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Conscious and Subconscious Sensorimotor Synchronization—Prefrontal Cortex and the Influence of Awareness
Abstract
One of the most compelling challenges for modern neuroscience is the influence of awareness on behavior. We studied prefrontal correlates of conscious and subconscious motor adjustments to changing auditory rhythms using regional cerebral blood flow measurements. At a subconscious level, movement adjustments were performed employing bilateral ventral mediofrontal cortex. Awareness of change without explicit knowledge of the nature of change led to additional ventral prefrontal and premotor but not dorsolateral prefrontal activations. Only fully conscious motor adaptations to a changing rhythmic pattern showed prominent involvement of anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. These results demonstrate that while ventral prefrontal areas may be engaged in motor adaptations performed subconsciously, only fully conscious motor control which includes motor planning will involve dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
... In contrast to this, conscious error correction depends on attention and awareness of the tempo-change (for reviews see Repp, 2005;Repp and Su, 2013). While the network subserving non-conscious error correction is less clear, conscious error correction has been related to the cerebellum -in particular the left posterior cerebellar lobe - (Stephan et al., 2002;Thaut et al., 2009;Bijsterbosch et al., 2011b), prefrontal (Stephan et al., 2002;Thaut et al., 2009;Bijsterbosch et al., 2011b), premotor (Stephan et al., 2002;Bijsterbosch et al., 2011a), inferior parietal (Thaut et al., 2009;Bijsterbosch et al., 2011b), and anterior cingulate cortices (ACC; Stephan et al., 2002;Jantzen et al., 2018). Stephan et al. (2002) concluded that fully conscious adaptation to changes of an external pacing signal involves the ACC as well as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DPFC). ...
... In contrast to this, conscious error correction depends on attention and awareness of the tempo-change (for reviews see Repp, 2005;Repp and Su, 2013). While the network subserving non-conscious error correction is less clear, conscious error correction has been related to the cerebellum -in particular the left posterior cerebellar lobe - (Stephan et al., 2002;Thaut et al., 2009;Bijsterbosch et al., 2011b), prefrontal (Stephan et al., 2002;Thaut et al., 2009;Bijsterbosch et al., 2011b), premotor (Stephan et al., 2002;Bijsterbosch et al., 2011a), inferior parietal (Thaut et al., 2009;Bijsterbosch et al., 2011b), and anterior cingulate cortices (ACC; Stephan et al., 2002;Jantzen et al., 2018). Stephan et al. (2002) concluded that fully conscious adaptation to changes of an external pacing signal involves the ACC as well as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DPFC). ...
... In contrast to this, conscious error correction depends on attention and awareness of the tempo-change (for reviews see Repp, 2005;Repp and Su, 2013). While the network subserving non-conscious error correction is less clear, conscious error correction has been related to the cerebellum -in particular the left posterior cerebellar lobe - (Stephan et al., 2002;Thaut et al., 2009;Bijsterbosch et al., 2011b), prefrontal (Stephan et al., 2002;Thaut et al., 2009;Bijsterbosch et al., 2011b), premotor (Stephan et al., 2002;Bijsterbosch et al., 2011a), inferior parietal (Thaut et al., 2009;Bijsterbosch et al., 2011b), and anterior cingulate cortices (ACC; Stephan et al., 2002;Jantzen et al., 2018). Stephan et al. (2002) concluded that fully conscious adaptation to changes of an external pacing signal involves the ACC as well as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DPFC). ...
Introduction
Precise motor timing including the ability to adjust movements after changes in the environment is fundamental to many daily activities. Sensorimotor timing in the sub-and supra-second range might rely on at least partially distinct brain networks, with the latter including the basal ganglia (BG) and the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Since both structures are particularly vulnerable to age-related decline, the present study investigated whether age might distinctively affect sensorimotor timing and error correction in the supra-second range.
Methods
A total of 50 healthy right-handed volunteers with 22 older (age range: 50–60 years) and 28 younger (age range: 20–36 years) participants synchronized the tap-onsets of their right index finger with an isochronous auditory pacing signal. Stimulus onset asynchronies were either 900 or 1,600 ms. Positive or negative step-changes that were perceivable or non-perceivable were occasionally interspersed to the fixed intervals to induce error correction. A simple reaction time task served as control condition.
Results and Discussion
In line with our hypothesis, synchronization variability in trials with supra-second intervals was larger in the older group. While reaction times were not affected by age, the mean negative asynchrony was significantly smaller in the elderly in trials with positive step-changes, suggesting more pronounced tolerance of positive deviations at older age. The analysis of error correction by means of the phase correction response (PCR) suggests reduced error correction in the older group. This effect emerged in trials with supra-second intervals and large positive step-changes, only. Overall, these results support the hypothesis that sensorimotor synchronization in the sub-second range is maintained but synchronization accuracy and error correction in the supra-second range is reduced in the elderly as early as in the fifth decade of life suggesting that these measures are suitable for the early detection of age-related changes of the motor system.
... Performance monitoring and error correction are a key for the temporally precise adjustment of movements with respect to external pacing signals (for comprehensive overviews, please refer to [1,2]). Movements can be adapted even with respect to small rhythmic perturbations that were not perceived consciously [3][4][5][6][7][8] (for review articles, refer to [1,2]). Such error correction can be investigated by means of the sensorimotor synchronization task that requires the participants to tap in synchrony with an external rhythm (for review articles, refer to [1,2]). ...
... In the easiest version of this task, a regular auditory pacing signal is applied. To induce error correction, local timing perturbations are occasionally interspersed in the regular sequence requiring the participants to adapt subsequent movements [3][4][5][6][7][8][9] (for review articles, refer to [1,2]). ...
... Conscious and nonconscious performance monitoring and error correction may rely on at least partially distinct brain networks [3,[5][6][7]21]. Correction of movements with respect to perceivable temporal deviations in rhythmic synchronization (i.e., conscious error correction) has been related to activation changes in the left posterior cerebellar lobe [3,7], prefrontal [3,5,7,21], and anterior cingulate cortices [5,21], as well as inferior parietal areas [3,7]. ...
Accurate motor timing requires the temporally precise coupling between sensory input and motor output including the adjustment of movements with respect to changes in the environment. Such error correction has been related to a cerebello-thalamo-cortical network. At least partially distinct networks for the correction of perceived (i.e., conscious) as compared to nonperceived (i.e., nonconscious) errors have been suggested. While the cerebellum, the premotor, and the prefrontal cortex seem to be involved in conscious error correction, the network subserving nonconscious error correction is less clear. The present study is aimed at investigating the functional contribution of the primary motor cortex (M1) for both types of error correction in the temporal domain. To this end, anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (atDCS) was applied to the left M1 in a group of 18 healthy young volunteers during a resting period of 10 minutes. Sensorimotor synchronization as well as error correction of the right index finger was tested immediately prior to and after atDCS. Sham stimulation served as control condition. To induce error correction, nonconscious and conscious temporal step-changes were interspersed in a sequence of an isochronous auditory pacing signal in either direction (i.e., negative or positive) yielding either shorter or longer intervals. Prior to atDCS, faster error correction in conscious as compared to nonconscious trials was observed replicating previous findings. atDCS facilitated nonconscious error correction, but only in trials with negative step-changes yielding shorter intervals. In contrast to this, neither tapping speed nor synchronization performance with respect to the isochronous pacing signal was significantly modulated by atDCS. The data suggest M1 as part of a network distinctively contributing to the correction of nonconscious negative step-changes going beyond sensorimotor synchronization.
... It also helps to better sustain focus on the breath by improving the person's awareness of when his or her mind wanders, allowing them to return their attention to the breath (Dickenson et al., 2013). In addition, this brain structure has been linked to social functions, by way of examples a fully conscious motor control and the adaptations to a changing rhythmic pattern (Stephan et al., 2002) or mutual cooperative interactions and interpersonal coordination (Balconi et al., 2017;Hu et al., 2021). ...
... However, it is worth noting the task adopted in this study did not consist of an interoceptive task only, but also of a motor synchronization task. Before, the PFC has been linked to social functions, by way of examples a fully conscious motor control and the adaptations to a changing rhythmic pattern (Stephan et al., 2002) or mutual cooperative interactions and interpersonal coordination (Balconi et al., 2017;Hu et al., 2021). Therefore, it is plausible to state that IA plays a role in affecting the mental representation of the synergic task based on the PFC activation. ...
This research explored the effect of explicit Interoceptive Attentiveness (IA) manipulation on hemodynamic brain correlates during a task involving interpersonal motor coordination framed with a social goal. Participants performed a task requiring interpersonal movement synchrony with and without a social framing in both explicit IA and control conditions. Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to record oxygenated (O2Hb) and deoxygenated hemoglobin (HHb) changes during the tasks. According to the results, the prefrontal cortex (PFC), which is involved in high-order social cognition and interpersonal relations processing, was more responsive when inducing the explicit focus (IA) on the breath during the socially framed motor task requiring synchronization, as indicated by increased O2Hb. In the absence of a broader social frame, this effect was not significant for the motor task. Overall, the present study suggests that when a joint task is performed and the individual focuses on his/her physiological body reactions, the brain hemodynamic correlates are “boosted” in neuroanatomical regions that support sustained attention, reorientation of attention, social responsiveness, and synchronization. Furthermore, the PFC responds significantly more as the person consciously focuses on physiological interoceptive correlates and performs a motor task requiring synchronization, particularly when the task is socially framed.
