Changes In Brain Activation Patterns Research Articles

Probiotic Bifidobacterium longum NCC3001 Reduces Depression Scores and Alters Brain Activity: A Pilot Study in Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Probiotics can reduce symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but little is known about their effects on psychiatric comorbidities. We performed a prospective study to evaluate the effects of Bifidobacterium longum NCC3001 (BL) on anxiety and depression in patients with IBS. We performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 44 adults with IBS and diarrhea or a mixed-stool pattern (based on Rome III criteria) and mild to moderate anxiety and/or depression (based on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale) at McMaster University in Canada, from March 2011 to May 2014. At the screening visit, clinical history and symptoms were assessed and blood samples were collected. Patients were then randomly assigned to groups and given daily BL (n= 22) or placebo (n= 22) for 6 weeks. At weeks 0, 6, and 10, we determined patients' levels of anxiety and depression, IBS symptoms, quality of life, and somatization using validated questionnaires. At weeks 0 and 6, stool, urine and blood samples were collected, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) test was performed. We assessed brain activation patterns, fecal microbiota, urine metabolome profiles, serum markers of inflammation, neurotransmitters, and neurotrophin levels. At week 6, 14 of 22 patients in the BL group had reduction in depression scores of 2 points or more on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale, vs 7 of 22 patients in the placebo group (P=.04). BL had no significant effect on anxiety or IBS symptoms. Patients in the BL group had a mean increase in quality of life score compared with the placebo group. The fMRI analysis showed that BL reduced responses to negative emotional stimuli in multiple brain areas, including amygdala and fronto-limbic regions, compared with placebo. The groups had similar fecal microbiota profiles, serum markers of inflammation, and levels of neurotrophins and neurotransmitters, but the BL group had reduced urine levels of methylamines and aromatic amino acids metabolites. At week 10, depression scores were reduced in patients given BL vs placebo. In a placebo-controlled trial, we found that the probiotic BL reduces depression but not anxiety scores and increases quality of life in patients with IBS. These improvements were associated with changes in brain activation patterns that indicate that this probiotic reduces limbic reactivity. ClinicalTrials.gov no. NCT01276626.

Age differences in the motor control of speech: An fMRI study of healthy aging.

Healthy aging is associated with a decline in cognitive, executive, and motor processes that are concomitant with changes in brain activation patterns, particularly at high complexity levels. While speech production relies on all these processes, and is known to decline with age, the mechanisms that underlie these changes remain poorly understood, despite the importance of communication on everyday life. In this cross-sectional group study, we investigated age differences in the neuromotor control of speech production by combining behavioral and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. Twenty-seven healthy adults underwent fMRI while performing a speech production task consisting in the articulation of nonwords of different sequential and motor complexity. Results demonstrate strong age differences in movement time (MT), with longer and more variable MT in older adults. The fMRI results revealed extensive age differences in the relationship between BOLD signal and MT, within and outside the sensorimotor system. Moreover, age differences were also found in relation to sequential complexity within the motor and attentional systems, reflecting both compensatory and de-differentiation mechanisms. At very high complexity level (high motor complexity and high sequence complexity), age differences were found in both MT data and BOLD response, which increased in several sensorimotor and executive control areas. Together, these results suggest that aging of motor and executive control mechanisms may contribute to age differences in speech production. These findings highlight the importance of studying functionally relevant behavior such as speech to understand the mechanisms of human brain aging. Hum Brain Mapp 38:2751-2771, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Brief Mental Training Reorganizes Large-Scale Brain Networks.

