Neural Encoding of Self and Another Agent's Goal in the Primate Prefrontal Cortex: Human-Monkey Interactions
The primate prefrontal cortex represents both past and future goals. To investigate its role in representing the goals of other agents, we designed a nonmatch-to-goal task that involved a human–monkey (H–M) interaction. During each trial, 2 of 4 potential goal objects were presented randomly to the left or right part of a display screen, and the monkey's (or human's) task was to choose the one that did not match the object goal previously chosen. Human and monkey trials were intermixed, and each agent, when acting as observer, was required to monitor the other actor's choice to switch the object goal choice in ...
Source: Cerebral Cortex - December 25, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Falcone, R., Brunamonti, E., Ferraina, S., Genovesio, A. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Evidence and Counterevidence in Motion Perception
Sensory neurons gather evidence in favor of the specific stimuli to which they are tuned, but they could improve their sensitivity by also taking counterevidence into account. The Bours–Lankheet model for motion detection uses counterevidence that relies on a specific combination of the ON and OFF channels in the early visual system. Specifically, the model detects pairs of flashes that occur separated in space and time. If the flashes have the same contrast polarity, they are interpreted as evidence in favor of the corresponding motion. But if they have opposite contrasts, they are interpreted as evidence against it...
Source: Cerebral Cortex - December 25, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Duijnhouwer, J., Krekelberg, B. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Memory, Decision-Making, and the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex (vmPFC): The Roles of Subcallosal and Posterior Orbitofrontal Cortices in Monitoring and Control Processes
The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) prominently and separately features in neurobiological models of decision-making (e.g., value-encoding) and of memory (e.g., automatic veracity-monitoring). Recent decision-making models propose value judgments that inherently comprise of second-order confidence estimates. These demonstrate quadratic relationships with first-order judgments and are automatically encoded in vmPFC activity. Memory studies use Quantity–Accuracy Profiles to capture similar first-order and second-order meta-mnemonic processes, suggesting convergence across domains. Patients with PFC damage answer...
Source: Cerebral Cortex - December 25, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Hebscher, M., Barkan-Abramski, M., Goldsmith, M., Aharon-Peretz, J., Gilboa, A. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Developmental Expression Patterns of KCC2 and Functionally Associated Molecules in the Human Brain
We describe spatiotemporal expression profiles of the entire CCC family in human brain. KCC2 mRNA was observed already at 10th postconceptional week (PCW) in amygdala, cerebellum, and thalamus. KCC2-immunoreactive (KCC2-ir) neurons were abundant in subplate at 18 PCW. By 25 PCW, numerous subplate and cortical plate neurons became KCC2-ir. The mRNA expression profiles of α- and β-isoforms of Na-K ATPase, which fuels cation-chloride cotransport, as well of tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB), which promotes developmental upregulation of KCC2, were consistent with data from studies on rodents about their interacti...
Source: Cerebral Cortex - December 25, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Sedmak, G., Jovanov-Milosevic, N., Puskarjov, M., Ulamec, M., Kruslin, B., Kaila, K., Judas, M. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Enhancement of Working Memory and Task-Related Oscillatory Activity Following Intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation in Healthy Controls
We report here the findings from the first-ever investigation into the persistent cognitive and electrophysiological effects of intermittent TBS (iTBS) delivered to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In 19 healthy controls, active iTBS significantly improved performance on an assessment of working memory when compared with sham stimulation across a period of 40 min post stimulation. The behavioral findings were accompanied by increases in task-related fronto-parietal theta sychronization and parietal gamma band power. These results have implications for the role of more specialized stimulation approaches in neuromodu...
Source: Cerebral Cortex - December 25, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Hoy, K. E., Bailey, N., Michael, M., Fitzgibbon, B., Rogasch, N. C., Saeki, T., Fitzgerald, P. B. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
The Response of the Left Ventral Attentional System to Invalid Targets and its Implication for the Spatial Neglect Syndrome: a Multivariate fMRI Investigation
In humans, invalid visual targets that mismatch spatial expectations induced by attentional cues are considered to selectively engage a right hemispheric "reorienting" network that includes the temporal parietal junction (TPJ), the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), and the medial frontal gyrus (MFG). However, recent findings suggest that this hemispheric dominance is not absolute and that it is rather observed because the TPJ and IFG areas in the left hemisphere are engaged both by invalid and valid cued targets. Because of this, the BOLD response of the left hemisphere to invalid targets is usually cancelled out by the standa...
Source: Cerebral Cortex - December 25, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Silvetti, M., Lasaponara, S., Lecce, F., Dragone, A., Macaluso, E., Doricchi, F. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Functional Brain Connectivity Develops Rapidly Around Term Age and Changes Between Vigilance States in the Human Newborn
This study aimed to characterize functional connectivity in the healthy human newborn, and to identify the changes in connectivity related to vigilance states and to maturation during the early postnatal weeks. We recorded active and quiet sleep of 38 sleeping newborn babies using multichannel electroencephalography (EEG) at 2 neonatal time points. Functional connectivity between brain areas was quantified with 3 different metrics: phase–phase correlations, amplitude–amplitude correlations (AACs), and phase–amplitude correlations. All functional connectivity measures changed significantly between vigilanc...
Source: Cerebral Cortex - December 25, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Tokariev, A., Videman, M., Palva, J. M., Vanhatalo, S. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Age-Dependent D1-D2 Receptor Coactivation in the Lateral Orbitofrontal Cortex Potentiates NMDA Receptors and Facilitates Cognitive Flexibility
The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) integrates information about the environment to guide decision-making. Glutamatergic synaptic transmission mediated through N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors is required for optimal functioning of the OFC. Additionally, abnormal dopamine signaling in this region has been implicated in impulsive behavior and poor cognitive flexibility. Yet, despite the high prevalence of psychostimulants prescribed for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, there is little information on how dopamine modulates synaptic transmission in the juvenile or the adult OFC. Using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in OF...
