Neural Evaluation of Educational Videos: Potential Disadvantage of Combining Hazard-Mechanism Explanation and Evacuation Instruction Messages

Background and objectiveAs a key feature of schizophrenia, auditory verbal hallucination (AVH) is causing concern. Altered dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) patterns involving in auditory related regions were rarely reported in schizophrenia patients with AVH. The goal of this research was to find out the dFC abnormalities of auditory related regions in first-episode, drug-naïve schizophrenia patients with and without AVH using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI).MethodsA total of 107 schizophrenia patients with AVH, 85 schizophrenia patients without AVH (NAVH) underwent rs-fMRI examinations, and 104 healthy controls (HC) were matched. Seed-based dFC of the primary auditory cortex (Heschl's gyrus, HES), auditory association cortex (AAC, including Brodmann's areas 22 and 42), and medial geniculate nucleus (MGN) was conducted to build a whole-brain dFC diagram, then inter group comparison and correlation analysis were performed.ResultsIn comparison to the NAVH and HC groups, the AVH group showed increased dFC from left ACC to the right middle temporal gyrus and right middle occipital gyrus, decreased dFC from left HES to the left superior occipital gyrus, left cuneus gyrus, left precuneus gyrus, decreased dFC from right HES to the posterior cingulate gyrus, and decreased dFC from left MGN to the bilateral calcarine gyrus, bilateral cuneus gyrus, bilateral lingual gyrus. The Auditory Hallucination Rating Scale (AHRS) was significantly positively correlated with the dFC values of cluster 1 (bilateral calcarine gyrus, cuneus gyrus, lingual gyrus, superior occipital gyrus, precuneus gyrus, and posterior cingulate gyrus) using left AAC seed, cluster 2 (right middle temporal gyrus and right middle occipital gyrus) using left AAC seed, cluster 1 (bilateral calcarine gyrus, cuneus gyrus, lingual gyrus, superior occipital gyrus, precuneus gyrus and posterior cingulate gyrus) using right AAC seed and cluster 2 (posterior cingulate gyrus) using right HES seed in the AVH group. In both AVH and NAVH groups, a significantly negative correlation is also found between the dFC values of cluster 2 (posterior cingulate gyrus) using the right HES seed and the PANSS negative sub-scores.ConclusionsThe present findings demonstrate that schizophrenia patients with AVH showed multiple abnormal dFC regions using auditory related cortex and nucleus as seeds, particularly involving the occipital lobe, default mode network (DMN), and middle temporal lobe, implying that the different dFC patterns of auditory related areas could provide a neurological mechanism of AVH in schizophrenia.

ObjectivesDiminished function of the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) is a typical finding in early Alzheimer’s disease (AD). It is hypothesized that in early stage AD, PCC functioning relates to or reflects hippocampal dysfunction or atrophy. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between hippocampus function, volume and structural connectivity, and PCC activation during an episodic memory task-related fMRI study in mild cognitive impairment (MCI).MethodMCI patients (n = 27) underwent episodic memory task-related fMRI, 3D-T1w MRI, 2D T2-FLAIR MRI and diffusion tensor imaging. Stepwise linear regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between PCC activation and hippocampal activation, hippocampal volume and diffusion measures within the cingulum along the hippocampus.ResultsWe found a significant relationship between PCC and hippocampus activation during successful episodic memory encoding and correct recognition in MCI patients. We found no relationship between the PCC and structural hippocampal predictors.ConclusionsOur results indicate a relationship between PCC and hippocampus activation during episodic memory engagement in MCI. This may suggest that during episodic memory, functional network deterioration is the most important predictor of PCC functioning in MCI.Key Points• PCC functioning during episodic memory relates to hippocampal functioning in MCI.• PCC functioning during episodic memory does not relate to hippocampal structure in MCI.• Functional network changes are an important predictor of PCC functioning in MCI.