Emerging evidences have shown that one form of mental training—mindfulness meditation, can improve attention, emotion regulation and cognitive performance through changing brain activity and structural connectivity. However, whether and how the short-term mindfulness meditation alters large-scale brain networks are not well understood. Here, we applied a novel data-driven technique, the multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) to resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI) data to identify changes in brain activity patterns and assess the neural mechanisms induced by a brief mindfulness training—integrative body–mind training (IBMT), which was previously reported in our series of randomized studies. Whole brain rsfMRI was performed on an undergraduate group who received 2 weeks of IBMT with 30 min per session (5 h training in total). Classifiers were trained on measures of functional connectivity in this fMRI data, and they were able to reliably differentiate (with 72% accuracy) patterns of connectivity from before vs. after the IBMT training. After training, an increase in positive functional connections (60 connections) were detected, primarily involving bilateral superior/middle occipital gyrus, bilateral frontale operculum, bilateral superior temporal gyrus, right superior temporal pole, bilateral insula, caudate and cerebellum. These results suggest that brief mental training alters the functional connectivity of large-scale brain networks at rest that may involve a portion of the neural circuitry supporting attention, cognitive and affective processing, awareness and sensory integration and reward processing.

Brain activation changes during locomotion in middle-aged to older adults with multiple sclerosis

Mobility and cognitive impairments are common in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS), and are expected to worsen with increasing age. However, no studies, to date, in part due to limitations of conventional neuroimaging methods, have examined changes in brain activation patterns during active locomotion in older patients with MS. This study used functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) to evaluate real-time neural activation differences in the pre-frontal cortex (PFC) between middle-aged to older adults with MS and healthy controls during single (Normal Walk; NW) and dual-task (Walking While Talking; WWT) locomotion tasks. Eight middle-aged to older adults with MS and eight healthy controls underwent fNIRS recording while performing the NW and WWT tasks with an fNIRS cap consisting of 16 optodes positioned over the forehead. The MS group had greater elevations in PFC oxygenation levels during WWT compared to NW than healthy controls. There was no walking performance difference between groups during locomotion. These findings suggest that middle-aged to older individuals with MS might be able to achieve similar levels of performance through the use of increased brain activation. This study is the first to investigate brain activation changes during the performance of simple and divided-attention locomotion tasks in MS using fNIRS.

Changes in brain activation patterns after physiotherapy program: A preliminary randomized controlled trial study after Postural Reconstruction® and stretching programs

Postural Reconstruction® is a physiotherapy method that has been developed over the last two decades. Its main therapeutic objectives are to decrease pain levels, normalize joint alignment and posture and improve movement and function. The goal of this study was to substantiate the neuromuscular mechanism of action of Postural Reconstruction® by evidencing pre- vs. post-intervention changes in brain activation patterns during sustained ankle dorsiflexion. It concerns a single-centre, prospective, randomized, controlled, parallel-group trial. Sixteen healthy subjects (8 males and 8 females; age range: 20–23) were randomized into two groups: an interventional Postural Reconstruction® group (n=8) and a control stretching group (n=8). Both groups performed 10 weekly sessions. The Postural Reconstruction® sessions involved five manoeuvres and the stretching sessions involved five different exercises. Brain activation patterns were measured via single-photon emission computed tomography. Each subject received two 1480 MBq doses (3 months apart). We performed a voxel-wise statistical analysis (using Statistical Parametric Mapping software) to detect changes in brain activation within each group. ResultsWe observed statistically significant pre- vs. post-intervention changes in brain activation patterns in the Postural Reconstruction® group (a neuromuscular approach), but also in the stretching group (viewed as a mechanical approach). There were no significant intergroup differences in the pre- or post-intervention brain activation patterns. ConclusionsOur results suggest that the two different physiotherapy programmes have a neuromuscular mechanism of action and evidenced changes in brain activation patterns in young, healthy adults (i.e. free of CNS lesions) during the performance of ankle movements.

Effect of Repetitive, Subconcussive Impacts on Electrophysiological Measures of Attention.

