Medial Prefrontal Regions Research Articles

Attention and executive delays in early childhood: a meta-analysis of neurodevelopmental conditions.

The objective of this review was to evaluate attention and executive function performance in children with neurodevelopmental conditions across the first 5 years of life, compared to neurotypical peers. MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO databases were searched until June 30, 2023, and studies comparing attention or executive function between children with (or at risk for) neurodevelopmental conditions and neurotypical (or low risk) peers, 0 to 5 years old, were included. Of the 4338 studies identified, 111 studies with 12292 participants were included in the meta-analysis. The qualitative analysis of brain development included 5 studies. Primary outcomes were the standardised mean difference (Hedges' g) in attention and executive function between groups. Meta-regressions examined moderating effects of age, biological sex, diagnosis, and measure type. Children with neurodevelopmental conditions showed small delays in attention (n = 49 studies, k = 251 outcomes, g = 0.36, 95% CI 0.23-0.48, p < 0.001) and moderate delays in executive function (n = 64 studies, k = 368 outcomes, g = 0.64,95% CI 0.53-0.76, p < 0.001). Attention and executive function delays could not be identified in the first year (equivalence tests, p < 0.001), small to moderate delays were found in toddlerhood and moderate delays by preschool. Delays identified were largely transdiagnostic, although there was some evidence of diagnosis-specific delays for attention and moderation by measure type (informant rating vs performance-based vs physiological). Qualitative analysis described how delays were underpinned by a divergence of brain development in medial prefrontal regions. These findings highlight the potential of using attention and executive measures to detect delay and to intervene in neurodevelopmental conditions early in life.

Brain Networks for Cortical Atrophy and Responsive Neurostimulation in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) has been associated with hippocampal pathology. Most surgical treatment strategies, including resection and responsive neurostimulation (RNS), focus on this disease epicenter; however, imaging alterations distant from the hippocampus, as well as emerging data from responsive neurostimulation trials, suggest conceptualizing TLE as a network disorder. To assess whether brain networks connected to areas of atrophy in the hippocampus align with the topography of distant neuroimaging alterations and RNS response. This retrospective case-control study was conducted between July 2009 and June 2022. Data collection for this multicenter, population-based study took place across 4 tertiary referral centers in Montréal, Canada; Querétaro, México; Nanjing, China; and Salt Lake City, Utah. Eligible patients were diagnosed with TLE according to International League Against Epilepsy criteria and received either neuroimaging or neuroimaging and RNS to the hippocampus. Patients with encephalitis, traumatic brain injury, or bilateral TLE were excluded. Spatial alignment between brain network topographies. Of the 110 eligible patients, 94 individuals diagnosed with TLE were analyzed (51 [54%] female; mean [SD] age, 31.3 [10.9] years). Hippocampal thickness maps in TLE were compared to 120 healthy control individuals (66 [55%] female; mean [SD] age, 29.8 [9.5] years), and areas of atrophy were identified. Using an atlas of normative connectivity (n = 1000), 2 brain networks were identified that were functionally connected to areas of hippocampal atrophy. The first network was defined by positive correlations to temporolimbic, medial prefrontal, and parietal regions, whereas the second network by negative correlations to frontoparietal regions. White matter changes colocalized to the positive network (t93 = -3.82; P = 2.44 × 10-4). In contrast, cortical atrophy localized to the negative network (t93 = 3.54; P = 6.29 × 10-3). In an additional 38 patients (20 [53%] female; mean [SD] age, 35.8 [11.3] years) treated with RNS, connectivity between the stimulation site and atrophied regions within the negative network was associated with seizure reduction (t212 = -2.74; P = .007). The findings in this study indicate that distributed pathology in TLE may occur in brain networks connected to the hippocampal epicenter. Connectivity to these same networks was associated with improvement following RNS. A network approach to TLE may reveal therapeutic targets outside the traditional target in the hippocampus.

Electroencephalography Neurofeedback Training with Focus on the State of Attention: An Investigation Using Source Localization and Effective Connectivity.

