamma bands in the resting state. The functional connectivity based on partial directed coherence (PDC) showed significant changes in the parietal lobe after active-tVNS. These findings suggest that tVNS is a promising way to improve motor planning ability.

Effects of Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation (tVNS) on Action Planning: A Behavioural and EEG study

Action planning is an important decision-making process, which can be specially affected by environment. Response selection during action planning has been demonstrated to be modulated by tVNS. Therefore, tVNS shows a great potential for modulating the action planning process. We aimed to explore the tVNS-induced effect on action planning in behavioural and electrophysiology. Twenty-eight participants were randomly divided into two groups (active group and sham group). A single-blind, sham-controlled between-subject design was applied to explore the effect of online-tVNS (i.e., tVNS overlapping with the task) on action planning paradigm. We measured and compared reaction time (RT) and movement-related cortical potentials (MRCPs) before and after tVNS between active and sham groups. As compared to sham group, for the ipsilateral hand/contralateral hemisphere relative to the stimulated side, active tVNS significantly reduced the reaction time and decreased the MRCP amplitude mainly in the challenging tasks. Our results indicate that tVNS can produce a lateralization effect on action planning, especially plays an important role in the more challenging tasks as reflected both in the behavioural and electrophysiological results.

Anodal tDCS modulates specific processing codes during conflict monitoring associated with superior and middle frontal cortices

Conflict monitoring processes are central for cognitive control. Neurophysiological correlates of conflict monitoring (i.e. the N2 ERP) likely represent a mixture of different cognitive processes. Based on theoretical considerations, we hypothesized that effects of anodal tDCS (atDCS) in superior frontal areas affect specific subprocesses in neurophysiological activity during conflict monitoring. To investigate this, young healthy adults performed a Simon task while EEG was recorded. atDCS and sham tDCS were applied in a single-blind, cross-over study design. Using temporal signal decomposition in combination with source localization analyses, we demonstrated that atDCS effects on cognitive control are very specific: the detrimental effect of atDCS on response speed was largest in case of response conflicts. This however only showed in aspects of the decomposed N2 component, reflecting stimulus-response translation processes. In contrast to this, stimulus-related aspects of the N2 as well as purely response-related processes were not modulated by atDCS. EEG source localization analyses revealed that the effect was likely driven by activity modulations in the superior frontal areas, including the supplementary motor cortex (BA6), as well as middle frontal (BA9) and medial frontal areas (BA32). atDCS did not modulate effects of proprioceptive information on hand position, even though this aspect is known to be processed within the same brain areas. Physiological effects of atDCS likely modulate specific aspects of information processing during cognitive control.

How non-veridical perception drives actions in healthy humans: evidence from synaesthesia

We continually perform actions that are driven by our perception and it is a commonly held view that only objectively perceived changes within the 'real' world affect behaviour. Exceptions are generally only made for mental health disorders associated with delusions and hallucinations where behaviour may be triggered by the experience of objectively non-existent percepts. Here, we demonstrate, using synaesthesia as a model condition (in N = 19 grapheme-colour synaesthetes), how objectively non-existent (i.e. non-veridical) but still non-pathological perceptions affect actions in healthy humans. Using electroencephalography, we determine whether early-stage perceptual processes (reflected by P1 and N1 event-related potential (ERP) components), or late-stage-integration processes (reflected by N2 component), underlie the effects of non-veridical perceptions on action control. ERP analysis suggests that even though the examined peculiarities and experimental variations are perceptual in nature, it is not early-stage perceptual processes, but rather higher-order executive control processes linking perceptions to the appropriate motor response underlying this effect. Source localization analysis implicates activation within medial frontal cortices in the effect of how irrelevant non-veridical perceptions modulate behaviour. Our results challenge common conceptions about the determinants of human behaviour but can be explained by well-established theoretical frameworks detailing the link between perception and action. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Bridging senses: novel insights from synaesthesia'.

