Changes In Brain Responses Research Articles

Real-time dynamic analysis of EEG Response for Live Indian Classical Vocal Stimulus with Therapeutic Indications

Numerous studies have been conducted on the connection between music and the brain, and it has been established that listening to music directly affects brain activity and stimulation. The potential benefits of music therapy, which uses music as a tool for healing and fostering well-being, have come to light in a number of circumstances. However, there is a gap in understanding the effects of Indian classical music (ICM) on the brain and its therapeutic applications. Yaman and Puria Dhanashree were the two chosen ragas, which share same notes (swaras) and differs in two of their counter notes. The brain responses are captured from five volunteers through 24 channel Electroencephalogram (EEG) cap using a smartphone, which is utilized to allocate electrodes to different regions of the brain. In this work, different automated approaches for identifying brain regions evoked to live ICM stimuli are proposed, considering input and output uncertainties. These approaches are based on automated energy and Mahalanobis distance measurements, and, a region-specific real-time algorithm based on eigen perturbation, which provides a measure to capture the time evolution of brain activity. This identification is relevant in understanding dynamic changes in brain responses during musical experiences providing a more comprehensive perception and processing of ICM in the human brain. Also, significant change in beta band power reduction was observed after music. These approaches can help integrate it into evidence-based music therapy for cognitive, emotional, and psychological conditions. The findings of this study provide evidence indicating ragas activate different brain regions based on listener’s musical knowledge and is a first step for mhealth based applications.

Brain responses and connectivity to visual meal compositions: An EEG investigation into food liking

Understanding food liking, which shapes individual preferences for certain foods, is important for enhancing consumer satisfaction, encouraging healthier eating habits, and developing effective nutritional interventions. In this study, we aimed to investigate the neural underpinnings of food liking. We used electroencephalography (EEG) as a neuroscientific approach and visual food stimuli comprising various compositions of Korean meals. Our focus was to examine changes in brain responses and functional connectivity resulting from variations in visual meal compositions. The behavioral results showed that participants exhibited increased liking for meals with increased compositions. EEG source analysis demonstrated increased activity in the anterior insula, fusiform gyrus, precuneus, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) and decreased activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) with increased meal liking. Furthermore, functional connectivity analysis revealed reduced connectivity between the dlPFC and both the mOFC and the anterior insula with increased meal liking. Notably, lower dlPFC-mOFC connectivity was associated with a greater preference for visual meal stimuli. Together, these results suggest that a decrease in neural communication between the brain regions responsible for subjective reward value processing and cognitive control, indicating a shift in attention towards the rewarding aspects of food, plays a significant role in food-liking decisions. Our study also emphasizes the integral role of various brain regions in determining food preference, thereby providing evidence for further neuroscientific investigations into dietary decision-making processes.

Pre-treatment amygdala activation and habituation predict symptom change in post-traumatic stress disorder.

Trauma-focused psychotherapy approaches are the first-line treatment option for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); however, up to a third of patients remain symptomatic even after completion of the treatment. Predicting which patients will respond to a given treatment option would support personalized treatments and improve the efficiency of healthcare systems. Although previous neuroimaging studies have examined possible pre-treatment predictors of response to treatment, the findings have been somewhat inconsistent, and no other study has examined habituation to stimuli as a predictor. In this study, 16 treatment-seeking adults (MAge = 43.63, n = 10 women) with a primary diagnosis of PTSD passively viewed pictures of emotional facial expressions during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). After scanning, participants rated facial expressions on both valence and arousal. Participants then completed eight weekly sessions of prolonged exposure (PE) therapy. PTSD symptom severity was measured before and after treatment. Overall, participants showed symptomatic improvement with PE. Consistent with hypotheses, lesser activation in the amygdala and greater activation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex during the presentation of fearful vs. happy facial expressions, as well as a greater decline in amygdala activation across blocks of fearful facial expressions at baseline, were associated with greater reduction of PTSD symptoms. Given that the repeated presentation of emotional material underlies PE, changes in brain responses with repeated stimulus presentations warrant further studies as potential predictors of response to exposure therapies.

