Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex Regions Research Articles

Individualized tDCS modeling predicts functional connectivity changes within the working memory network in older adults

BackgroundWorking memory decline has been associated with normal aging. The frontal brain structure responsible for this decline is primarily located in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Our previous neuroimaging study demonstrated a significant change in functional connectivity between the left dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC) and left ventrolateral PFC (VLPFC) when applying 2 mA tDCS in MRI scanner during an N-Back task. These regions were part of the working memory network. The present study is the first study that utilizes individualized finite element models derived from older adults’ MRI to predict significant changes of functional connectivity observed from an acute tDCS application. MethodsIndividualized head models from 15 healthy older adults (mean age = 71.3 years) were constructed to create current density maps. Each head model was segmented into 11 tissue types: white matter, gray matter, CSF, muscle, blood vessels, fat, eyes, air, skin, cancellous, and cortical bone. Electrodes were segmented from T1-weighted images and added to the models. Computed median and maximum current density values in the left DLPFC and left VLPFC regions of interest (ROIs) were correlated with beta values as functional connectivity metrics measured in different timepoint (baseline, during stimulation) and stimulation condition (active and sham). Main resultsPositive significant correlations (R2 = 0.523 for max J, R2 = 0.367 for median J, p < 0.05) were found between the beta values and computed current densities in the left DLPFC ROIs for active stimulation, but no significant correlation was found during sham stimulation. We found no significant correlation between connectivity and current densities computed in the left VLPFC for both active and sham stimulation. ConclusionsThe amount of current within the left DLPFC ROIs was found positively correlated with changes in functional connectivity between left DLPFC and left VLPFC during active 2 mA stimulation. Future work may include expansion of number of participants to further test the accuracy of tDCS models used to predict tDCS-induced functional connectivity changes within the working memory network.

Dynamic changes in large-scale functional network organization during autobiographical memory retrieval

Autobiographical memory (AM), episodic memory for life events, involves the orchestration of multiple dynamic cognitive processes, including memory access and subsequent elaboration. Previous neuroimaging studies have contrasted memory access and elaboration processes in terms of regional brain activation and connectivity within large, multi-region networks. Although interactions between key memory-related regions such as the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC) have been shown to play an important role in AM retrieval, it remains unclear how such connectivity between specific, individual regions involved in AM retrieval changes dynamically across the retrieval process and how these changes relate to broader memory networks throughout the whole brain. The present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study sought to assess the specific changes in interregional connectivity patterns across the AM retrieval processes to understand network level mechanisms of AM retrieval and further test current theoretical accounts of dynamic AM retrieval processes. We predicted that dynamic connections would reflect two hypothesized memory processes, with initial processes reflecting memory-access related connections between regions such as the anterior hippocampal and ventrolateral PFC regions, and later processes reflecting elaboration-related connections between dorsolateral frontal working memory regions and parietal-occipital visual imagery regions. One week prior to fMRI scanning, fifteen healthy adult participants generated AMs using personally selected cue words. During scanning, participants were cued to retrieve the AMs. We used a moving-window functional connectivity analysis and graph theoretic measures to examine dynamic changes in the strength and centrality of connectivity among regions involved in AM retrieval. Consistent with predictions, early, access-related processing primarily involved a ventral frontal to temporal-parietal network associated with strategic search and initial reactivation of specific episodic memory traces. In addition, neural network connectivity during later retrieval processes was associated with strong connections between occipital-parietal regions and dorsal fronto-parietal regions associated with mental imagery, reliving, and working memory processes. Taken together, these current findings help refine and extend dynamic neural processing models of AM retrieval by providing evidence of the specific connections throughout the brain that change in their synchrony with one another as processing progresses from access of specific event memories to elaborative reliving of the past event.

Using functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) to Evaluate the Neurocognitive Effects of Transient Events

A spatial memory task with an event related design was used as a proxy for showcasing a design matrix regression on fNIRS data for neuroergonomic studies of complex tasks involving transient workload transitions. The analysis identified a region of ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) in which oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO2) was increased during memory maintenance. Task performance negatively modulated HbO2 in this brain region during memory maintenance. The results show that neural effects specifically within the period of memory maintenance, as opposed to other cognitive components (e.g., encoding or retrieval) can be reliably identified. Similar analytical methods could be used for the analysis of cortical hemodynamics in more complex tasks involving transient events (e.g., workload transitions) and in related neuroergonomic applications.

Effects of valence and divided attention on cognitive reappraisal processes

Numerous studies have investigated the neural substrates supporting cognitive reappraisal, identifying the importance of cognitive control processes implemented by prefrontal cortex (PFC). This study examined how valence and attention affect the processes used for cognitive reappraisal by asking participants to passively view or to cognitively reappraise positive and negative images with full or divided attention. When participants simply viewed these images, results revealed few effects of valence or attention. However, when participants engaged in reappraisal, there was a robust effect of valence, with the reappraisal of negative relative to positive images associated with more widespread activation, including within regions of medial and lateral PFC. There also was an effect of attention, with more lateral PFC recruitment when regulating with full attention and more medial PFC recruitment when regulating with divided attention. Within two regions of medial PFC and one region of ventrolateral PFC, there was an interaction between valence and attention: in these regions, divided attention reduced activity during reappraisal of positive but not negative images. Critically, participants continued to report reappraisal success even during the Divided Attention condition. These results suggest multiple routes to successful cognitive reappraisal, depending upon image valence and the availability of attentional resources.

Alterations of fronto-temporal connectivity during word encoding in schizophrenia

Cognitive deficits, including impaired verbal memory, are prominent in schizophrenia and lead to increased disability. Functional neuroimaging of patients with schizophrenia performing memory tasks has revealed abnormal activation patterns in prefrontal cortex and temporo-limbic regions. Aberrant fronto-temporal interactions thus represent a potential pathophysiological mechanism underlying verbal memory deficits, yet this hypothesis of disturbed connectivity is not tested directly with standard activation studies. We performed within-subject correlations of frontal and temporal timeseries to measure functional connectivity during verbal encoding. Our results confirm earlier findings of aberrant fronto-temporal connectivity in schizophrenia, and extend them by identifying distinct alterations within dorsal and ventral prefrontal cortex. Relative to healthy controls, patients with schizophrenia had reduced connectivity between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and temporal lobe areas including parahippocampus and superior temporal gyrus. In contrast, patients showed increased connectivity between a region of ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) and these same temporal lobe regions. Higher temporal-DLPFC connectivity during encoding was associated with better subsequent recognition accuracy in controls, but not patients. Temporal-VLPFC connectivity was uncorrelated with recognition accuracy in either group. The results suggest that reduced temporal-DLPFC connectivity in schizophrenia could underlie encoding deficits, and increased temporal-VLPFC connectivity may represent an ineffective compensatory effort.