... Second, the effect of IOI on timing control was explored with varying metronome IOIs. In a synchronisation task with fast metronomes (with IOIs <1,500 ms), the ITIs followed the variation of IOIs with a lag 1 delay when IOIs had sinusoidal, periodic, or random modulation 10,[20][21][22] . Individuals tended to produce short ITIs when previous IOIs were short and long ITIs when previous IOIs were long. ...
... Synchronisation tapping with predictable IOIs patterns (e.g. sinusoidal) or patterns that resemble typical music patterns were also conducted 22,23 . When the IOIs pattern standard deviation was too little or far from the typical pattern of predicting change in IOIs, ITIs followed previous IOIs. ...
In musical ensembles, musicians synchronise their movements with other members of the ensemble at various tempos. This study aims to investigate the extent of tempo dependency of own and partner’s timing information on rhythm production. We conducted a dyad synchronisation-continuous finger-tapping task. First, two participants synchronised with the same auditory metronome at various tempos. Subsequently, after stopping the metronome, the participants maintained the tempo with the presentation of the partner’s tap timing via auditory signals. This task was conducted in six metronome tempo conditions at 700 to 3,200 ms in 500 ms step. It was found that the partner’s previous inter-tap intervals increased as the metronome tempo decreased. The effects of own previous inter-tap intervals and synchronisation errors between own and the partner’s tap timing did not depend on the metronome tempo. Therefore, timing control in dyad synchronisation was affected by the partner’s tempo more strongly in slow than fast tempos. This strong effect of the partner in slow-tempo rhythm synchronisation could be due to stronger attention to the partner’s movement timing in slower tempos than in fast tempos.
... The authors argued that the DLPFC may be involved with error monitoring and correction. This is supported by another study that found increased DLPFC activation when participants tapped to increasingly modulated tone sequences compared with rhythmic isochronous tapping (Stephan et al., 2002). Therefore, it is possible in our study that oculomotor areas were recruited for the REACTIVE conditions to guide responses associated with greater timing complexity relative to the PREDICTIVE task. ...
... For example, Dhamala et al. (2003) found lobule VI activation associated with finger tapping to increasingly complex rhythms. In addition to a random sequence, Stephan et al. (2002) modulated a tapping sequence at three different levels and compared the behavior to isochronous tapping. They found that increased modulation and random sequences were both associated with increased activation in lobule VI. ...
Every day we generate motor responses that are timed with external cues. This phenomenon of sensorimotor synchronization has been simplified and studied extensively using finger tapping sequences that are executed in synchrony with auditory stimuli. The predictive saccade paradigm closely resembles the finger tapping task. In this paradigm, participants follow a visual target that "steps" between two fixed locations on a visual screen at predictable ISIs. Eventually, the time from target appearance to saccade initiation (i.e., saccadic RT) becomes predictive with values nearing 0 msec. Unlike the finger tapping literature, neural control of predictive behavior described within the eye movement literature has not been well established and is inconsistent, especially between neuroimaging and patient lesion studies. To resolve these discrepancies, we used fMRI to investigate the neural correlates of predictive saccades by contrasting brain areas involved with behavior generated from the predictive saccade task with behavior generated from a reactive saccade task (saccades are generated toward targets that are unpredictably timed). We observed striking differences in neural recruitment between reactive and predictive conditions: Reactive saccades recruited oculomotor structures, as predicted, whereas predictive saccades recruited brain structures that support timing in motor responses, such as the Crus I of the Cerebellum, and structures commonly associated with the default mode network. Therefore, our results were more consistent with those found in the finger tapping literature.
... • Rhythmic pacing and entrainment predominantly engages right hemispheric networks in auditory, prefrontal and parietal regions [65] • Left hand tapping activates right hemispheric language networks since spoken language and arm gestures are controlled by the same motor control network [50] Studies in Cognitive Rehabilitation ...
... NMT has established evidence-based therapeutic techniques to re-train and re-educate brain and behavior functions in neurologic disorders and injuries, particularly in the area of motor recovery in stroke [62 •• , 63, 64]. Furthermore, neuroimaging studies have demonstrated a clearly-defined network of parietal, cerebellar, and frontal areas involved in the processing of rhythmicity [65][66][67]. In this paper we have reviewed the research evidence for motor, speech/language, and cognitive intervention techniques in stroke rehabilitation. ...
Based on insights from brain research in music, neurologic music therapy (NMT) has been established as a new model for music in therapy and medicine. Standardized clinical interventions are based on clusters of research evidence and established learning principles in motor, speech/language, and cognitive training. The research support for NMT in stroke rehabilitation has been growing rapidly over the past 20 years. This paper will review research data and clinical applications for neurorehabilitation in the speech/language, cognitive and sensorimotor domains.
... The IC sends rich projections to the cerebellum (via the dorsolateral pontine nuclei; Thaut et al. 2015), which is activated during sensorimotor synchronization tasks (Grahn et al. 2011;Stephan et al. 2002). Additionally, it was demonstrated that neural activity in the IC can synchronize to a rhythmic auditory stimulus (Tierney and Kraus 2013). ...
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder mainly characterized by bradykinesia and akinesia. Interestingly, these motor disabilities can depend on the patient emotional state. Disabled PD patients remain able to produce normal motor responses in the context of urgent or externally driven situations or even when exposed to appetitive cues such as music. To describe this phenomenon Souques coined the term "paradoxical kinesia" a century ago. Since then, the mechanisms underlying paradoxical kinesia are still unknown due to a paucity of valid animal models that replicate this phenomenon. To overcome this limitation, we established two animal models of paradoxical kinesia. Using these models, we investigated the neural mechanisms of paradoxical kinesia, with the results pointing to the inferior colliculus (IC) as a key structure. Intracollicular electrical deep brain stimulation, glutamatergic and GABAergic mechanisms may be involved in the elaboration of paradoxical kinesia. Since paradoxical kinesia might work by activation of some alternative pathway bypassing basal ganglia, we suggest the IC as a candidate to be part of this pathway.
... Furthermore, the PFC supports sustained attention to breathing by increasing individuals' awareness of the mind wandering and enables them to bring their attention back to breathing [19]. Additionally, it has been associated with social functions, such as fully aware motor control and the ability to adapt to shifting rhythmic patterns [20], and also interpersonal coordination and cooperative interactions [21,22]. ...
Grossberg’s classification of adaptive resonance mechanisms includes the cognitive-emotional resonances that support conscious feelings and recognition of them. In this regard, a relevant question concerns the processing of signals deriving from the internal body and their contribution to interpersonal synchronization. This study aims to assess hemodynamic inter-subject coherence in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) through functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscan recording during dyadic synchronization tasks proposed with or without a social frame and performed in two distinct interoceptive conditions: focus and no focus on the breathing condition. Individuals’ hemodynamic data (oxygenated and de-oxygenated hemoglobin (O2Hb and HHb, respectively)) were recorded through fNIRS hyperscanning, and coherence analysis was performed. The findings showed a significantly higher O2Hb coherence in the left PFC when the dyads performed the synchronization tasks with a social frame compared with no social frame in the focus condition. Overall, the evidence suggests that the interoceptive focus and the presence of a social frame favor the manifestation of a left PFC interpersonal tuning during synchronization tasks.
... It has been proposed that the functional and anatomical connections between auditory and motor-related areas allow entrainment induced by periodic auditory stimuli to modulate the activity of a distributed network of motor and sensory structures (Buzsáki, 2009;Large et al., 2015;Thaut et al., 2015; for review, see Damm et al., 2020). Psychophysical and brain imaging investigations into rhythmic auditory-motor entrainment have shown extremely fast and temporally precise auditory projections into the motor system, entraining motor responses even below thresholds of conscious awareness and engaging complex corticocerebellar networks (Thaut et al., 1999(Thaut et al., , 2009Roberts et al., 2000;Stephan et al., 2002;Thaut and Kenyon, 2003). A series of neurophysiological studies have shown temporally correlated modulations between auditory and motor areas, primarily in beta oscillations bands, supporting the hypothesis of coupling between auditory and motor areas through neuronal entrainment by external rhythms (Fujioka et al., 2012a,b;Ross et al., 2017;Crasta et al., 2018;Buard et al., 2019a). ...
... Findings have highlighted the frontal lobes, specifically the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), ACC and DLPFC, as playing important roles during both metacognitive regulation and attention (Fernandez-Duque, Baird, & Posner, 2000;Schmitz, Kawahara-Baccus, & Johnson, 2004). In support, other neuroimaging studies examining conscious perception and awareness found the same areas implicated during reflective self-awareness and fully conscious motor planning and control (Feinstein, Stein, Castillo, & Paulus, 2004;Frith, 2002;Johnson et al., 2002;Kjaer, Nowak, & Lou, 2002;Stephan et al., 2002). ...
p>Awareness is a complex psychological phenomenon, commonly affected by frontal lobe neuropathologies such as traumatic brain injury (TBI) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). There is not as yet a consensus, however, on how best to assess the extent to which awareness may be impaired.