Epigenetic regulation of lateralized fetal spinal gene expression underlies hemispheric asymmetries

Lateralization is a fundamental principle of nervous system organization but its molecular determinants are mostly unknown. In humans, asymmetric gene expression in the fetal cortex has been suggested as the molecular basis of handedness. However, human fetuses already show considerable asymmetries in arm movements before the motor cortex is functionally linked to the spinal cord, making it more likely that spinal gene expression asymmetries form the molecular basis of handedness. We analyzed genome-wide mRNA expression and DNA methylation in cervical and anterior thoracal spinal cord segments of five human fetuses and show development-dependent gene expression asymmetries. These gene expression asymmetries were epigenetically regulated by miRNA expression asymmetries in the TGF-β signaling pathway and lateralized methylation of CpG islands. Our findings suggest that molecular mechanisms for epigenetic regulation within the spinal cord constitute the starting point for handedness, implying a fundamental shift in our understanding of the ontogenesis of hemispheric asymmetries in humans.

DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.22784.001

Reversal of alcohol-induced effects on response control due to changes in proprioceptive information processing

Recent research has drawn interest to the effects of binge drinking on response selection. However, choosing an appropriate response is a complex endeavor that usually requires us to process and integrate several streams of information. One of them is proprioceptive information about the position of limbs. As to now, it has however remained elusive how binge drinking affects the processing of proprioceptive information during response selection and control in healthy individuals. We investigated this question using neurophysiological (EEG) techniques in a response selection task, where we manipulated proprioceptive information. The results show a reversal of alcohol-induced effects on response control due to changes in proprioceptive information processing. The most likely explanation for this finding is that proprioceptive information does not seem to be properly integrated in response selection processes during acute alcohol intoxication as found in binge drinking. The neurophysiological data suggest that processes related to the preparation and execution of the motor response, but not upstream processes related to conflict monitoring and spatial attentional orienting, underlie these binge drinking-dependent modulations. Taken together, the results show that even high doses of alcohol have very specific effects within the cascade of neurophysiological processes underlying response control and the integration of proprioceptive information during this process.

Single-subject prediction of response inhibition behavior by event-related potentials

Much research has been devoted to investigating response inhibition and the neuronal processes constituting this essential cognitive faculty. However, the nexus between cognitive subprocesses, behavior, and electrophysiological processes remains associative in nature. We therefore investigated whether neurophysiological correlates of inhibition subprocesses merely correlate with behavioral performance or actually provide information expedient to the prediction of behavior on a single-subject level. Tackling this question, we used different data-driven classification approaches in a sample of n = 262 healthy young subjects who completed a standard Go/Nogo task while an EEG was recorded. On the basis of median-split response inhibition performance, subjects were classified as "accurate/slow" and "less accurate/fast." Even though these behavioral group differences were associated with significant amplitude variations in classical electrophysiological correlates of response inhibition (i.e., N2 and P3), they were not predictive for group membership on a single-subject level. Instead, amplitude differences in the Go-P2 originating in the precuneus (BA7) were shown to predict group membership on a single-subject level with up to 64% accuracy. These findings strongly suggest that the behavioral outcome of response inhibition greatly depends on the amount of cognitive resources allocated to early stages of stimulus-response activation during responding. This suggests that research should focus more on early processing steps during responding when trying to understand the origin of interindividual differences in response inhibition processes.