Identifying brain activity and flow direction can help in monitoring the effectiveness of neurofeedback tasks that aim to treat cognitive deficits. The goal of this study was to compare the neuronal electrical activity of the cortex between individuals from two groups-low and high difficulty-based on a spatial analysis of electroencephalography (EEG) acquired through neurofeedback sessions. These sessions require the subjects to maintain their state of attention when executing a task. EEG data were collected during three neurofeedback sessions for each person, including theta and beta frequencies, followed by a comprehensive preprocessing. The inverse solution based on cortical current density was applied to identify brain regions related to the state of attention. Thereafter, effective connectivity between those regions was estimated using the Directed Transfer Function. The average cortical current density of the high-difficulty group demonstrated that the medial prefrontal, dorsolateral prefrontal, and temporal regions are related to the attentional state. In contrast, the low-difficulty group presented higher current density values in the central regions. Furthermore, for both theta and beta frequencies, for the high-difficulty group, flows left and entered several regions, unlike the low-difficulty group, which presented flows leaving a single region. In this study, we identified which brain regions are related to the state of attention in individuals who perform more demanding tasks (high-difficulty group).

Age-related neural changes underlying long-term recognition of musical sequences

Aging is often associated with decline in brain processing power and neural predictive capabilities. To challenge this notion, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to record the whole-brain activity of 39 older adults (over 60 years old) and 37 young adults (aged 18–25 years) during recognition of previously memorised and varied musical sequences. Results reveal that when recognising memorised sequences, the brain of older compared to young adults reshapes its functional organisation. In fact, it shows increased early activity in sensory regions such as the left auditory cortex (100 ms and 250 ms after each note), and only moderate decreased activity (350 ms) in medial temporal lobe and prefrontal regions. When processing the varied sequences, older adults show a marked reduction of the fast-scale functionality (250 ms after each note) of higher-order brain regions including hippocampus, ventromedial prefrontal and inferior temporal cortices, while no differences are observed in the auditory cortex. Accordingly, young outperform older adults in the recognition of novel sequences, while no behavioural differences are observed with regards to memorised ones. Our findings show age-related neural changes in predictive and memory processes, integrating existing theories on compensatory neural mechanisms in non-pathological aging.

Impacts of early deprivation on behavioral and neural measures of executive function in early adolescence

Children reared in institutional settings experience early deprivation that has lasting implications for multiple aspects of neurocognitive functioning, including executive function (EF). Changes in brain development are thought to contribute to these persistent EF challenges, but little research has used fMRI to investigate EF-related brain activity in children with a history of early deprivation. This study examined behavioral and neural data from a response conflict task in 12–14-year-olds who spent varying lengths of time in institutional care prior to adoption (N = 84; age at adoption – mean: 15.85 months, median: 12 months, range: 4–60 months). In initial analyses, earlier- and later-adopted (EA, LA) youth were compared to a group of children raised in their biological families (non-adopted, NA). NA youth performed significantly more accurately than LA youth, with EA youth falling in between. Imaging data suggested that previously institutionalized (PI) youth activated additional frontoparietal regions, including dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, as compared to NA youth. In addition, EA youth uniquely activated medial prefrontal regions, and LA uniquely activated parietal regions during this task. A separate analysis in a larger group of PI youth examined whether behavioral or brain measures of EF varied with the duration of deprivation experienced. Duration of deprivation was negatively associated with activation of default mode network (DMN) regions. Overall, results suggest that there are lasting effects of deprivation on EF, but that those who are removed from institutional care earlier may be able to recruit additional neural resources as a compensatory mechanism.

The relationship between changes in functional networks and cognitive changes and PTSD symptoms in maltreated children before and after TF-CBT

Several studies have found that maltreated children show neuropsychological deficits in various cognitive domains such as memory and attention, language, visuospatial skills, emotional regulation, social cognition, and executive functioning. In terms of functional connectivity, abused children show an increased connectivity in the salience network (SN) as opposed to a decreased connectivity within the default (DMN) and executive networks (CEN). Children who suffer maltreatment may develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which in turn, can increase psychological and cognitive sequelae. The present study examined the relation between resting state functional connectivity (RSFC), PTSD symptoms and neuropsychological profiles in abused children before and after following a psychological therapy named Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral therapy (TF-CBT). Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging, neuropsychological (attention, memory and executive functions) and clinical evaluations were performed in 13 abused children with PTSD (mean age=8.77 years old, S.D.=1.83) recruited from a non-governmental shelter in Mexico and in a control group of 10 children from the general population (mean age = 9.57 years old, S.D. = 1.91). Both groups were matched according to age and gender. Changes in PTSD symptoms correlated with changes in the left insula node. Additionally, significant correlations were identified between changes in the average connectivity of the DMN, intra-nodal connectivity of lateral parietal and medial prefrontal regions, and performance in attention and memory tasks.