This thesis comprises two papers. The first of these is a literature review paper that begins with a discussion of the different conceptualisations of awareness. The variety of methods currently being used to assess awareness are then critically discussed. Finally, the new idea of using event-related potential techniques (ERP) as a means of exploring error awareness is introduced.
The second paper aims to put this idea into practice, describing a study of error awareness in normal ageing, examined using an original combination of ERP techniques and psychological measures. Findings showed that people were able to detect errors as successfully as younger people, although there was evidence to suggest a weakening of the error detection system with age. Equally, no differences in error awareness were found. These findings are discussed within the context of normal ageing, and clinical implications are also considered.</p
... It has been proposed that the functional and anatomical connections between auditory and motor-related areas allow entrainment induced by periodic auditory stimuli to modulate the activity of a distributed network of motor and sensory structures (Buzsáki, 2009;Large et al., 2015;Thaut et al., 2015; for review, see Damm et al., 2020). Psychophysical and brain imaging investigations into rhythmic auditory-motor entrainment have shown extremely fast and temporally precise auditory projections into the motor system, entraining motor responses even below thresholds of conscious awareness and engaging complex corticocerebellar networks (Thaut et al., 1999(Thaut et al., , 2009Roberts et al., 2000;Stephan et al., 2002;Thaut and Kenyon, 2003). A series of neurophysiological studies have shown temporally correlated modulations between auditory and motor areas, primarily in beta oscillations bands, supporting the hypothesis of coupling between auditory and motor areas through neuronal entrainment by external rhythms (Fujioka et al., 2012a,b;Ross et al., 2017;Crasta et al., 2018;Buard et al., 2019a). ...
Research in basic and clinical neuroscience of music conducted over the past decades has begun to uncover music's high potential as a tool for rehabilitation. Advances in our understanding of how music engages parallel brain networks underpinning sensory and motor processes, arousal, reward, and affective regulation, have laid a sound neuroscientific foundation for the development of theory-driven music interventions that have been systematically tested in clinical settings. Of particular significance in the context of motor rehabilitation is the notion that musical rhythms can entrain movement patterns in patients with movement-related disorders, serving as a continuous time reference that can help regulate movement timing and pace. To date, a significant number of clinical and experimental studies have tested the application of rhythm-and music-based interventions to improve motor functions following central nervous injury and/or degeneration. The goal of this review is to appraise the current state of knowledge on the effectiveness of music and rhythm to modulate movement spatiotemporal patterns and restore motor function. By organizing and providing a critical appraisal of a large body of research, we hope to provide a revised framework for future research on the effectiveness of rhythm-and music-based interventions to restore and (re)train motor function.
... Participants were asked to perform each of the three experimental conditions presented in a random fashion until obtaining three trials for each condition. Period increments or decrements were of 1 ms ( ∼ 0.6° relative phase), thus guaranteeing a subliminal stimuli variation as previously reported 34,45 . Since the treadmill velocity is constant, changes in the RAC frequency would change the step frequency, thus forcing a change in the step length to maintain the treadmill speed 46 . ...
Different levels of sleep restriction affect human performance in multiple aspects. However, it is unclear how sleep deprivation affects gait control. We applied a paced gait paradigm that included subliminal rhythm changes to analyze the effects of different sleep restriction levels (acute, chronic and control) on performance. Acute sleep deprivation (one night) group exhibited impaired performance in the sensorimotor synchronization gait protocol, such as a decrease in the Period Error between the footfalls and the auditory stimulus as well as missing more frequently the auditory cues. The group with chronic sleep restriction also underperformed when compared to the control group with a tendency to a late footfall with respect to the RAC sound. Our results suggest that partial or total sleep deprivation leads to a decrease in the performance in the sensorimotor control of gait. The superior performance of the chronic sleep group when compared to the acute group suggests that there is a compensatory mechanism that helps to improve motor performance.
... Although our study provides an extensive model of cortical connections in the ventral premotor area, it was not without its limitations. Meta-analytic methodology provided this study the opportunity to study numerous cortical parcellations often previously studied in isolation; however, meta-analyses are inherently limited by the quality of literature [29]. We intended to be comprehensive in our definition of the VPM by using relevant region-based fMRIs to generate ALEs with a strict Cluster-Level Interference algorithm, but the analyzed studies still had differences in their methods and coordinate-based definitions of the VPM , which therefore inherently limits the quality of our data [82]. ...
Introduction
. The ventral premotor area (VPM) plays a crucial role in executing various aspects of motor control. These include hand reaching, joint coordination, and direction of movement in space. While many studies discuss the VPM and its relationship to the rest of the motor network, there is minimal literature examining the connectivity of the VPM outside of the motor network. Using region-based fMRI studies, we built a neuroanatomical model to account for these extra-motor connections.
Methods.
Thirty region-based fMRI studies were used to generate an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) using BrainMap software. Cortical parcellations overlapping the ALE were used to construct a preliminary model of the VPM connections outside the motor network. Diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI)-based fiber tractography was performed to determine the connectivity between cortical parcellations in both hemispheres, and a laterality index (LI) was calculated with resultant tract volumes. The resulting connections were described using the cortical parcellation scheme developed by the Human Connectome Project (HCP).
Results.
Four cortical regions were found to comprise the VPM. These four regions included 6v, 4, 3b, and 3a. Across mapped brains, these areas showed consistent interconnections between each other. Additionally, ipsilateral connections to the primary motor cortex, supplementary motor area, and dorsal premotor cortex were demonstrated. Inter-hemispheric asymmetries were identified, especially with areas 1, 55b, and MI connecting to the ipsilateral VPM regions.
Conclusion.
We describe a preliminary cortical model for the underlying connectivity of the ventral premotor area. Future studies should further characterize the neuroanatomic underpinnings of this network for neurosurgical applications.
... Debido a esta conectividad generalizada, Schmahmann y Pandya [16] propusieron que el cerebelo está implicado en la coordinación, automatización y optimización de las funciones cognitivas y emocionales, de la misma manera que regula y controla la actividad motora. Existe además otra línea de investigación que vincula el cerebelo con la música, y los estudios proporcionan evidencias sobre la participación del circuito cerebelar en las tareas de sincronización rítmica [17] y de cómo la interacción entre el ritmo auditivo y las respuestas motoras se puede emplear eficazmente para la rehabilitación de los trastornos del movimiento [18]. ...
Las investigaciones realizadas en los últimos años ponen el énfasis en la relación existente entre las alteraciones sensoriales y del movimiento en los trastornos del espectro autista, adjudicando el déficit a una alteración a nivel cortical y a una disfunción cerebelosa temprana. Desde el campo de la musicoterapia, se ha abordado el déficit sensorio-motor a través de técnicas para la compensación y/o rehabilitación de funciones cognitivas. El propósito de este trabajo es presentar un abordaje destinado apacientes con Trastorno del Espectro Autista (TEA), basado en el beneficio potencial de la sincronicidad rítmica sobre la regulación sensoriomotriz y sus consecuencias posteriores en las áreas deficitarias propias del cuadro. Para ello se seleccionaron 18 pacientes, entre 10 y 25 años, diagnosticados con TEA, quienes realizaron dos experiencias musicales, con y sin acompañamiento musicoterapeutico, de tres fragmentos musicales correspondientes a los géneros jazz, clásico y folclore. Los resultados indican que el acompañamiento por parte del musicoterapeuta, de ciertos fragmentos musicales, mejora el rendimiento de la sincronicidad rítmica así como también el contacto visual que el paciente realiza hacia al profesional, lo que podría brindar una posible intervención para el abordaje de los aspectos en déficit en el TEA.
... In fact, music has been used effectively as a therapeutic medium to support engagement in physical activity, [5,6,7] increase endurance during physical activity, [8,9,10] and support motor planning. [11,12,13] In this study, subject matter experts leveraged the presented toolset into targeted programs with identified practical outcomes. These programs are supported with a HIPAA and FERPA compliant portal for managing client programs and generating session reports. ...
... Rhythmic acoustic stimulation (RAS) is a further technique to facilitate the speed of repetitive movements and furthermore to influence the gait dynamics. While the Dutch (2014), the ReMoS and the AHA/ASA guideline (2016) identified a low quality of evidence and gave weak recommendations (e.g., Table 4), the Canadian guideline (2019) advised that "rhythmic auditory stimulation should be considered for improving gait parameters in stroke patients, including gait velocity …." Evidence for RAS in stroke is building up, although there is still a need for long-term evaluations and for a deeper understanding of its (patho-)physiology in healthy subjects (Stephan et al. 2002) and patients. As a reduced effect over time is known, it might be advisable to try to preserve the gain in walking speed by including such tasks in daily routine similar to the strategy after treadmill training (see above). ...
