Distinct oscillatory patterns differentiate between segregation and integration processes in perceptual grouping.

Recently, there has been a resurgence in experimental and conceptual efforts to understand how brain rhythms can serve to organize visual information. Oscillations can provide temporal structure for neuronal processing and form a basis for integrating information across brain areas. Here, we use a bistable paradigm and a data-driven approach to test the hypothesis that oscillatory modulations associate with the integration or segregation of visual elements.

Neural inhibition as implemented by an actor-critic model involves the human dorsal striatum and ventral tegmental area.

Inhibition is implicated across virtually all human experiences. As a trade-off of being very efficient, this executive function is also prone to many errors. Rodent and computational studies show that midbrain regions play crucial roles during errors by sending dopaminergic learning signals to the basal ganglia for behavioural adjustment.

Mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder in firefighters: an integrated analysis from an action research study.

Introduction: The presence of post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD) symptomatology in firefighters is an ever-pressing issue that requires close attention for adequate interventions. The present study investigated PTSD and global psychopathology prevalence in a sample of highly risk-exposed Portuguese firefighters, collected after the widespread deadly wildfires in 2017 that ravaged the country. Following an action research approach, the aim of this study was to depict this sample and examine the impact of cumulative adverse experiences on their mental health, which is a phenomenon worth attention.

The Neurophysiological Impact of Subacute Stroke: Changes in Cortical Oscillations Evoked by Bimanual Finger Movement.

Introduction: To design more effective interventions, such as neurostimulation, for stroke rehabilitation, there is a need to understand early physiological changes that take place that may be relevant for clinical monitoring. We aimed to study changes in neurophysiology following ischemic stroke, both at rest and with motor planning and execution.

Materials And Methods: We included 10 poststroke patients, between 7 and 10 days after stroke, and 20 age-matched controls to assess changes in cortical motor output via transcranial magnetic stimulation and in dynamics of oscillations, as recorded using electroencephalography (EEG).

Parahippocampal deactivation and hyperactivation of central executive, saliency and social cognition networks in autism spectrum disorder.

Background: The concomitant role of the Central Executive, the Saliency and the Social Cognition networks in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in demanding ecological tasks remains unanswered. We addressed this question using a novel task-based fMRI virtual-reality task mimicking a challenging daily-life chore that may present some difficulties to individuals with ASD: the EcoSupermarketX.

Methods: Participants included 29 adolescents: 15 with ASD and 15 with typical neurodevelopment (TD).

Parametric fMRI analysis of videos of variable arousal levels reveals different dorsal vs ventral activation preferences between autism and controls.

Atypical sensory processing is now considered a ubiquitous feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and is responsible for the atypical sensory-based behaviours seen in these individuals. Specifically, emotional arousal is a critical ASD target since it comprises emotion regulation and sensory processing, two core aspects of autism. So, in this project, we used task-based fMRI and a well-catalogued dataset of videos with variable arousal levels to characterize the sensory processing of emotional arousal content in ASD and typically developed controls.

Assessing Arousal Through Multimodal Biosignals: A Preliminary Approach.

The increase in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) prevalence estimates over the last decades has driven a quest to develop new forms of rehabilitation that can be accessible to a larger part of this population. These rehabilitation approaches often take the form of computer games that are blind to the user's emotional state, which compromises their efficacy. In this study, a set of physiological signals were acquired in simultaneous with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) with the future prospect of combining both kinds of data to create models capable of assessing the true emotional state of their users based on physiological response as a measure of autonomic nervous system, having as ground truth the activity of targeted brain regions.

Decreased activity of piriform cortex and orbitofrontal hyperactivation in Usher Syndrome, a human disorder of ciliary dysfunction.

Usher syndrome (USH) is a condition characterized by ciliary dysfunction leading to retinal degeneration and hearing/vestibular loss. Putative olfactory deficits in humans have been documented at the psychophysical level and remain to be proven at the neurophysiological level. Thus, we aimed to study USH olfactory impairment using functional magnetic resonance imaging.

The Role of Continuous Theta Burst TMS in the Neurorehabilitation of Subacute Stroke Patients: A Placebo-Controlled Study.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation, in particular continuous theta burst (cTBS), has been proposed for stroke rehabilitation, based on the concept that inhibition of the healthy hemisphere helps promote the recovery of the lesioned one. We aimed to study its effects on cortical excitability, oscillatory patterns, and motor function, the main aim being to identify potentially beneficial neurophysiological effects. We applied randomized real or placebo stimulation over the unaffected primary motor cortex of 10 subacute (7 ± 3 days) post-stroke patients.

Attentional Cueing and Executive Deficits Revealed by a Virtual Supermarket Task Coupled With Eye-Tracking in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Executive functioning (EF) impairments in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) impact on complex functions, such as social cognition. We assessed this link between EF, attentional cueing, and social cognition with a novel ecological task, "EcoSupermarketX." Our task had three blocks of increasing executive load and incorporated social and non-social cues, with different degrees of saliency.

Ventral Caudate and Anterior Insula Recruitment During Value Estimation of Passionate Rewarding Cues.

"Wanting", a component of reward processing, is a motivational property that guides decision making in goal-oriented behavior. This includes behavior aiming at supporting relational bonds, even at the group level. Accordingly, group belongingness works as this motivational property, which is fundamentally different from romantic or maternal love.

Continuous theta burst stimulation increases contralateral mu and beta rhythms with arm elevation: implications for neurorehabilitation.

The study of the physiological effects underlying brain response to transcranial magnetic stimulation is important to understand its impact on neurorehabilitation. We aim to analyze the impact of a transcranial magnetic stimulation protocol, the continuous theta burst (cTBS), on human neurophysiology, particularly on contralateral motor rhythms. cTBS was applied in 20 subjects over the primary motor cortex.

Evidence for impaired olfactory function and structural brain integrity in a disorder of ciliary function, Usher syndrome.

Diseases involving cilia dysfunction, such as Usher Syndrome (USH), often involve visual and auditory loss. Psychophysical evidence has suggested that this may also hold true for the peripheral olfactory domain. Here we aimed to go a step further by attempting to establish relations between the integrity of cortical structures and olfactory function in this condition.

Impulsivity across reactive, proactive and cognitive domains in Parkinson's disease on dopaminergic medication: Evidence for multiple domain impairment.

Impulse control disorders (ICD) may occur in Parkinson's disease (PD) although it remains to be understood if such deficits may occur even in the absence of a formal ICD diagnosis. Moreover, studies addressing simultaneously distinct neurobehavioral domains, such as cognitive, proactive and reactive motor impulsivity, are still lacking. Here, we aimed to investigate if reactive, proactive and cognitive impulsivity involving risk taking are concomitantly affected in medicated PD patients, and whether deficits were dependent on response strategies, such as speed accuracy tradeoffs, or the proportion of omission vs.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation as an Intervention Tool to Recover from Language, Swallowing and Attentional Deficits after Stroke: A Systematic Review.

Background: Following a stroke event, patients often are severely affected by disabilities that hinder their quality-of-life. There are currently several rehabilitative options and strategies, and it is crucial to find the most effective interventions. The applicability of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to the recovery of nonmotor functions such as communication skills, swallowing ability and spatial attention after stroke remains important clinical questions.

The role of Prefrontal Cortex in a Battle of the Sexes Dilemma involving a Conflict between Tribal and Romantic love.

The neural basis of dilemmas involving decisions with profound affective impact, such as in romantic life, remains to be understood. The "Battle of the Sexes" is a paradigm from Game Theory that can be used to experimentally address such dilemmas. A form of in-group love, tribal love in football fans, provides the opportunity to study strong affective dilemmas when tribal and romantic love compete for hedonic decision-making.

Oscillatory motor patterning is impaired in neurofibromatosis type 1: a behavioural, EEG and fMRI study.

Background: Neurofibromatosis type1 (NF1) is associated with a broad range of behavioural deficits, and an imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission has been postulated in this disorder. Inhibition is involved in the control of frequency and stability of motor rhythms. Therefore, we aimed to explore the link between behavioural motor control, brain rhythms and brain activity, as assessed by EEG and fMRI in NF1.

The Use of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Stroke Rehabilitation: A Systematic Review.

Objectives: Stroke is a leading cause of disability. Alternative and more effective techniques for stroke rehabilitation have been sought to overcome limitations of conventional therapies. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) arises as a promising tool in this context.

Visual motion imagery neurofeedback based on the hMT+/V5 complex: evidence for a feedback-specific neural circuit involving neocortical and cerebellar regions.

Objective: Current approaches in neurofeedback/brain-computer interface research often focus on identifying, on a subject-by-subject basis, the neural regions that are best suited for self-driven modulation. It is known that the hMT+/V5 complex, an early visual cortical region, is recruited during explicit and implicit motion imagery, in addition to real motion perception. This study tests the feasibility of training healthy volunteers to regulate the level of activation in their hMT+/V5 complex using real-time fMRI neurofeedback and visual motion imagery strategies.

The dual facet of gamma oscillations: separate visual and decision making circuits as revealed by simultaneous EEG/fMRI.

It remains an outstanding question whether gamma-band oscillations reflect unitary cognitive processes within the same task. EEG/MEG studies do lack the resolution or coverage to address the highly debated question whether single gamma activity patterns are linked with multiple cognitive modules or alternatively each pattern associates with a specific cognitive module, within the same coherent perceptual task. One way to disentangle these issues would be to provide direct identification of their sources, by combining different techniques.

Anterior/posterior competitive deactivation/activation dichotomy in the human hippocampus as revealed by a 3D navigation task.

Anterior/posterior long axis specialization is thought to underlie the organization of the hippocampus. However it remains unclear whether antagonistic mechanisms differentially modulate processing of spatial information within the hippocampus. We used fMRI and a virtual reality 3D paradigm to study encoding and retrieval of spatial memory during active visuospatial navigation, requiring positional encoding and retrieval of object landmarks during the path.

Developmental dissociation of visual dorsal stream parvo and magnocellular representations and the functional impact of negative retinotopic BOLD responses.

Localized neurodevelopmental defects provide an opportunity to study structure-function correlations in the human nervous system. This unique multimodal case report of epileptogenic dysplasia in the visual cortex allowed exploring visual function across distinct pathways in retinotopic regions and the dorsal stream, in relation to fMRI retinotopic mapping and spike triggered BOLD responses. Pre-surgical EEG/video monitoring, MRI/DTI, EEG/fMRI, PET and SPECT were performed to characterize structure/function correlations in this patient with a very early lesion onset.