Current treatments for smoking yield suboptimal outcomes, partly because of an inability to reduce cue-induced smoking. Mindfulness training (MT) has shown preliminary efficacy for smoking cessation, yet its neurobiological target remains unknown. Our prior work with nonsmokers indicates that MT reduces posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) activity. In individuals who smoke, the PCC, consistently a main hub of the "default mode network," activates in response to smoking cues. In this randomized controlled trial, we tested the effects of app-delivered MT on PCC reactivity to smoking cues and whether individual differences in MT-mediated PCC changes predicted smoking outcomes. Smoking cue-induced PCC reactivity was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging at baseline and 1 month after receiving smartphone app-based MT (n = 33) vs. an active control (National Cancer Institute's QuitGuide, n = 34). Whether individual differences in treatment-related changes in PCC activity predicted smoking behavior was assessed. The MT group demonstrated a significant correlation between a reduction in PCC reactivity to smoking cues and a decline in cigarette consumption (r = 0.39, p = 0.02). No association was found in the control group (r = 0.08, p = 0.65). No effects of group alone were found in PCC or cigarette reduction. Post hoc analysis revealed this association is sex specific (women, r = 0.49, p = 0.03; men: r = -0.08, p = 0.79). This initial report indicates that MT specifically reduces smoking cue-induced PCC activity in a subject-specific manner, and the reduction in PCC activity predicts a concurrent decline in smoking. These findings link the hypothesized behavioral effects of MT for smoking to neural mechanisms particularly in women. This lays the groundwork for identifying individuals who may benefit from targeted digital therapeutic treatments such as smartphone-based MT, yielding improved clinical outcomes.

The way we view ourselves may play an important role in our responses to interpersonal interactions. In this study, we investigate how feedback valence, consistency of feedback with self-knowledge and global self-esteem influence affective and neural responses to social feedback. Participants (N = 46) with a high range of self-esteem levels performed the social feedback task in an MRI scanner. Negative, intermediate and positive feedback was provided, supposedly by another person based on a personal interview. Participants rated their mood and applicability of feedback to the self. Analyses on trial basis on neural and affective responses are used to incorporate applicability of individual feedback words. Lower self-esteem related to low mood especially after receiving non-applicable negative feedback. Higher self-esteem related to increased posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus activation (i.e. self-referential processing) for applicable negative feedback. Lower self-esteem related to decreased medial prefrontal cortex, insula, anterior cingulate cortex and posterior cingulate cortex activation (i.e. self-referential processing) during positive feedback and decreased temporoparietal junction activation (i.e. other referential processing) for applicable positive feedback. Self-esteem and consistency of feedback with self-knowledge appear to guide our affective and neural responses to social feedback. This may be highly relevant for the interpersonal problems that individuals face with low self-esteem and negative self-views.

Source-space EEG neurofeedback links subjective experience with brain activity during effortless awareness meditation

Real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rtfMRI) can be used to train the subjects to selectively control activity of specific brain area so as to affect the activation in the target region and even to improve cognition and behavior. So far, whether brain activity in posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) can be regulated by rtfMRI has not been reported. In the present study, we aimed at investigating whether real-time regulation of activity in PCC can change the functional connectivity between PCC and other brain regions. A total of 12 subjects underwent two training runs, each lasts 782s. During the training, subjects were instructed to down regulate activity in PCC by imagining right hand finger movement with the sequence of 4-2-3-1-3-4-2 during task and relax as possible as they can during rest. To control for any effects induced by repeated practice, another 12 subjects in the control group received the same experiment procedure and instruction except with no feedback during training. Experiment results show that increased functional connectivity of PCC with medial frontal cortex (MFC) was observed in both groups during the two training runs. However, PCC of the experimental group is correlated with larger areas in MFC than the control group. Because the positive correlation between task performance and MFC to PCC connectivity has been demonstrated previously, we infer that the stronger connectivity between PCC and MFC in the experimental group may suggest that the experimental group with neurofeedback can more efficiently regulate PCC than the control group without neurofeedback.

In the past decade, neuroimaging research has begun to identify key brain regions involved in self-referential processing, most consistently midline structures such as the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). The majority of studies have employed cognitive tasks such as judgment about trait adjectives or mind wandering, that have been associated with increased PCC activity. Conversely, tasks that share an element of present-centered attention (being “on task”), ranging from working memory to meditation, have been associated with decreased PCC activity. Given the complexity of cognitive processes that likely contribute to these tasks, the specific contribution of the PCC to self-related processes still remains unknown. Building on this prior literature, recent studies have employed sampling methods that more precisely link subjective experience to brain activity, such as real-time fMRI neurofeedback. This recent work suggests that PCC activity may represent a sub-component cognitive process of self-reference – “getting caught up in” one’s experience. For example, getting caught up in a drug craving or a particular viewpoint. In this paper, we will review evidence across a number of different domains of cognitive neuroscience that converges in activation and deactivation of the PCC including recent neurophenomenological studies of PCC activity using real-time fMRI neurofeedback.

Sleep deprivation alters functioning within the neural network underlying the covert orienting of attention

Performance on heuristics and bias tasks has been shown to be susceptible to bias. In turn, susceptibility to bias varies as a function of individual differences in cognitive abilities (e.g., intelligence) and thinking styles (e.g., propensity for reflection). Using a classic task (i.e., lawyer-engineer problem), we conducted two experiments to examine the differential contributions of cognitive abilities versus thinking styles to performance. The results of Experiment 1 demonstrated that the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT)-a well-established measure of reflective thinking-predicted performance on conflict problems (where base rates and intuition point in opposite directions), whereas STM predicted performance on nonconflict problems. Experiment 2 conducted in the fMRI scanner replicated this behavioral dissociation and enabled us to probe their neural correlates. As predicted, conflict problems were associated with greater activation in the ACC-a key region for conflict detection-even in cases when participants responded stereotypically. In participants with higher CRT scores, conflict problems were associated with greater activation in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and activation in PCC covaried in relation to CRT scores during conflict problems. Also, CRT scores predicted activation in PCC in conflict problems (over and above nonconflict problems). Our results suggest that individual differences in reflective thinking as measured by CRT are related to brain activation in PCC-a region involved in regulating attention between external and internal foci. We discuss the implications of our findings in terms of PCC's possible involvement in switching from intuitive to analytic mode of thought.

Objective To explore a new index for reflecting the topological information of brain functional networks in patients at high risk of Alzheimer disease using characteristics of resting-state functional connectivity strengths(FCS) in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment(aMCI). Methods Thirty- one aMCI patients and 42 age, gender and years of education matched normal controls were enrolled between September 2009 and April 2011 in this study. The resting-state functional MRI(rs-fMRI) data of all participants were acquired and preprocessed. Then the whole-brain functional connectivities were constructed for exploring the distribution characteristics of hub regions which had higher FCS values. Using two-samplet test to compare group differences in age, years of education and each neuropsychological assessment. In addition, using Chi-squared test to compare group differences in gender. Group differences in FCS values were analyzed by general linear model. Finally, correlation analyses were used to evaluate the relationships between the FCS values of the brain regions with group differences and behavioral scores in aMCI patients. Results The hub regions of the functional networks in the aMCI patients were mainly located in the association cortices such as the precuneuses, posterior cingulate cortices, medial prefrontal cortices, angular gyri, superior occipital gyri, fusiform gyri and lingual gyri. The distribution models in the aMCI patients were consistent with those in the normal controls. However, the FCS values of these brain regions were significantly lower in the aMCI patients than those in the normal controls. In comparison to the normal controls, the aMCI patients had significantly decreased FCS values in the bilateral fusiform gyri, lingual gyri, superior occipital gyri, left middle occipital gyrus and postcentral gyrus(the cluster was 389, 230, 187 and 107 voxels, respectively;P<0.05, respectively), and they had decreased trends of FCS values in the bilateral posterior cingulate cortices and right insulas. The correlation analysis with uncorrected conditions showed that the FCS values of the left postcentral gyri were correlatid with the clock drawing test (CDT) scores (r=0.436,P=0.026). Conclusions aMCI mainly attacks the hub regions of brain functional networks. The changes of functional connectivities in aMCI may reflect the early pathophysiologic alterations of AD. Key words: Cognition disorder; Magnetic resonance imaging; Neural network (computer)

Mapping the self in the brain's default mode network

The human default mode network (DMN) shows decreased blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signals in response to a wide range of attention-demanding tasks. Our understanding of the specifics regarding the neural activity underlying these "task-negative" BOLD responses remains incomplete. We paired oxygen polarography, an electrode-based oxygen measurement technique, with standard electrophysiological recording to assess the relationship of oxygen and neural activity in task-negative posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), a hub of the DMN, and visually responsive task-positive area V3 in the awake macaque. In response to engaging visual stimulation, oxygen, LFP power, and multi-unit activity in PCC showed transient activation followed by sustained suppression. In V3, oxygen, LFP power, and multi-unit activity showed an initial phasic response to the stimulus followed by sustained activation. Oxygen responses were correlated with LFP power in both areas, although the apparent hemodynamic coupling between oxygen level and electrophysiology differed across areas. Our results suggest that oxygen responses reflect changes in LFP power and multi-unit activity and that either the coupling of neural activity to blood flow and metabolism differs between PCC and V3 or computing a linear transformation from a single LFP band to oxygen level does not capture the true physiological process.