Approximately two-thirds of stroke patients initially suffer from impaired mobility. The clinical pathways for rehabilitation of gait after stroke are based on a systematic literature search for randomized clinical studies and reviews with the following clinically relevant outcome variables: walking ability, balance, gait velocity, and walking endurance. For each of these outcome variables, evidence-based recommendations were formulated separately for the subacute and chronic stages after stroke. The German ReMoS guideline forms the basis for this work. The recommendations are compared with those of four other European and North American guidelines. The main commonalities and differences are discussed. This overview also helps to identify elementary rules for rehabilitation of gait. These rules should be considered when establishing regional rehabilitation programs and clinical pathways in different countries.
... Se ha demostrado la participación circuito cerebelar en las tareas de sincronización rítmica (Stephan et al. (2002). Por lo tanto, las señales auditivas rítmicas pueden facilitar activaciones en estas áreas motoras a través de redes neuronales compartidas proporcionando, de esta forma, funciones compensatorias para el deficit motor presentado en el trastorno del desarrollo, pero se necesita más investigación en esta área con el fin de evaluar el impacto de las señales rítmicas auditivo-motor en el tratamiento en esta población. ...
La Teoría de la Mente a través de la sincronicidad rítmica: Análisis musicoterapéutico en el abordaje con adolescentes con TGD. V Congreso Latinoamericano de Musicoterapia (CLAN). Asociacion Boliviana de Musicoterapia, Sucre.
... Again, this is not a reflective cognitive response. It is a prereflective result of functional integration within the brain's sensorimotor system (Stephan et al. 2002;Molinari et al. 2003). ...
The cognitive and evolutionary sciences of religion offer a standard model of religious representations, but no equivalent paradigm for investigating religiously interpreted altered states of consciousness (religious ASCs). Here, I describe a neo-Durkheimian framework for studying religious ASCs that centralizes social predic-tive cognition. Within a processual model of ritual, ritual behaviors toggle between reinforcing normative social structures and downplay-ing them. Specifically, antistructural ritual shifts cognitive focus away from conventional affordances, collective intentionality, and social prediction, and toward physical affordances and behavioral motivations that make few references to others' intentional states. Using synchrony and dance as paradigmatic examples of antistructural ritual that stimulate religious ASCs, I assemble literature from anthropology , cognitive neuroscience, and philosophy of language to offer fruitful empirical predictions and opportunities for testing based on this framework. Among the empirical predictions is that antistructural ritual may provide for cultural change in religions when religions are construed as complex adaptive systems.
... La regulación del fraseo y la sincronización rítmica de las sílabas con el movimiento de la mano derecha activan predominantemente circuitos en las regiones auditivas, prefrontales, y parietales del hemisferio derecho. 22 Otra técnica similar a MIT es Rhythmic Speech Cuing (RSC), utilizada para mejorar características temporales del lenguaje, como la fluidez, la articulación, tiempos de pausa, e inteligibilidad. En RSC, el paciente habla sobre un estímulo rítmico cuya fuente puede ser un metrónomo, un patrón tocado en un instrumento de percusión por el musicoterapeuta, o una pieza musical más compleja. ...
Neurologic music therapy (NMT) is being implemented in hospitals and neurorehabilitation facilities around the world, thanks to the abundant neuroscience research and to the growing interest in the effects of music on the brain. Recognized and endorsed by the World Federation for Neurorehabilitation, neurologic music therapy is utilized as a non-pharmacological, non-invasive intervention to treat patients with neurologic disease that present cognitive, motor, and/or language impairments. This article aspires to introduce this discipline as an effective, evidence-based method of treatment for neurologic disease.
... In the RAS condition, a participant was asked to tap his/her right index finger to six different rhythmic cues including (1) 1 Hz beats embedded in music (Capricho Catalán by Isaac Albéniz), (2) 4 Hz metronome clicks, (3) 2 Hz beats with random tempo changes below the threshold of conscious perception (4% of interbeat interval) embedded in music (Allegro Robusto by Bela Bartok), (4) 4 Hz beats embedded in music (Rondo a Capriccio "Rage Over My Lost Penny" by Ludwig von Beethoven), (5) 1 Hz metronome clicks, and (6) 2 Hz with tempo changes continuously modulated on a cosine function below the threshold of conscious perception (4% of interbeat interval) embedded in music (Allegro Robusto by Bela Bartok). Our choice of the auditory stimuli regarding the frequency and presentation mode was based on extensive research in synchronization paradigms using auditory rhythm and finger tapping in the past 50 years in healthy persons and persons with movement disorders: the most pronounced entrainment effects have been demonstrated ranging between 1 and 4 Hz (e.g., Michon and van der Valk, 1967;Rao et al., 1997;Thaut et al., 1998a,b;Stephan et al., 2002;Thaut and Kenyon, 2003;Molinari et al., 2005;Repp, 2005;Thaut et al., 2008;Braunlich et al., 2018). The current study aimed to investigate DA responses across the typical frequency range of entrainment. ...
Auditory-motor entrainment using Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation (RAS) has shown to improve motor control in healthy persons and persons with neurologic motor disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and stroke. Neuroimaging studies have shown the modulation of corticostriatal activity in response to RAS. However, the underlying neurochemical mechanisms for auditory-motor entrainment are unknown. The current study aimed at investigating RAS-induced dopamine (DA) responses in basal ganglia (BG) during finger tapping tasks combined with [11C]-(+)-PHNO-PET in eight right-handed young healthy participants. Each participant underwent two PET scans with and without RAS. Binding potential relative to the non-displaceable compartment (BPND) values were derived using the simplified reference tissue method. The task performance was measured using absolute tapping period error and its standard deviation. We found that the presence of RAS significantly improved the task performance compared to the absence of RAS, demonstrated by reductions in the absolute tapping period error (p = .007) and its variability (p = .006). We also found that (1) the presence of RAS reduced the BG BPND variability (p = .013) and (2) the absence of RAS resulted in a greater DA response in the left ventral striatum (VS) compared to the presence of RAS (p = .003), These suggest that the absence of external cueing may require more DA response in the left VS associated with more motivational and sustained attentional efforts to perform the task. Additionally, we demonstrated significant age effects on D2/3 R availability in BG: increasing age was associated with reduced D2/3 R availability in the left putamen without RAS (p = .026) as well as in the right VS with RAS (p =.02). This is the first study to demonstrate the relationships among RAS, DA response/D2/3 R availability, motor responses and age, providing the groundwork for future studies to explore mechanisms for auditory-motor entrainment in healthy elderly and patients with dopamine-based movement disorders.
... The periods of central pattern generator (CPG) at the brain stem are entrained to that of rhythmic patterns and, in turn, lead to immediate motor synchronization (Molinari, Leggio, De Martin, Cerasa, & Thaut, 2003). Motor entrainment to music occurs in response to changes even below the perceptual threshold, suggesting the effect of rhythm at a subconscious level (Stephan et al., 2002;Tecchio, Salustri, Thaut, Pasqualetti, & Rossini, 2000;Thaut, Tian, & Azimi-Sadjadi, 1998). Also, music provides spatiotemporal as well as where to start and end information, which is necessary to produce an accurate and smooth movement trajectory (Kenyon & Thaut, 2003). ...
Upper extremity dysfunction is a common consequence following stroke. Spontaneous recovery during the first six months post-stroke is rigorous and considered as a significant indicator of potential long-term progress. Various approaches have been utilized to regain functional upper limb movement necessary for independent living; however, conventional therapy approaches have failed to prove consistency, especially for subacute stroke patients. There is, thus, a need for innovative therapeutic strategies that motivate stroke survivors to facilitate neural and functional recovery during the critical window immediately following stroke. The effect of music on physical enhancement has been frequently reported in the field of medicine as well as neurorehabilitation. The efficacy of rhythm on lower extremity deficits has been well established. Yet, the rationale for using instrumental music making enhancing subacute upper extremities rehabilitation is not clearly described to date. Based on the key mechanism of music as sensori-motor movement facilitator, this paper reviews previous empirical research that utilized music-based interventions for upper extremity rehabilitation for stroke patients, either in the form of receptive or expressive activity. This paper, further, focuses on the current research trends in subacute stroke upper limb rehabilitation and provides applicable rationale of using instrumental music playing.
... Rhythm processing and entrainment are tightly intertwined; neural resonance theory hypothesizes that the perception of a beat is in itself a result of entrainment (Tierney & Kraus, 2015). Psychophysical studies have shown that motor entrainment to auditory rhythm is almost instantaneous without necessary learning periods Stephan et al., 2002). ...
... (2) Brain processing of graphic creative design During the process of creative design, the brain is influenced by subconsciousness from the input of information to the output of creative design, and the basic flow of its graphic creativity is as shown in Figure 1. From the Figure, it can be seen that in the graphic creativity, first a fuzzy concept of the design is created under the influence of the subconsciousness, and then the design inspiration is produced through subconsciousness intervention, thus realizing the graphic creative design (Stephan et al., 2002). (3) Influence of subconsciousness on graphic creativity Hans Hillmann is a well-known German poster designer, a pioneer and representative of European Visual Poetry and one of the world's most recognized visual art masters in the 20th century, whose poster design emphasizes the expression of graphic ideas, bold imagination, and ingenious conception. ...