Non-invasive electrical brain stimulation modulates human conscious perception of mental representation

Mental representation is a key concept in cognitive science; nevertheless, its neural foundations remain elusive. We employed non-invasive electrical brain stimulation and functional magnetic resonance imaging to address this. During this process, participants perceived flickering red and green visual stimuli, discerning them either as distinct, non-fused colours or as a mentally generated, fused colour (orange). The application of transcranial alternating current stimulation to the medial prefrontal region (a key node of the default-mode network) suppressed haemodynamic activation in higher-order subthalamic and central executive networks associated with the perception of fused colours. This implies that higher-order thalamocortical and default-mode networks are crucial in humans’ conscious perception of mental representation.

Effective modulation from the ventral medial to the dorsal medial portion of the prefrontal cortex in memory confidence-based behavioral control

Metacognition includes the ability to refer to one’s own cognitive states, such as confidence, and adaptively control behavior based on this information. This ability is thought to allow us to predictably control our behavior without external feedback, for example, even before we take action. Many studies have suggested that metacognition requires a brain-wide network of multiple brain regions. However, the modulation of effective connectivity within this network during metacognitive tasks remains unclear. This study focused on medial prefrontal regions, which have recently been suggested to be particularly involved in metacognition. We examined whether modulation of effective connectivity specific to metacognitive behavioral control is observed using model-based network analysis and dynamic causal modeling (DCM). The results showed that negative modulation from the ventral medial prefrontal cortex to the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex was observed in situations that required metacognitive behavioral control but not in situations that did not require such metacognitive control. Furthermore, this modulation was particularly pronounced in the group of participants who could better use metacognition for behavioral control. These results imply hierarchical properties of metacognition-related brain networks.

Recognizing ideas generated in a creative task: the roles of the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex in facilitating self-generated learning.

Creative idea generation plays an important role in promoting successful memory formation. Yet, its underlying neural correlates remain unclear. We investigated the self-generated learning of creative ideas motivated by the schema-linked interactions between medial prefrontal and medial temporal regions framework. This was achieved by having participants generate ideas in the alternative uses task, self-evaluating their ideas based on novelty and source (i.e. new or old), and then later being tested on the recognition performance of the generated ideas. At the behavioral level, our results indicated superior performances in discriminating novel ideas, highlighting the novelty effect on memory. At the neural level, the regions-of-interest analyses revealed that successful recognition of novel ideas was associated with greater activations in the hippocampus (HPC) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) during ideation. However, only activation in the right HPC was positively related to the successful recognition of novel ideas. Importantly, the weaker the connection between the right HPC and left mPFC, the higher the recognition accuracy of novel ideas. Moreover, activations in the right HPC and left mPFC were both effective predictors of successful recognition of novel ideas. These findings uniquely highlight the role of novelty in promoting self-generated learning of creative ideas.

Facial expression recognition ability and its neuropsychological mechanisms in children with attention deficit and hyperactive disorder.

Attention deficit and hyperactive disorder (ADHD) is a chronic neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention, hyperactivity-impulsivity, and working memory deficits. Social dysfunction is one of the major challenges faced by children with ADHD. It has been found that children with ADHD can't perform as well as typically developing children on facial expression recognition (FER) tasks. Generally, children with ADHD have some difficulties in FER, while some studies suggest that they have no significant differences in accuracy of specific emotion recognition compared with typically developing children. The neuropsychological mechanisms underlying these difficulties are as follows. First, neuroanatomically. Compared to typically developing children, children with ADHD show smaller gray matter volume and surface area in the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex regions, as well as reduced density and volume of axons/cells in certain frontal white matter fiber tracts. Second, neurophysiologically. Children with ADHD exhibit increased slow-wave activity in their electroencephalogram, and event-related potential studies reveal abnormalities in emotional regulation and responses to angry faces when facing facial stimuli. Third, psychologically. Psychosocial stressors may influence FER abilities in children with ADHD, and sleep deprivation in ADHD children may significantly increase their recognition threshold for negative expressions such as sadness and anger. This article reviews research progress over the past three years on FER abilities of children with ADHD, analyzing the FER deficit in children with ADHD from three dimensions: neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and psychology, aiming to provide new perspectives for further research and clinical treatment of ADHD.