Objective To explore the characteristics of spontaneous neural activity of resting-state brain function in patients with bipolar depressionby using fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (fALFF). Methods Resting-state functional magnetic resonance data in twenty-six patients with bipolar depression and twenty-six healthy controls was finally adopted by processing. After preprocessing functional imaging data, the fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (fALFF) values was used to estimate the spontaneous neural activities of different brain regions. Finally, a two sample t-test was performed on the mean fALFF values of the different brain regions between bipolar depression group and the healthy control group. A P-value of 13, P<0.001) . Results The patients with bipolar depression demonstrated significantly lower fALFF values in the right posterior cingulate gyrus (t=-4.49), the left inferior parietal lobules(t=-4.29), the left precuneus(t=-5.05), and the right superior frontal gyrus(t=-5.04, t=-3.86) relative to the control group. In addition, their fALFF values in the left middle occipital gyrus(t=3.92) and the bilateral lingual gyrus(t=5.04) were significantly higher (P<0.01) . Conclusions Patients with bipolar depression manifest abnormal spontaneous neural activities in the default mode network and the visual network-related brain regions. Key words: Bipolar disorder; Magnetic resonance imaging; Fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuation; Resting-state

Panic disorder is a common disabling condition with limited biomarkers. We aimed to explore the diagnostic and treatment response prediction value of functional temporal variability in people with panic disorder. Patients with panic disorder and healthy controls received resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans and assessments. After 2 weeks of treatment, the patients with panic disorder were divided into remitted (RPD; n = 39) or nonremitted (NRPD; n = 43) subgroups. Baseline temporal variability was analyzed between the panic disorder and control groups as well as between RPD and NRPD subgroups. Our sample included 82 patients with panic disorder (39 RPD, 43 NRPD) and 105 controls. The panic disorder group showed decreased temporal variability in the left posterior cingulate gyrus (PCG), right lingual gyrus, right fusiform gyrus, and right thalamus (all p < 0.05, Bonferroni-corrected). A combination of variability in the lingual gyrus, PCG, and thalamus had optimal predictive value for distinguishing between the panic disorder and control groups (area under the curve = 0.776, sensitivity = 0.781, specificity = 0.732). In addition, the RPD subgroup showed significantly lower temporal variability in the left insula, right PCG, and bilateral lingual gyrus than the NRPD subgroup and control group (all p < 0.05, Bonferroni-corrected). Variability in the left insula and left lingual gyrus negatively correlated with the reduction rate of panic symptoms (all p < 0.05, Bonferroni-corrected). Functional brain images were collected only at baseline and may have been affected by medication use. Also, the follow-up period was only 2 weeks; sustained clinical remission may require longer follow-up. Combining lingual gyrus, PCG, and thalamus temporal variability alterations helped distinguish patients with panic disorder from healthy controls. The temporal variability in the insula and lingual gyrus are potential biomarkers for the treatment of panic disorder.

FIGURE 1. Changes in cortical thickness provide one measure of brain maturation. A large longitudinal study found that for most areas of cortex, children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) reach peak cortical thickness several years later than typically developing children, supporting presence of developmental delay. The rate of cortical thinning also differed between the group who continued to meet diagnostic criteria into adulthood (persistent ADHD) and those who did not (remitted ADHD). Areas of cortex in which the rate of thinning correlated with adult symptom level (green, more symptoms associated with more thinning) are approximated on medial and lateral simplified representations of cortex. An earlier study also identified multiple areas in which cortex was thinner in adults with persistent ADHD compared with controls (orange). In addition, this study noted some areas of thicker cortex in remitted ADHD when compared with persistent ADHD (blue).