An fMRI Study Using a Combined Task of Interval Discrimination and Oddball Could Reveal Common Brain Circuits of Cognitive Change.

María Sol Garcés,Irene Alústiza,Patricio Molero,Javier Goena,Anton Albajes-Eizagirre,Joaquim Radua,Felipe Ortuño

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.786113

Abstract

Recent functional neuroimaging studies suggest that the brain networks responsible for time processing are involved during other cognitive processes, leading to a hypothesis that time-related processing is needed to perform a range of tasks across various cognitive functions. To examine this hypothesis, we analyze whether, in healthy subjects, the brain structures activated or deactivated during performance of timing and oddball-detection type tasks coincide. To this end, we conducted two independent signed differential mapping (SDM) meta-analyses of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies assessing the cerebral generators of the responses elicited by tasks based on timing and oddball-detection paradigms. Finally, we undertook a multimodal meta-analysis to detect brain regions common to the findings of the two previous meta-analyses. We found that healthy subjects showed significant activation in cortical areas related to timing and salience networks. The patterns of activation and deactivation corresponding to each task type partially coincided. We hypothesize that there exists a time and change-detection network that serves as a common underlying resource used in a broad range of cognitive processes.

Highlights

The notion that the ability of the human mind to perceive changes in the environment depends on perception of time can be traced right back to the ancient philosopher Aristotle [1]
By conducting two independent paradigm-specific meta-analyses and a multimodal conjunct analysis, the current study explores the relationship between the brain networks involved during oddball and time discrimination tasks in healthy subjects
We propose that timing circuits underlie any cognitive task as long as it involves change detection

Summary

Introduction

The notion that the ability of the human mind to perceive changes in the environment depends on perception of time can be traced right back to the ancient philosopher Aristotle [1]. Other than the above correlations between timing and saliency processing, there are a few studies that suggest the connection in a more direct manner [10,11,12]. Both functions share neuroanatomical bases, and the way cognitive resources are allocated to each is joined [13]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion