ORCID Profile
0000-0002-6638-951X
Current Organisation
Deakin University
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Psychology | Central Nervous System | Biological Psychology (Neuropsychology, Psychopharmacology, Physiological Psychology) | Neurocognitive Patterns and Neural Networks | Philosophy of Cognition | Biological Psychology (Neuropsychology, Psychopharmacology, | Mental Health | Sensory Processes, Perception and Performance | Developmental Psychology and Ageing | Social and Community Psychology
Expanding Knowledge in Psychology and Cognitive Sciences | Mental Health | Behavioural and cognitive sciences | Child Health | Nervous system and disorders | Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences | Expanding Knowledge in Philosophy and Religious Studies | Expanding Knowledge in the Medical and Health Sciences |
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-02-2018
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-03-2006
DOI: 10.1007/S00787-006-0530-Y
Abstract: Gait abnormalities have been widely reported in in iduals with autism and Asperger's disorder. There is controversy as to whether the cerebellum or the basal-ganglia frontostriatal regions underpin these abnormalities. This is the first direct comparison of gait and upper-body postural features in autism and Asperger's disorder. Clinical and control groups were matched according to age, height, weight, performance, and full scale IQ. Consistent with Hallet's (1993) cerebellar-gait hypothesis, the autistic group showed significantly increased stride-length variability in their gait in comparison to control and Asperger's disorder participants. No quantitative gait deficits were found for the Asperger's disorder group. In support of Damasio and Maurer's (1982) basal-ganglia frontostriatal-gait hypothesis, both clinical groups were rated as showing abnormal arm posturing, however, only the Asperger's group were rated as significantly different from controls in terms of head and trunk posturing. While DSM-IV-TR suggests that Asperger's disorder, but not autism, is associated with motoric clumsiness, our data suggest that both clinical groups are uncoordinated and lacking in motor smoothness. Gait differences in autism and Asperger's disorder were suggested to reflect differential involvement of the cerebellum, with commonalities reflecting similar involvement of the basal-ganglia frontostriatal region.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-2019
DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2019.1572648
Abstract: Prior studies have demonstrated that aspects of social cognition can be modulated via temporoparietal junction (TPJ) transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). However, this technique lacks focality and electrophysiological effects or correlates are rarely examined. The present study investigated whether anodal and/or cathodal high-definition tDCS (HD-tDCS) would influence facial emotion processing performance relative to sham stimulation, and whether task performance changes were related to neurophysiological changes. Participants completed a facial emotion attribution tasks before and after rTPJ HD-tDCS, with event-related potentials (ERP) recorded during task performance. Anodal rTPJ HD-tDCS improved facial emotion processing performance for static depictions of fear (but not surprise). Stimulation condition influenced P300 latency, and also influenced the relationship between behavioural and electrophysiological (ERP) outcomes in several circumstances, findings which both support and challenge anodal-excitation/cathodal-inhibition accounts of tDCS effects. Results suggest that rTPJ anodal HD-tDCS can influence facial emotion recognition (i.e., affective mentalizing), and elucidate the nature and distribution of underlying neurophysiological processes. Stimulation effects, however, might depend on the intensity and salience/valence (negativity/threat) of the emotion, and these behavioural effects may not relate directly or simply to the ERPs assessed here.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-03-2019
DOI: 10.1111/EJN.14370
Abstract: Mirror neurons (MN) have been proposed as the neural substrate for a wide range of clinical, social and cognitive phenomena. Over the last decade, a commonly used tool for investigating MN activity in the human brain has been functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) repetition suppression (RS) paradigms. However, the available evidence is mixed, largely owing to inconsistent application of the methodological criteria necessary to infer MN properties. This raises concerns about the degree to which one can infer the presence (or absence) of MN activity from earlier accounts that adopted RS paradigms. We aimed to clarify this issue using a well-validated fMRI RS paradigm and tested for mirror properties by rigorously applying the widely accepted criteria necessary to demonstrate MN activity using traditional univariate techniques and Multivariate Pattern Analysis (MVPA). While univariate whole brain analysis in healthy adults showed uni-modal RS effects within the supplementary motor area, no evidence for cross-modal RS effects consistent with mirror neuron activity was found. MVPA on the other hand revealed a region along the anterior intraparietal sulcus that met the criteria for MN activity. Taken together, these results clarify disparate evidence from earlier RS studies, highlighting that traditional univariate analysis of RS data may not be sensitive for detecting MN activity when rigorously applying the requisite criteria. In light of these findings, we recommend that short of increasing s le sizes substantially, future studies using RS paradigms to investigate MNs across the human brain consider the use of MVPA.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2023
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 20-08-2018
DOI: 10.1080/87565641.2018.1504948
Abstract: The primary aim of this study was to kinematically assess how children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) plan and control their handwriting actions. Forty-three boys aged between 8 to 12 years were included in the present analysis 23 with ASD and 20 typically developing (TD) controls. Sophisticated objective and quantifiable assessment of movement metrics and dynamics was applied across a series of basic cursive handwriting sequences. Children with ASD demonstrated atypical control of handwriting metrics and dynamics, as well as significantly greater neuromotor noise relative to age-matched peers. They also engaged in less regular monitoring and regulation of their movement during the handwriting task. This study provides new insights into the way children with ASD plan and sequence their handwriting movements. Overall, results revealed that even at a basic level, children with ASD appear to have a breakdown in their ability to control and regulate their handwriting movements. This has important implications for the school-aged child who constantly engages in handwriting tasks within the classroom environment and provides insight into possible directions for future intervention.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-07-2009
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2006
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2021
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-09-2023
DOI: 10.1111/JORA.12803
Abstract: Self‐disclosure is a crucial part of developing close interpersonal relationships during adolescence. In particular, sharing information with a greater depth of intimacy is thought to strengthen social bonds and thus support mental health. The current study investigated the value for different depths of self‐disclosures to close others (mothers and best friends) during adolescence and its association with mental health and well‐being. Fifty‐four girls (11.0–15.9 years) completed a forced‐choice monetary paradigm to assess value for self‐disclosures and questionnaires on mental health. Participants significantly valued (i.e., forfeited monetary reward) for disclosures to both mothers and best friends, although intimate disclosures were more “costly” than superficial disclosures. Greater value for intimate self‐disclosures to mothers was also associated with better mental health and well‐being.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-09-2018
DOI: 10.1111/PSYP.13292
Abstract: This study examined whether the P1, N1, and P3 ERP components would be sensitive to sequence learning effects on the serial reaction time task. On this task, participants implicitly learn a visuospatial sequence. Participants in this study were 35 healthy adults. Reaction time (RT) data revealed that, at the group level, participants learned the sequence. Specifically, RT became faster following repeated exposure to the visuospatial sequence and then slowed down in a control condition. Analyses of ERP data revealed no evidence for sequence learning effects for the N1 or P3 component. However, sequence learning effects were observed for the P1 component. Mean P1 litude mirrored the RT data. The analyses showed that P1 litude significantly decreased as participants were exposed to the sequence but then significantly increased in the control condition. This suggests that visuospatial sequence learning can modulate visual attention levels. Specifically, it seems that, as sequence knowledge is acquired, fewer demands are placed on visual attention resources.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 10-2012
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 09-08-2016
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2012
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEUROPSYCHOLOGIA.2012.01.036
Abstract: In iduals with anorexia nervosa (AN) demonstrate a relentless engagement in behaviors aimed to reduce their weight, which leads to severe underweight status, and occasionally death. Neurobiological abnormalities, as a consequence of starvation are controversial: evidence, however, demonstrates abnormalities in the reward system of patients, and recovered in iduals. Despite this, a unifying explanation for reward abnormalities observed in AN and their relevance to symptoms of the illness, remains incompletely understood. Theories explaining reward dysfunction have conventionally focused on anhedonia, describing that patients have an impaired ability to experience reward or pleasure. We review taste reward literature and propose that patients' reduced responses to conventional taste-reward tasks may reflect a fear of weight gain associated with the caloric nature of the tasks, rather than an impaired ability to experience reward. Consistent with this, we propose that patients are capable of 'liking' hedonic taste stimuli (e.g., identifying them), however, they do not 'want' or feel motivated for the stimuli in the same way that healthy controls report. Recent brain imaging data on more complex reward processing tasks provide insights into fronto-striatal neural circuit dysfunction related to altered reward processing in AN that challenges the relevance of anhedonia in explaining reward dysfunction in AN. In this way, altered activity of the anterior cingulate cortex and striatum could explain patients' pathological engagement in behaviors they consider rewarding (e.g., self-starvation) that are otherwise aversive or punishing, to those without the eating disorder. Such evidence for altered patterns of brain activity associated with reward processing tasks in patients and recovered in iduals may provide important information about mechanisms underlying symptoms of AN, their future investigation, and the development of treatment approaches.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 24-03-2015
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2020
DOI: 10.1016/J.PNPBP.2019.109769
Abstract: Several lines of evidence identify aberrant excitatory-inhibitory neural processes across autism and schizophrenia spectrum disorders, particularly within the psychosocial domain. Such neural processes include increased excitatory glutamate and reduced inhibitory GABA concentrations, which may affect auditory pre-attentive processing as indexed by the mismatch negativity (MMN) thus, an excitation-inhibition imbalance might lead to aberrant MMN, which might in turn drive the relationship between the MMN and psychosocial difficulties. This research has the potential to enhance the neurochemical understanding of the relationship between electrophysiology (MMN) and behavioural/clinical measures (psychosocial difficulties). Thirty-eight adults (18 male, 18-40 years) completed the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) and Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Glutamate and GABA concentrations in bilateral superior temporal cortex (STC) were quantified using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) while auditory MMN to a duration deviant was measured with magnetoencephalography. Spearman correlations probed the relationships between STC glutamate/GABA ratios, MMN litude and latency, and AQ and SPQ dimensions. Mediation effects of glutamate/GABA ratios on the relationship between MMN and AQ-SPQ dimensions were probed using causal mediation analysis. Only SPQ-interpersonal and AQ-communication were significantly correlated with right hemisphere glutamate/GABA ratios and MMN latency (ps < 0.05), which were themselves correlated (p = .035). Two mediation models were investigated, with right MMN latency as predictor and SPQ-interpersonal and AQ-communication as outcome variables. Right STC glutamate/GABA ratios significantly mediated the relationship between MMN latency and SPQ-interpersonal scores, but only partially mediated the relationship between MMN latency and AQ-communication scores. These findings support the growing body of literature pointing toward an excitation-inhibition imbalance that is central to psychosocial functioning across multi-dimensional spectrum disorders, such as autism and schizophrenia, and provides neurochemical indicators of the processes that underlie psychosocial dysfunction.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 12-05-2012
DOI: 10.1093/SCAN/NSR016
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-09-2023
DOI: 10.1002/HBM.26061
Abstract: Understanding brain activity linked to built environment exposure is important, as it may affect underlying cognitive, perceptual, and emotional processes, which have a critical influence in our daily life. As our time spent inside buildings is rising, and mental health problems have become more prevalent, it is important we investigate how design characteristics of the built environment impact brain function. In this study, we utilized electroencephalography to understand whether the design elements of scale and color of interior built environments modulate functional brain connectivity (i.e., brain network communication). Using a Cave Automatic Virtual Environment, while controlling indoor environmental quality responsible for physiological comfort, healthy adult participants aged 18–55 years (66 for scale, subset of 18 for color), were exposed to context‐neutral indoor room scenes presented for two‐minutes each. Our results show that both enlarging and reducing scale enhanced theta connectivity across the left temporoparietal region and right frontal region. We also found when reducing the built environment scale, there was a network exhibiting greater high‐gamma connectivity, over the right frontoparietal region. For color, the condition (blue) contrasted to our achromatic control (white) increased theta connectivity in the frontal hemispheres. These findings identify a link between theta and gamma oscillations during exposure to the scale and color of the built environment, showing that design characteristics of the built environment could affect our cognitive processes and mental health. This suggests that, through the design of buildings, we may be able to mediate performance and health outcomes, which could lead to major health and economic benefits for society.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 06-01-2015
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 31-10-2016
DOI: 10.1007/S10803-015-2639-7
Abstract: The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the right temporo-parietal junction (rTPj) are highly involved in social understanding, a core area of impairment in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We used fMRI to investigate sex differences in the neural correlates of social understanding in 27 high-functioning adults with ASD and 23 matched controls. There were no differences in neural activity in the mPFC or rTPj between groups during social processing. Whole brain analysis revealed decreased activity in the posterior superior temporal sulcus in males with ASD compared to control males while processing social information. This pattern was not observed in the female sub-s le. The current study indicates that sex mediates the neurobiology of ASD, particularly with respect to processing social information.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-10-2015
DOI: 10.1007/S10803-014-2289-1
Abstract: The present study examined the presentation of autistic traits in a large adult population s le (n = 2,343). Cluster analysis indicated two subgroups with clearly distinguishable trait profiles. One group (n = 1,059) reported greater social difficulties and lower detail orientation, while the second group (n = 1,284) reported lesser social difficulties and greater detail orientation. We also report a three-factor solution for the autism-spectrum quotient, with two, related, social-themed factors (Sociability and Mentalising) and a third non-social factor that varied independently (Detail Orientation). These results indicate that different profiles of autistic characteristics tend to occur in the adult nonclinical population. Research into nonclinical variance in autistic features may benefit by considering social- and detail-related trait domains independently.
Publisher: Routledge
Date: 31-03-2016
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEUBIOREV.2019.02.002
Abstract: This is the first review to quantitatively summarise evidence evaluating MI functioning in children with DCD compared to controls based on the hand rotation task (HRT). Specifically, MI performance was assessed using three different behavioural performance measures on the HRT (i.e., reaction time, accuracy and efficiency). Eight studies were included for quantitative analysis, yielding data for 176 and 198 children with and without DCD respectively. While children with DCD consistently used MI across all measures of the task, they continually demonstrated reductions in HRT performance relative to controls. Additionally, group differences appeared to be strongest and more commonly detected when using the IES (mean inverse efficiency-IES) metric on the HRT. These effects did not differ statistically as a function of instruction type. In support of the internal modelling deficit hypothesis, group effects suggested children with DCD demonstrate broad reductions in HRT performance relative to controls. However, consideration of effect size and study level analysis showed the ability for an in idual study to detect these effects differs considerably depending on the outcome metric adopted.
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Date: 08-2019
DOI: 10.1037/BNE0000299
Abstract: The primary motor area (M1) has been implicated in visuomotor sequence learning. However, it has been suggested there are multiple neural networks that undertake visuomotor sequence learning. The role of M1 in sequence learning may be specific to learning simple sequences comprising predictable associations between adjacent movements. This study aimed to investigate the role of M1 in learning simple ("first-order conditional") and more complex ("second-order conditional") sequences. It was hypothesized that continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) over M1 would result in poorer learning of the simple sequence only. Forty-eight healthy adults received cTBS to either M1 or the parietal lobe or received sham cTBS before immediately completing 2 visuomotor sequence learning tasks. The tasks only differed in relation to the structure (i.e., simple vs. complex) of the sequence. The group who received cTBS over M1 demonstrated significantly poorer learning of the simple sequence in comparison to the more complex sequence. The parietal lobe stimulation and sham stimulation did not affect learning of either sequence. This is the first study to show differential involvement of M1 in visuomotor sequence learning, dependent on sequence structure. The study provides new evidence that sequence learning might be supported by different networks in the brain. Specifically, M1 sequence learning appears to be important for learning simple item-to-item associations but not for more complex sequences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-02-2018
DOI: 10.1007/S10803-018-3503-3
Abstract: Deficits in cognitive flexibility are thought to underpin the core symptom of repetitive and restricted patterns of behaviour in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Studies investigating this relationship, however, report inconsistent results. This is partly due to the variable nature of measures used to assess the construct of flexibility. The main purpose of this study was to investigate whether ASD traits differentially predict cognitive flexibility performance on lab-based neurocognitive measures relative to behavioural self-reports in a non-clinical s le of young adults. Our results indicate that ASD traits exclusively predict performance on behavioural self-reports of cognitive flexibility. These findings highlight the possibility that behavioural self-reports are a better index than lab-based neurocognitive measures to capture cognitive flexibility impairments in in iduals with ASD.
Publisher: Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Date: 04-2018
Publisher: CRC Press
Date: 25-09-2017
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-08-2019
DOI: 10.1007/S00221-019-05622-Y
Abstract: Studies in which single- and paired-pulse TMS was applied during motor task performance have shed considerable light on the functional relevance of popular TMS-derived neurophysiological biomarkers such as short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) and long-interval intracortical inhibition (LICI). While it has become well established that corticospinal excitability and intracortical inhibition are modulated during the enactment and cancellation of actions, it has remained unclear as to whether interin idual differences in these neurophysiological markers were associated with an in idual's actual ability to restrain and cancel actions. In this study, we found that in idual differences in both SICI and LICI were positively associated with relevant performance metrics on the go/no-go task and stop-signal task. Specifically, we found that in iduals with greater resting SICI and LICI were faster to respond on go trials of the go/no-go task and were also more accurate at inhibiting their manual responses on both go/no-go and stop-signal tasks. These results are in support of findings from our earlier study and also provide new evidence for a general relationship between in idual differences in resting-state GABAergic intracortical inhibitory functioning and motor inhibition.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2008
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCHRES.2008.04.001
Abstract: Impairments in social cognitive functioning are well documented in schizophrenia, however the neural basis of these deficits is unclear. A recent explanatory model of social cognition centers upon the activity of mirror neurons, which are cortical brain cells that become active during both the performance and observation of behavior. Here, we test for the first time whether mirror neuron functioning is reduced in schizophrenia. Fifteen in iduals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and fifteen healthy controls completed a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) experiment designed to assess mirror neuron activation. While patients demonstrated no abnormalities in cortical excitability, motor facilitation during action observation, putatively reflecting mirror neuron activity, was reduced in schizophrenia. Dysfunction within the mirror neuron system may contribute to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2016
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEUROPSYCHOLOGIA.2016.01.033
Abstract: Recent neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that activation of the putative human mirror neuron system (MNS) can be elicited via visuomotor training. This is generally interpreted as supporting an associative learning account of the mirror neuron system (MNS) that argues against the ontogeny of the MNS to be an evolutionary adaptation for social cognition. The current study assessed whether a central component of social cognition, emotion processing, would influence the MNS activity to trained visuomotor associations, which could support a broader role of the MNS in social cognition. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we assessed repetition suppression to the presentation of stimulus pairs involving a simple hand action and a geometric shape that was either congruent or incongruent with earlier association training. Each pair was preceded by an image of positive, negative, or neutral emotionality. In support of an associative learning account of the MNS, repetition suppression was greater for trained pairs compared with untrained pairs in several regions, primarily supplementary motor area (SMA) and right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG). This response, however, was not modulated by the valence of the emotional images. These findings argue against a fundamental role of emotion processing in the mirror neuron response, and are inconsistent with theoretical accounts linking mirror neurons to social cognition.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-03-2014
DOI: 10.1111/ADD.12494
Abstract: To analyse problem gamblers' decision-making under conditions of risk and ambiguity, investigate underlying psychological factors associated with their choice behaviour and examine whether decision-making differed in strategic (e.g., sports betting) and non-strategic (e.g., electronic gaming machine) problem gamblers. Cross-sectional study. Out-patient treatment centres and university testing facilities in Victoria, Australia. Thirty-nine problem gamblers and 41 age, gender and estimated IQ-matched controls. Decision-making tasks included the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and a loss aversion task. The Prospect Valence Learning (PVL) model was used to provide an explanation of cognitive, motivational and response style factors involved in IGT performance. Overall, problem gamblers performed more poorly than controls on both the IGT (P = 0.04) and the loss aversion task (P = 0.01), and their IGT decisions were associated with heightened attention to gains (P = 0.003) and less consistency (P = 0.002). Strategic problem gamblers did not differ from matched controls on either decision-making task, but non-strategic problem gamblers performed worse on both the IGT (P = 0.006) and the loss aversion task (P = 0.02). Furthermore, we found differences in the PVL model parameters underlying strategic and non-strategic problem gamblers' choices on the IGT. Problem gamblers demonstrated poor decision-making under conditions of risk and ambiguity. Strategic (e.g. sports betting, poker) and non-strategic (e.g. electronic gaming machines) problem gamblers differed in decision-making and the underlying psychological processes associated with their decisions.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 2013
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 18-09-2011
DOI: 10.1007/S10803-010-1101-0
Abstract: Key theories of autism implicate orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) compromise, while olfactory identification (OI) deficits are associated with OFC dysfunction. This study aimed to complete a 5-year follow-up of children with high-functioning autism (HFA) who previously lacked the normal age-OI association and compare unirhinal-OI in children with HFA, Asperger's disorder (ASP), and controls. While both HFA and controls had improved birhinal-OI at follow-up, reduced OI in some HFA participants suggested OFC deterioration and heterogeneous OFC development. Unirhinal-OI was impaired in HFA but not ASP relative to controls, suggesting orbitofrontal compromise in HFA but integrity in ASP. Differing IQ-OI relationships existed between HFA and ASP. Findings support the hypothesis of separate neurobiological underpinnings in ASP and HFA, specifically differential orbitofrontal functioning.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-2006
Publisher: American Physiological Society
Date: 05-2021
Abstract: Combined single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electroencephalography (EEG) has been used to probe the features of local networks in the cerebral cortex. Here, we investigated whether we can use this approach to explore long-range connections between the cerebellum and cerebral cortex. Ten healthy adults received single-pulse suprathreshold TMS to the cerebellum and an occipital arietal control site with double-cone and figure-of-eight coils while cerebral activity was recorded. A multisensory electrical control condition was used to simulate the sensation of the double-cone coil at the cerebellar site. Two cleaning pipelines were compared, and the spatiotemporal relationships of the EEG output between conditions were examined at sensor and source levels. Cerebellar stimulation with the double-cone coil resulted in large artifact in the EEG trace. The addition of SOUND filtering to the cleaning pipeline improved the signal such that further analyses could be undertaken. The cortical potentials evoked by the active TMS conditions showed strong relationships with the responses to the multisensory control condition after ∼50 ms. A distinct parietal component at ∼42 ms was found following cerebellar double-cone stimulation. Although evoked potentials differed across all conditions at early latencies, it is unclear as to whether these represented TMS-related network activation of the cerebellarthalamocortical tract, or whether components were dominated by sensory contamination and/or coil-driven artifact. This study highlights the need for caution when interpreting outcomes from cerebellar TMS-EEG studies.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-09-2020
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2016
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEUBIOREV.2016.01.009
Abstract: This meta-analysis summarizes research examining whether transcranial electrical stimulation (transcranial direct current stimulation with oscillating and constant currents transcranial alternating current stimulation), administered during sleep, can modulate declarative and procedural memory consolidation. Included in the meta-analysis were 13 experiments that represented data from 179 participants. Study findings were summarized using standardized mean difference (SMD) which is an effect size that summarizes differences in standard deviation units. Results showed electrical stimulation during sleep could enhance (SMD=0.447 p=.003) or disrupt (SMD=-0.476, p=.030) declarative memory consolidation. However, transcranial electric stimulation does not appear to be able to enhance (SMD=0.154, p=.279) or disrupt (SMD=0.076, p=.675) procedural memory consolidation. This meta-analysis provides strong evidence that TES is able to modulate some consolidation processes. Additional research is required to determine the mechanisms by which transcranial electrical stimulation is able to influence declarative memory consolidation. Finally, it is yet to be determined whether transcranial electrical stimulation can modulate procedural memory consolidation.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2013
DOI: 10.1016/J.BBR.2013.04.027
Abstract: Research indicates that mirror neurons are important for social cognition, including emotion processing. Emerging evidence, however, also reveals that emotional stimuli might be capable of modulating human mirror neuron system (MNS) activity. The current study used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to assess putative mirror neuron function following emotionally evocative images in twenty healthy adults. Participants observed videos of either a transitive hand action or a static hand while undergoing TMS of the primary motor cortex. In order to examine the effect of emotion on the MNS, each video was preceded by an image of either a positive, negative or neutral valence. MNS activity was found to be augmented by both the positive and negative (relative to neutral) stimuli, thus providing empirical support for a bi-directional link between emotion and the MNS, whereby both positively and negatively valenced stimuli are capable of facilitating mirror neuron activity. The potential adaptive significance of this finding is discussed.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEUROPSYCHOLOGIA.2022.108372
Abstract: Facial emotions are often processed in light of moral information, which can assist in predicting and interpreting the intentions of another. Neurophysiological measures of facial emotion processing (FEP) may be sensitive to moral content. Relatively little is known, however, about the relationship between moral content and FEP during early-to-middle childhood, and how this relationship may change across development. Eighty-four children aged 4-12 years completed a task assessing whether child faces primed within the moral harm/care domain influenced face sensitive event-related potentials (ERPs N170 and LPP). Results demonstrated that N170 litude decreased with age for faces primed with positive moral content, whilst LPP litude decreased with age for faces primed with negative moral content. Collectively, this suggests that morally relevant content within the harm/care domain is integrated during the early stages of FEP in early-to-middle childhood. Moreover, stronger language ability was positively correlated with the LPP for fearful faces primed with negative moral content. Overall, findings provide novel evidence to suggest that FEP development may be modulated by moral content, and emotion-specific results may be influenced by language. Findings from this research highlight the complex relationship between broader social cognitive skills during child development.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 31-05-2020