Saying goodbye to an unwelcome guest: Towards robust methods for controlling multi-sensory confounds in TMS-EEG research.

Saying goodbye to an unwelcome guest: Towards robust methods for controlling multi-sensory confounds in TMS-EEG research.

Pilot Study: The Differential Response to Classical and Heavy Metal Music in Intensive Care Unit Patients under Sedo-Analgesia

Music is considered a valuable method for stimulating patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC) by enhancing their awareness and arousal. Although biographical music and auditory relative stimulation has been shown, responses to other types of music has not yet been addressed. The purpose of this study was to assess the brain responses in critically ill patients under sedo-analgesia to music that is highly different in features. We measured the individual responses to three types of music: classical (ClassM, Mozart), dodecaphonic (DodecM, Schönberg), and heavy metal (HeavyM, Volbeat) in six critically ill patients (one male, five female, all between 53 and 82 years old) with primary brain pathology under sedo-analgesia. We analyzed the changes in each patient's electroencephalogram (EEG) band composition (delta, 1-4 Hz, theta 4-8 Hz, alpha 8-13 Hz, and beta 13-30 Hz) and synchronization throughout the scalp. In spite of the heterogeneity in the responses, ClassM did not change the basal activity, although there was a tendency toward a decrease in brain activity. DodecM increased the alpha and beta bands from the right hemisphere. However, HeavyM increased the delta and theta bands from the frontal lobes and the alpha and beta bands from most of the scalp. No significant changes in synchronization were observed. Different types of music induce heterogeneous responses in the brain, suggesting that music interventions could affect the brain state of patients. HeavyM induced the greatest changes in brain responses, whereas ClassM showed a tendency to reduce brain activity. The result of this study opens the possibility of using different types of music as tools during the rehabilitation process.

Systematic Review of the Effects of Sleep on Memory and Word Learning in Infancy

AbstractThis systematic review surveyed research on the associations between sleep and the memory processes involved in word learning in infancy. We found only 16 studies that addressed this topic directly, identifying associations between infant sleep and the memory processes, the identification of word forms in running speech, and the stabilization and generalization of new word form–meaning associations. Some studies investigated changes in brain responses after word learning and in sleep parameters during postlearning sleep. Others investigated the long‐term effects of sleeping patterns on later vocabulary development. All but one of these studies identified positive associations between sleep and word learning in early childhood, extending similar findings from studies on adults and school‐aged children. However, there remain several gaps in the current research on early lexical development and sleep. Future investigations should address these gaps for researchers to better understand lexical development and to create links between memory and language acquisition research.

Cognitive training enhances growth mindset in children through plasticity of cortico-striatal circuits

Growth mindset, the belief that one’s abilities can improve through cognitive effort, is an important psychological construct with broad implications for enabling children to reach their highest potential. However, surprisingly little is known about malleability of growth mindset in response to cognitive interventions in children and its neurobiological underpinnings. Here we address critical gaps in our knowledge by investigating behavioral and brain changes in growth mindset associated with a four-week training program designed to enhance foundational, academically relevant, cognitive skills in 7–10-year-old children. Cognitive training significantly enhanced children’s growth mindset. Cross-lagged panel analysis of longitudinal pre- and post-training data revealed that growth mindset prior to training predicted cognitive abilities after training, providing support for the positive role of growth mindset in fostering academic achievement. We then examined training-induced changes in brain response and connectivity associated with problem solving in relation to changes in growth mindset. Children’s gains in growth mindset were associated with increased neural response and functional connectivity of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, striatum, and hippocampus, brain regions crucial for cognitive control, motivation, and memory. Plasticity of cortico-striatal circuitry emerged as the strongest predictor of growth mindset gains. Taken together, our study demonstrates that children’s growth mindset can be enhanced by cognitive training, and elucidates the potential neurobiological mechanisms underlying its malleability. Findings provide important insights into effective interventions that simultaneously promote growth mindset and learning during the early stages of cognitive development.