In this preliminary study, the auditory P3b response, when measured during a visually distracting task, was investigated as an index of change in cognitive function resulting from exposure to subconcussive impacts (SCIs) in collision sports over time. Both pre- and postseason P3b responses were examined in seven first-year collegiate-level American football players. Comparisons were made between a group of seven third- and fourth-year players and a control group of seven noncontact athletes. No difference in P3b amplitude was revealed in pre- versus postseason data of the first-year players. Furthermore, no P3b amplitude differences were found when comparing first-year players with controls. P3b amplitudes of third- and fourth-year players versus first-year players were smaller along the midline electrode sites. Preliminary results suggest exposure to SCIs during the course of a season does not affect brain function negatively, as measured by the P3b response; however, differences between first-year players and the group of third- and fourth-year players suggest that exposure to hundreds of SCIs in multiple seasons leads to changes in brain activation patterns. Subtle effects such as difficulty with attentional resource allocation may develop. Longitudinal studies are necessary before definitive conclusions can be drawn.

Emotion-Induced Topological Changes in Functional Brain Networks

In facial expression perception, a distributed network is activated according to stimulus context. We proposed that an interaction between brain activation and stimulus context in response to facial expressions could signify a pattern of interactivity across the whole brain network beyond the face processing network. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired for 19 young healthy subjects who were exposed to either emotionally neutral or negative facial expressions. We constructed group-wise functional brain networks for 12 face processing areas [bilateral inferior occipital gyri (IOG), fusiform gyri (FG), superior temporal sulci (STS), amygdalae (AMG), inferior frontal gyri (IFG), and orbitofrontal cortices (OFC)] and for 73 whole brain areas, based on partial correlation of mean activation across subjects. We compared the topological properties of the networks with respect to functional distance-based measures, global and local efficiency, between the two types of face stimulus. In both face processing and whole brain networks, global efficiency was lower and local efficiency was higher for negative faces relative to neutral faces, indicating that network topology differed according to stimulus context. Particularly in the face processing network, emotion-induced changes in network topology were attributable to interactions between core (bilateral IOG, FG, and STS) and extended (bilateral AMG, IFG, and OFC) systems. These results suggest that changes in brain activation patterns in response to emotional face stimuli could be revealed as changes in the topological properties of functional brain networks for the whole brain as well as for face processing areas.

Cognitive Interventions in Older Persons: Do They Change the Functioning of the Brain?

Background. Cognitive interventions for older persons that may diminish the burden of cognitive problems and could delay conversion to dementia are of great importance. The underlying mechanisms of such interventions might be psychological compensation and neuronal plasticity. This review provides an overview of the literature concerning the evidence that cognitive interventions cause brain activation changes, even in damaged neural systems. Method. A systematic search of the literature was conducted in several international databases, Medline, Embase, Cinahl, Cochrane, and Psychinfo. The methodological quality was assessed according to the guidelines of the Dutch Institute for Health Care Improvement (CBO). Results. Nineteen relevant articles were included with varied methodological quality. All studies were conducted in diverse populations from healthy elderly to patients with dementia and show changes in brain activation after intervention. Conclusions. The results thus far show that cognitive interventions cause changes in brain activation patterns. The exact interpretation of these neurobiological changes remains unclear. More study is needed to understand the extent to which cognitive interventions are effective to delay conversion to dementia. Future studies should more explicitly try to relate clinically significant improvement to changes in brain activation. Long-term follow-up data are necessary to evaluate the stability of the effects.

Interaction of BCI with the underlying neurological conditions in patients: pros and cons.

Interaction of BCI with the underlying neurological conditions in patients: pros and cons.

Reorganizing therapy: changing the clinical approach to upper limb recovery post-stroke.

Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability, and as a consequence, most therapists will provide health care to patients with stroke during their professional careers. An increasing number of studies are investigating the association between upper limb recovery and changes in brain activation patterns following stroke. In this review, we explore the translational implications of this research for health professionals working in stroke recovery. We argue that in light of the most recent evidence, therapists should consider how best to take full advantage of the brain's natural ability to reorganize, when prescribing and applying interventions to those with a stroke-affected upper limb. The authors propose that stroke is a brain-based problem that needs a brain-based solution. This review addresses two topics, anticipating recovery and maximizing recovery. It proposes five practice-ready recommendations that are based on the evidence reviewed. The over-riding aim of this review and discussion is to challenge therapists to reconsider the health care they prescribe and apply to people with a stroke-affected upper limb.

