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Ferrera D, Galán D, Peláez I, Carpio A, Martín-Buro MC, Mercado F. Long-term findings on working memory neural dynamics in healthcare workers after mild COVID-19. Clin Neurophysiol 2024; 161:40-51. [PMID: 38447493 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2024.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Revised: 12/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Understanding the long-term impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on cognitive function, even in mild cases, is critical to the well-being of individuals, especially for healthcare workers who are at increased risk of exposure to the virus. To the best of our knowledge, the electrophysiological activity underlying cognitive functioning has not yet been explored. METHODS Seventy-seven healthcare workers took part in the study (43 with mild infection about one year before the study and 34 uninfected). To assess cognitive status, event-related potentials (ERPs) and behavioural responses were recorded while participants performed a working memory task. RESULTS COVID-19 participants exhibited a distinct neural pattern with lower parieto-occipital N1 amplitudes and higher frontal P2 amplitudes as compared to non-infected healthcare workers. We found no behavioural differences (reaction times and error rates) in working memory functioning between groups. CONCLUSIONS This neural pattern suggests the presence of a decrement of processing resources linked to the encoding of sensory information (N1), followed by the enhanced of the P2 response which could be interpreted as the activation of compensation mechanism in COVID-19 participants. SIGNIFICANCE The current findings point out that ERPs could serve as valuable neural indices for detecting distinctive patterns in working memory functioning of COVID-19 participants, even in mild cases. However, further research is required to precisely ascertain the long-term cognitive effects of COVID-19 beyond one-year post-infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Ferrera
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain; Cognitive Neuroscience, Pain and Rehabilitation Research Group (NECODOR), School of Health Sciences, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Diego Galán
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain; Cognitive Neuroscience, Pain and Rehabilitation Research Group (NECODOR), School of Health Sciences, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Irene Peláez
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain; Cognitive Neuroscience, Pain and Rehabilitation Research Group (NECODOR), School of Health Sciences, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Alberto Carpio
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain; Cognitive Neuroscience, Pain and Rehabilitation Research Group (NECODOR), School of Health Sciences, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
| | - María Carmen Martín-Buro
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain; Cognitive Neuroscience, Pain and Rehabilitation Research Group (NECODOR), School of Health Sciences, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Mercado
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain; Cognitive Neuroscience, Pain and Rehabilitation Research Group (NECODOR), School of Health Sciences, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
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Fernandes-Magalhaes R, Carpio A, Ferrera D, Van Ryckeghem D, Peláez I, Barjola P, De Lahoz ME, Martín-Buro MC, Hinojosa JA, Van Damme S, Carretié L, Mercado F. Pain E-motion Faces Database (PEMF): Pain-related micro-clips for emotion research. Behav Res Methods 2023; 55:3831-3844. [PMID: 36253599 PMCID: PMC10615976 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-022-01992-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
A large number of publications have focused on the study of pain expressions. Despite the growing knowledge, the availability of pain-related face databases is still very scarce compared with other emotional facial expressions. The Pain E-Motion Faces Database (PEMF) is a new open-access database currently consisting of 272 micro-clips of 68 different identities. Each model displays one neutral expression and three pain-related facial expressions: posed, spontaneous-algometer and spontaneous-CO2 laser. Normative ratings of pain intensity, valence and arousal were provided by students of three different European universities. Six independent coders carried out a coding process on the facial stimuli based on the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), in which ratings of intensity of pain, valence and arousal were computed for each type of facial expression. Gender and age effects of models across each type of micro-clip were also analysed. Additionally, participants' ability to discriminate the veracity of pain-related facial expressions (i.e., spontaneous vs posed) was explored. Finally, a series of ANOVAs were carried out to test the presence of other basic emotions and common facial action unit (AU) patterns. The main results revealed that posed facial expressions received higher ratings of pain intensity, more negative valence and higher arousal compared with spontaneous pain-related and neutral faces. No differential effects of model gender were found. Participants were unable to accurately discriminate whether a given pain-related face represented spontaneous or posed pain. PEMF thus constitutes a large open-source and reliable set of dynamic pain expressions useful for designing experimental studies focused on pain processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Fernandes-Magalhaes
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Av. Atenas s/n, 28922 Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Alberto Carpio
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Av. Atenas s/n, 28922 Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain
| | - David Ferrera
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Av. Atenas s/n, 28922 Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Dimitri Van Ryckeghem
- Department of Experimental Health Psychology, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Irene Peláez
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Av. Atenas s/n, 28922 Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Paloma Barjola
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Av. Atenas s/n, 28922 Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain
| | - María Eugenia De Lahoz
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Av. Atenas s/n, 28922 Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain
| | - María Carmen Martín-Buro
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Av. Atenas s/n, 28922 Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain
| | - José Antonio Hinojosa
- Insituto Pluridisciplinar, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Psicología Experimental, Procesos Cognitivos y Logopedia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Nebrija en Cognición (CINC), Universidad Nebrija, Madrid, Spain
| | - Stefaan Van Damme
- Department of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Luis Carretié
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Mercado
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Av. Atenas s/n, 28922 Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain.