The impact of COVID on the teenagers’ brain: Changes in brain responses to music

A variety of cognitive- and health-related issues have been documented as post-COVID symptoms. However, it is unknown how COVID has affected young adults’ brain responses to sounds, especially to musical acoustics. The current study compared brain responses to music between teenagers with a history of mild COVID and teenagers without COVID. A total of 16 teenagers, aged 14–17 participated in this ERP (event-related potential) study. Their cortical responses to the changes in six acoustical components (frequency, rhythm, duration, amplitude, location, and timbre) were recorded using 65-channel electrodes in a passive listening paradigm. Preliminary results suggested different brain response patterns between the two groups. The characteristics of group differences vary across the six acoustical changes. Detailed information on six acoustical components will be further discussed. This study's results revealed COVID contracting teenagers’ neuronal changes that may not be noticeable in the activities of daily life, but it alerts the need for longitudinal studies to examine the post-COVID effect on brain functions in the developing population.

Precuneus brain response changes differently during human–robot and human–human dyadic social interaction

Human–human interactions (HHI) and human–robot interactions (HRI) are compared to identify differences between cognitive processes reflecting bonding in social interactions with natural and artificial agents. We capitalize on a unique corpus of neuroimaging data (fMRI) recorded while participants freely discussed with another human or a conversational robotic head, in order to study a crucial parameter of human social cognition, namely that social interactions are adaptive bidirectional processes that evolve over time. We used linear statistics to identify regions of the brain where activity changes differently when participants carry out twelve one-minute conversations, alternating between a human and a robotic interlocutor. Results show that activity in the posterior cingulate cortex, a key region associated with social cognition, increases over time in HHI but not in HRI. These results are interpreted as reflecting a process of strengthening social bonding during repeated exchanges when the interacting agent is a human, but not a robot.

Changes in brain response to urgency before and after treatment of urgency urinary incontinence with onabotulinumtoxin A

To better understand the role of the brain in urgency urinary incontinence (UUI), we used onabotulinumtoxin A (BoNTA) as a probe to evaluate changes in the brain's response to urgency in successful and unsuccessful treatment. Because BoNTA acts peripherally, brain changes observed should represent a reaction to changes in bladder function caused by BoNTA, or changes in the brain's compensatory mechanisms, rather than a direct effect of BoNTA on the brain. We recruited 20 women aged over 60 years with nonneurogenic UUI who were to undergo treatment with onabotulinum A toxin injected intravesically. We performed a baseline evaluation which included a 3-day bladder diary and functional magnetic resonance imaging with an urgency provocation task; we repeated this evaluation 6 weeks posttreatment. We performed ananalysis of variance on a priori selected regions of interest and post hoc voxel-wise analysis on responders and nonresponders to treatment. We found a significant interaction in the right insula [F(1,18) = 5.5, p = 0.031]; activity was different during urgency provocation in responders and non-responders to therapy, before and after therapy. The supramarginal gyrus (SMG) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) also displayed significant interactions (p < 0.005). Activity in the periaqueductal gray and prefrontal cortex was correlated with number of leakage episodes (p < 0.05). The changes seen in the brain control mechanism after therapy likely reflect reduced bladder sensation caused by BoNTA's peripheral action. We ascribe the SMG and IFG changes to a coping mechanism for urgency which is reduced in those who respond well to treatment.

Changes in brain response to high and low-calorie food cues pre to post rygb and sleeve gastrectomy (sg)

Changes in brain response to high and low-calorie food cues pre to post rygb and sleeve gastrectomy (sg)

Combination therapy with exenatide decreases the dapagliflozin-induced changes in brain responses to anticipation and consumption of palatable food in patients with type 2 diabetes: A randomized controlled trial.