In order to explore the role of the subconsciousness in creative graphic design and the physiological response mechanism of the brain in the creative inspiration emergence of the graphic design, this study explores the relationship between the subconsciousness and the creative graphic design. The study first gives an overview and definition of unconsciousness of the brain, and then reveals its role in the process of artistic creation with the posters of famous design masters as examples. In addition, in order to study the changes of EEG signals in creative graphic design, the contrast experiment is designed with urban image graphic creation as the example, and the changes in subconsciousness of the brain and the dynamics of EEG signals during the whole process from the fuzzy concept to the development of creative inspiration are recorded during the graphic design process. This paper research is helpful to guide the designer to face up to the brain subconscious impact in creative design, a more scientific cognitive brain subconscious relationship with graphic design, improve the use efficiency of creative thinking.
... Neuroimaging studies of amusia have reported impoverished connectivity with the frontal lobe 8,18,[23][24][25] . Interestingly, both experimental [26][27][28][29] and patient 30,31 studies of consciousness have reported that the frontal lobe plays a vital role in conscious access to information. In the case of amusia, converging evidence from magnetoencephalography 18 , functional magnetic resonance imaging 24 , voxel-based morphometry 32 , cortical thickness 23 , and diffusion tensor imaging 8 suggests that disordered connectivity between the right superior temporal gyrus and the right inferior frontal gyrus is the source of the amusic disorder. ...
The mental representation of pitch structure (tonal knowledge) is a core component of musical experience and is learned implicitly through exposure to music. One theory of congenital amusia (tone deafness) posits that conscious access to tonal knowledge is disrupted, leading to a severe deficit of music cognition. We tested this idea by providing random performance feedback to neurotypical listeners while they listened to melodies for tonal incongruities and had their electrical brain activity monitored. The introduction of random feedback was associated with a reduction of accuracy and confidence, and a suppression of the late positive brain response usually elicited by conscious detection of a tonal violation. These effects mirror the behavioural and neurophysiological profile of amusia. In contrast, random feedback was associated with an increase in the amplitude of the early right anterior negativity, possibly due to heightened attention to the experimental task. This successful simulation of amusia in a normal brain highlights the key role of feedback in learning, and thereby provides a new avenue for the rehabilitation of learning disorders.
... The dynamic re-parameterization of motor behavior while walking to music is the result of continuous neuro-feedback, and can either be a conscious or an unconscious process. Stephan, Thaut, Wunderlich, Schicks, Tian, Tellmann, Schmitz, Herzog, McIntosh, Seitz, and Hömberg (2002) studied the influence of awareness on sensorimotor synchronization behavior. Results showed that movements could be adjusted both at a subconscious level and at a fully conscious level. ...
... The dynamic re-parameterization of motor behavior while walking to music is the result of continuous neuro-feedback, and can either be a conscious or an unconscious process. Stephan et al. [27] studied the influence of awareness on sensorimotor synchronization behavior. Results showed that movements could be adjusted both at a subconscious level and at a fully conscious level. ...
The expressive features of music can influence the velocity of walking. So far, studies used instructed (and intended) synchronization. But is this velocity effect still present with non-instructed (spontaneous) synchronization? To figure that out, participants were instructed to walk in their own comfort tempo on an indoor track, first in silence and then with tempo-matched music. We compared velocities of silence and music conditions. The results show that some music has an activating influence, increasing velocity and motivation, while other music has a relaxing influence, decreasing velocity and motivation. The influence of musical expression on the velocity of self-paced walking can be predicted with a regression model using only three sonic features explaining 56% of the variance. Phase-coherence between footfall and beat did not contribute to the velocity effect, due to its implied fixed pacing. The findings suggest that the velocity effect depends on vigor entrainment that influences both stride length and pacing. Our findings are relevant for preventing injuries, for gait improvement in walking rehabilitation, and for improving performance in sports activities.
... The effect does not appear to result from Fmissing_ the inherent conflict of No-go trials, given the significant ACC activation over and above that for Go trials. Previous studies using degraded or subliminal stimuli suggest that the level of ACC activity is sensitive to conflict only when it can be consciously detected (Dehaene et al., 2001(Dehaene et al., , 2003Stephan et al., 2002). Mayr (2004) has recently suggested that Dehaene's results do not rule out the possibility that larger unconscious conflict effects could produce ACC-related activity, with the current results appearing to offer some support for this argument. ...
... In these studies, the accuracy in synchronising with an external referent or in keeping the original tempo after this referent has faded out is explored in a wide variety of conditions. The length of trials ranges from a few taps to many minutes, the micro-timing of the pacing signal (the referent) is often manipulated (Stephan et al., 2002), the feedback that the participants hear of their own tapping has been delayed or muted (Pfordresher & Palmer, 2006), and of course tappers of various ages and levels of musical training have been studied (McAuley, Jones, Holub, Johnston, & Miller, 2006). ...
Social cognition in general, and rhythmic entrainment in particular, have previously mainly been studied in settings where isolated individuals perform controlled tasks.
Recently, a number of alternative approaches have been developed to redefine what constitutes the “cognitive system”. In addition to the individual mind/brain, the body, the social context, and musical instruments should be included in the analytical framework. In general, this means studying cognition and behaviour at settings that are as naturalistic as possible. Music and dance are ideal domains for studying these phenomena, as naturally social, embodied activities.
Extending the traditional setting poses many challenges. I make the case for focusing the analysis on the interaction of multiple participants, instead of trying to measure the performance or mind-states of the individuals. This interactionist approach requires a specific set of analysis tools. For this purpose, I distinguish rhytmic synchronisation from entrainment between mutually cooperative individuals. I discuss a range of options from circular statistics to cross-recurrence analysis to various correlation-based analyses.
Through a number of pilot studies, I developed a cooperative tapping setup for studying rhythmic entrainment in dyads. Using this setup, I compared human–human interaction to synchronising with a computer. Surprisingly, two human tappers reached better synchronicity than a human with a computer tapper, even though the human pairs drifted in tempo. This demonstrated the power of mutual adaptation.
In a second series of experiments, motion capture was used to investigate the embodied nature of rhythmic entrainment. These cross-cultural studies on African dance, illustrated in more detail how synchronicity was achieved through a process of continuous, mutual adaptation. We observed interesting contrasts in how Finnish novices and South-African or Kenyan experts exhibited embodied metrical structures.
As a conclusion, mutual adaptation is a powerful and ubiquitous phenomenon that can only be observed in real-time interactions. It is a good
example of the kind of “new psychology” that can be uncovered by adopting a social, embodied, and dynamic approach to cognition.
... The literature demonstrates successful outcomes in improving gait parameters using Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation (RAS) (de l'Etoile, 2008;Thaut & Abiru, 2010;Thaut et al., 2007). The underlying mechanism of RAS is that when individuals walk with an auditory timing cue, several brain areas, including the cortex, cerebellum, and spinal tract, are activated to induce auditory-motor synchronization (Stephan et al., 2002;Thaut, 2005). In fact, several researchers have investigated RAS for a wide scope of populations with affected gait, with significant improvements shown in populations with Parkinson's disease, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and incomplete spinal cord injury (de l'Etoile, 2008;Thaut & Abiru, 2010;Thaut et al., 2007). ...
This article reviews the current literature regarding the use of rhythm for motor habilitation and rehabilitation to establish
the theoretical background for using rhythmic auditory stimulation in gait habilitation among children with cerebral palsy
(CP). Unlike adults with neurological impairments such as stroke or Parkinson's disease who have developed the neural networks
needed to reestablish previous functioning, children with CP need to learn to walk by activating and strengthening neural
networks. The purpose of habilitation with this population is to maximize children's motor training and motor skill development
in order to improve overall functioning. In this article, the use of rhythm in motor control is reviewed and the clinical
implications for rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) gait training with children with CP are discussed.
... Since the cerebellum is activated in sensorimotor synchronization tasks (cf. Stephan et al., 2002;Grahn et al., 2011) and activations in distinct cerebellar regions correspond to different aspects of the temporal dynamics of rhythmic synchronization (Thaut et al., 2009b;Konoike et al., 2012) -such as pattern detection or tracking changes in rhythmic interval duration -the representation of timing information in the IC may be an important function in auditory-to-motor transformations during rhythmic entrainment. Finally, an MEG study by Tecchio et al. (2000) showed amplitude changes in the M100 component of auditory evoked field potential linearly entrained by changes in the rhythmic interval durations, i.e., longer intervals were associated with higher M100 intensities and vice versa. ...
Abstract Entrainment is defined by a temporal locking process in which one system’s motion or signal frequency entrains the frequency of another system. This process is a universal phenomenon that can be observed in physical (e.g., pendulum clocks) and biological systems (e.g. fire flies). However, entrainment can also be observed between human sensory and motor systems. The function of rhythmic entrainment in rehabilitative training and learning was established for the first time by Thaut and colleagues in several research studies in the early 1990s. It was shown that the inherent periodicity of auditory rhythmic patterns could entrain movement patterns in patients with movement disorders (see for a review: Thaut et al, 1999). Physiological, kinematic and behavioral movement analysis showed very quickly that entrainment cues not only changed the timing of movement but also improved spatial and force parameters. Mathematical models have shown that anticipatory rhythmic templates as critical time constraints can result in the complete specification of the dynamics of a movement over the entire movement cycle, thereby optimizing motor planning and execution. Furthermore, temporal rhythmic entrainment has been successfully extended into applications in cognitive rehabilitation and speech and language rehabilitation, and thus become one of the major neurological mechanisms linking music and rhythm to brain rehabilitation. These findings provided a scientific basis for the development of Neurologic Music Therapy.
