Abstract
BackgroundFunctional brain imaging has become the dominant approach to the study of brain-behavior relationships. Unfortunately, the behavior half of the equation has been relegated to second-class status when it is not ignored completely. Different approaches to connectivity, based on temporally correlated physiological events across the brain, have ascended in place of behavior. A performance-based analysis has been developed as a simple, basic approach to incorporating specific performance measures obtained during imaging into the analysis of the imaging data identifying clinically relevant regions.MethodsThis paper contrasts performance-based lateralized regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) predictors of speech rate during Positron Emission Tomography with the values of these regions and their opposite hemisphere homologs in which a performance-based model was not applied. Five studies were examined: two that utilized normal speakers, one that utilized ataxic speakers, and two that examined Parkinsonian speakers.ResultsIn each study, the predictors were lateralized but the blood flow values that contributed to the performance-based analysis were bilateral. The speech-rate predictor regions were consistent with clinical studies on the effects of focal brain damage.ConclusionsThis approach has identified a basic, reproducible blood flow network that has predicted speech rate in multiple normal and neurologic groups. While the predictors are lateralized consistent with lesion data, the blood flow values of these regions are neither lateralized nor distinguished from their opposite hemisphere homologs in their magnitudes. The consistent differences between regional blood flow values and their corresponding regression coefficients in predicting performance suggests the presence of functional meta-networks that orchestrate the contributions of specific brain regions in support of mental and behavioral functions.
Highlights
Behavioral physiologists at the end of the 19th century viewed the central nervous system in terms of strict stimulusresponse interactions
The results suggest that functional meta-networks may orchestrate the extent to which the activity of specific regions, as measured by cerebral blood flow (CBF), contribute to neurological systems responsible for specific behaviors
The normal New York speakers were age matched to the PD and PD-deep brain stimulation (DBS) speakers
Summary
Behavioral physiologists at the end of the 19th century viewed the central nervous system in terms of strict stimulusresponse interactions. It was reliably observed that the judgment of a stimulus’ quality, its weight for example, was influenced by the quality of a previous judged stimulus but by the qualities of all of the items in the stimulus set This and other similar observations supported the notion of mental set, or “Einstellung,” a concept that introduced a psychological or cognitive element to the judgment process (Woodworth, 1938). While this psychological explanation became influential in the accounts of many types of behavior through the first half of the 20th century (Gibson, 1941), the mechanism was psychological rather than physiological. A performance-based analysis has been developed as a simple, basic approach to incorporating specific performance measures obtained during imaging into the analysis of the imaging data identifying clinically relevant regions
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