Abstract: Meta-analyses of head circumference in autistic in iduals exist however, simple meta-analytic approaches are limited. Consequently, we gathered head circumference raw data of autistic ( N = 2381) and typically developing participants ( N = 994) by re-analysing the data from previously published studies together. The present study found no mean difference between head circumference of autistic and typically developing in iduals, although simple effect analyses revealed smaller mean head circumference in autistic than typically developing females aged 12–17 months. However, compared to controls, the frequency of extreme head circumference in autistic males was greater at birth and between 60 and 100 months. In addition, the frequency of extremely small head circumference between 6 and 11 months, and extremely large head circumference between 12 and 17 months, was greater in autistic than typically developing males. For autistic females, compared to controls, extreme head circumference was more frequent between 36 and 59 months and less frequent at birth. We conclude that it is imperative to consider the effects of age and sex when investigating the relationship between autism diagnosis and head circumference. This variance was more effectively described via the approach of the present study than previous meta-analytic approaches. Summaries of studies that have measured head size in those with autism, known as meta-analyses, currently exist. However, this approach does not adequately explain extreme cases (such as those with extremely small, or extremely large, head size). Because of this, we obtained all available published data measuring head size (12 studies). The data from each study were then combined to make a larger dataset. We found that females with autism aged 12–17 months had, on average, smaller head sizes. Otherwise, average head size was not atypical in autism. However, we found that males with autism were more likely to have extreme head sizes at birth and between 60 and 100 months, a small head between 6 and 11 months, and a large head between 12 and 17 months. Females with autism were more likely to have extreme head sizes between 36 and 59 months and were less likely at birth. Our approach was able to measure the influence of age and biological sex on head size in autism, as well as the frequency of extreme cases of head size in autism. These results add to what we already know about head size in autism.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEUBIOREV.2017.11.018
Abstract: The inhibitory tone that the cerebellum exerts on the primary motor cortex (M1) is known as cerebellar brain inhibition (CBI). Studies show CBI to be relevant to several motor functions, including adaptive motor learning and muscle control. CBI can be assessed noninvasively via transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) using a double-coil protocol. Variability in parameter choice and controversy surrounding the protocol's ability to isolate the cerebellothalamocortical pathway casts doubt over its validity in neuroscience research. This justifies a systematic review of both the protocol, and its application. The following review examines studies using the double-coil protocol to assess CBI in healthy adults. Parameters and CBI in relation to task-based studies, other non-invasive protocols, over different muscles, and in clinical s les are reviewed. Of the 1398 studies identified, 24 met selection criteria. It was found that methodological design and selection of parameters in several studies may have reduced the validity of outcomes. Further systematic testing of CBI protocols is warranted, both from a parameter and task-based perspective.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2014
DOI: 10.1016/J.RIDD.2014.07.042
Abstract: The present study aimed to provide preliminary insight into the integrity of motor imagery (MI) in adults with probable developmental coordination disorder (pDCD). Based on a strong body of evidence indicating that paediatric s les of DCD often experience difficulties engaging MI, we hypothesised that young adults with pDCD would demonstrate similar difficulties. The performance of 12 young adults (19-35 years) with pDCD was compared to 47 age-matched controls on a traditional mental hand rotation task. Mean inverse efficiency scores were generated for each participant by iding each participant's mean RT by their proportion of correct responses at each of the stimuli presentation conditions. Preliminary analysis revealed that the performance profiles of in iduals with pDCD and age-matched controls showed evidence of being constrained by the biomechanical and postural constraints of real movement, suggesting that both groups engaged in an embodied (MI) strategy to complete the task. Despite engaging in a MI strategy, however, young adults with pDCD were nonetheless significantly less efficient when doing so, shown by significant main effects for group on all group efficiency comparisons. Based on the assumption that MI provides insight into the internal 'neural' action representation that precedes action, we argue that the less efficient MI performance demonstrated by young adults with pDCD may indicate inefficiencies engaging or implementing internal action representations. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2010
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEUROPSYCHOLOGIA.2010.07.029
Abstract: Synaesthesia for pain is a phenomenon where a person experiences pain when observing or imagining another in pain. Anecdotal reports of this type of experience have most commonly occurred in in iduals who have lost a limb. Distinct from phantom pain, synaesthesia for pain is triggered specifically in response to pain in another. Here, we provide the first preliminary investigation into synaesthesia for pain in utees to determine the incidence and characteristics of this intriguing phenomenon. Self-referring utees (n=74) answered questions on synaesthesia for pain within a broader survey of phantom pain. Of the participants, 16.2% reported that observing or imagining pain in another person triggers their phantom pain. Further understanding of synaesthesia for pain may provide a greater insight to abnormal empathic function in clinical populations as well as therapeutic intervention for at risk groups.
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 08-01-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.01.06.425653
Abstract: There is evidence to suggest a disruption of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but findings are mixed. Concurrent electroencephalography and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS-EEG) provides a novel method by which to probe GABA-mediated cortical inhibition. With a particular focus on GABAB-ergic mechanisms, we investigated the N100 peak of the TMS evoked potential (TEP), as well as long interval cortical inhibition (LICI EEG ) in adults with ASD (n = 23 12 female) without intellectual disability, and a neurotypical comparison group (n =22 12 female) matched for age, sex, and IQ. Seventy-five single-(spTMS) and 75 paired-(ppTMS 100 ms inter-stimulus-interval) pulses were applied to the right primary motor cortex (M1), right temporoparietal junction (TPJ), and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) while EEG was recorded from 20 scalp electrodes. Additionally, electromyography (EMG) was used to investigate corticospinal inhibition following ppTMS to M1 (LICI EMG ). There were no group differences in the N100 litude or latency following spTMS. LICI outcomes following ppTMS, as measured by either EEG or EMG, also did not differ between groups. These findings were further supported by Bayesian analyses, which provided weak-moderate support for the null hypothesis. Data presented here reflect adults without intellectual disability, and the generalisability of these results is therefore limited. The findings of this study argue against GABAB-ergic impairment in adults with ASD without intellectual disability, at least at the cortical regions examined. Further research investigating these mechanisms in ASD at various ages, with varying degrees of symptomatology, and at different brain sites is an important factor in understating the role of GABA in the neuropathophysiology of ASD.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2012
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEUROPSYCHOLOGIA.2012.03.016
Abstract: Interpersonal motor resonance (IMR) is presumed to result from activity within the human mirror neuron system, which itself is thought to comprise the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Twenty healthy adults underwent anodal, cathodal, and sham transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to either IPL or IFG immediately before the assessment of IMR (using transcranial magnetic stimulation). IMR (i.e., motor-evoked potential litude during transitive action observation relative to static observation) was significantly reduced following both anodal and cathodal stimulation of IFG (relative to sham), but there was no effect of stimulation for IPL. These data support the role of IFG, a presumed mirror neuron region, in IMR.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2022
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 07-03-2015
Abstract: Recent predictive processing accounts of perception and action point towards a key challenge for the nervous system in dynamically optimizing the balance between incoming sensory information and existing expectations regarding the state of the environment. Here, we report differences in the influence of the preceding sensory context on motor function, varying with respect to both clinical and subclinical features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Reach-to-grasp movements were recorded subsequent to an inactive period in which illusory ownership of a prosthetic limb was induced. We analysed the sub-components of reach trajectories derived using a minimum-jerk fitting procedure. Non-clinical adults low in autistic features showed disrupted movement execution following the illusion compared to a control condition. By contrast, in iduals higher in autistic features (both those with ASD and non-clinical in iduals high in autistic traits) showed reduced sensitivity to the presence of the illusion in their reaching movements while still exhibiting the typical perceptual effects of the illusion. Clinical in iduals were distinct from non-clinical in iduals scoring high in autistic features, however, in the early stages of movement. These results suggest that the influence of high-level representations of the environment differs between in iduals, contributing to clinical and subclinical differences in motor performance that manifest in a contextual manner. As high-level representations of context help to explain fluctuations in sensory input over relatively longer time scales, more circumscribed sensitivity to prior or contextual information in autistic sensory processing could contribute more generally to reduced social comprehension, sensory impairments and a stronger desire for predictability and routine.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2012
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEULET.2012.09.036
Abstract: 'Mirror pain' describes when the observation of another's pain experience induces a personal experience of pain. It has been suggested that mirror pain could result from changes in neural excitability or inhibition. In this study we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to investigate motor cortical excitability in lower-limb utees who experience mirror pain. Using paired-pulse TMS to assess motor cortical inhibition (CI) and cortical facilitation (CF), recordings were taken from the right first dorsal interosseus in lower-limb utees who experience mirror pain (MP+), lower-limb utees who do not experience mirror pain (MP-), and non- utee controls. No differences in CI or CF were observed between the MP+ and both control groups. Thus, when not paired with a pain-related stimulus, changes in motor cortical excitability do not appear to contribute to the experience of mirror pain in lower-limb utees.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2014
DOI: 10.1016/J.BRS.2013.10.004
Abstract: Biomedical treatment options for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are extremely limited. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a safe and efficacious technique when targeting specific areas of cortical dysfunction in major depressive disorder, and a similar approach could yield therapeutic benefits in ASD, if applied to relevant cortical regions. The aim of this study was to examine whether deep rTMS to bilateral dorsomedial prefrontal cortex improves social relating in ASD. 28 adults diagnosed with either autistic disorder (high-functioning) or Asperger's disorder completed a prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled design with 2 weeks of daily weekday treatment. This involved deep rTMS to bilateral dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (5 Hz, 10-s train duration, 20-s inter-train interval) for 15 min (1500 pulses per session) using a HAUT-Coil. The sham rTMS coil was encased in the same helmet of the active deep rTMS coil, but no effective field was delivered into the brain. Assessments were conducted before, after, and one month following treatment. Participants in the active condition showed a near significant reduction in self-reported social relating symptoms from pre-treatment to one month follow-up, and a significant reduction in social relating symptoms (relative to sham participants) for both post-treatment assessments. Those in the active condition also showed a reduction in self-oriented anxiety during difficult and emotional social situations from pre-treatment to one month follow-up. There were no changes for those in the sham condition. Deep rTMS to bilateral dorsomedial prefrontal cortex yielded a reduction in social relating impairment and socially-related anxiety. Further research in this area should employ extended rTMS protocols that approximate those used in depression in an attempt to replicate and lify the clinical response.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-05-2020
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.BANDC.2018.09.006
Abstract: This study examined the role of the left inferior frontal gyrus in the implicit learning and retention of a 'simple' first order conditional (FOC) sequence and a relatively 'complex' second order conditional (SOC) sequence, using anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (a-tDCS). Groups of healthy adults received either a-tDCS (n = 18) over the left inferior frontal gyrus or sham lacebo (n = 18) stimulation. On separate days, participants completed a serial reaction time (SRT) task whilst receiving stimulation. On one of the days, participants were presented with a FOC sequence and in another, a SOC sequence. Both the learning and short-term retention of the sequences were measured. Results showed a-tDCS enhanced the short-term retention of the SOC sequence but not the FOC sequence. There was no effect of a-tDCS on the learning of either FOC or SOC sequences. The results provide evidence of prefrontal involvement in the retention of a motor sequence. However, its role appears to be influenced by the complexity of the sequence's structure. Additionally, the results show a-tDCS can enhance retention of an implicitly learnt motor sequence.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 23-03-2018
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-2018
DOI: 10.1111/DAR.12628
Abstract: Increasingly, persons entering the criminal justice system are reporting substance-related concerns. It is therefore essential that interventions appropriately target the needs of substance-using offenders to ensure the rate of reoffending can be reduced. In this context, there is now a substantial literature demonstrating specific neurocognitive deficits among substance-using and offender populations, including, but not limited to, problems with executive function, rational decision making, consequential thinking and prospective memory. Such research is providing important insights into why current intervention approaches may not be as effective for substance-using offenders, and why emerging programs, such as 'swift, certain and fair' justice programs, which focus on guaranteed, immediate but proportionate sanctions, might be more successful in reducing both substance use and offending behaviour. In this paper, we argue that the potential success of this intervention can be understood from a behavioural learning and neurocognitive perspective, and may point the way forward for other approaches that seek to change behaviour.
Publisher: Elsevier
Date: 2018
Publisher: Elsevier
Date: 2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.BANDC.2018.09.002
Abstract: This study aimed to evaluate the 'inhibitory deficit' hypothesis of developmental coordination disorder (DCD). We adopted a multifaceted approach, investigating two distinct, yet complimentary facets of motor inhibition: action restraint and action cancellation. This was achieved using carefully constructed versions of the 'Go/No-go' and 'Stop-signal' tasks, respectively. The s le comprised 11 young adults with DCD aged between 18 and 30 years of age and 11 typically developing, age-matched controls. Participants completed both the 'Go/No-go' and 'Stop-signal' tasks to assess action restraint and action cancellation respectively. In iduals with DCD were less efficient than their typically developing peers at performing both action restraint and action cancellation, indicated by significantly reduced action restraint efficiency index scores on the 'Go/No-go' task and a trend towards longer stop-signal reaction times on the 'Stop-signal' task. This work clarifies disparate evidence speaking to the integrity of action restraint in DCD and provides the first account of action cancellation in DCD using a purpose-built measure. In support of the inhibitory deficit hypothesis of DCD, our results suggest that young adults with DCD experience broad difficulties with engaging inhibitory mechanisms during motor behaviour.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 22-01-2008
DOI: 10.1080/13803390701290055
Abstract: There is evidence for reduced cognitive inhibitory control in schizophrenia, but associated behavioral consequences are unclear. In an investigation of the link between cognitive inhibition and impulsive behavior, violent offenders with schizophrenia (n=18) and healthy adults completed spatial Stroop and negative priming tasks and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (a self-report impulsivity measure). Negative priming (but not Stroop) was impaired among violent offenders with schizophrenia, but there was no association between reduced inhibition and impulsivity. While these findings should be interpreted with caution, cognitive inhibition in schizophrenia may be unrelated to impulsive behaviors that are commonly linked to violent offending.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-05-2018
DOI: 10.1007/S12311-018-0942-5
Abstract: Cerebellar brain inhibition (CBI) describes the inhibitory tone the cerebellum exerts on the primary motor cortex (M1). CBI can be indexed via a dual-coil transcranial magnetic stimulation protocol, whereby a conditioning stimulus (CS) is delivered to the cerebellum in advance of a test stimulus (TS) to M1. The CS is typically delivered at intensities over 60% maximum stimulus output (MSO) via a double-cone coil. This is reportedly uncomfortable for participants, reducing the reliability and validity of outcomes. This feasibility study investigates the reliability and tolerability of eliciting CBI across a range of CS intensities using both a double-cone and high-powered figure-of-8 coil, the D70
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-04-2018
DOI: 10.1002/EJP.1213
Abstract: Fibromyalgia is a complex chronic disorder with few effective treatments currently available. One promising treatment option is repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that has shown promise in disorders effecting the central nervous system. We assessed the efficacy of a course of high-frequency (10 Hz) left-hemisphere dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) rTMS in 26 patients (14 active 12 sham) with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Participants underwent a double-blind stimulation protocol of daily (Monday-Friday) rTMS sessions over four consecutive weeks (total of 20 sessions 75 × 4-s 10 Hz trains at 120% resting motor threshold). Assessments were conducted at baseline, 4 weeks and at 1-month follow-up. Using mixed-model analysis we did not identify a group difference for our primary outcome measures. However, we found that patients in the active group compared to sham treatment group had significantly greater improvement in the Physical Fatigue (p = 0.045) and General Fatigue (p = 0.023) scales of the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory-20 at the 1 month follow-up. In a responder analysis, we also found the active group was significantly more likely (2.84 times) to achieve a minimum 30% improvement in pain intensity ratings. (p = 0.024). High-frequency rTMS applied daily for 4 weeks to the left DLPFC induces significant relief from fatigue and a greater chance of clinically meaningful improvement in pain intensity in patients with fibromyalgia. These results suggest DLPFC rTMS may be a relevant therapy for fibromyalgia. This study provides evidence that 4-weeks of daily rTMS to the left DLPFC is able to improve fatigue in fibromyalgia. This novel finding provides impetus for the further investigation of the utility of TMS approaches for the relief of fatigue, an otherwise difficult-to-treat symptom, in fibromyalgia and related disorders.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2014
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEUROPSYCHOLOGIA.2014.02.018
Abstract: The adaptation account of mirror neurons in humans proposes that mirror systems have been selected for in evolution to facilitate social cognition. By contrast, a recent "association" account of mirror neurons in humans argues that mirror systems are not the result of a specific adaptation, but of sensorimotor learning arising from concurrent visual and motor activity. Here, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electromyography (EMG) to evaluate whether visuomotor associations affect interpersonal motor resonance, a putative measure of mirror system activity. 18 participants underwent two TMS sessions exploring whether visuomotor associations established throughout one׳s lifespan, namely common movements and movements generated from one׳s own perspective, are associated with increased putative mirror system activity. Our results showed no overall difference in interpersonal motor resonance to common versus uncommon actions, or actions presented from an egocentric (self) versus an allocentric (other) perspective. We did, however, observe increased interpersonal motor resonance within the abductor digiti minimi (ADM) muscle in response to allocentric compared to egocentric movements. As the association model predicts stronger mirror system response to actions with stronger visuomotor associations, such as common movements and those presented from an egocentric perspective, our findings provide little evidence to support the association model.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2015
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 12-06-2014
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-10-2020
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-05-2017
DOI: 10.1111/PSYP.12888
Abstract: This study compared the performance of a low-cost wireless EEG system to a research-grade EEG system on an auditory oddball task designed to elicit N200 and P300 ERP components. Participants were 15 healthy adults (6 female) aged between 19 and 40 (M = 28.56 SD = 6.38). An auditory oddball task was presented comprising 1,200 presentations of a standard tone interspersed by 300 trials comprising a deviant tone. EEG was simultaneously recorded from a modified Emotiv EPOC and a NeuroScan SynAmps RT EEG system. The modifications made to the Emotiv system included attaching research grade electrodes to the Bluetooth transmitter. Additional modifications enabled the Emotiv system to connect to a portable impedance meter. The cost of these modifications and portable impedance meter approached the purchase value of the Emotiv system. Preliminary analyses revealed significantly more trials were rejected from data acquired by the modified Emotiv compared to the SynAmps system. However, the ERP waveforms captured by the Emotiv system were found to be highly similar to the corresponding waveform from the SynAmps system. The latency and peak litude of N200 and P300 components were also found to be similar between systems. Overall, the results indicate that, in the context of an oddball task, the ERP acquired by a low-cost wireless EEG system can be of comparable quality to research-grade EEG acquisition equipment.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-11-2021
DOI: 10.1002/JNR.24969
Abstract: The mirror neuron system (MNS) has been theorized to play a neurobiological role in a number of social cognitive abilities and is commonly indexed putatively in humans via interpersonal motor resonance (IMR) and mu suppression. Although both indices are thought to measure similar neuronal populations (i.e., "mirror neurons"), it has been suggested that these methods are unrelated, and therefore, incompatible. However, prior studies reporting no relationships were typically conducted in small and underpowered s les. Thus, we aimed to investigate this potential association in a large s le of neurotypical adults (N = 116 72 females). Participants underwent transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), electromyography (EMG), and electroencephalography (EEG) during the observation of videos of actors performing grasping actions in order to index IMR and mu suppression (in beta, lower alpha, and upper alpha bandwidths). A series of linear regressions revealed no associations between IMR and each of the mu suppression bandwidths. Supplementary Bayesian analyses provided further evidence in favor of the null (B
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 03-2006
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEURON.2019.01.004
Abstract: Neuroethics is central to the Australian Brain Initiative's aim to sustain a thriving and responsible neurotechnology industry. Diverse and inclusive community and stakeholder engagement and a trans-disciplinary approach to neuroethics will be key to the success of the Australian Brain Initiative.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-11-2012
DOI: 10.1111/DMCN.12042
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2007
DOI: 10.1002/CBM.645
Abstract: Neuropsychological impairment in 'prefrontal' abilities, including inhibitory control, is theoretically linked to aggression. A potential clinical application involves the use of neuropsychological measures to predict violence within secure settings. This preliminary study investigates the association between behavioural inhibition (here the suppression or cessation of an inappropriate response) and aggression. Ten violent male hospitalized offenders were compared with 10 healthy age- and IQ-matched men on two neuropsychological measures of behavioural inhibition. Incidents of aggression were recorded for the next five weeks for the offender group. Offenders displayed a general trend for reduced inhibitory control compared with the healthy men. Contrary to expectation, however, within the offender group, problems with behavioural inhibition were not associated with aggressive incidents in the short term. This preliminary study is limited by a small s le size and short period of aggression measurement but it illustrates the need to be cautious about making inferences regarding possible mediators of aggression from one form to another and without taking account of context.
Publisher: Psychology Press
Date: 14-04-0384
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2013
DOI: 10.1016/J.CORTEX.2012.08.019
Abstract: Apart from tics, echopraxia or echophenomena (EP), i.e., automatic imitation of observed movements, are common in patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (TS). The supplementary motor area (SMA) has been shown to be overactive before the onset of tics in these patients, and it is possible that this area might also play a key role in the generation of echopraxia. We wondered whether EP can also be evoked in healthy controls (HC) by modifying neural activity of this cortical region. To this end, we modulated activity of the SMA in 30 HC by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in an attempt to induce EP. We used both 5 Hz (which can temporarily increase neural activity) and 1 Hz (which disrupts or reduces cortical activity) rTMS. Video clips were presented to 30 HC before and after stimulation. Each clip showed one single movement, either a tic of a TS patient or a spontaneous movement of a HC. During the whole presentation, participants were videotaped in order to detect EP. Video films of participants' responses were rated by two independent raters with respect to EP frequency. Our results reveal an increase of EP following 5 Hz stimulation but no effect following 1 Hz stimulation. This finding implies that the SMA is a relay mediating EP.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2020
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-07-2010
DOI: 10.1111/J.1469-8749.2010.03665.X
Abstract: Controversy surrounds the distinction between high-functioning autism (HFA) and Asperger disorder, but motor abnormalities are associated features of both conditions. This study examined motor cortical inhibition and excitability in HFA and Asperger disorder using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Participants were diagnosed by experienced clinicians strictly according to DSM-IV criteria. Participants with HFA (nine males, two females mean age 16y 8mo, SD 4y 5mo) or Asperger disorder (11 males, three females mean age 19y 1mo, SD 4y 2mo) and neurotypical participants (eight males, three females mean age 19y 0mo, SD 3y 1mo) were administered a paired-pulse TMS paradigm intended to assess motor cortical inhibition and excitability. Responses to TMS were recorded by electromyography. Cortical inhibition was significantly reduced in the HFA group compared with both the Asperger disorder (p<0.001) and neurotypical (p<0.001) groups, suggesting disruption of activity at gamma-aminobutyric acid A (GABA(A)) receptors. There was no group difference in cortical excitability. Cortical inhibition deficits may underlie motor dysfunction in autism, and perhaps even relate to specific clinical symptoms (e.g. repetitive behaviours). These findings provide novel evidence for a possible neurobiological dissociation between HFA and Asperger disorder based on GABAergic function.
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 07-2021
DOI: 10.1136/BMJOPEN-2020-046830
Abstract: There are no well-established biomedical treatments for the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A small number of studies suggest that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, may improve clinical and cognitive outcomes in ASD. We describe here the protocol for a funded multicentre randomised controlled clinical trial to investigate whether a course of rTMS to the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ), which has demonstrated abnormal brain activation in ASD, can improve social communication in adolescents and young adults with ASD. This study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of a 4-week course of intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS, a variant of rTMS) in ASD. Participants meeting criteria for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition ASD (n=150, aged 14–40 years) will receive 20 sessions of either active iTBS (600 pulses) or sham iTBS (in which a sham coil mimics the sensation of iTBS, but no active stimulation is delivered) to the rTPJ. Participants will undergo a range of clinical, cognitive, epi/genetic, and neurophysiological assessments before and at multiple time points up to 6 months after iTBS. Safety will be assessed via a structured questionnaire and adverse event reporting. The study will be conducted from November 2020 to October 2024. The study was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of Monash Health (Melbourne, Australia) under Australia’s National Mutual Acceptance scheme. The trial will be conducted according to Good Clinical Practice, and findings will be written up for scholarly publication. Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12620000890932).
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 02-08-2017
DOI: 10.1007/S00429-017-1484-1
Abstract: Often, during daily experiences, hearing peers' actions can activate motor regions of the CNS. This activation is termed auditory-motor resonance (AMR) and is thought to represent an internal simulation of one's motor memories. Currently, AMR is demonstrated at the neuronal level in the Macaque and songbird, in conjunction with evidence on a systems level in humans. Here, we review evidence of AMR development from a motor control perspective. In the context of internal modelling, we consider data that demonstrates sensory-guided motor learning and action maintenance, particularly the notion of sensory comparison seen during songbird vocalisation. We suggest that these comparisons generate accurate sensory-to-motor inverse mappings. Furthermore, given reports of mapping decay after songbird learning, we highlight the proposal that the maintenance of these sensorimotor maps potentially explains why frontoparietal regions are activated upon hearing known sounds (i.e., AMR). In addition, we also recommend that activation of these types of internal models outside of action execution may provide an ecological advantage when encountering known stimuli in ambiguous conditions.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2021
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 28-09-2010
DOI: 10.1007/S00221-010-2369-1
Abstract: Several studies have found that response inhibition in the stop signal task is associated with a delay in subsequent response speed, which may result from the automatic retrieval of a conflicting stimulus-goal association. This study investigated the neurophysiological correlates of this sequence effect using event related potentials (ERPs). ERPs were recorded in 17 healthy people while they performed the stop signal task. We found reduced P3b litude for responses following successful inhibition, but only when the stimulus was repeated from the previous trial (repetition-after-effects). For responses following failed inhibition, P3b litude was reduced regardless of stimulus repetition status. We also found a general increase in frontal N2 litude on response trials following inhibition, regardless of stimulus repetition or behavioural slowing. The complex pattern of ERP findings, dependent on stimulus repetition and success of inhibition, suggests multiple sources of behavioural slowing in the present data. ERP findings suggest that a memory retrieval processes underlies the repetition component of inhibition after effects. These findings are considered within the broader context of ERP findings in the negative priming literature.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-04-2016
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2012
DOI: 10.1016/J.BIOPSYCH.2011.09.001
Abstract: The neurobiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is not particularly well understood, and biomedical treatment approaches are therefore extremely limited. A prominent explanatory model suggests that social-relating symptoms may arise from dysfunction within the mirror neuron system, while a recent neuroimaging study suggests that these impairments in ASD might reduce with age. Participants with autism spectrum disorder (i.e., DSM-IV autistic disorder or Asperger's disorder) (n = 34) and matched control subjects (n = 36) completed a transcranial magnetic stimulation study in which corticospinal excitability was assessed during the observation of hand gestures. Regression analyses revealed that the ASD group presented with significantly reduced corticospinal excitability during the observation of a transitive hand gesture (relative to observation of a static hand) (p < .05), which indicates reduced putative mirror neuron system activity within ventral premotor cortex/inferior frontal gyrus. Among the ASD group, there was also a negative association between putative mirror neuron activity and self-reported social-relating impairments, but there was no indication that mirror neuron impairments in ASD decrease with age. These data provide general support for the mirror neuron hypothesis of autism researchers now must clarify the precise functional significance of mirror neurons to truly understand their role in the neuropathophysiology of ASD and to determine whether they should be used as targets for the treatment of ASD.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 30-01-2014
DOI: 10.1080/13803395.2013.873773
Abstract: Impulsivity is considered a core feature of problem gambling however, self-reported impulsivity and inhibitory control may reflect disparate constructs. We examined self-reported impulsivity and inhibitory control in 39 treatment-seeking problem gamblers and 41 matched controls using a range of self-report questionnaires and laboratory inhibitory control tasks. We also investigated differences between treatment-seeking problem gamblers who prefer strategic (e.g., sports betting) and nonstrategic (e.g., electronic gaming machines) gambling activities. Treatment-seeking problem gamblers demonstrated elevated self-reported impulsivity, more go errors on the Stop Signal Task, and a lower gap score on the Random Number Generation task than matched controls. However, overall we did not find strong evidence that treatment-seeking problem gamblers are more impulsive on laboratory inhibitory control measures. Furthermore, strategic and nonstrategic problem gamblers did not differ from their respective controls on either self-reported impulsivity questionnaires or laboratory inhibitory control measures. Contrary to expectations, our results suggest that inhibitory dyscontrol may not be a key component for some treatment-seeking problem gamblers.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 31-08-2020
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.RIDD.2017.11.009
Abstract: While a compelling body of behavioral research suggests that in iduals with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) experience difficulties engaging motor imagery (MI), very little is known about the neural correlates of this deficit. Since corticospinal excitability is a predictor of MI proficiency in healthy adults, we reasoned that decreased MI efficiency in DCD may be paralleled by atypical primary motor cortex (PMC) activity. Participants were 29 young adults aged 18- 36 years: 8 with DCD (DCD) and 21 controls. Six participants with DCD and 15 controls showed behavioral profiles consistent with the use of a MI strategy (MI users) while performing a novel adaptation of the classic hand laterality task (HLT). Single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was administered to the hand node of the left PMC (hPMC) at 50ms, 400ms or 650ms post stimulus presentation during the HLT. Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) were recorded from the right first dorsal interosseous (FDI) via electromyography. As predicted, MI users with DCD were significantly less efficient than MI using controls, shown by poorer performance on the HLT. Importantly, unlike healthy controls, no evidence of enhanced hPMC activity during MI was detected in our DCD group. Our data are consistent with the view that inefficient MI in DCD may be subserved by decreased hPMC activity. These findings are an important step towards clarifying the neuro-cognitive correlates of poor MI ability and motor skill in in iduals with DCD.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-2015
DOI: 10.1002/JTS.22030
Abstract: Although the experience of vicarious sensations when observing another in pain have been described post utation, the underlying mechanisms are unknown. We investigated whether vicarious sensations are related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and chronic pain. In Study 1, 236 utees completed questionnaires about phantom limb phenomena and vicarious sensations to both innocuous and painful sensory experiences of others. There was a 10.2% incidence of vicarious sensations, which was significantly more prevalent in utees reporting PTSD-like experiences, particularly increased arousal and reexperiencing the event that led to utation (φ = .16). In Study 2, 63 utees completed the Empathy for Pain Scale and PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version. Cluster analyses revealed 3 groups: 1 group did not experience vicarious pain or PTSD symptoms, and 2 groups were vicarious pain responders, but only 1 had increased PTSD symptoms. Only the latter group showed increased chronic pain severity compared with the nonresponder group (p = .025) with a moderate effect size (r = .35). The findings from both studies implicated an overlap, but also ergence, between PTSD symptoms and vicarious pain reactivity post utation. Maladaptive mechanisms implicated in severe chronic pain and physical reactivity posttrauma may increase the incidence of vicarious reactivity to the pain of others.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-07-2023
DOI: 10.1111/FAMP.12912
Abstract: Trait anger reflects a tendency to feel irritation, annoyance, and rage, and involves a narrowing of cognition and attention. This narrowed scope may impact the capacity to understand the mental states of oneself and others (mentalizing), which for fathers of infants may compromise bonding and caregiving involvement. Here, we investigated the extent to which mentalizing mediated the relationship between father trait anger and both father–infant bonding and father involvement in infant caregiving. Data were from 168 fathers ( M = 30.04 years of age, SD = 1.36) of 190 infants ( M = 7.58 months of age, SD = 5.06) in the longitudinal Men and Parenting Pathways (MAPP) study. We assessed fathers' preconception trait anger at Wave 1 and their mentalizing 2 years later at Wave 3. At Waves 3, 4, and/or 5, we assessed father–infant bonding and father involvement in infant caregiving when men had an infant younger than 18 months of age. Associations were examined using path analysis. Poorer mentalizing fully mediated the relationship between preconception trait anger and father–infant bonding (total score), but not involvement in infant caregiving. Further, poorer mentalizing fully mediated the relationships between trait anger and each component of the father–infant bond (i.e., patience and tolerance, affection and pride, and pleasure in interactions). Findings suggest that for men high on trait anger, targeted interventions that facilitate mentalizing capacities may help to develop a foundation for a strong father–infant bond. Interventions may be offered on becoming a father (perinatal), or prior to becoming a father (preconception) to prevent future bonding problems.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2011
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2008
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEUROPSYCHOLOGIA.2008.04.022
Abstract: Theoretical accounts suggest that mirror neurons play a crucial role in social cognition. The current study used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to investigate the association between mirror neuron activation and facial emotion processing, a fundamental aspect of social cognition, among healthy adults (n=20). Facial emotion processing of static (but not dynamic) images correlated significantly with an enhanced motor response, proposed to reflect mirror neuron activation. These correlations did not appear to reflect general facial processing or pattern recognition, and provide support to current theoretical accounts linking the mirror neuron system to aspects of social cognition. We discuss the mechanism by which mirror neurons might facilitate facial emotion recognition.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 2013
Publisher: Mary Ann Liebert Inc
Date: 09-2016
Abstract: Neuroimaging and electrophysiological research have revealed a range of neural abnormalities in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but a comprehensive understanding remains elusive. We utilized a novel methodology among in iduals with ASD and matched controls, combining transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with concurrent electroencephalogram (EEG) recording (TMS-EEG) to explore cortical function and connectivity in three sites implicated in the neuropathophysiology of ASD (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, primary motor cortex, and temporoparietal junction). As there is evidence for neurobiological gender differences in ASD, we also examined the influence of biological sex. TMS pulses were applied to each of the three sites (right lateralized) during 20-channel EEG recording. We did not identify any differences in the EEG response to TMS between ASD and control groups. This finding remained when data were stratified by sex. Nevertheless, traits and characteristics associated with ASD were correlated with the neurophysiological response to TMS. While TMS-EEG did not appear to clarify the neuropathophysiology of ASD, the relationships identified between the neurophysiological response to TMS and clinical characteristics warrant further investigation.
Publisher: American Physiological Society
Date: 10-2019
Abstract: The right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) is a multisensory integration hub that is increasingly utilized as a target of stimulation studies exploring its rich functional network roles and potential clinical applications. While transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is frequently employed in such studies, there is still relatively little known regarding its local and network neurophysiological effects, particularly at important nonmotor sites such as the rTPJ. The current study applied either anodal, cathodal, or sham high-definition tDCS to the rTPJ of 53 healthy participants and used offline EEG to assess the impacts of stimulation on resting state (eyes open and eyes closed) band power and coherence. Temporoparietal and central region delta power was increased after anodal stimulation (the latter trend only), whereas cathodal stimulation increased frontal region delta and theta power. Increased coherence between right and left temporoparietal regions was also observed after anodal stimulation. All significant effects occurred in the eyes open condition. These findings are discussed with reference to domain general and mechanistic theories of rTPJ function. Low-frequency oscillatory activity may exert long-range inhibitory network influences that enable switching between and integration of endogenous/exogenous processing streams.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2019
Publisher: Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Date: 03-2011
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 2013
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.PSCYCHRESNS.2018.02.004
Abstract: Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) was utilized to investigate sex differences in gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) between adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and neurotypical (NT) controls. GABA at the right superior temporal sulcus (STS) is reported for 12 ASD and 14 NT participants. The results show no group differences in GABA. There was, however, a significant positive association between GABA at the STS and autism-related social impairments in females with ASD. These findings provide preliminary support for sex differences in GABAergic distribution and processes that contribute to social functioning in ASD.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 29-03-2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2019
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 07-08-2019
DOI: 10.1101/728204
Abstract: Several lines of evidence identify aberrant excitatory-inhibitory neural processes across autism and schizophrenia spectrum disorders, particularly within the psychosocial domain. Such neural processes include increased excitatory glutamate and reduced inhibitory GABA concentrations, which may affect auditory pre-attentive processing as indexed by the mismatch negativity (MMN) thus, an excitation-inhibition imbalance might lead to aberrant MMN, which might in turn drive the relationship between the MMN and psychosocial difficulties. This research has the potential to enhance the neurochemical understanding of the relationship between electrophysiology (MMN) and behavioural/clinical measures (psychosocial difficulties). Thirty-eight adults (18 male, 18-40 years) completed the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) and Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Glutamate and GABA concentrations in bilateral superior temporal cortex (STC) were quantified using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) while auditory MMN to a duration deviant was measured with magnetoencephalography. Spearman correlations probed the relationships between STC glutamate/GABA ratios, MMN litude and latency, and AQ and SPQ dimensions. Mediation effects of glutamate/GABA ratios on the relationship between MMN and AQ-SPQ dimensions were probed using causal mediation analysis. Only SPQ-interpersonal and AQ-communication were significantly correlated with right hemisphere glutamate/GABA ratios and MMN latency ( p s .05), which were themselves correlated ( p =.038). Two mediation models were investigated, with right MMN latency as predictor and SPQ-interpersonal and AQ-communication as outcome variables. Right STC glutamate/GABA ratios significantly mediated the relationship between MMN latency and SPQ-interpersonal scores (ß=86.6, p =.033), but only partially mediated the relationship between MMN latency and AQ-communication scores (ß=21.0, p =.093). These findings support the growing body of literature pointing toward an excitation-inhibition imbalance that is central to psychosocial functioning across multi-dimensional spectrum disorders, such as autism and schizophrenia, and provides neurochemical indicators of the processes that underlie psychosocial dysfunction.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-12-2012
DOI: 10.1007/S10803-011-1430-7
Abstract: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterised by differences in unimodal and multimodal sensory and proprioceptive processing, with complex biases towards local over global processing. Many of these elements are implicated in versions of the rubber hand illusion (RHI), which were therefore studied in high-functioning in iduals with ASD and a typically developing control group. Both groups experienced the illusion. A number of differences were found, related to proprioception and sensorimotor processes. The ASD group showed reduced sensitivity to visuotactile-proprioceptive discrepancy but more accurate proprioception. This group also differed on acceleration in subsequent reach trials. Results are discussed in terms of weak top-down integration and precision-accuracy trade-offs. The RHI appears to be a useful tool for investigating multisensory processing in ASD.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2010
DOI: 10.1016/J.BRS.2010.06.001
Abstract: One of the few novel treatments developed for major depression in recent years has been repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). Despite mostly promising results, 50-60% of patients do not respond to rTMS. Therefore, it is important to investigate ways of enhancing the effectiveness of this treatment. To date, attempting to enhance the mood effects of rTMS via behavioral means has not been investigated. One such intervention involves concurrent exposure to affective stimuli that have been shown to result in activation of brain regions associated with emotion. This pilot study of ten participants investigates such an intervention. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate whether exposing participants to affective stimuli while they were receiving 5 Hz rTMS resulted in greater mood change compared with rTMS or affective stimuli alone. Ten healthy male and female participants were exposed to affective stimuli while receiving rTMS. All participants took part in three counterbalanced conditions conducted a week apart in which they received rTMS (active or sham) delivered to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) combined with affective stimuli (positive or neutral). To measure the impact of the dual intervention visual analogue mood scales and an affective go no go task were conducted pre- and post intervention for each session. There was no effect of any rTMS condition on performances on the affective go no go task, or on any of the visual analogue scales. The current data do not provide support for the use of affective stimuli during rTMS. Methodological limitations that may have contributed to the lack of significant findings are discussed.
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 04-2022
DOI: 10.1101/2022.03.30.22273215
Abstract: Corpus callosum anomalies are commonly noted in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Given the complexity of its microstructural architecture, with crossing fibers projecting throughout, we applied fixel-based analysis to probe white matter micro- and macrostructure within this region. As ASD is a neurodevelopmental condition with noted abnormalities in brain growth, age was also investigated. Data for participants with (N=54) and without (N=50) ASD, aged 5-34 years, were obtained from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange-II (ABIDE-II). Within each site, indices of fiber density (FD), fiber cross-section (FC), and combined fiber density and cross-section (FDC) were compared between those groups. Young adolescents with ASD (age = 11.19 ± 7.54) showed reduced macroscopic FC and FDC compared to age-matched neurotypical controls (age = 10.04 ± 4.40). Reduced FD and FDC was noted in a marginally older ASD (age 13.87 ± 3.15) cohort compared to matched controls (age = 13.85 ± 2.90). Among the oldest cohorts, a non-significant trend indicated reduced FD in older adolescents/young adults with ASD (age = 17.07 ± 3.56) compared to controls (age = 16.55 ± 2.95). There was a positive correlation between age and callosal mean FC and FDC in the youngest cohort. When stratified by diagnosis, this finding remained only for the ASD s le. White matter aberration appears greatest among younger ASD cohorts. In older adolescents and young adults, less of the corpus callosum seems affected. This supports the suggestion that some early neuropathophysiological indicators in ASD may dissipate with age.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-12-2012
DOI: 10.3758/S13415-011-0080-8
Abstract: Observing noxious injury to another's hand is known to induce corticospinal inhibition that can be measured in the observer's corresponding muscle. Here, we investigated whether acquired pain synesthetes, in iduals who experience actual pain when observing injury to another, demonstrate less corticospinal inhibition than do controls during pain observation, as a potential mechanism for the experience of vicarious pain. We recorded motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) induced at two time points through transcranial magnetic stimulation while participants observed videos of a hand at rest, a hypodermic needle penetrating the skin, a Q-tip touching the skin, and a hypodermic needle penetrating an apple. We compared MEPs in three groups: 7 utees who experience pain synesthesia, 11 nonsynesthete utees who experience phantom limb pain, and 10 healthy controls. Results indicated that the pain synesthete group demonstrated significantly enhanced MEP response to the needle penetrating the hand, relative to the needle not having yet penetrated the hand, as compared with controls. This effect was not observed exclusively in the same muscle where noxious stimulation was applied. We speculate that our findings reflect a generalized response to pain observation arising from hyperactivity of motor mirror neurons not involved in direct one-to-one simulation but, rather, in the representation of another's experience.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2011
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEULET.2010.11.067
Abstract: The effects of action observation on cortical processes have typically been interpreted in the context of so-called "mirror systems" (i.e., brain regions active during both the experience and observation of behaviour, emotion, or sensation), and viewed as subserving social cognition via a self-other matching mechanism. If such cortical processes do indeed facilitate social understanding, then cortical activity during action observation might be further enhanced when observing behaviour embedded within a social, interactive context. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was administered to 27 healthy adults, and corticospinal excitability (CSE), which is a putative measure of the mirror system, was examined during the observation of (1) meaningless behaviour, (2) goal-directed behaviour, and (3) social behaviour. Although CSE was enhanced during the observation of both goal-directed and social behaviour, there was no difference between the two. These findings suggest that while the putative human mirror system is responsive to goal-directed behaviour, it may not be more responsive to behaviour that occurs within a social context.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 28-03-2016
DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2016.1166154
Abstract: The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is thought to play a key role in the cognitive control of emotion and has therefore, unsurprisingly, been implicated in the regulation of physical pain perception. This brain region may also influence the experience of social pain, which has been shown to activate similar neural networks as seen in response to physical pain. Here, we applied sham or active low-frequency (1 Hz) repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to the left DLPFC, previously shown to exert bilateral effects in pain perception, in healthy participants. Following stimulation, participants played the "Cyberball Task" an online ball-tossing game in which the subject participant is included or excluded. Compared to sham, rTMS did not modulate behavioural response to social exclusion. However, within the active rTMS group only, greater trait personal distress was related to enhanced negative outcomes to social exclusion. These results add further support to the notion that the effect of brain stimulation is not homogenous across in iduals, and indicates the need to consider baseline in idual differences when assessing response to brain stimulation. This seems particularly relevant in social neuroscience investigations, where trait factors may have a meaningful effect.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-05-2011
DOI: 10.1007/S10803-010-1039-2
Abstract: Although autism spectrum disorders (ASD) affect more males than females, it is not clear whether neurobehavioural correlates of ASD are equivalent across genders. This study examined gender differences in neurobehavioural functioning in boys and girls with ASD. Participants were males with ASD (n = 10), females with ASD (n = 13), typically developing males (n = 8), and typically developing females (n = 14). Each completed the stop task, a common measure of response inhibition. Females with ASD demonstrated a significant increase in stopping time (indicating poorer inhibition). By contrast, no response inhibition impairments were evident among males with ASD. Females with ASD may have a different neurobehavioural profile, and therefore different clinical needs, when compared with males with ASD.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2012
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEUBIOREV.2011.09.006
Abstract: Recent research suggests the observation or imagination of somatosensory stimulation in another (e.g., touch or pain) can induce a similar somatosensory experience in oneself. Some researchers have presented this experience as a type of synaesthesia, whereas others consider it an extreme experience of an otherwise normal perception. Here, we present an argument that these descriptions are not mutually exclusive. They may describe the extreme version of the normal process of understanding somatosensation in others. It becomes synaesthesia, however, when this process results in a conscious experience comparable to the observed person's state. We describe these experiences as 'mirror-sensory synaesthesia' a type of synaesthesia identified by its distinct social component where the induced synaesthetic experience is a similar sensory experience to that perceived in another person. Through the operationalisation of this intriguing experience as synaesthesia, existing neurobiological models of synaesthesia can be used as a framework to explore how mechanisms may act upon social cognitive processes to produce conscious experiences similar to another person's observed state.
Publisher: Hogrefe Publishing Group
Date: 2009
DOI: 10.1027/1618-3169.56.4.247
Abstract: In the stop task, response time to the go signal is increased when the immediately preceding trial involves the presentation of a stop signal. A recent explanation suggests that these “after-effects” are due to mechanisms that occur prior to the completion of response selection processes, but it is possible that they instead may reflect a slowed motor response (i.e., deliberate slowing after response selection). The participants completed a novel stop task that allows a differentiation between the time taken to prepare a movement (which incorporates response selection processes) and the time taken to execute a movement (i.e., speed of motor response). If mechanisms underlying stop task after-effects occur prior to the completion of response selection processes, then slowing should only occur during movement preparation. Movement preparation and execution time during go trials were analysed according to the characteristics of the preceding trial. Slowing after a stop trial was found during movement preparation time (regardless of inhibition success on that stop trial), and it further increased during this period when the primary task stimulus was repeated. There was also evidence for general after-effects during movement execution time, but no effect of repetition. These findings support the current theoretical accounts that suggest that repetition-based stop task after-effects are attributable to a mechanism that occurs prior to the completion of response selection processes, and also indicate a possible switch to a more conservative response set (as in signal detection theory terms) that results in deliberate slowing of movement.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 16-12-2014
DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2013.867832
Abstract: There is substantial evidence for facial emotion recognition (FER) deficits in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The extent of this impairment, however, remains unclear, and there is some suggestion that clinical groups might benefit from the use of dynamic rather than static images. High-functioning in iduals with ASD (n = 36) and typically developing controls (n = 36) completed a computerised FER task involving static and dynamic expressions of the six basic emotions. The ASD group showed poorer overall performance in identifying anger and disgust and were disadvantaged by dynamic (relative to static) stimuli when presented with sad expressions. Among both groups, however, dynamic stimuli appeared to improve recognition of anger. This research provides further evidence of specific impairment in the recognition of negative emotions in ASD, but argues against any broad advantages associated with the use of dynamic displays.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 03-06-2014
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2012
DOI: 10.1016/J.BRS.2011.02.001
Abstract: Motor impairments are common in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Electrophysiologic studies reveal abnormalities in the preparation of movement repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to key motor cortical sites may therefore be a useful technique for improving motor function in ASD. To examine whether rTMS can improve electrophysiologic and behavioral indices of motor activity. Eleven participants with ASD completed three sessions in which they were administered one of three rTMS conditions (left M1, supplementary motor area [SMA], sham) at 1 Hz for 15 minutes. Movement-related cortical potentials (MRCPs) were assessed before and after rTMS. rTMS to the SMA was associated with a gradient increase to the early component of MRCPs, whereas rTMS to left M1 produced a stronger gradient in the late component. rTMS appears to improve movement-related electrophysiologic activity in ASD, perhaps through an influence on cortical inhibitory processes.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-01-2017
DOI: 10.1007/S10803-016-3019-7
Abstract: Handwriting is commonly identified as an area of weakness in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but precise deficits have not been fully characterised. Boys with ASD (n = 23) and matched controls (n = 20) aged 8-12 years completed a simple, digitised task to objectively assess handwriting performance using advanced descriptive measures. Moderate to large associations were identified between handwriting performance and attention, ASD symptoms and motor proficiency. The ASD group demonstrated significantly less smooth movements and significantly greater sizing variability and peak velocity relative to controls. These findings provide a clearer indication of the specific nature of handwriting impairments in children with ASD, and suggest a relationship with core clinical symptom severity, attention and motor behaviours.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2015
Publisher: Elsevier
Date: 2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2010
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEUBIOREV.2009.10.007
Abstract: This paper reviews the current literature on "empathy for pain", the ability to understand pain observed in another person, in the context of a newly documented form of pain empathy "synaesthesia for pain". In synaesthesia for pain a person not only empathises with another's pain but experiences the observed or imagined pain as if it was their own. Neural mechanisms potentially involved in synaesthesia for pain include "mirror systems": neural systems active both when observing an action, or experiencing an emotion or sensation and when executing the same action, or personally experiencing the same emotion or sensation. For ex le, we may know that someone is in pain in part because observation activates similar neural networks as if we were experiencing that pain ourselves. We propose that synaesthesia for pain may be the result of painful and/or traumatic experiences causing disinhibition in the mirror system underlying empathy for pain. We will discuss this theory in the context of a documented group of utees who experience synaesthesia for pain in phantom limbs.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-2021
DOI: 10.1002/AUR.2443
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-11-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2010
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEUROPSYCHOLOGIA.2010.05.014
Abstract: Putative measures of mirror neuron activity suggest that mirror neurons respond preferentially to biological motion, but it remains unclear whether enhanced cortical activity occurs during the observation of any behaviour, or whether that behaviour needs to be associated with a particular object or goal. Forty-three healthy adults completed a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) experiment that assessed corticospinal excitability while viewing intransitive and transitive hand gestures (compared with the presentation of a static hand). Visual presentations were designed to control for motoric and stimulus properties. A significant increase in corticospinal excitability (putatively reflecting mirror neuron activation) was seen only during the observation of transitive behaviour. These findings are consistent with the notion that human hand-related mirror neurons are sensitive to object- and goal-directed behaviour, rather than biological motion per se.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 04-12-2014
Abstract: This study aimed to investigate the integrity of on-line control of reaching in congenital spastic hemiplegia in light of disparate evidence. Twelve children with and without spastic hemiplegia (11-17 years old) completed a double-step reaching task requiring them to reach and touch a target that remained stationary for most trials (viz nonjump trial) but unexpectedly displaced laterally at movement onset for a minority of trials (20%: known as jump trials). Although children with spastic hemiplegia were generally slower than age-matched controls, they could account for target perturbation at age-appropriate levels shown by a lack of interaction effect on movement time and nonsignificant group difference for time to reach trajectory correction on jump trials. Our data suggest that at a group level, on-line control of reaching may be age-appropriate in spastic hemiplegia. However, our data also highlight the need to experimentally acknowledge the considerable heterogeneity of the spastic hemiplegia population when investigating motor cognition.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-05-2022
DOI: 10.1002/AUR.2729
Abstract: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by significant social functioning impairments, including (but not limited to) emotion recognition, mentalizing, and joint attention. Despite extensive investigation into the correlates of social functioning in ASD, only recently has there been focus on the role of low‐level sensory input, particularly visual processing. Extensive gaze deficits have been described in ASD, from basic saccadic function through to social attention and the processing of complex biological motion. Given that social functioning often relies on accurately processing visual information, inefficient visual processing may contribute to the emergence and sustainment of social functioning difficulties in ASD. To explore the association between measures of gaze and social functioning in ASD, a systematic review and meta‐analysis was conducted. A total of 95 studies were identified from a search of CINAHL Plus, Embase, OVID Medline, and psycINFO databases in July 2021. Findings support associations between increased gaze to the face/head and eye regions with improved social functioning and reduced autism symptom severity. However, gaze allocation to the mouth appears dependent on social and emotional content of scenes and the cognitive profile of participants. This review supports the investigation of gaze variables as potential biomarkers of ASD, although future longitudinal studies are required to investigate the developmental progression of this relationship and to explore the influence of heterogeneity in ASD clinical characteristics. This review explored how eye gaze (e.g., where a person looks when watching a movie) is associated with social functioning in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We found evidence that better social functioning in ASD was associated with increased eye gaze toward faces/head and eye regions. In idual characteristics (e.g., intelligence) and the complexity of the social scene also influenced eye gaze. Future research including large longitudinal studies and studies investigating the influence of differing presentations of ASD are recommended.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-05-2016
DOI: 10.1007/S12311-016-0788-7
Abstract: The cerebellum appears to play a key role in the development of internal rules that allow fast, predictive adjustments to novel stimuli. This is crucial for adaptive motor processes, such as those involved in walking, where cerebellar dysfunction has been found to increase variability in gait parameters. Motor adaptation is a process that results in a progressive reduction in errors as movements are adjusted to meet demands, and within the cerebellum, this seems to be localised primarily within the right hemisphere. To examine the role of the right cerebellar hemisphere in adaptive gait, cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) was administered to the right cerebellar hemisphere of 14 healthy adults in a randomised, double-blind, crossover study. Adaptation to a series of distinct spatial and temporal templates was assessed across tDCS condition via a pressure-sensitive gait mat (ProtoKinetics Zeno walkway), on which participants walked with an induced 'limp' at a non-preferred pace. Variability was assessed across key spatial-temporal gait parameters. It was hypothesised that cathodal tDCS to the right cerebellar hemisphere would disrupt adaptation to the templates, reflected in a failure to reduce variability following stimulation. In partial support, adaptation was disrupted following tDCS on one of the four spatial-temporal templates used. However, there was no evidence for general effects on either the spatial or temporal domain. This suggests, under specific conditions, a coupling of spatial and temporal processing in the right cerebellar hemisphere and highlights the potential importance of task complexity in cerebellar function.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2011
DOI: 10.1016/J.BRAINRESBULL.2011.03.018
Abstract: The observation of other's behaviour results in increased corticospinal excitability (CSE) within the primary motor cortex, a phenomenon that has typically been interpreted in the context of motor resonance and human "mirror systems". Mirror systems are implicated in empathy, and may therefore show a preferential response to the observation of interactive behaviour. Participants were administered transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to the primary motor cortex while viewing matched hand movements with or without (1) an interactive context and (2) an interactive context with an implied heightened emotional aspect. CSE was not enhanced when viewing interactive (compared with in idual) hand movements. There was, however, some evidence for an enhanced response when viewing hand movements with an emotional component. There was no association between mirror systems and self-reported empathy. Mirror systems may not be more responsive to interactive behaviour, but the inclusion of a strong emotional element could be of significance to mirror neurons.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 02-09-2020
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-09-2006
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2015
DOI: 10.1016/J.RIDD.2015.07.027
Abstract: Recent evidence indicates that the ability to correct reaching movements in response to unexpected target changes (i.e., online control) is reduced in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Recent computational modeling of human reaching suggests that these inefficiencies may result from difficulties generating and/or monitoring internal representations of movement. This study was the first to test this putative relationship empirically. We did so by investigating the degree to which the capacity to correct reaching mid-flight could be predicted by motor imagery (MI) proficiency in a s le of children with probable DCD (pDCD). Thirty-four children aged 8 to 12 years (17 children with pDCD and 17 age-matched controls) completed the hand rotation task, a well-validated measure of MI, and a double-step reaching task (DSRT), a protocol commonly adopted to infer one's capacity for correcting reaching online. As per previous research, children with pDCD demonstrated inefficiencies in their ability to generate internal action representations and correct their reaching online, demonstrated by inefficient hand rotation performance and slower correction to the reach trajectory following unexpected target perturbation during the DSRT compared to age-matched controls. Critically, hierarchical moderating regression demonstrated that even after general reaching ability was controlled for, MI efficiency was a significant predictor of reaching correction efficiency, a relationship that was constant across groups. Ours is the first study to provide direct pilot evidence in support of the view that a decreased capacity for online control of reaching typical of DCD may be associated with inefficiencies generating and/or using internal representations of action.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2007
DOI: 10.1016/J.JNEUMETH.2007.06.002
Abstract: Various methods of application of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) have been evaluated for their potential capacity to alter motor cortical excitability. Initial research suggests that the repetitive application of paired TMS pulses (repetitive paired pulse TMS (rppTMS)) may have greater effects on cortical excitability, perhaps through the facilitation of I-wave interaction. We aimed to compare the post-train effects of 15 min trains of rppTMS to investigate the potential therapeutic application of this technique as well as to compare it to a standard high frequency repetitive TMS paradigm. Ten normal subjects received three 15 min sessions of rppTMS, 5 Hz high frequency rTMS and sham TMS in randomised order. rppTMS consisted of a single train of 180 pulse pairs (0.2 Hz, 1.5 ms inter-stimulus interval, supra-threshold intensity) administered over 15 min. The rTMS condition involved 750 pulses provided in 5s 5 Hz trains with a 25s inter-train interval at 90% of the RMT. Motor evoked potential size and cortical silent period duration were assessed before and after each session. There were no significant changes in cortical excitability produced by any of the stimulation conditions. Five hertz rTMS produced an increase in cortical silent period duration (p=0.004) which was not affected by rppTMS. Fifteen minutes trains of 1.5ms rppTMS do not substantially increase post train cortical excitability. Repetitive brief trains of 5Hz rTMS also do not alter excitability but appear to effect cortical inhibition.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 02-10-2015
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2012
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEULET.2011.12.018
Abstract: Mirror neurons are thought to facilitate emotion processing, but it is unclear whether the valence of an emotional presentation (positive or negative) can influence subsequent mirror neuron activity. Participants completed a transcranial magnetic stimulation experiment that involved stimulation of the primary motor cortex, and electromyography recording from contralateral hand muscles. This was performed while participants viewed videos of either a static hand or a transitive hand action preceded by either a positive or negative stimulus. Corticospinal excitability facilitation during action observation was significantly greater following the presentation of negative (relative to positive) stimuli this was evident for the first dorsal interosseous muscle (which was central to the observed grasp), but not for the abductor digiti minimi muscle. This study provides evidence that emotional valence can modulate mirror neuron activity, which may reflect an adaptive mechanism.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 02-2017
DOI: 10.1017/S1355617717000029
Abstract: Objectives: It is unclear whether the primary motor cortex (PMC) is involved in the mental simulation of movement [i.e., motor imagery (MI)]. The present study aimed to clarify PMC involvement using a highly novel adaptation of the hand laterality task (HLT). Methods: Participants were administered single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to the hand area of the left PMC (hPMC) at either 50 ms, 400 ms, or 650 ms post stimulus presentation. Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) were recorded from the right first dorsal interosseous via electromyography. To avoid the confound of gross motor response, participant response (indicating left or right hand) was recorded via eye tracking. Participants were 22 healthy adults (18 to 36 years), 16 whose behavioral profile on the HLT was consistent with the use of a MI strategy (MI users). Results: hPMC excitability increased significantly during HLT performance for MI users, evidenced by significantly larger right hand MEPs following single-pulse TMS 50 ms, 400 ms, and 650 ms post stimulus presentation relative to baseline. Subsequent analysis showed that hPMC excitability was greater for more complex simulated hand movements, where hand MEPs at 50 ms were larger for biomechanically awkward movements (i.e., hands requiring lateral rotation) compared to simpler movements (i.e., hands requiring medial rotation). Conclusions: These findings provide support for the modulation of PMC excitability during the HLT attributable to MI, and may indicate a role for the PMC during MI. ( JINS , 2017, 23 , 185–193)
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.BRS.2019.02.013
Abstract: The prefrontal cortex regulates behavioural adaptation in response to feedback. However, the causal role of different prefrontal regions remains unclear, based on indirect evidence derived from functional neuroimaging. Neuroimaging studies show dorsomedial prefrontal activation during feedback monitoring, whereas the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex engages during behavioural adaptation (shifting). We used high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) to elucidate the roles of the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) and the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) in behaviour change, using a probabilistic reversal learning task (PRLT). Fifty-two healthy adults were randomly assigned to receive cathodal HD-tDCS to inhibit the vlPFC or the dmPFC versus sham stimulation, prior to completing the PRLT. The outcome measures were the number of perseverative errors and the electroencephalography (EEG) signals of feedback-related negativity (FRN) in the PRLT. We hypothesised that inhibition of the vlPFC would be specifically associated with more perseverative errors and weaker FRNs. We found that vlPFC inhibition was associated with higher perseverative errors compared to sham and dmPFC stimulation conditions. Although there were no statistically significant differences in FRN litudes, the effect sizes indicate an association between inhibition of the vlPFC and lower FRN litudes. Our findings support a causal role of the vlPFC on feedback-based behavioural adaptation, which is critical for adaptive goal-driven behaviour.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2013
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEUROPHARM.2012.06.017
Abstract: Mounting evidence suggests a possible role for γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the neuropathophysiology of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), but the extent of this impairment is unclear. A non-invasive, in vivo measure of GABA involves transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the primary motor cortex to probe cortical inhibition. In iduals diagnosed with ASD (high-functioning autism or Asperger's disorder) (n = 36 [28 male] mean age: 26.00 years) and a group of healthy in iduals (n = 34 [23 male] mean age: 26.21 years) (matched for age, gender, and cognitive function) were administered motor cortical TMS paradigms putatively measuring activity at GABAA and GABAB receptors (i.e., short and long interval paired pulse TMS, cortical silent period). All cortical inhibition paradigms yielded no difference between ASD and control groups. There was, however, evidence for short interval cortical inhibition (SICI) deficits among those ASD participants who had experienced early language delay, suggesting that GABA may be implicated in an ASD subtype. The current findings do not support a broad role for GABA in the neuropathophysiology of ASD, but provide further indication that GABAA could be involved in ASD where there is a delay in language acquisition. This article is part of the Special Issue entitled 'Neurodevelopmental Disorders'.
Publisher: Elsevier
Date: 2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2013
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEUROPSYCHOLOGIA.2013.06.020
Abstract: Recent research has begun to investigate sensory processing in relation to nonclinical variation in traits associated with the autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We propose that existing accounts of autistic perception can be augmented by considering a role for in idual differences in top-down expectations for the precision of sensory input, related to the processing of state-dependent levels of uncertainty. We therefore examined ASD-like traits in relation to the rubber-hand illusion: an experimental paradigm that typically elicits crossmodal integration of visual, tactile, and proprioceptive information in an unusual illusory context. In iduals with higher ASD-like traits showed reduced effects of the rubber-hand illusion on perceived arm position and reach-to-grasp movements, compared to in iduals with lower ASD-like traits. These differences occurred despite both groups reporting the typical subjective experience of the illusion concerning visuotactile integration and ownership for the rubber hand. Together these results suggest that the integration of proprioceptive information with cues for arm position derived from the illusory context differs between in iduals partly in relation to traits associated with ASD. We suggest that the observed differences in sensory integration can be best explained in terms of differing expectations regarding the precision of sensory estimates in contexts that suggest uncertainty.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2015
DOI: 10.1016/J.PSCYCHRESNS.2015.05.003
Abstract: Abnormalities within white matter (WM) have been identified in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although there is some support for greater neurobiological deficits among females with ASD, there is little research investigating sex differences in WM in ASD. We used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate WM aberration in 25 adults with high-functioning ASD and 24 age-, sex- and IQ-matched controls. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) was used to explore differences in WM in major tract bundles. The effects of biological sex were also investigated. TBSS revealed no differences in fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), radial diffusivity (RD), or axial diffusivity (AD) between groups. There were no effects of biological sex. We consider whether methodological differences between past studies have contributed to the highly heterogeneous findings in the literature. Finally, we suggest that, among a high-functioning s le of adults with ASD, differences in WM microstructure may not be related to clinical impairment.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-03-2013
DOI: 10.1007/S10803-013-1811-1
Abstract: This paper reviews the literature exploring gender differences associated with the clinical presentation of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The potentially mediating effect of comorbid psychopathology, biological and neurodevelopmental implications on these gender differences is also discussed. A vastly heterogeneous condition, while females on the lower-functioning end of the spectrum appear to be more severely affected, an altered clinical manifestation of the disorder among high-functioning females may consequently result in many being un- or mis-diagnosed. To date, there is strong bias in the literature towards the clinical presentation of ASD in males. It is imperative that future research explores gender differences across the autism spectrum, in order to improve researchers', clinicians' and the public's understanding of this debilitating disorder.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-06-2022
DOI: 10.1111/PSYP.14121
Abstract: Understanding built environment exposure as a component of environmental enrichment has significant implications for mental health, but little is known about the effects design characteristics have on our emotions and associated neurophysiology. Using a Cave Automatic Virtual Environment while monitoring indoor environmental quality (IEQ), 18 participants were exposed to a resting state (black), and two room scenes, control (white) and condition (blue), to understand if the color of the virtual walls affected self‐report, autonomic nervous system, and central nervous system correlates of emotion. Our findings showed that exposure to the chromatic color condition (blue) compared to the achromatic control (white) and resting‐state (black, no built environment) significantly increased the range in respiration and skin conductance response. We also detected a significant increase in alpha frontal midline power and frontal hemispheric lateralization relative to blue condition, and increased power spectral density across all electrodes in the blue condition for theta, alpha, and beta bandwidths. The ability for built environment design to modulate emotional response has the potential to deliver significant public health, economic, and social benefits to the entire community. The findings show that blue coloring of the built environment increases autonomic range and is associated with modulations of brain activity linked to emotional processing.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-11-2015
DOI: 10.1002/AUR.1567
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 22-09-2023
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2017
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2015
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEUBIOREV.2015.05.017
Abstract: Imaging and lesion studies have suggested numerous roles for the temporoparietal junction (TPJ), for ex le in attention and neglect, social cognition, and self/other processing. These studies cannot establish causal relationships, and the importance and relevance of (and interrelationships between) proposed roles remain controversial. This review examined studies that use noninvasive transcranial stimulation (NTS) to explore TPJ function. Of the 459 studies identified, 40 met selection criteria. The strengths and weaknesses of NTS-relevant parameters used are discussed, and methodological improvements suggested. These include the need for careful selection of stimulation sites and experimental tasks, and use of neuronavigation and concurrent functional activity measures. Without such improvements, overlapping and discrete functions of the TPJ will be difficult to disentangle. Nevertheless, the contributions of these studies to theoretical models of TPJ function are discussed, and the clinical relevance of TPJ stimulation explored. Some evidence exists for TPJ stimulation in the treatment of auditory hallucinations, tinnitus, and depersonalisation disorder. Further examination of the TPJ in conditions such as autism spectrum disorder is also warranted.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 08-2016
DOI: 10.1111/AP.12225
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2020
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 03-03-2012
DOI: 10.1016/J.EURPSY.2012.02.006
Abstract: Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a technique of neuromodulation and neurostimulation based on the principle of electromagnetic induction of an electric field in the brain. The coil (H-coil) used in deep TMS is able to modulate cortical excitability up to a maximum depth of 6 cm and is therefore able not only to modulate the activity of the cerebral cortex but also the activity of deeper neural circuits. Deep TMS is largely used for the treatment of drug-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD) and is being tested to treat a very wide range of neurological, psychiatric and medical conditions. The aim of this review is to illustrate the biophysical principles of deep TMS, to explain the pathophysiological basis for its utilization in each psychiatric disorder (major depression, autism, bipolar depression, auditory hallucinations, negative symptoms of schizophrenia), to summarize the results presented thus far in the international scientific literature regarding the use of deep TMS in psychiatry, its side effects and its effects on cognitive functions.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-01-2020
DOI: 10.1007/S12311-019-01093-7
Abstract: The cerebellum sends dense projections to both motor and non-motor regions of the cerebral cortex via the cerebellarthalamocortical tract. The integrity of this tract is crucial for healthy motor and cognitive function. This systematic review examines research using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the cerebellum with combined cortical electroencephalography (EEG) to explore the temporal features of cerebellar-cortical connectivity. A detailed discussion of the outcomes and limitations of the studies meeting review criteria is presented. Databases were searched between 1 December 2017 and 6 December 2017, with Scopus alerts current as of 23 July 2019. Of the 407 studies initially identified, 10 met review criteria. Findings suggested that cerebellar-cortical assessment is suited to combined TMS and EEG, although work is required to ensure experimental procedures are optimal for eliciting a reliable cerebellar response from stimulation. A distinct variation in methodologies and outcome measures employed across studies, and small s le sizes limited the conclusions that could be drawn regarding the electrophysiological signatures of cerebellar-cortical communication. This review highlights the need for stringent protocols and methodologies for cerebellar-cortical assessments via combined TMS and EEG. With these in place, combined TMS and EEG will provide a valuable means for exploring cerebellar connectivity with a wide range of cortical sites. Assessments have the potential to aid in the understanding of motor and cognitive function in both healthy and clinical groups, and provide insights into long-range neural communication generally.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-09-2018
DOI: 10.1111/EJN.13675
Abstract: The temporoparietal junction (TPJ) is implicated in mental and emotional state attribution, processes associated with autism-relevant traits. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the TPJ can influence social-cognitive performance. However, associations with electrophysiology and autism-relevant traits remain relatively unexamined. This study had two aims: first, exploring links between Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) scores and social-cognitive performance second, examining interactions between AQ scores and high-definition-tDCS (HD-tDCS) applied to the right TPJ in terms of mental/emotional state attribution and neurophysiological outcomes. Fifty-three participants completed mental/emotional state attribution tasks before and after HD-tDCS. Pre-stimulation mental state attribution accuracy was reduced in participants with higher AQ Switching scores. Cathodal stimulation was associated with reduced emotion attribution performance in participants with higher AQ Switching and AQ Social scores (the latter at trend-level). Anodal stimulation more frequently interacted with AQ Social scores in terms of neurophysiology, in particular regarding reduced delta power in the left compared to right TPJ, and trend-level positive interactions with P100 and P300 latencies during the emotion recognition task. Elements of attention/switching (AQ Switching) may subserve or underpin elements of social cognition (AQ Social), and cathodal and anodal stimulation may have differing effects depending on trait levels in these domains. This study makes an important and original contribution in terms of increasing understanding of how such trait-level variation might interact with the effects of tDCS and also extending previous studies with regard to understanding potential roles of the rTPJ in both attention and social cognition and how autism-relevant traits might influence TPJ function.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 14-07-2015
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2019
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 20-10-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.10.19.464887
Abstract: The neurodevelopmental period spanning early-to-middle childhood represents a time of significant growth and reorganisation throughout the cortex. Such changes are critical for the emergence and maturation of a range of social and cognitive processes. Here, we utilised both eyes open and eyes closed resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) to examine maturational changes in both oscillatory (i.e., periodic) and non-oscillatory (aperiodic, ‘1/ f -like’) activity in a large cohort of participants ranging from 4-to-12 years of age (N=139, average age=9.41 years, SD=1.95). The EEG signal was parameterised into aperiodic and periodic components, and linear regression models were used to evaluate if chronological age could predict aperiodic exponent and offset, as well as well as peak frequency and power within the alpha and beta ranges. Exponent and offset were found to both decrease with age, while aperiodic-adjusted alpha peak frequency increased with age however, there was no association between age and peak frequency for the beta band. Age was also unrelated to aperiodic-adjusted spectral power within either the alpha or beta bands, despite both frequency ranges being correlated with the aperiodic signal. Overall, these results highlight the capacity for both periodic and aperiodic features of the EEG to elucidate age-related functional changes within the developing brain.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 11-2013
DOI: 10.1080/13546805.2012.758878
Abstract: This paper reviews the literature as it relates to perceptual processes in body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). A narrative-style review of the literature was undertaken to explore the relationship between BDD and obsessive-compulsive disorder, the empirical evidence for aberrant own-body perception in BDD, and the possible role of the parietal cortex in the disorder. The extant literature appears to support the postulation that BDD is underpinned by a dysfunction in somatoperception-the process by which in iduals formulate a sense of what they look like. Investigation of somatoperceptive processes in BDD and related brain structures would provide important insight about the development and maintenance of this complex and often neglected psychiatric condition, and, in turn, help improve its treatment.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2008
DOI: 10.1016/J.PSYCHRES.2007.04.007
Abstract: Response inhibition in schizophrenia remains controversial, with behavioral correlates largely unknown. Inpatients with schizophrenia and controls completed a stop task and an impulsiveness questionnaire. Slower inhibitory processes were evident in schizophrenia, but there was no association with impulsivity. The nature of inhibition and impulsivity in schizophrenia is complex, and could reflect schizophrenia subgroups or disease states.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 04-2002
DOI: 10.2466/PR0.2002.90.2.447
Abstract: Suppressing a thought often results in postsuppressional rebound, that is, a subsequent increase in the incidence of the suppressed thought. The present study was designed to distinguish between two explanations of rebound: Wegner's 1994 ironic monitoring theory and Liberman and Forster's 2000 motivational account. Participants (99 Deakin University students) first suppressed, then expressed, thoughts of a white bear. In some conditions, a delay—presented as occurring either intentionally or unintentionally—between suppression and expression was introduced. In other conditions, participants concurrently completed a memory task and were encouraged to attribute the difficulty of suppression either to this task or to the requirement of suppression. An intentional delay, but not an unintentional delay, reduced rebound, while attributing difficulty to the suppression requirement was associated with greater rebound than was attributing it to the memory task. The results are interpreted as supporting Liberman and Forster's motivational account of rebound.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2019
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 29-01-2019
DOI: 10.1017/S1355617718001121
Abstract: Objectives: This study examined the effects of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (a-tDCS) on sentence and word comprehension in healthy adults. Methods: Healthy adult participants, aged between 19 and 30 years, received either a-tDCS over the left inferior frontal gyrus ( n =18) or sham stimulation ( n =18). Participants completed sentence comprehension and word comprehension tasks before and during stimulation. Accuracy and reaction times (RTs) were recorded as participants completed both tasks. Results: a-tDCS was found to significantly decrease RT on the sentence comprehension task compared to baseline. There was no change in RT following sham stimulation. a-tDCS was not found to have a significant effect on accuracy. Also, a-tDCS did not affect accuracy or RTs on the word comprehension task. Conclusions: The study provides evidence that non-invasive anodal electrical stimulation can modulate sentence comprehension in healthy adults, at least compared to their baseline performance. ( JINS , 2019, 25 , 331–335)
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 04-07-2019
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 19-07-2016
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2020
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-09-2009
DOI: 10.1111/J.1469-8749.2009.03270.X
Abstract: Motor dysfunction is common to both autism and Asperger syndrome, but the underlying neurophysiological impairments are unclear. Neurophysiological examinations of motor dysfunction can provide information about likely sites of functional impairment and can contribute to the debate about whether autism and Asperger syndrome are variants of the same disorder or fundamentally distinct neurodevelopmental conditions. We investigated the neurophysiology of internally determined motor activity in autism and Asperger syndrome via examination of movement-related potentials (MRPs). We used electroencephalography to investigate MRPs, via an internally cued movement paradigm, in the following three groups: (1) in iduals with high-functioning autism (14 males, one female mean age 13 y 1 mo, SD 4 y 2 mo, range 7 y 8 mo to 20 y 9 mo mean Full-scale IQ 93.40, SD 20.72) (2) in iduals with Asperger syndrome (10 males, two females mean age 13 y 7 mo, SD 3 y 9 mo, range 8 y 11 mo to 20 y 4 mo mean Full-scale IQ 103.25, SD 19.37), and (3) a healthy control group (13 males, seven females mean age 14 y 0 mo, SD 3 y 11 mo range 8 y 4 mo to 21 y 0 mo mean Full-scale IQ 114.25, SD 11.29). Abnormal MRPs can reflect disruption of motor-related neural networks involving the basal ganglia, thalamus, and supplementary motor area. There was evidence for abnormal MRPs in autism (e.g. increased post-movement cortical activity, abnormal peak time) but not in Asperger syndrome. The results support basal ganglia, thalamus, and supplementary motor area involvement as a likely source of motor dysfunction in autism, and provide further evidence for the neurobiological separateness of autism and Asperger syndrome.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2020
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 26-10-2010
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEUBIOREV.2018.01.002
Abstract: Recent neuroimaging studies have reported atypical neural activation in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) during tasks assessing manual dexterity. However, small s le sizes and subtle differences in task parameters have led to inconsistent findings, rendering interpretation difficult. The aim of the present meta-analysis was to quantitatively summarize this body of evidence using activation likelihood estimation (ALE) analysis to identify reliable regions of differential neural activation in children with DCD, compared to age-matched controls. Seven studies that adopted fMRI to compare children with and without DCD during manual performance were identified following a literature search. All were included in the ALE analysis. Compared to controls, children with DCD showed reduced activation during a manual dexterity task in the middle frontal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, cerebellum, supramarginal gyrus, and inferior parietal lobule. Children with DCD showed greater activation in parts of the thalamus. Findings provide much needed clarification into the possible neural contributors to atypical manual dexterity in DCD and highlight the need for neuroimaging studies to include manual performance outcomes.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2012
DOI: 10.1016/J.BBR.2011.11.037
Abstract: Neuroimaging studies suggest that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) plays a central role in cognitive theory of mind (ToM). This can be assessed more definitively, however, using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). Sixteen healthy participants (10 females, 6 males) completed tasks assessing cognitive and affective ToM following low-frequency deep rTMS to bilateral mPFC in active-stimulation and placebo-stimulation sessions. There was no effect of deep rTMS on either cognitive or affective ToM performance. When examining self-reported empathy, however, there was evidence for a double dissociation: deep rTMS disrupted affective ToM performance for those with high self-reported empathy, but improved affective ToM performance for those with low self-reported empathy. mPFC appears to play a role in affective ToM processing, but the present study suggest that stimulation outcomes are dependent on baseline empathic abilities.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2015
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 13-08-2020
Start Date: 06-2020
End Date: 12-2024
Amount: $469,871.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 01-2012
End Date: 12-2014
Amount: $155,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2009
End Date: 06-2009
Amount: $260,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 01-2013
End Date: 12-2015
Amount: $150,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 06-2017
End Date: 12-2021
Amount: $934,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
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