... Thaut (for a summary, see Thaut, 2005) has explored the behavioural and neural correlates of musical rhythm in a number of adaptive tasks, requiring participants to tap in synchrony with sequences of pulses that deviate from complete temporal regularity to different degrees. He and his collaborators have found (Stephan et al., 2002) that adaptive responses (where participants manage to align the periodicity and/or phase of their tapping with an external signal that continuously deviates slightly from temporal regularity) appear to involve self-monitoring, may be either consciously or non-consciously -automatically -performed, and that, whether or not responses are conscious or automatic, participants can either be aware of their actions or not. Specific brain regions identified as being activated in adaptive synchronisation tasks are primarily parts of the cerebellum, basal ganglia, thalamus and areas in the prefrontal cortex; these areas and networks are implicated in a wide range of motoric and temporal behaviours other than just musical, lending credence to the notion that the correlates of musical behaviours in the brain are as likely to rest on domain-general processes as on domain-specific ones, and be as concerned with action as perception. ...
... Research on these processes has yielded findings suggesting that phase correction takes place automatically, whereas period correction requires conscious awareness and attention (Repp, 2001;Repp & Keller, 2004), and that phase and period correction have distinct neural substrates (Praamstra et al., 2003;Stephan et al., 2002). Promising theoretical models of error correction have been developed (see Pressing, 1999;Vorberg & Wing, 1996). ...
Ensemble musicians coordinate their actions with remarkable precision. The ensemble cohesion that results is predicated upon group members sharing a common goal; a unified concept of the ideal sound. The current paper reviews research on three cognitive processes that enable ensemble musicians to realise such shared goals. The first process is auditory imagery; specifically, anticipating one's own sounds and the sounds produced by other performers. The second process, prioritised integrative attention, involves dividing attention between one's own actions (high priority) and those of others (lower priority) while monitoring the overall, integrated ensemble sound. The third process relates to adaptive timing, i.e., adjusting the timing of one's movements in order to maintain synchrony in the face of tempo changes and other, often unpredictable, events. It is assumed that ensemble cohesion is determined by the interaction of these processes.
... The Sustained-Short factor includes test items that consist of single, five-tone melodic contours presented by the piano. Considering that the items are short (i.e., 3 s) and the given task is simple, brain responses to these items is called an arousal response (Bengtsson et al., 2009;Ortuno et al., 2002;Sarter et al., 2001;Stephan et al., 2002). The Sustained-Med to Long factor includes test items that consist of single, 10-to 15-tone melodic contours presented by the piano, flute, or guitar. ...
An estimated 1.5 to 2 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year in the United States. Impairments in attention following TBI severely limit everyday functioning in a multifaceted manner. A precise assessment is critical in identifying the types of attention impairments and in recommending appropriate tasks to aid in attention rehabilitation. A Music-based Attention Assessment (MAA) was developed to fill this need and revised to reflect variations of attention ability that exist in the general population.
The purpose of the study was to investigate the theoretically-based constructs of the Music-based Attention Assessment-Revised (MAA-R) using a factorial approach and to examine item properties and test reliability in relation to the exploratively-derived factor constructs.
The MAA-R is a 54-item multiple-choice, melodic contour identification test, designed to assess three different types of auditory attention including sustained, selective, and divided attention. The psychometric validation of the MAA-R was conducted with healthy adults (n = 165) and patients diagnosed with a moderate to severe TBI (n = 22).
Exploratory factor analysis identified five factor constructs, including Sustained-Short, Sustained-Med to Long, Selective-Noise, Selective & Divided, and Divided-Long. After item elimination, the final 45-item MAA-R provided evidence of high internal consistency as computed by split-half reliability coefficients (r = .836) and Cronbach's alpha (alpha = .940).
The aggregate findings suggest that the MAA-R is a valid and reliable measure that provides assessment information in regards to the different types of auditory attention deficits frequently observed in patients with TBI. Development and revision issues as well as the use of melodic contours in auditory attention assessment are discussed along with suggestions for future research.
Human interaction often requires the precise yet flexible interpersonal coordination of rhythmic behavior, as in group music making. The present fMRI study investigates the functional brain networks that may facilitate such behavior by enabling temporal adaptation (error correction), prediction, and the monitoring and integration of information about 'self' and the external environment. Participants were required to synchronize finger taps with computer-controlled auditory sequences that were presented either at a globally steady tempo with local adaptations to the participants' tap timing (Virtual Partner task) or with gradual tempo accelerations and decelerations but without adaptation (Tempo Change task). Connectome-based predictive modelling was used to examine patterns of brain functional connectivity related to individual differences in behavioral performance and parameter estimates from the adaptation and anticipation model (ADAM) of sensorimotor synchronization for these two tasks under conditions of varying cognitive load. Results revealed distinct but overlapping brain networks associated with ADAM-derived estimates of temporal adaptation, anticipation, and the integration of self-controlled and externally controlled processes across task conditions. The partial overlap between ADAM networks suggests common hub regions that modulate functional connectivity within and between the brain's resting-state networks and additional sensory-motor regions and subcortical structures in a manner reflecting coordination skill. Such network reconfiguration might facilitate sensorimotor synchronization by enabling shifts in focus on internal and external information, and, in social contexts requiring interpersonal coordination, variations in the degree of simultaneous integration and segregation of these information sources in internal models that support self, other, and joint action planning and prediction.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is widely used for therapeutic and research purposes such as cognitive studies, treatment of psychiatric disorders, and Parkinson's disease. In research, TMS is perhaps the only technique that can establish a functional connection between brain regions and task performance. In gait research, often TMS is used to identify the extent to which leg motor cortex is involved in different phases on gait cycle. However, using TMS in gait can be challenging for several technical reasons and physiological variations. The objective of this narrative review is to summarize literature in the field of TMS and gait research and present comprehensive challenges. A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed and Google Scholar to identify all relevant literature on TMS and gait. Several critical challenges could potentially impact the findings. For instance, the use of different protocols to obtain motor threshold. This review presents some of the critical challenges in applying TMS during gait. It is important to be aware of these variations and utilize strategies to mitigate some challenges.
In the past 25 years, research in the basic and clinical neuroscience of music has begun to discover how music- and rhythm-based therapeutic exercises can effectively assist in brain rehabilitation. New music-based treatment avenues have been researched, especially in diseases associated with aging, such as dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke, and directed toward music-based rehabilitation of cognitive functions (memory, attention, and executive abilities) and motor functions (gait and mobility). Research has also been directed toward maintaining health during aging and the prevention of aging-related diseases. Music is now recognized as a core treatment modality in neurorehabilitation through neurologic music therapy (NMT). NMT has been developed over the past 15 years as a standardized, evidence-based, and internationally medically recognized treatment methodology. The chapter will provide a comprehensive survey of translational clinical studies, studies exploring neural mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of music and rhythm in the aging brain, and investigations into neuroplasticity associated with biomedical applications of music in aging.
ადამიანის ,,მეს’’ რაობის, ბუნებისა და, შესაბამისად, მოკვდავობა-უკვდავების საკითხი არის იმ საკითხთაგანი, რომელიც ადამიანისათვის აქტუალურია ათასწლეულების მანძილზე. ეგზისტენციურ კითხვებს ადამიანი მისი განვითარების სხვადასხვა ეტაპზე უბრალოდ სახეს უცვლის: ვინ ვარ? საიდან მოვედი? რატომ? საით მივდივარ? რისთვის? და ა. შ. რეალურად საკუთარი ,,მეს’’ შეცნობის ამოუწურავ სურვილს უკავშირდება. ,,მეს’’ მოკვდაობა-უკვდავების საკითხთან ასევე პირდაპირ კავშირშია ყველა ის წარმართული თუ რელიგიური რწმენა, რომლებიც აქვს ადამიანს - შეუცნობელის, ერთ მთლიანთან (სუბსტანცია) საკუთარი თავის ასოცირების ნაწილში, სადაც მისი ,,მე’’ გარკვეულწილად უკვდავია, ვინაიდან წარმოადგენს იმ უკვდავი ტრანსცენდენტური მთლიანობის ნაწილს, რომლისაც სწამს/სჯერა ადამიანს.
წიგნი ეხება ადამიანის ,,მეს’’ კომპლექსურ, შინაარსობრივ და სტრუქტურულ შესწავლას ინტერდისციპლინურ (ფილოსოფია, ფსიქოლოგია, კვანტური მექანიკა, ნეირომეცნიერებები) ჭრილში.
ნაშრომში განხილულია ადამიანის ფსიქიკის აგებულების კლასიკური და თანამედროვე მოდელები და მიდგომები ადამიანის ,,მეს’’ შესახებ.