AimsSodium‐glucose cotransporter‐2 inhibitors induce less weight loss than expected. This may be explained by sodium‐glucose cotransporter‐2 inhibitor‐induced alterations in central reward‐ and satiety circuits, leading to increased appetite and food intake. Glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists reduce appetite and body weight because of direct and indirect effects on the brain. We investigated the separate and combined effects of dapagliflozin and exenatide on the brain in response to the anticipation and consumption of food in people with obesity and type 2 diabetes.Materials and MethodsAs part of a larger study, this was a 16 week, double‐blind, randomized, placebo‐controlled trial. Subjects with obesity and type 2 diabetes were randomized (1:1:1:1) to dapagliflozin 10 mg with exenatide‐matched placebo, exenatide twice‐daily 10 μg with dapagliflozin‐matched placebo, dapagliflozin plus exenatide, or double placebo. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, the effects of treatments on brain responses to the anticipation of food and food receipt were assessed after 10 days and 16 weeks.ResultsAfter 10 days, dapagliflozin increased activation in right amygdala and right caudate nucleus in response to the anticipation of food, and tended to decrease activation in right amygdala in response to actual food receipt. After 16 weeks, no changes in brain activation were observed with dapagliflozin. Dapagliflozin plus exenatide reduced activation in right caudate nucleus and amygdala to the anticipation of food, and decreased activation in the right amygdala in response to food receipt after 16 weeks.ConclusionsThe dapagliflozin‐induced changes in brain activation may contribute to the discrepancy between observed and expected weight loss with dapagliflozin. Exenatide blunted the dapagliflozin‐induced changes in brain activation, which may contribute to the additional weight loss with combined treatment.

Brain Stimulation for Emotion Regulation in Adolescents With Psychiatric Disorders: Study Protocol for a Clinical-Transdiagnostical, Randomized, Triple-Blinded and Sham-Controlled Neurotherapeutic Trial.

BackgroundAnxiety, conduct and depressive disorders represent three highly prevalent psychiatric conditions in adolescents. A shared underpinning of these disorders is a shortcoming in emotion regulation, connected to the functioning of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Thus, an intervention able to target the suggested neural correlate seems to be highly desirable, aiming to hinder a maladaptive development of emotion regulation abilities and chronification of associated psychiatric disorders. As transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) was repeatedly demonstrated as a safe and non-invasive method to modulate specific brain activity, research is in demand to evaluate neurotherapeutic applications in adolescents with psychiatric disorders.MethodThis transdiagnostic, randomized, triple-blind and sham-controlled clinical neurostimulation trial primary aims to investigate if emotion regulation abilities are increased after tDCS in adolescents with psychiatric disorders. Secondly, disorder-specific changes in the anxiety, depression or conduct disorder will be investigated, as well as changes in quality of life, and cognitive and emotional functioning after tDCS intervention. We will include 108 adolescents with psychiatric disorders, displaying a substantial deficit in emotion regulation. Of these, one third each has to be primarily diagnosed with a depressive, anxiety or conduct disorder, respectively. Participants will be randomized to the experimental group (n = 54) receiving real anodal tDCS, or to the control group (n = 54) receiving sham tDCS. Brain stimulation will be applied for 20 min on five consecutive days twice targeting the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). Changes in emotion regulation, together with changes in disorder-specific clinical symptoms will be recorded by multi-informant psychological ratings. To inspect changes in behavior and gaze, computerized tasks and an eye tracker system will be used. Changes in brain responses to emotional and cognitive stimuli will be examined with three functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigms. In addition, a resting state MRI will be acquired to investigate possible changes in brain connectivity.DiscussionBy investigating “emotion regulation” as transdiagnostic treatment target, this project is oriented toward the Research Domain Criteria framework with a dimensional view on mental illness. The study aims at investigating the potential of tDCS as non-invasive intervention for depressive, anxiety and conduct disorders in adolescents and broadening the scientific foundation for its clinical application.Clinical Trial RegistrationThe study is ongoing and has been registered in the German Registry of Clinical Trials (DRKS-ID: DRKS00025601X) on the 28.06.2021.