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Ferrera D, Gómez-Esquer F, Peláez I, Barjola P, Fernandes-Magalhaes R, Carpio A, De Lahoz ME, Martín-Buro MC, Mercado F. Working memory dysfunction in fibromyalgia is associated with genotypes of the catechol- O-methyltransferase gene: an event-related potential study. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2023; 273:25-40. [PMID: 36100778 PMCID: PMC9958168 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-022-01488-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Recent findings have associated different COMT genotypes with working memory capacity in patients with fibromyalgia. Although it is thought that the COMT gene may influence neural correlates (P2 and P3 ERP components) underlying working memory impairment in this chronic-pain syndrome, it has not yet been explored. Therefore, the aim of the present research was to investigate the potential effect of the COMT gene in fibromyalgia patients on ERP working memory indices (P2 and P3 components). For this purpose, 102 participants (51 patients and 51 healthy control participants) took part in the experiment. Event-related potentials and behavioral responses were recorded while participants performed a spatial n-back task. Participants had to decide if the stimulus coincided or not in the same location as the one presented one (1-back condition) or two (2-back condition) trials before. Genotypes of the COMT gene were determined through a saliva sample from all participants. Present results significantly showed lower working memory performance (p < 0.05) in patients with fibromyalgia as compared to control participants (higher rate of errors and slower reaction times). At neural level, we found that patients exhibited enhanced frontocentral and parieto-occipital P2 amplitudes compared to control participants (p < 0.05). Interestingly, we also observed that only fibromyalgia patients carrying the Val/Val genotype of the COMT gene showed higher frontocentral P2 amplitudes than control participants (p < 0.05). Current results (behavioral outcomes and P2 amplitudes) confirmed the presence of an alteration in working memory functioning in fibromyalgia. The enhancement of frontocentral P2 could be reflecting that these patients would manifest an inefficient way of activating executive attention processes, in carriers of the Val/Val genotype of COMT. To our knowledge, the present findings are the first linking neural indices of working memory dysfunctions and COMT genotypes in fibromyalgia. Applying a subgroup of patient's strategy based on this genetic marker could be useful to establish more tailored therapeutical approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Ferrera
- grid.28479.300000 0001 2206 5938Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Av. Atenas s/n. 28922, Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Gómez-Esquer
- grid.28479.300000 0001 2206 5938Emerging Research Group of Anatomical, Molecular and Human Development Bases, Department of Basic Health Sciences, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | - Irene Peláez
- grid.28479.300000 0001 2206 5938Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Av. Atenas s/n. 28922, Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Paloma Barjola
- grid.28479.300000 0001 2206 5938Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Av. Atenas s/n. 28922, Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Fernandes-Magalhaes
- grid.28479.300000 0001 2206 5938Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Av. Atenas s/n. 28922, Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Alberto Carpio
- grid.28479.300000 0001 2206 5938Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Av. Atenas s/n. 28922, Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain
| | - María Eugenia De Lahoz
- grid.28479.300000 0001 2206 5938Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Av. Atenas s/n. 28922, Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain
| | - María Carmen Martín-Buro
- grid.28479.300000 0001 2206 5938Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Av. Atenas s/n. 28922, Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Mercado
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Av. Atenas s/n. 28922, Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain.