,,რთული მნიშვნელობების მარტივი თეორია’’ (STDM – Simple Theory of Difficult Meanings) წარმოადგენს ფსიქოლოგიის, ფილოსოფიის, ნეიროფიზიოლოგიის, ნეიროქიმიის, კვანტური ფიზიკისა და ნეიროკვანტოლოგიის ინტერდისციპლინარულ, ახალ კონსტრუქტს, რომელიც ცდილობს ახლებურად ახსნას ადამიანის ,,მეს’’ ბუნება და თეორიული განზოგადების პირობებში (მომავალში) შესაძლებელს გახდის ადამიანის ,,მეს’’ შემადგენელი მაფორმირებელი ელემენტების დიგიტალიზაციას.
ნაშრომში შემოთავაზებულია ადამიანის ,,მეს’’ დიგიტალიზაციის შესაძლებლობის თეორიული საფუძვლები და მისი შემადგენელი შესაბამისი ინფორმაციული ნაკადების ტრანსლირების სხვა მექანიკურ (მატერიალურ) მატარებელზე ტრანსფერისათვის აუცილებელი კომპონენტები. განხილულია თვითაღქმის უწყვეტობის საკითხები ძილის, კომის, ცნობიერების ,,შეცვლილი’’ სხვა მდგომარეობების დროს და შემდგომ.
ნაშრომი აფართოებს დღევანდელი დღისათვის საკვლევ საკითხებთან დაკავშირებით არსებულ ინტერდისციპლინურ ცოდნას და ქმნის ახალ შესაძლებლობებს როგორც მომავალი კვლევისათვის, ისე ამ კვლევაში მოცემული თეორიული კონცეფციების პრაქტიკული რეალიზებისათვის.
This book describes models of how human consciousness works, what memories consist of and how the human self is formed. The Simple Theory of Difficult Meanings gives an understanding of the plausibility of digitalizing a human self and transferring it to another medium in the future.
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A major finding in the scientific study of conscious perception has been the existence of two temporally-distinct phases of visual processing. The first, characterized by the feed-forward propagation of evoked activity in early visual cortex, is not typically associated with conscious perception. The second phase involves a reactivation of early sensory cortex by downstream regions and is often cited as a correlate -- if not a proximal cause -- of consciousness. This raises a few crucial questions: firstly, what causes this feedback process to emerge, and secondly, what distinguishes a stimulus representation that has undergone such feedback processing from one that has not ? At the time of writing, two competing theories have been proposed. The first theory, hitherto referred to as "early-and-local", posits that conscious access emerges from the very emergence of a feedback loop between high-level sensory cortex and its primary counterpart, and that this cortical resonance is driven entirely by upstream activations along the feed-forward chain. This implies that only those stimuli that exhibit high salience from the onset can become conscious, and by extension, that the stimulus' reportability is governed entirely by early evoked activity in primary sensory cortex. "Late-and-global" theory, by contrast, posits that conscious perception is the direct result of routing of information through a distributed cortico-cortical network called the Global Neuronal Workspace (hereafter GNW). By this account, visual information in various local cortical regions is given access to routing infrastructure by some selective process, namely attention. In 2013, Sergent and colleagues tested a prediction derived from this second model: that an arbitrary sensory representation that has initially failed to become conscious can be hooked into the GNW by means of an attentional manipulation. To do this, a low threshold target Gabor patch was presented, followed by an extrinsic cue either at the location in which the Gabor had been presented, or on the opposite side of the screen. Subjects were better at discriminating the orientation of the Gabor in trials where the cue had been presented on the same side as the target, and also reported seeing the target more clearly, suggesting that the retrospective intervention of attention was enabling a weak signal to gain access to the global neuronal workspace. We present data from psychophysical modeling and functional magnetic resonance imaging that point to a causal role for attention in the emergence of a conscious percept, with implications for the structure of perceptual representations in early sensory cortex.
Die neurobiologische Musikforschung trägt eine entscheidende Rolle: Ziel vieler Studien ist dabei, die unterstützende Wirkung der Musik auf therapeutisches Lernen, Verhalten und Neuroplastizität zu untersuchen und evidenzbasiert klinisch zu übersetzen. Die Übertragung von wissenschaftlich fundierten motorischen und kognitiven Lerntheorien auf therapeutisches Lernen und Üben ist gleicherweise wichtig und kann zu effektiver klinischer Praxis führen. Als Beispiel wird die Übertragung in die psychiatrische Rehabilitation dargestellt.
When older as compared to younger adults perform motor tasks, their brain activation patterns are substantially different. Even though reduced activation may occur in certain brain areas, current evidence points to higher activation, either in some of those areas that are also activated in younger subjects or in additionally recruited areas. With respect to coordination of the ipsilateral hand and foot, increased activation is observed in brain regions involved in motor coordination, sensory processing/integration, visual imagery strategies, and cognitive monitoring. This increased neural recruitment points to a shift from automatic to controlled processing of movement in aging adults. Evidence suggests that the increased activation in some (but not all) brain areas is correlated with better performance. This indicates that altered brain function in the elderly can be compensatory, possibly reflecting neuroplastic changes. A better understanding of these age-related changes in the central nervous system is an important goal for future research and will require a detailed study of interactions between brain function, structure, and sensorimotor behavior.
This paper is aimed at the observation of human rhythm production according to multi-modal inputs using cognitive psychological experiments. Participants simultaneously received visual and auditory signals with random or periodic time sequences. The task was to tap alternately in time with the visual or auditory target sequence while a distractor sequence was presented in the other modality. We used three sequence conditions: 1) random visual and random auditory sequences, 2) random visual and periodic auditory sequences, and 3) periodic visual and random auditory sequences. Results show that rhythm production is strongly attracted to auditory signals under all conditions. Visual signals, however, affect rhythm production only in condition 3). These results suggest that visual and auditory information serve different roles as sensory information in rhythm production.
The Rehabilitation Gaming System (RGS) has been designed as a flexible, virtual-reality (VR)-based device for rehabilitation of neurological patients. Recently, training of visuomotor processing with the RGS was shown to effectively improve arm function in acute and chronic stroke patients. It is assumed that the VR-based training protocol related to RGS creates conditions that aid recovery by virtue of the human mirror neuron system. Here, we provide evidence for this assumption by identifying the brain areas involved in controlling the catching of approaching colored balls in the virtual environment of the RGS. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging of 18 right-handed healthy subjects (24 AE 3 years) in both active and imagination conditions. We observed that the imagery of target catching was related to activation of frontal, parietal, temporal, cingulate and cerebellar regions. We interpret these activations in relation to object processing, attention, mirror mechanisms, and motor intention. Active catching followed an anticipatory mode, and resulted in significantly less activity in the motor control areas. Our results provide preliminary support for the hypothesis underlying RGS that this novel neurorehabilitation approach engages human mirror mechanisms that can be employed for visuomotor training.
Exploration into the domain of consciousness and 'self' originated within the realm of philosophical thought. However, neuroscientific research facilitates the transition from conceptualization to empiricism, allowing scientists to locate the underlying neural mechanisms behind this phenomenon. Binding the multiplicity of conscious modalities, including the sense of ownership over one's experiences, agency over actions and first-person perspective relating to memory, emotion, spatial and environmental awareness, involves a specific integrative mechanism. It is suggested that the predominant candidate for this faculty lies with synchronous firing between distal assemblies of neurones. However, each cell assembly relates to a specific cognitive capacity, the majority of which is circumstantially recruited as and when necessary, and remains transient in nature. The pervasive and underlying aspect of the conscious self comes from the sensation of ownership over phenomenal experience. This remains omnipresent during waking consciousness and can be correlated with activity within the medial prefrontal cortex. This paper reviews evidence from fMRI and PET data, along with investigations involving lesions, neurological dysfunction and meditation providing a map of cooperative neurological regions associated with the various categories of the conscious self. These regions have been located predominantly within the parietal and prefrontal cortices. © 2011
The discovery of rhythmic auditory-motor entrainment in clinical populations was a historical breakthrough in demonstrating for the first time a neurological mechanism linking music to retraining brain and behavioral functions. Early pilot studies from this research center were followed up by a systematic line of research studying rhythmic auditory stimulation on motor therapies for stroke, Parkinson's disease, traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, and other movement disorders. The comprehensive effects on improving multiple aspects of motor control established the first neuroscience-based clinical method in music, which became the bedrock for the later development of neurologic music therapy. The discovery of entrainment fundamentally shifted and extended the view of the therapeutic properties of music from a psychosocially dominated view to a view using the structural elements of music to retrain motor control, speech and language function, and cognitive functions such as attention and memory.
© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Some philosophers maintain that consciousness as subjective experience has no biological function. However, conscious brain events seem very different from unconscious ones. The cortex and thalamus support the reportable qualitative contents of consciousness. Subcortical structures like the cerebellum do not. Likewise, attended sensory stimuli are typically reportable as conscious, while memories of those stimuli are not so reportable until they are specifically recalled.