Individualized Functional Brain System Topologies and Major Depression: Relationships Among Patch Sizes and Clinical Profiles and Behavior

BackgroundNeuroimaging studies of major depression have typically been conducted using group-level approaches. However, given interindividual differences in brain systems, there is a need for individualized approaches to brain systems mapping and putative links toward diagnosis, symptoms, and behavior. MethodsWe used an iterative parcellation approach to map individualized brain systems in 328 participants from a multisite, placebo-controlled clinical trial. We hypothesized that participants with depression would show abnormalities in salience, control, default, and affective systems, which would be associated with higher levels of self-reported anhedonia, anxious arousal, and worse cognitive performance. Within hypothesized brain systems, we compared patch sizes (number of vertices) between depressed and healthy control groups. Within depressed groups, abnormal patches were correlated with hypothesized clinical and behavioral measures. ResultsSignificant group differences emerged in hypothesized patches of 1) the lateral salience system (parietal operculum; t326 = −3.11, p = .002) and 2) the control system (left medial posterior prefrontal cortex region; z = −3.63, p < .001), with significantly smaller patches in these regions in participants with depression than in healthy control participants. Results suggest that participants with depression with significantly smaller patch sizes in the lateral salience system and control system regions experience greater anxious arousal and cognitive deficits. ConclusionsThe findings imply that neural features mapped at the individual level may relate meaningfully to diagnosis, symptoms, and behavior. There is strong clinical relevance in taking an individualized brain systems approach to mapping neural functional connectivity because these associated region patch sizes may help advance our understanding of neural features linked to psychopathology and foster future patient-specific clinical decision making.

D1-Like and D2-Like Dopamine Receptors in the Rat Prefrontal Cortex: Impacts of Genetic Generalized Epilepsies and Social Behavioral Deficits

The involvement of the prefrontal cortical dopaminergic system in the psychopathology of epilepsies and comorbid conditions such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) still needs to be explored. We used autoradiography to study the D1-like (D1DR) and D2-like (D2DR) receptor binding density in the prefrontal cortex of normal Wistar rats and Wistar-derived strains with generalized convulsive and/or non-convulsive epilepsy. WAG/Rij rats served as a model for non-convulsive absence epilepsy, WAG/Rij-AGS as a model of mixed convulsive/non-convulsive form, and KM strain was a model for convulsive epilepsy comorbid with an ASD-like behavioral phenotype. The prefrontal cortex of rats with any epileptic pathology studied demonstrated profound decreases in binding densities to both D1DR and D2DR; the effects were localized in the primary and secondary anterior cingulate cortices, and adjacent regions. The local decreased D1DR and D2DR binding densities were independent of (not correlated with) each other. The particular group of epileptic rats with an ASD-like phenotype (KM strain) displayed changes in the lateral prefrontal cortex: D1DR were lowered, whereas D2DR were elevated, in the dysgranular insular cortex and adjacent regions. Thus, epilepsy-related changes in the dopaminergic system of the rat archeocortex were localized in the medial prefrontal regions, whereas ASD-related changes were seen in the lateral prefrontal aspects. The findings point to putative local dopaminergic dysfunctions, associated with generalized epilepsies and/or ASD.

Behavioral and Cortical Activation Changes in Children Following Auditory Training for Dichotic Deficits.

We report changes following auditory rehabilitation for interaural asymmetry (ARIA) training in behavioral test performance and cortical activation in children identified with dichotic listening deficits. In a one group pretest-posttest design, measures of dichotic listening, speech perception in noise, and frequency pattern identification were assessed before and 3 to 4.5 months after completing an auditory training protocol designed to improve binaural processing of verbal material. Functional MRI scans were also acquired before and after treatment while participants passively listened in silence or to diotic or dichotic digits. Significant improvements occurred after ARIA training for dichotic listening and speech-in-noise tests. Post-ARIA, fMRI activation increased during diotic tasks in anterior cingulate and medial prefrontal regions and during dichotic tasks, decreased in the left precentral gyrus, right-hemisphere pars triangularis, and right dorsolateral and ventral prefrontal cortices, regions known to be engaged in phonologic processing and working memory. The results suggest that children with dichotic deficits may benefit from the ARIA program because of reorganization of cortical capacity required for listening and a reduced need for higher-order, top-down processing skills when listening to dichotic presentations.