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Fernandes-Magalhaes R, Ferrera D, Peláez I, Martín-Buro MC, Carpio A, De Lahoz ME, Barjola P, Mercado F. Neural correlates of the attentional bias towards pain-related faces in fibromyalgia patients: An ERP study using a dot-probe task. Neuropsychologia 2022; 166:108141. [PMID: 34995568 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.108141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Revised: 12/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/31/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND One of the major cognitive deficits in fibromyalgia has been linked to the hypervigilance phenomenon. It is mainly reflected as a negative bias for allocating attentional resources towards both threatening and pain-related information. Although the interest in its study has recently grown, the neural temporal dynamics of the attentional bias in fibromyalgia still remains an open question. METHOD Fifty participants (25 fibromyalgia patients and 25 healthy control subjects) performed a dot-probe task. Two types of facial expressions (pain-related and neutral) were employed as signal stimuli. Then, as a target stimulus, a single dot replaced the location of one of these two faces. Event-related potentials (ERP) in response to facial expressions and target stimulation (i.e., dot) were recorded. Reaction time (RT) and accuracy measures in the experimental task were collected as behavioural outcomes. RESULTS Temporal dynamics of brain electrical activity were analysed on two ERP components (P2 and N2a) sensitive to the facial expressions meaning. Pain-related faces elicited higher frontal P2 amplitudes than neutral faces for the whole sample. Interestingly, an interaction effect between group and facial expressions was also found showing that pain-related faces elicited enhanced P2 amplitudes (at fronto-central regions, in this case) compared to neutral faces only when the group of patients was considered. Furthermore, higher P2 amplitudes were observed in response to pain-related faces in patients with fibromyalgia compared to healthy control participants. Additionally, a shorter latency of P2 (at centro-parietal regions) was also detected for pain-related facial expressions compared to neutral faces. Regarding the amplitude of N2a, it was lower for patients as compared to the control group. Non-relevant effects of the target stimulation on the ERPs were found. However, patients with fibromyalgia exhibited slower RT to locate the single dot for incongruent trials as compared to congruent and neutral trials. CONCLUSIONS Data suggest the presence of an attentional bias in fibromyalgia that it would be followed by a deficit in the allocation of attentional resources to further process pain-related information. Altogether the current results suggest that attentional biases in fibromyalgia might be explained by automatic attentional mechanisms, which seem to be accompanied by an alteration of more strategic or controlled attentional components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Fernandes-Magalhaes
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain; Clinical Foundation of the Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | - David Ferrera
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | - Irene Peláez
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Alberto Carpio
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | - María Eugenia De Lahoz
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | - Paloma Barjola
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Mercado
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain.