Latent profiles of executive functioning in healthy young adults: evidence of individual differences in hemispheric asymmetry

Two competing theoretical models of individual differences in executive functioning (EF) were examined: the Prefrontal Convexity Model and the Hemispheric Asymmetry Model. Neurologically healthy individuals (N = 315; mean age 20.8) completed a modified switching task (MST) and the Attention Network Test (ANT) in a single testing session. Data analysis was conducted in two phases. In the first phase (model identification), latent profile analysis was applied to MST variables measuring the abilities to form, switch, and maintain mental sets under conditions designed to tax left or right hemisphere resources. In the second phase (model validation), participant clusters obtained from the first phase were compared on the ANT. The Model Identification phase yielded a 3-profile solution consistent with the Hemispheric Asymmetry Model. Profile 1 (N = 203) was characterized by average EF performances. Profile 2 (N = 43) revealed a set maintenance weakness under non-verbal conditions. Profile 3 (N = 38) demonstrated weaknesses in cognitive flexibility combined with poor executive performances under verbal conditions. The Model Validation phase confirmed group differences. Profile 1 demonstrated average EF performances. Profile 2 demonstrated distractibility and decreased alertness, consistent with a right hemisphere weakness. Profile 3 demonstrated cognitive rigidity in the absence of external cues, consistent with a left hemisphere weakness. Individual differences in EF appear to follow a Hemispheric Asymmetry Model of EF among neurologically healthy adults. Investigating the relationship between hemispherically mediated executive functions and other individual difference factors known to confer health risk or resilience could inform numerous disciplines within the field of psychology.

Interrelation of resting state functional connectivity, striatal GABA levels, and cognitive control processes

Important issues for cognitive control are response selection processes, known to depend on fronto-striatal networks with recent evidence suggesting that striatal gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) levels play an important role. Regional GABA concentrations have also been shown to modulate intrinsic connectivity, e.g. of the default mode network. However, the interrelation between striatal GABA levels, basal ganglia network (BGN) connectivity, and performance in cognitive control is elusive. In the current study, we measure striatal GABA levels using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and resting state parameters using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Resting state parameters include activity within the BGN, as determined by the low frequency power (LFP) within the network, and the functional connectivity between the BGN and somatomotor network (SMN). Specifically, we examine the interrelation between GABA, resting state parameters, and performance (i.e., accuracy) in conflict monitoring using a Simon task. Response control was affected by striatal GABA+ levels and activity within the BGN, especially when response selection was complicated by altered stimulus-response mappings. The data suggest that there are two mechanisms supporting response selection accuracy. One is related to resting state activity within the BGN and modulated by striatal GABA+ levels. The other is related to decreased cortico-striatal network connectivity, unrelated to the GABAergic system. The inclusion of all three factors (i.e., striatal GABA+ levels, activity within the BGN, and BGN-SMN network connectivity) explained a considerable amount of variance in task accuracy. Striatal neurobiochemical (GABA+) and parameters of the resting state BGN represent important modulators of response control.

Striatal and thalamic GABA level concentrations play differential roles for the modulation of response selection processes by proprioceptive information

The selection of appropriate responses is a complex endeavor requiring the integration of many different sources of information in fronto-striatal-thalamic circuits. An often neglected but relevant piece of information is provided by proprioceptive inputs about the current position of our limbs. This study examines the importance of striatal and thalamic GABA levels in these processes using GABA-edited magnetic resonance spectroscopy (GABA-MRS) and a Simon task featuring proprioception-induced interference in healthy subjects. As a possible model of deficits in the processing of proprioceptive information, we also included Parkinson's disease (PD) patients in this study. The results show that proprioceptive information about unusual postures complicates response selection processes in controls, but not in PD patients. The well-known deficits of PD patients in processing proprioceptive information can turn into a benefit when altered proprioceptive information would normally complicate response selection processes. Striatal and thalamic GABA levels play dissociable roles in the modulation of response selection processes by proprioceptive information: Striatal GABA levels seem to be important for the general speed of responding, most likely because striatal GABA promotes response selection. In contrast, the modulation of response conflict by proprioceptive information is closely related to thalamic GABA concentrations with higher concentration being related to a smaller response conflict effect. The most likely explanation for this finding is that the thalamus is involved in the integration of sensorimotor, attentional, and cognitive information for the purpose of response formation. Yet, this effect in the thalamus vanishes when controls and PD patients were analyzed separately.