Functional connectome hierarchy of thalamus impacts fatigue in acute stroke patients.

This study aimed to explore the topographic features of thalamic subregions, functional connectomes and hierarchical organizations between thalamus and cortex in poststroke fatigue patients. We consecutively recruited 121 acute ischemic stroke patients (mean age: 59years) and 46 healthy controls matched for age, sex, and educational level. The mean age was 59years (range 19-80) and 38% of acute stroke patients were females. Resting-state functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging were conducted on all participants. The fatigue symptoms were measured using the Fatigue Severity Scale. The thalamic functional subdivisions corresponding to the canonical functional network were defined using the winner-take-all parcellation method. Thalamic functional gradients were derived using the diffusion embedding analysis. The results suggested abnormal functional connectivity of thalamic subregions primarily located in the temporal lobe, posterior cingulate gyrus, parietal lobe, and precuneus. The thalamus showed a gradual increase from the medial to the lateral in all groups, but the right thalamus shifted more laterally in poststroke fatigue patients than in non- poststroke fatigue patients. Poststroke fatigue patients also had higher gradient scores in the somatomotor network and the right medial prefrontal and premotor thalamic regions, but lower values in the right lateral prefrontal thalamus. The findings suggested that poststroke fatigue patients had altered functional connectivity and thalamocortical hierarchical organizations, providing new insights into the neural mechanisms of the thalamus.

The brain network hub degeneration in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been conceptualized as a syndrome of brain network dysfunction. Recent imaging connectomics studies have provided unprecedented opportunities to map structural and functional brain networks in AD. By reviewing molecular, imaging, and computational modeling studies, we have shown that highly connected brain hubs are primarily distributed in the medial and lateral prefrontal, parietal, and temporal regions in healthy individuals and that the hubs are selectively and severely affected in AD as manifested by increased amyloid-beta deposition and regional atrophy, hypo-metabolism, and connectivity dysfunction. Furthermore, AD-related hub degeneration depends on the imaging modality with the most notable degeneration in the medial temporal hubs for morphological covariance networks, the prefrontal hubs for structural white matter networks, and in the medial parietal hubs for functional networks. Finally, the AD-related hub degeneration shows metabolic, molecular, and genetic correlates. Collectively, we conclude that the brain-network-hub-degeneration framework is promising to elucidate the biological mechanisms of network dysfunction in AD, which provides valuable information on potential diagnostic biomarkers and promising therapeutic targets for the disease.

Mental Workload and Prefrontal Brain Activity During Silent Reading Task in University Students with Problematic Smartphone Use.

Problematic smartphone use (PSU) is common among young people and linked to poor academic performance. However, how PSU affects learning processes remains unclear. This study investigated the influence of auditory cue stimulation during a reading task on the mental workload and prefrontal brain activity of young individuals with PSU. Sixteen university students with PSU and 14 healthy controls (HC) performed a silent reading task, during which fake notification sounds were introduced. Their mental workload was assessed using the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), and prefrontal brain activity was measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). The results of the NASA-TLX suggest that the PSU group experienced greater frustration than the HC group. The fNIRS results showed that in the right medial prefrontal region of the HC group, O2Hb levels increased following cue stimulation, whereas no change was observed in the PSU group. Moreover, in the HC group, HHb levels in the left lateral prefrontal region decreased after cue stimulation. The findings of the present study demonstrate that university students with PSU experience frustration and exhibit deactivation in the prefrontal regions associated with the executive control network during silent reading in realistic learning situations.

Contributions of Polygenic Risk and Disease Status to Gray Matter Abnormalities in Major Depression

BackgroundGray matter (GM) abnormalities in depression are potentially attributable to some combination of trait, state, and illness history factors. Here, we sought to determine the contributions of polygenic risk for depression, depressive disease status, and the interaction of these factors to these GM abnormalities. MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional comparison using a 2 × 3 factorial design examining effects of polygenic risk for depression (lower vs. upper quartile) and depression status (never depressed, currently depressed, or remitted depression) on regional GM concentration and GM volume. Participants were a subset of magnetic resonance imaging–scanned UK Biobank participants comprising 2682 people (876 men, 1806 women) algorithmically matched on 16 potential confounders. ResultsIn women but not men, we observed that elevated polygenic risk for depression was associated with reduced cerebellar GM volume. This deficit occurred in salience and dorsal attention network regions of the cerebellum and was associated with poorer performance on tests of attention and executive function but not fluid intelligence. Moreover, in women with current depression compared to both women with remitted depression and women who never had depression, we observed GM reductions in ventral and medial prefrontal, insular, and medial temporal regions. These state-related abnormalities remained when accounting for antidepressant medication status. ConclusionsNeuroanatomical deficits attributed broadly to major depression are more likely due to an aggregation of independent factors. Polygenic risk for depression accounted for cerebellar structural abnormalities that themselves accounted for cognitive deficits observed in this disorder. Medial and ventral prefrontal, insular, and temporal cortex deficits constituted a much larger proportion of the aggregate deficit and were attributable to the depressed state.