Changes in functional brain organization and behavioral correlations after rehabilitative therapy using a brain-computer interface.

This study aims to examine the changes in task-related brain activity induced by rehabilitative therapy using brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies and whether these changes are relevant to functional gains achieved through the use of these therapies. Stroke patients with persistent upper-extremity motor deficits received interventional rehabilitation therapy using a closed-loop neurofeedback BCI device (n = 8) or no therapy (n = 6). Behavioral assessments using the Stroke Impact Scale, the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), and the Nine-Hole Peg Test (9-HPT) as well as task-based fMRI scans were conducted before, during, after, and 1 month after therapy administration or at analogous intervals in the absence of therapy. Laterality Index (LI) values during finger tapping of each hand were calculated for each time point and assessed for correlation with behavioral outcomes. Brain activity during finger tapping of each hand shifted over the course of BCI therapy, but not in the absence of therapy, to greater involvement of the non-lesioned hemisphere (and lesser involvement of the stroke-lesioned hemisphere) as measured by LI. Moreover, changes from baseline LI values during finger tapping of the impaired hand were correlated with gains in both objective and subjective behavioral measures. These findings suggest that the administration of interventional BCI therapy can induce differential changes in brain activity patterns between the lesioned and non-lesioned hemispheres and that these brain changes are associated with changes in specific motor functions.

Long-lasting changes in brain activation induced by a single REAC technology pulse in Wi-Fi bands. Randomized double-blind fMRI qualitative study.

The aim of this randomized double-blind study was to evaluate in healthy adult subjects, with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), long lasting changes in brain activation patterns following administration of a single, 250 milliseconds pulse emitted with radio-electric asymmetric conveyer (REAC) technology in the Wi-Fi bands. The REAC impulse was not administered during the scan, but after this, according to a protocol that has previously been demonstrated to be effective in improving motor control and postural balance, in healthy subjects and patients. The study was conducted on 33 healthy volunteers, performed with a 1.5 T unit while operating a motor block task involving cyclical and alternating flexion and extension of one leg. Subsequently subjects were randomly divided into a treatment and a sham treatment control group. Repeated fMRI examinations were performed following the administration of the REAC pulse or sham treatment. The Treated group showed cerebellar and ponto-mesencephalic activation components that disappeared in the second scan, while these activation components persisted in the Sham group. This study shows that a very weak signal, such as 250 milliseconds Wi-Fi pulse, administered with REAC technology, could lead to lasting effects on brain activity modification.

Case report: post-stroke interventional BCI rehabilitation in an individual with preexisting sensorineural disability.

Therapies involving new technologies such as brain-computer interfaces (BCI) are being studied to determine their potential for interventional rehabilitation after acute events such as stroke produce lasting impairments. While studies have examined the use of BCI devices by individuals with disabilities, many such devices are intended to address a specific limitation and have been studied when this limitation or disability is present in isolation. Little is known about the therapeutic potential of these devices for individuals with multiple disabilities with an acquired impairment overlaid on a secondary long-standing disability. We describe a case in which a male patient with congenital deafness suffered a right pontine ischemic stroke, resulting in persistent weakness of his left hand and arm. This patient volunteer completed four baseline assessments beginning at 4 months after stroke onset and subsequently underwent 6 weeks of interventional rehabilitation therapy using a closed-loop neurofeedback BCI device with visual, functional electrical stimulation, and tongue stimulation feedback modalities. Additional assessments were conducted at the midpoint of therapy, upon completion of therapy, and 1 month after completing all BCI therapy. Anatomical and functional MRI scans were obtained at each assessment, along with behavioral measures including the Stroke Impact Scale (SIS) and the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT). Clinically significant improvements in behavioral measures were noted over the course of BCI therapy, with more than 10 point gains in both the ARAT scores and scores for the SIS hand function domain. Neuroimaging during finger tapping of the impaired hand also showed changes in brain activation patterns associated with BCI therapy. This case study demonstrates the potential for individuals who have preexisting disability or possible atypical brain organization to learn to use a BCI system that may confer some rehabilitative benefit.