Source: Cerebral Cortex - December 25, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Thompson, J. L., Yang, J., Lau, B., Liu, S., Baimel, C., Kerr, L. E., Liu, F., Borgland, S. L. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
The Development of Nociceptive Network Activity in the Somatosensory Cortex of Freely Moving Rat Pups
Cortical perception of noxious stimulation is an essential component of pain experience but it is not known how cortical nociceptive activity emerges during brain development. Here we use continuous telemetric electrocorticogram (ECoG) recording from the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) of awake active rat pups to map functional nociceptive processing in the developing brain over the first 4 weeks of life. Cross-sectional and longitudinal recordings show that baseline S1 ECoG energy increases steadily with age, with a distinctive beta component replaced by a distinctive theta component in week 3. Event-related potentials ...
Source: Cerebral Cortex - December 25, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Chang, P., Fabrizi, L., Olhede, S., Fitzgerald, M. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
The Organization of Mouse and Human Cortico-Hippocampal Networks Estimated by Intrinsic Functional Connectivity
While the hippocampal memory system has been relatively conserved across mammals, the cerebral cortex has undergone massive expansion. A central question in brain evolution is how cortical development affected the nature of cortical inputs to the hippocampus. To address this question, we compared cortico-hippocampal connectivity using intrinsic functional connectivity MRI (fcMRI) in awake mice and humans. We found that fcMRI recapitulates anatomical connectivity, demonstrating sensory mapping within the mouse parahippocampal region. Moreover, we identified a similar topographical modality-specific organization along the lo...
Source: Cerebral Cortex - December 25, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Bergmann, E., Zur, G., Bershadsky, G., Kahn, I. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Hybrid Scheme for Modeling Local Field Potentials from Point-Neuron Networks
With rapidly advancing multi-electrode recording technology, the local field potential (LFP) has again become a popular measure of neuronal activity in both research and clinical applications. Proper understanding of the LFP requires detailed mathematical modeling incorporating the anatomical and electrophysiological features of neurons near the recording electrode, as well as synaptic inputs from the entire network. Here we propose a hybrid modeling scheme combining efficient point-neuron network models with biophysical principles underlying LFP generation by real neurons. The LFP predictions rely on populations of networ...
Source: Cerebral Cortex - December 25, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Hagen, E., Dahmen, D., Stavrinou, M. L., Linden, H., Tetzlaff, T., van Albada, S. J., Grün, S., Diesmann, M., Einevoll, G. T. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Illusory Obesity Triggers Body Dissatisfaction Responses in the Insula and Anterior Cingulate Cortex
In today's Western society, concerns regarding body size and negative feelings toward one's body are all too common. However, little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying negative feelings toward the body and how they relate to body perception and eating-disorder pathology. Here, we used multisensory illusions to elicit illusory ownership of obese and slim bodies during functional magnetic resonance imaging. The results implicate the anterior insula and the anterior cingulate cortex in the development of negative feelings toward the body through functional interactions with the posterior parietal cortex, which me...
Source: Cerebral Cortex - December 25, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Preston, C., Ehrsson, H. H. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Extending the Cortical Grasping Network: Pre-supplementary Motor Neuron Activity During Vision and Grasping of Objects
Grasping relies on a network of parieto-frontal areas lying on the dorsolateral and dorsomedial parts of the hemispheres. However, the initiation and sequencing of voluntary actions also requires the contribution of mesial premotor regions, particularly the pre-supplementary motor area F6. We recorded 233 F6 neurons from 2 monkeys with chronic linear multishank neural probes during reaching–grasping visuomotor tasks. We showed that F6 neurons play a role in the control of forelimb movements and some of them (26%) exhibit visual and/or motor specificity for the target object. Interestingly, area F6 neurons form 2 func...
Source: Cerebral Cortex - December 25, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Lanzilotto, M., Livi, A., Maranesi, M., Gerbella, M., Barz, F., Ruther, P., Fogassi, L., Rizzolatti, G., Bonini, L. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
An Electrophysiological Index of Perceptual Goodness
A traditional line of work starting with the Gestalt school has shown that patterns vary in strength and salience; a difference in "Perceptual goodness." The Holographic weight of evidence model quantifies goodness of visual regularities. The key formula states that W = E/N, where E is number of holographic identities in a pattern and N is number of elements. We tested whether W predicts the amplitude of the neural response to regularity in an extrastriate symmetry-sensitive network. We recorded an Event Related Potential (ERP) generated by symmetry called the Sustained Posterior Negativity (SPN). First, we reana...
Source: Cerebral Cortex - December 25, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Makin, A. D. J., Wright, D., Rampone, G., Palumbo, L., Guest, M., Sheehan, R., Cleaver, H., Bertamini, M. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Distinct Corticostriatal and Intracortical Pathways Mediate Bilateral Sensory Responses in the Striatum
Individual striatal neurons integrate somatosensory information from both sides of the body, however, the afferent pathways mediating these bilateral responses are unclear. Whereas ipsilateral corticostriatal projections are prevalent throughout the neocortex, contralateral projections provide sparse input from primary sensory cortices, in contrast to the dense innervation from motor and frontal regions. There is, therefore, an apparent discrepancy between the observed anatomical pathways and the recorded striatal responses. We used simultaneous in vivo whole-cell and extracellular recordings combined with focal cortical s...
Source: Cerebral Cortex - December 25, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Reig, R., Silberberg, G. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