Eating behavior modulates the sensitivity to the central effects of GLP-1 receptor agonist treatment: a secondary analysis of a randomized trial

AimsWe investigated if individuals with higher emotional eating scores are less sensitive to the effects of a GLP-1RA on central responses to food cues. Additionally, we investigated the associations of higher external and restraint eating scores with the sensitivity to the central effects of GLP-1RA. MethodsThis secondary analysis of a randomized crossover study in people with obesity and type 2 diabetes, consisted of two periods of 12-week treatment with liraglutide or insulin glargine. Using functional MRI, we assessed the relation between baseline eating behavior and the effects of the GLP-1RA liraglutide compared with insulin after 10 days and 12 weeks of treatment on brain responses to food cues. ResultsAfter 10 days, higher emotional eating scores were associated with less pronounced GLP-1RA induced reductions in brain responses to food pictures in the amygdala, insula and caudate nucleus. In addition, higher emotional eating scores tended to be associated with less pronounced GLP-1RA increases in brain responses to chocolate milk receipt in the caudate nucleus and insula. After 12 weeks, there were no significant associations between emotional eating scores and liraglutide-induced changes in brain responses to food cues. After 10 days, baseline external eating scores were associated with less pronounced GLP-1RA induced reductions in brain responses to food pictures in the insula, amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex. After 12 weeks, baseline restraint eating scores were associated with more GLP-1RA induced reductions in brain responses to food pictures in the insula and caudate nucleus, and with more GLP-1RA induced reductions in brain responses to the anticipation of chocolate milk in the caudate nucleus. ConclusionsOur findings indicate that individuals with higher baseline emotional eating scores are less sensitive to the central effect of GLP-1RA treatment. Additionally, external eating may also decrease, whereas restraint eating may increase the sensitivity to the treatment effects of GLP-1RAs. These insights may help to optimize treatment strategies for obesity and to select patient groups with better efficacy of GLP-1RA treatment.

Changes in Brain Responses to Music and Non-music Sounds Following Creativity Training Within the "Different Hearing" Program.

The “Different Hearing” program (DHP) is an educational activity aimed at stimulating musical creativity of children and adults by group composing in the classroom, alternative to the mainstream model of music education in Czechia. Composing in the classroom in the DHP context does not use traditional musical instruments or notation, instead, the participants use their bodies, sounds originating from common objects as well as environmental sounds as the “elements” for music composition by the participants’ team, with the teacher initiating and then participating and coordinating the creative process, which ends with writing down a graphical score and then performing the composition in front of an audience. The DHP methodology works with a wide definition of musical composition. We hypothesized that the DHP short-term (2 days) intense workshop would induce changes in subjective appreciation of different classes of music and sound (including typical samples of music composed in the DHP course), as well as plastic changes of the brain systems engaged in creative thinking and music perception, in their response to diverse auditory stimuli. In our study, 22 healthy university students participated in the workshop over 2 days and underwent fMRI examinations before and after the workshop, meanwhile 24 students were also scanned twice as a control group. During fMRI, each subject was listening to musical and non-musical sound samples, indicating their esthetic impression with a button press after each sample. As a result, participants’ favorable feelings toward non-musical sound samples were significantly increased only in the active group. fMRI data analyzed using ANOVA with post hoc ROI analysis showed significant group-by-time interaction (opposing trends in the two groups) in the bilateral posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus, which are functional hubs of the default mode network (DMN) and in parts of the executive, motor, and auditory networks. The findings suggest that DHP training modified the behavioral and brain response to diverse sound samples, differentially changing the engagement of functional networks known to be related to creative thinking, namely, increasing DMN activation and decreasing activation of the executive network.

Correlates of neural adaptation to food cues and taste: the role of obesity risk factors.