29. Changes in brain activation after therapeutic stimulation using Vojta therapy: Controlled study

Introduction The aim of this study was to assess the changes in brain activation patterns in healthy volunteers after therapeutic stimulation using Vojta therapy. Although the efficacy of this treatment has been supported by clinical studies, the underlying physiological processes at the central nervous system level remain largely unknown. We suggest that the stimulation effects include changes in resting-state functional connectivity and in task-related cortex activation. Methods Twenty-three healthy volunteers were enrolled and divided into two groups based on the treatment received: either stimulation in the Vojta right heel zone (Group A, n = 14, 3 males, mean age 25.57) or sham stimulation of the right ankle (Group B, n = 9, no males, mean age 25). All subjects underwent a single magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination using our Siemens Avanto or Symphony 1.5T scanners, including 6 functional imaging experimental runs: two pairs of 6-min resting and finger tapping runs separated by two consecutive 10-min runs during intermittent pressure stimulation which was applied in 30-s blocks alternating with rest. The BOLD signal acquisition covered the whole brain in 30 axial slices using gradient-echo EPI sequence with TR 2500 ms. Statistical analysis of the imaging data was carried out using FEAT (General Linear Model, GLM), MELODIC (Independent Component Analysis, ICA), and Dual Regression tools, parts of FSL 5.0 developed by FMRIB. Group post hoc contrasts yielded Z-statistical maps thresholded using cluster significance threshold at p Results The finger tapping data showed significant interaction in the right (ipsilateral to the active extremity) middle and superior frontal gyrus, whereas the GLM analysis of the stimulation data showed stronger activation in predominantly right frontal perisylvian and insular cortex, bilateral basal ganglia, thalami, cerebellum, and brain stem in Group A, while there was stronger activation in bilateral precentral and postcentral gyri, left frontal cortex, and bilateral occipital cortices in Group B. The group ICA of both stimulation and resting data did not reveal any significant relationship between the tested variables. Conclusion Our findings during the stimulation and the voluntary motor task performance prior and after the treatment provide the evidence, that the reflex locomotion elicited by Vojta therapy is associated with specific changes in cortical and subcortical brain activation when compared to the sham treatment. Acknowledgement Supported by Grant IGA MH CR NT13575.

Identify changes of brain regional homogeneity in bipolar disorder and unipolar depression using resting-state FMRI.

BackgroundTo identify changes in brain activation patterns in bipolar disorder (BD) and unipolar depression (UD) patients.Methodology/Principal FindingsResting-state fMRI scans of 16 healthy controls, 17 BD and 16 UD patients were obtained. T-test of normalized regional homogeneity (ReHo) was performed in a voxel-by-voxel manner. A combined threshold of á = 0.05, minimum cluster volume of V = 10503 mm3 (389 voxels) were used to determine ReHo differences between groups. In UD group, fMRI revealed ReHo increases in the left middle occipital lobe, right inferior parietal lobule, right precuneus and left convolution; and ReHo decreases in the left parahippocampalgyrus, right precentralgyrus, left postcentralgyrus, left precentralgyrus and left cingulated. In BD group, ReHo increases in the right insular cortex, left middle frontal gyrus, left precuneus, left occipital lobe, left parietal, left superior frontal gyrus and left thalamus; and ReHo decreases in the right anterior lobe of cerebellum, pons, right precentralgyrus, left postcentralgyrus, left inferior frontal gyrus, and right cingulate. There were some overlaps in ReHo profiles between UD and BD groups, but a marked difference was seen in the thalamus of BD.Conclusions/SignificanceThe resting-state fMRI and ReHo mapping are a promising tool to assist the detection of functional deficits and distinguish clinical and pathophysiological signs of BD and UD.

Changes in brain activation patterns according to cross-training effect in serial reaction time task: An functional MRI study.