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Treder MS, Charest I, Michelmann S, Martín-Buro MC, Roux F, Carceller-Benito F, Ugalde-Canitrot A, Rollings DT, Sawlani V, Chelvarajah R, Wimber M, Hanslmayr S, Staresina BP. The hippocampus as the switchboard between perception and memory. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2114171118. [PMID: 34880133 PMCID: PMC8685930 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2114171118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Adaptive memory recall requires a rapid and flexible switch from external perceptual reminders to internal mnemonic representations. However, owing to the limited temporal or spatial resolution of brain imaging modalities used in isolation, the hippocampal-cortical dynamics supporting this process remain unknown. We thus employed an object-scene cued recall paradigm across two studies, including intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) and high-density scalp EEG. First, a sustained increase in hippocampal high gamma power (55 to 110 Hz) emerged 500 ms after cue onset and distinguished successful vs. unsuccessful recall. This increase in gamma power for successful recall was followed by a decrease in hippocampal alpha power (8 to 12 Hz). Intriguingly, the hippocampal gamma power increase marked the moment at which extrahippocampal activation patterns shifted from perceptual cue toward mnemonic target representations. In parallel, source-localized EEG alpha power revealed that the recall signal progresses from hippocampus to posterior parietal cortex and then to medial prefrontal cortex. Together, these results identify the hippocampus as the switchboard between perception and memory and elucidate the ensuing hippocampal-cortical dynamics supporting the recall process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias S Treder
- School of Computer Science and Informatics, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 3AA, United Kingdom
| | - Ian Charest
- School of Psychology and Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
- cerebrUM, Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC H2V 259, Canada
| | - Sebastian Michelmann
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540
| | - María Carmen Martín-Buro
- Laboratory of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, Center for Biomedical Technology 28223 Madrid, Spain
- Faculty of Health Sciences, King Juan Carlos University 28933 Madrid, Spain
| | - Frédéric Roux
- School of Psychology and Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
| | | | - Arturo Ugalde-Canitrot
- Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology Service, Hospital Universitario La Paz 28046 Madrid, Spain
- School of Medicine, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria 28223 Madrid, Spain
| | - David T Rollings
- School of Psychology and Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
- Complex Epilepsy and Surgery Service, Neurophysiology Department, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham B15 2GW, United Kingdom
| | - Vijay Sawlani
- School of Psychology and Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
- Complex Epilepsy and Surgery Service, Neuroradiology Department, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham B15 2GW, United Kingdom
| | - Ramesh Chelvarajah
- School of Psychology and Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
- Complex Epilepsy and Surgery Service, Neurosurgery Department, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham B15 2GW, United Kingdom
| | - Maria Wimber
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, United Kingdom
| | - Simon Hanslmayr
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, United Kingdom
| | - Bernhard P Staresina
- School of Psychology and Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom;
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6GG, United Kingdom
- Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7JX, United Kingdom
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Griffiths BJ, Martín-Buro MC, Staresina BP, Hanslmayr S. Disentangling neocortical alpha/beta and hippocampal theta/gamma oscillations in human episodic memory formation. Neuroimage 2021; 242:118454. [PMID: 34358658 PMCID: PMC8463840 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Revised: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
To form an episodic memory, we must first process a vast amount of sensory information about the to-be-encoded event and then bind these sensory representations together to form a coherent memory trace. While these two cognitive capabilities are thought to have two distinct neural origins, with neocortical alpha/beta oscillations supporting information representation and hippocampal theta-gamma phase-amplitude coupling supporting mnemonic binding, evidence for a dissociation between these two neural markers is conspicuously absent. To address this, seventeen human participants completed an associative memory task that first involved processing information about three sequentially-presented stimuli, and then binding these stimuli together into a coherent memory trace, all the while undergoing MEG recordings. We found that decreases in neocortical alpha/beta power during sequence perception, but not mnemonic binding, correlated with enhanced memory performance. Hippocampal theta/gamma phase-amplitude coupling, however, showed the opposite pattern; increases during mnemonic binding (but not sequence perception) correlated with enhanced memory performance. These results demonstrate that memory-related decreases in neocortical alpha/beta power and memory-related increases in hippocampal theta/gamma phase-amplitude coupling arise at distinct stages of the memory formation process. We speculate that this temporal dissociation reflects a functional dissociation in which neocortical alpha/beta oscillations could support the processing of incoming information relevant to the memory, while hippocampal theta-gamma phase-amplitude coupling could support the binding of this information into a coherent memory trace.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin J Griffiths
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany; School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, UK; Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, UK.
| | | | - Bernhard P Staresina
- School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, UK; Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, UK; Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UK
| | - Simon Hanslmayr
- School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, UK; Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, UK; Institute for Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, UK.