Identifying correlates of brain response to food cues and taste provides critical information on individual differences that may influence variability in eating behavior. However, a few studies examine how brain response changes over repeated exposures and the individual factors that are associated with these changes. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined how brain response to a palatable taste and proceeding cues changed over repeated exposures and how individual differences in weight, familial obesity risk, dietary restraint and reward responsiveness correlate with these changes. In healthy-weight adolescents (n = 154), caudate and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) response increased with repeated cue presentations, and oral somatosensory cortex and insula response increased with repeated milkshake tastes. The magnitude of increase over exposures in the left PCC to cues was positively associated with body mass index percentile (r = 0.18, P = 0.026) and negatively associated with dietary restraint scores (r = -0.24, P = 0.003). Adolescents with familial obesity risk showed higher cue-evoked caudate response across time, compared to the low-risk group (r = 0.12, P = 0.035). Reward responsiveness positively correlated with right oral somatosensory cortex/insula response to milkshake over time (r = 0.19, P = 0.018). The results show that neural responses to food cues and taste change over time and that individual differences related to weight gain are correlated with these changes.

0077 Objective Sleep and Neural Response to Thermal Pain Testing Following Cognitive Behavioral Treatment in Patients with Comorbid Insomnia and Fibromyalgia: A Pilot Study

Abstract Introduction Fibromyalgia (FM) is characterized by high rates of insomnia and abnormal central pain processing/heightened response to stimuli (i.e., central sensitization). This study examines whether cognitive behavioral treatments (CBTs) that target insomnia and pain improve central pain processing [indicated by decreased response to quantitative sensory testing (QST) using thermal stimuli] in patients with fibromyalgia and insomnia. Methods Before and after CBT-I, CBT-P or waitlist, adults (N=32, Mage=55.9, SD=12.2) with FM and insomnia completed QST during fMRI (Phillips Achieva 3T scanner), 14-daily pain ratings [least(0)-most(100) intense pain imaginable] and 1-night in-home polysomnography (AURA/Grass Technologies). Imaging data were processed using Brain Voyager (Brain Innovation/Netherlands). Random effects ANCOVA identified regions with significant group (3-CBT-I, CBT-P, waitlist) by time (baseline, post-treatment) interactions in brain hemodynamic response to QST. Linear regressions (using residualized change scores) were conducted for each significant region to examine how pain and sleep changes (%Stages 1–3 NREM, %REM) were related to brain response changes. Results Eleven regions exhibited significant interactions (ps&lt.00; large effects; right hemisphere: inferior frontal, superior temporal, mid-occipital, and cingulate gyri, lentiform nucleus; left hemisphere: angular, superior temporal, mid-frontal, inferior occipital, mid-temporal, and inferior frontal gyri). CBT-I decreased brain response to QST in 8 regions and CBT-P in 3 regions (CBT-I effects&gtCBT-P). Waitlist increased response in 6 regions. Pain ratings, %Stage 2 and %REM sleep were not significant for any region and were dropped from the models. Increased %Stage 1 and/or %Stage 3 predicted decreased brain response to QST in 8 of the 11 regions (ps&lt.01), accounting for 19–45% of the variance. Conclusion Compared to CBT-P, CBT-I prompted greater improvement in abnormal pain processing in patients with fibromyalgia and insomnia. Increased NREM sleep may underlie these pain processing improvements following treatment. Future research examining the potential role of NREM sleep in central sensitization and pain processing is warranted. Support National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (R01AR055160 and R01AR005160-S1; McCrae, PI). Data collected as part of clinical trial NCT02001077 Sleep and Pain Interventions (SPIN) at the University of Florida (McCrae, PI).

Resting state fMRI reveals differential effects of glucose administration on central appetite signalling in young and old adults.