Psilocybin-induced default mode network hypoconnectivity is blunted in alcohol-dependent rats

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) adversely affects the lives of millions of people, but still lacks effective treatment options. Recent advancements in psychedelic research suggest psilocybin to be potentially efficacious for AUD. However, major knowledge gaps remain regarding (1) psilocybin’s general mode of action and (2) AUD-specific alterations of responsivity to psilocybin treatment in the brain that are crucial for treatment development. Here, we conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled crossover pharmaco-fMRI study on psilocybin effects using a translational approach with healthy rats and a rat model of alcohol relapse. Psilocybin effects were quantified with resting-state functional connectivity using data-driven whole-brain global brain connectivity, network-based statistics, graph theory, hypothesis-driven Default Mode Network (DMN)-specific connectivity, and entropy analyses. Results demonstrate that psilocybin induced an acute wide-spread decrease in different functional connectivity domains together with a distinct increase of connectivity between serotonergic core regions and cortical areas. We could further provide translational evidence for psilocybin-induced DMN hypoconnectivity reported in humans. Psilocybin showed an AUD-specific blunting of DMN hypoconnectivity, which strongly correlated to the alcohol relapse intensity and was mainly driven by medial prefrontal regions. In conclusion, our results provide translational validity for acute psilocybin-induced neural effects in the rodent brain. Furthermore, alcohol relapse severity was negatively correlated with neural responsivity to psilocybin treatment. Our data suggest that a clinical standard dose of psilocybin may not be sufficient to treat severe AUD cases; a finding that should be considered for future clinical trials.

Effect of Meditation on Brain Activity during an Attention Task: A Comparison Study of ASL and BOLD Task fMRI.

Focused attention meditation (FAM) training has been shown to improve attention, but the neural basis of FAM on attention has not been thoroughly understood. Here, we aim to investigate the neural effect of a 2-month FAM training on novice meditators in a visual oddball task (a frequently adopted task to evaluate attention), evaluated with both ASL and BOLD fMRI. Using ASL, activation was increased in the middle cingulate (part of the salience network, SN) and temporoparietal (part of the frontoparietal network, FPN) regions; the FAM practice time was negatively associated with the longitudinal changes in activation in the medial prefrontal (part of the default mode network, DMN) and middle frontal (part of the FPN) regions. Using BOLD, the FAM practice time was positively associated with the longitudinal changes of activation in the inferior parietal (part of the dorsal attention network, DAN), dorsolateral prefrontal (part of the FPN), and precentral (part of the DAN) regions. The effect sizes for the activation changes and their association with practice time using ASL are significantly larger than those using BOLD. Our study suggests that FAM training may improve attention via modulation of the DMN, DAN, SN, and FPN, and ASL may be a sensitive tool to study the FAM effect on attention.

Generating New Musical Preferences From Multilevel Mapping of Predictions to Reward

Much of what we know and love about music hinges on our ability to make successful predictions, which appears to be an intrinsically rewarding process. Yet the exact process by which learned predictions become pleasurable is unclear. Here we created novel melodies in an alternative scale different from any established musical culture to show how musical preference is generated de novo. Across nine studies (n = 1,185), adult participants learned to like more frequently presented items that adhered to this rapidly learned structure, suggesting that exposure and prediction errors both affected self-report liking ratings. Learning trajectories varied by music-reward sensitivity but were similar for U.S. and Chinese participants. Furthermore, functional MRI activity in auditory areas reflected prediction errors, whereas functional connectivity between auditory and medial prefrontal regions reflected both exposure and prediction errors. Collectively, results support predictive coding as a cognitive mechanism by which new musical sounds become rewarding.