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López-Sanz D, Bruña R, Garcés P, Martín-Buro MC, Walter S, Delgado ML, Montenegro M, López Higes R, Marcos A, Maestú F. Functional Connectivity Disruption in Subjective Cognitive Decline and Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Common Pattern of Alterations. Front Aging Neurosci 2017; 9:109. [PMID: 28484387 PMCID: PMC5399035 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2017.00109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2016] [Accepted: 04/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Functional connectivity (FC) alterations represent a key feature in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and provide a useful tool to characterize and predict the course of the disease. Those alterations have been also described in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a prodromal stage of AD. There is a growing interest in detecting AD pathology in the brain in the very early stages of the disorder. Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD) could represent a preclinical asymptomatic stage of AD but very little is known about this population. In the present work we assessed whether FC disruptions are already present in this stage, and if they share any spatial distribution properties with MCI alterations (a condition known to be highly related to AD). To this end, we measured electromagnetic spontaneous activity with MEG in 39 healthy control elders, 41 elders with SCD and 51 MCI patients. The results showed FC alterations in both SCD and MCI compared to the healthy control group. Interestingly, both groups exhibited a very similar spatial pattern of altered links: a hyper-synchronized anterior network and a posterior network characterized by a decrease in FC. This decrease was more pronounced in the MCI group. These results highlight that elders with SCD present FC alterations. More importantly, those disruptions affected AD typically related areas and showed great overlap with the alterations exhibited by MCI patients. These results support the consideration of SCD as a preclinical stage of AD and may indicate that FC alterations appear very early in the course of the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- David López-Sanz
- Laboratory of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, Center for Biomedical Technology, Complutense University of Madrid and Technical University of MadridPozuelo de Alarcón, Spain.,Department of Basic Psychology II, Complutense University of MadridPozuelo de Alarcón, Spain
| | - Ricardo Bruña
- Laboratory of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, Center for Biomedical Technology, Complutense University of Madrid and Technical University of MadridPozuelo de Alarcón, Spain
| | - Pilar Garcés
- Laboratory of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, Center for Biomedical Technology, Complutense University of Madrid and Technical University of MadridPozuelo de Alarcón, Spain
| | - María Carmen Martín-Buro
- Laboratory of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, Center for Biomedical Technology, Complutense University of Madrid and Technical University of MadridPozuelo de Alarcón, Spain.,Department of Basic Psychology II, Complutense University of MadridPozuelo de Alarcón, Spain
| | - Stefan Walter
- Laboratory of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, Center for Biomedical Technology, Complutense University of Madrid and Technical University of MadridPozuelo de Alarcón, Spain.,Centro de investigación biomédica, Getafe HospitalGetafe, Spain
| | - María Luisa Delgado
- Department of Basic Psychology II, Complutense University of MadridPozuelo de Alarcón, Spain
| | - Mercedes Montenegro
- Memory Decline Prevention Center Madrid Salud, Ayuntamiento de MadridMadrid, Spain
| | - Ramón López Higes
- Department of Basic Psychology II, Complutense University of MadridPozuelo de Alarcón, Spain
| | - Alberto Marcos
- Neurology Department, San Carlos Clinical HospitalMadrid, Spain
| | - Fernando Maestú
- Laboratory of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, Center for Biomedical Technology, Complutense University of Madrid and Technical University of MadridPozuelo de Alarcón, Spain.,Department of Basic Psychology II, Complutense University of MadridPozuelo de Alarcón, Spain
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Garcés P, Martín-Buro MC, Maestú F. Quantifying the Test-Retest Reliability of Magnetoencephalography Resting-State Functional Connectivity. Brain Connect 2016; 6:448-60. [PMID: 27212454 DOI: 10.1089/brain.2015.0416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The coordinated activity of the resting-state brain can be evaluated with magnetoencephalography (MEG) for distinct brain rhythms by performing source reconstruction to estimate the activities of target brain regions and employing one of the many existent functional connectivity (FC) algorithms. Although this procedure has been applied in a great amount of studies both with healthy and pathological populations, the reliability of such FC estimates is unknown, and this impairs the use of resting-state MEG FC at the individual level. In this study, the test-retest reliability of MEG resting FC was evaluated by exploring both within- and between-subject variability in FC in 16 healthy subjects who underwent