Healthy aging has been associated with reduced appetite and lower energy intake, which can lead to loss of bodyweight, undernutrition and related health problems. The causes for the decline in caloric intake are multifactorial, involving physiological and non-physiological processes. Here we examined the effect of glucose on brain function in healthy adults as well as age-related, physiological changes in brain responses associated with macronutrient intake. Using a randomized, double-blind, balanced cross-over design, younger (n = 16, aged 21-30) and older (n = 16, aged 55-78) adults received a drink containing glucose and a taste-matched placebo after an overnight fast. Blood glucose and hunger were assessed at baseline and 20 min post-ingestion, after which participants underwent resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Frequency-dependent changes associated with glucose administration in slow-5 (0.01-0.027 Hz) and slow-4 (0.027-0.073 Hz) amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and fractional ALFF (fALFF) of the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal were investigated within the young healthy adults, and then extended to the older age group. Consistent with previous reports, glucose decreased amplitude in slow-5 fALFF within the left orbitofrontal cortex and insular cortex in the young adults. We observed a significant interaction in slow-5 ALFF and fALFF in the left insula, such that younger participants showed a decrease in BOLD amplitude, whereas older participants showed an increase, after glucose administration. We further observed an interaction in slow-4 ALFF in the occipital region and precuneus, with older participants showing an increase in magnitude of slow-4 ALFF and younger participants showing a decrease in the same measure. These age-related, frequency-dependent changes in the magnitude of the BOLD signal in the insula, a key region related to energy homeostasis following feeding, may point to a change in satiety or homeostatic signalling contributing to behavioural changes in energy intake during senescence.

Intense and sustained pain reduces cortical responses to auditory stimuli: Implications for the interpretation of the effects of heterotopic noxious conditioning stimulation in humans.

Phasic pain stimuli are inhibited when they are applied concomitantly with a conditioning tonic stimulus at another body location (heterotopic noxious conditioning stimulation, HNCS). While the effects of HNCS are thought to rely on a spino-bulbo-spinal mechanism in animals (termed diffuse noxious inhibitory controls, DNIC), the underlying neurophysiology in humans may involve other pathways. In this study, we investigated the role of concomitant supraspinal mechanisms during HNCS by presenting auditory stimuli during a conditioning tonic painful stimulus (the cold pressor test, CPT). Considering that auditory stimuli are not conveyed through the spinal cord, any changes in brain responses to auditory stimuli during HNCS can be ascribed entirely to supraspinal mechanisms. Electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded during HNCS, and auditory stimuli were administered in three blocks, before, during and after HNCS. Nociceptive withdrawal reflexes (NWRs) were recorded at the same time points to investigate spinal processing. Our results showed that AEPs were significantly reduced during HNCS. Moreover, the amplitude of the NWR was significantly diminished during HNCS in most participants. Given that spinal and supraspinal mechanisms operate concomitantly during HNCS, the possibility of isolating their individual contributions in humans is questionable. We conclude that the net effects of HCNS are not independent from attentional/cognitive influences.

Resonance-Paced Breathing Alters Neural Response to Visual Cues: Proof-of-Concept for a Neuroscience-Informed Adjunct to Addiction Treatments.

Conscious attempts to regulate alcohol and drug use are often undermined by automatic attention and arousal processes that are activated in the context of salient cues. Response to these cues involves body and brain signals that are linked via dynamic feedback loops, yet no studies have targeted the cardiovascular system as a potential conduit to alter automatic neural processes that maintain cue salience. This proof-of-concept study examined within-person changes in neural response to parallel but unique sets of visual alcohol-related cues at two points in time: prior to versus following a brief behavioral intervention. The active intervention was resonance breathing, a rhythmical breathing task paced at 0.1 Hz (6 breaths per minute) that helps normalize neurocardiac feedback. The control intervention was a low-demand cognitive task. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to assess changes in brain response to the cues presented before (A1) and after (A2) the intervention in 41 emerging adult men and women with varying drinking behaviors. The resonance breathing group exhibited significantly less activation to A2 cues compared with A1 cues in left inferior and superior lateral occipital cortices, right inferior lateral occipital cortex, bilateral occipital pole, and temporal occipital fusiform cortices. This group also showed significantly greater activation to A2 cues compared with A1 cues in medial prefrontal, anterior and posterior cingulate, and precuneus cortices, paracingulate, and lingual gyri. The control group showed no significant changes. Thus, following resonance breathing, activation in brain regions involved in visual processing of cues was reduced, while activation in brain areas implicated in behavioral control, internally directed cognition, and brain–body integration was increased. These findings provide preliminary evidence that manipulation of the cardiovascular system with resonance breathing alters neural activation in a manner theoretically consistent with a dampening of automatic sensory input and strengthening of higher-level cognitive processing.