Cross-training is a phenomenon related to motor learning, where motor performance of the untrained limb shows improvement in strength and skill execution following unilateral training of the homologous contralateral limb. We used functional MRI to investigate whether motor performance of the untrained limb could be improved using a serial reaction time task according to motor sequential learning of the trained limb, and whether these skill acquisitions led to changes in brain activation patterns. We recruited 20 right-handed healthy subjects, who were randomly allocated into training and control groups. The training group was trained in performance of a serial reaction time task using their non-dominant left hand, 40 minutes per day, for 10 days, over a period of 2 weeks. The control group did not receive training. Measurements of response time and percentile of response accuracy were performed twice during pre- and post-training, while brain functional MRI was scanned during performance of the serial reaction time task using the untrained right hand. In the training group, prominent changes in response time and percentile of response accuracy were observed in both the untrained right hand and the trained left hand between pre- and post-training. The control group showed no significant changes in the untrained hand between pre- and post-training. In the training group, the activated volume of the cortical areas related to motor function (i.e., primary motor cortex, premotor area, posterior parietal cortex) showed a gradual decrease, and enhanced cerebellar activation of the vermis and the newly activated ipsilateral dentate nucleus were observed during performance of the serial reaction time task using the untrained right hand, accompanied by the cross-motor learning effect. However, no significant changes were observed in the control group. Our findings indicate that motor skills learned over the 2-week training using the trained limb were transferred to the opposite homologous limb, and motor skill acquisition of the untrained limb led to changes in brain activation patterns in the cerebral cortex and cerebellum.

The Effect of Forced-Exercise Therapy for Parkinson's Disease on Motor Cortex Functional Connectivity

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurologic disorder primarily characterized by an altered motor function. Lower extremity forced exercise (FE) has been shown to reduce motor symptoms in patients with PD. Recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have shown that FE and medication produce similar changes in brain activation patterns. Functional connectivity MRI (fcMRI) affords the ability to look at how strongly nodes of the motor circuit communicate with each other and can provide insight into the complementary effects of various therapies. Past work has demonstrated an abnormal motor connectivity in patients with PD compared to controls and subsequent normalization after treatment. Here we compare the effects of FE and medication using both resting and continuous visuomotor task fcMRI. Ten patients with mild to moderate PD completed three fMRI and fcMRI scanning sessions randomized under the following conditions: on PD medication, off PD medication, and FE+off medication. Blinded clinical ratings of motor function (a Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Motor Scale-III exam) indicated that FE and medication resulted in 51% and 33% improvement in clinical ratings, respectively. In most nodes of the motor circuit, the observed changes in the functional connectivity produced by FE and medication were strongly positively correlated. These findings suggest that medication and FE likely use the same pathways to produce symptomatic relief in patients with PD. However, the connectivity changes, while consistent across therapy, were inconsistent in polarity for each patient. This finding may explain some past inconsistencies in connectivity changes after medication therapy.

A Collaborative Approach to Music Therapy Practice in Sensorimotor Rehabilitation