three resting-state MEG scans. FC was computed after beamforming source reconstruction with four popular FC metrics: phase-locking value (PLV), phase lag index (PLI), direct envelope correlation (d-ecor), and envelope correlation with leakage correction (lc-ecor). Then, test-restest reliability and within- and between-subject agreement were evaluated with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Kendall's W, respectively. Reliability was found to depend on the FC metric, the frequency band, and the specific link. As a general trend, greater test-retest reliability was found for PLV in theta to gamma, and for lc-ecor and d-ecor in beta. Further inspection of the ICC distribution revealed that volume conduction effects could be contributing to high ICC in PLV and d-ecor. In addition, stronger links were found to be more reliable. Overall, this encourages the further use of resting-state MEG FC for individual-level studies, especially with PLV or envelope correlation metrics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pilar Garcés
- 1 Laboratory of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience (UCM-UPM), Centre for Biomedical Technology , Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain .,2 Department of Applied Physics III, Faculty of Physics, Universidad Complutense de Madrid , Madrid, Spain .,3 Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN) , Madrid, Spain
| | - María Carmen Martín-Buro
- 1 Laboratory of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience (UCM-UPM), Centre for Biomedical Technology , Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain .,3 Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN) , Madrid, Spain .,4 Psychology Division, Cardenal Cisneros University College , Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Fernando Maestú
- 1 Laboratory of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience (UCM-UPM), Centre for Biomedical Technology , Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain .,3 Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN) , Madrid, Spain .,5 Department of Basic Psychology II, Faculty of Psychology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid , Madrid, Spain
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Martín-Buro MC, Garcés P, Maestú F. Test-retest reliability of resting-state magnetoencephalography power in sensor and source space. Hum Brain Mapp 2016; 37:179-90. [PMID: 26467848 PMCID: PMC6867588 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2015] [Revised: 09/19/2015] [Accepted: 09/29/2015] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Several studies have reported changes in spontaneous brain rhythms that could be used as clinical biomarkers or in the evaluation of neuropsychological and drug treatments in longitudinal studies using magnetoencephalography (MEG). There is an increasing necessity to use these measures in early diagnosis and pathology progression; however, there is a lack of studies addressing how reliable they are. Here, we provide the first test-retest reliability estimate of MEG power in resting-state at sensor and source space. In this study, we recorded 3 sessions of resting-state MEG activity from 24 healthy subjects with an interval of a week between each session. Power values were estimated at sensor and source space with beamforming for classical frequency bands: delta (2-4 Hz), theta (4-8 Hz), alpha (8-13 Hz), low beta (13-20 Hz), high beta (20-30 Hz), and gamma (30-45 Hz). Then, test-retest reliability was evaluated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). We also evaluated the relation between source power and the within-subject variability. In general, ICC of theta, alpha, and low beta power was fairly high (ICC > 0.6) while in delta and gamma power was lower. In source space, fronto-posterior alpha, frontal beta, and medial temporal theta showed the most reliable profiles. Signal-to-noise ratio could be partially responsible for reliability as low signal intensity resulted in high within-subject variability, but also the inherent nature of some brain rhythms in resting-state might be driving these reliability patterns. In conclusion, our results described the reliability of MEG power estimates in each frequency band, which could be considered in disease characterization or clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Carmen Martín-Buro
- Laboratory of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, Centre for Biomedical Technology, Madrid, Spain
- Psychology Division, Cardenal Cisneros University College, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
- Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Madrid, Spain
| | - Pilar Garcés
- Laboratory of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, Centre for Biomedical Technology, Madrid, Spain
- Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Madrid, Spain
- Department of Applied Physics III, Faculty of Physics, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
| | - Fernando Maestú
- Laboratory of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, Centre for Biomedical Technology, Madrid, Spain
- Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Madrid, Spain
- Department of Basic Psychology II, Faculty of Psychology, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
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