A key component of clinical decision making with neurological patients is a good understanding of the most current theories of motor control in neurological rehabilitation. Current approaches recognize that movement emerges from an interaction between the individual, the task, and the environment in which the task is being carried out. It follows that movement is not the result of muscle-specific programs or stereotyped reflexes, but results from a dynamic interplay between perception, cognition and actions systems (Shumway-Cook & Woollacott, 2001). Numerous studies now support the motor learning approach or task-oriented approach to treating people affected by neurological disorders. This approach is defined as training or therapy where patients ''practice context-specific motor tasks and receive some form of feedback''(Teasell, Foley, Salter, & Jutai, 2008).Task specific training focuses on improvement of performance in functional tasks through goal directed movement and repetition. The emphasis of training is on function versus impairment. Increasing evidence also suggests that neural plastic changes are associated with task specific training (Richards, Stewart, Woodbury, Senesac, & Cauraugh, 2008), and learning is reported to be maximal for specific task related training (Goldstone, 1998).A major contributor to current theories of neurological rehabilitation is the evidence for brain plasticity, which refers to the brain's ability to reorganize itself in response to changes in behavioral demands (Rossini, Calautti, Pauri, & Baron, 2003). Both healthy and injured brains possess this capacity and therefore this ability is always active. With neuromotor interventions, neuroplastic changes and functional recovery have been demonstrated in the brain following ischemic stroke. An increasing number of researchers demonstrate changes in brain activation patterns following task-specific training (Richards et al., 2008). Evidence supports the components of task specific training which include ''real world'' or context specific activities, in a randomly ordered practice, with emphasis on repetition, and includes mass practice with the aim of reconstruction of the whole task (Hubbard, Parsons, Neilson, & Carey, 2009; Shumway-Cook & Woollacott, 2001).Clinical rehabilitation involves intensive work for patients with neurological disease or disorder. The authors have devised a collaborative approach to helping patients achieve functional real-world outcomes. Collaborations are encouraged between the physical, occupational, speech, and music therapists, each contributing unique research and clinical-based knowledge to the treatment team. For the purpose of this article, collaboration between physical and music therapies will be illustrated through three clinical vignettes.Neurologic Music TherapyThe practice of Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) automatically incorporates the fundamental principles of motor rehabilitation. As the vignettes will clarify, NMT interventions emphasize goal-directed movement and repetition of functional tasks, while also providing immediate feedback on patient performance so that necessary adjustments can be made. By being based in motor control theories, NMT practice lends itself well to a collaborative treatment approach. Before entering into a discussion of collaborative rehabilitation techniques, a summary of the scientific foundations of Neurologic Music Therapy is in order.The principles and effectiveness of NMT techniques in the sensorimotor domain have been demonstrated by basic research. Music neuroscience researchers have found that intrinsic rhythmicity and temporality of music creates a framework for structuring learning and training to facilitate and shape neuroplasticity through synchronization and entrainment (Thaut, 2005).Entrainment is a key principle in sensorimotor rehabilitation in NMT and can be described as the magnet effect of auditory rhythm to synchronize and entrain movement patterns. …

Improving the neural mechanisms of cognition through the pursuit of happiness

This paper reviews evidence on the neural basis of how positive mood states can modulate cognition, particularly during creative problem-solving. Studies performed over the past few decades demonstrate that individuals in a positive mood engage in a broader scope of attention, enhancing their access to distant and unusual semantic associations, and increasing task-shifting and problem-solving capacities. In this review, we summarize these behavioral studies; we then present recent findings on the changes in brain activation patterns that are induced by a positive mood when participants engage in problem-solving tasks and show how these relate to task performance. Additionally, we integrate findings on the neuromodulatory influence of positive mood on cognition as mediated by dopaminergic signaling in the prefrontal cortex and we describe how this system can go awry during pathological states of elevated mood as in mania. Finally, we describe current and future research directions using psychotherapeutic and real-time fMRI neurofeedback approaches to up-regulate positive mood and facilitate optimal creative cognitive performance. We conclude with some speculations on the clinical implications of this emerging area of research.

Differences in Brain Function and Changes with Intervention in Children with Poor Spelling and Reading Abilities

Previous fMRI studies in English-speaking samples suggested that specific interventions may alter brain function in language-relevant networks in children with reading and spelling difficulties, but this research strongly focused on reading impaired individuals. Only few studies so far investigated characteristics of brain activation associated with poor spelling ability and whether a specific spelling intervention may also be associated with distinct changes in brain activity patterns. We here investigated such effects of a morpheme-based spelling intervention on brain function in 20 children with comparatively poor spelling and reading abilities using repeated fMRI. Relative to 10 matched controls, children with comparatively poor spelling and reading abilities showed increased activation in frontal medial and right hemispheric regions and decreased activation in left occipito-temporal regions prior to the intervention, during processing of a lexical decision task. After five weeks of intervention, spelling and reading comprehension significantly improved in the training group, along with increased activation in the left temporal, parahippocampal and hippocampal regions. Conversely, the waiting group showed increases in right posterior regions. Our findings could indicate an increased left temporal activation associated with the recollection of the new learnt morpheme-based strategy related to successful training.