Sensorimotor synchronization (SMS), the coordination of rhythmic movement with rhythmic sensory stimuli, is a universal human skill that is fundamental to music performance and dance. This chapter discusses some of the most important findings about the synchronization of simple movements with simple rhythmic sequences. It also distinguishes three musical scenarios:(1) synchronization of simple movements with complex sequences (e.g. tapping to the beat of music), (2) synchronization of complex movements with a simple sequence (e.g. playing music with a metronome), and (3) synchronization of complex movements with a complex sequence (e.g.playing music in an ensemble).
The orbitofrontal cortex contains the secondary taste cortex, in which the reward value of taste is represented. It also contains the secondary and tertiary olfactory cortical areas, in which information about the identity and also about the reward value of odours is represented. The orbitofrontal cortex also receives information about the sight of objects from the temporal lobe cortical visual areas, and is involved in learning and in reversing stimulus-reinforcement associations. The stimulus might be a visual or olfactory stimulus, and the primary (unlearned) reinforcer a taste or touch. Damage to the orbitofrontal cortex impairs the learning and reversal of stimulus-reinforcement associations, and thus the correction of behavioural responses when these are no longer appropriate because previous reinforcement contingencies change. The information which reaches the orbitofrontal cortex for these functions includes information about faces, and damage to the orbitofrontal cortex can impair face expression identification. This evidence thus shows that the orbitofrontal cortex is involved in decoding some primary reinforcers such as taste; in learning and reversing associations of visual and other stimuli to these primary reinforcers; and plays an executive function in controlling and correcting reward-related and punishment-related behaviour, and thus in emotion.
Summary Functional neuroimaging studies of episodic memory consistently report an association between memory encoding operations and left prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation. Encoding-related activation has been described in dorsolateral, ventrolateral and anterior prefrontal regions. We tested the hypothesis that a specific component of this left PFC activation reflects organizational processes necessary for optimal memory encoding. Subjects underwent PET scans while learning auditorily presented word lists under dual task conditions. The degree to which they were required to organize word lists semantically was systematically varied across three experimental con- ditions. A task in which words were already organized produced the least degree of left PFC activity whereas a task requiring subjects to generate an organizational structure was associated with maximal activity in this
PREVIOUS studies had indicated that there is a substantial delay, up to about 0 .5 s, before activity at cerebral levels achievesneuronal adequacy' for eliciting a conscious somatosensory experience (Libet, Alberts, Wright, Delattre, Levin and Einstein, 1964; Libel, 1966). The delay appeared necessary not only wit) stimulation of medial lemniscus, ventrobasal thalamus, or postcentral cortex, but even when the stimulus was a single electrical pulse at the skin (Libet, Alberts, Fright, and Einstein, 1967, 1972; Libel, 1973). The present investigation began with an experimental test of whether there is in fact also a subjective delay in the conscious experience for a peripheral sensory stimulus. That is, is there a delay in the subjective timing of the experience that would correspond to the presume( delay in achieving the neuronal state thatproduces' the experience? The results o that test led to a modified hypothesis; this postulates (a) the existence of a subjective referral of the timing for a sensory experience, and (b) a role for the specific , (lemniscal) projection system in mediating such a subjective
Rhythmic finger tapping was examined during synchronization to metronome sequences whose base intervals were slightly perturbed by a cosine-wave function with the period of four samples. Data were collected under perturbation levels of 1%, 3%, 5% and 7% in conjunction with base intervals of 400, 500, and 600 ms. Statistical analysis examined the relationship between the inter-response interval (IRI), inter-stimulus interval (ISI) and synchronization error (SE). It was observed that IRI and SE entrain to the periodicity of the ISI patterns even at perturbation levels close to and below the conscious auditory perception threshold. Furthermore, the similarity between the IRI and ISI increased in proportion to the perturbation level. It was also found that the relative perturbation level had more influence on the synchronization behavior than the absolute level. Finally, the observed rhythmic tracking data were modeled mathematically to examine the likelihood of three possible synchronization strategies.PsycINFO classification: 2330
Subjective experience of a peripherally-induced sensation is found to appear without the substantial delay found for the experience of a cortically-induced sensation. To explain this finding, in relation to the putative delay of up to about 500 ms for achieving the 'neuronal adequacy' required to elicit the peripherally-induced experience, a modified hypothesis is proposed: for a peripheral sensory input, the primary evoked response of sensory cortex to the specific projection (lemniscal) input is associated with a process that can serve as a 'time-marker'; and after delayed neuronal adequacy is achieved, there is a subjective referral of the sensory experience backwards in time so as to coincide with this initial 'time-marker'. A crucial prediction of the hypothesis was experimentally tested in human subjects using suitably implanted electrodes, and the results provide specific support for the proposal. In this, the test stimuli to medial lemniscus (LM) and to surface of somatosensory cortex (C) were arranged so that a minimum train duration of 200 ms or more was required to produce any conscious sensory experience in each case. Each such cerebral stimulus could be temporally coupled with a peripheral one (usually skin, S) that required a relatively negligible stimulus duration to produce a sensation. The sensory experiences induced by LM stimuli were found to be subjectively timed as if there were no delay relative to those for S, that is, as if the subjective experience for LM was referred to the onset rather than to the end of the required stimulus duration of 200 ms or more. On the other hand, sensory experiences induced by the C stimuli, which did not excite specific projection afferents, appeared to be subjectively timed with a substantial delay relative to those for S, that is, as if the time of the subjective experience coincided roughly with the end of the minimum duration required by the C stimuli.
Libet et al. (1983) developed a method to compare the onset time of a readiness potential (RP) with the onset time of the corresponding intention to perform a spontaneous voluntary motor act. In relation to the onset of the RP, the time of conscious intention to move followed 350 msec later. From these results Libet (1985) concluded that the cerebral initiation of a spontaneous voluntary act begins unconsciously. We investigated the alternative interpretation that with the instruction to pay attention to feelings of 'wanting to move,' automatic and normally unconscious motor acts might have been brought to a level of conscious awareness. Therefore we conducted 3 kinds of experiment. In the first, RPs were measured from subjects performing unconscious movements. The second experiment was a replication of Libet's study while the third was a resting condition in which subjects looked for intentions to move introspectively. The results showed that RPs beginning approximately 500 msec before movement onset can be obtained with unconsciously as well as consciously performed spontaneous motor acts. The different scalp distributions of the two types of RP indicate that unconscious movements can be attributed to the activation of a contralateral process (lateral premotor system (LPS), primary motor cortex), whereas voluntary spontaneous motor acts seemed to be predominated by the medial premotor system (MPS). It is proposed that in the Libet situation focused attention on internal events led to the conscious detection of a normally unconscious process. This resulted in the activation of the MPS, especially the supplementary motor area (SMA), which released the starting signal for the execution of the motor act. We believe that the activation of the SMA and the urge to move occurred at the same time.
An information-processing model is outlined that predicts that performance on non-routine tasks can be impaired independently of performance on routine tasks. The model is related to views on frontal lobe functions, particularly those of Luria. Two methods of obtaining more rigorous tests of the model are discussed. One makes use of ideas from artificial intelligence to derive a task heavily loaded on planning abilities. A group of patients with left anterior lesions has a specific deficit on the task. Subsidiary investigations support the inference that this is a planning impairment.
The recordable cerebral activity (readiness-potential, RP) that precedes a freely voluntary, fully endogenous motor act was directly compared with the reportable time (W) for appearance of the subjective experience of ‘wanting’ or intending to act. The onset of cerebral activity clearly preceded by at least several hundred milliseconds the reported time of conscious intention to act. This relationship held even for those series (with ‘type II’ RPs) in which subjects reported that all of the 40 self-initiated movements in the series appeared ‘spontaneously’ and capriciously.
Data were obtained in at least 6 different experimental sessions with each of 5 subjects. In series with type II RPs, onset of the main negative shift in each RP preceded the corresponding mean W value by an average of about 350 ms, and by a minimum of about 150 ms. In series with type I RPs, in which an experience of preplanning occurred in some of the 40 self-initiated acts, onset of RP preceded W by an average of about 800 ms (or by 500 ms, taking onset of RP at 90 per cent of its area).
Reports of W time depended upon the subject’s recall of the spatial ‘clock-position’ of a revolving spot at the time of his initial awareness of wanting or intending to move. Two different modes of recall produced similar values. Subjects distinguished awareness of wanting to move (W) from awareness of actually moving (M). W times were consistently and substantially negative to, in advance of, mean times reported for M and also those for S, the sensation elicited by a task-related skin stimulus delivered at irregular times that were unknown to the subject.
It is concluded that cerebral initiation of a spontaneous, freely voluntary act .can begin unconsciously, that is, before there is any (at least recallable) subjective awareness that a ‘decision’ to act has already been initiated cerebrally. This introduces certain constraints on the potentiality for conscious initiation and control of voluntary acts.
Single unit recording of neurons in the orbitofrontal cortex of the alert rhesus monkey was used to investigate responses to sensory stimulation. 32.4% of the neurons had visual responses that had typical latencies of 100–200 ms, and 9.4% responded to gustatory inputs. Most neurons were selective, in that they responded consistently to some stimuli such as foods or aversive objects, but not to others. In a number of cases the neurons responded selectively to particular foods or aversive stimuli. However, this high selectivity could not be explained by simple sensory features of the stimulus, since the responses of some neurons could be readily reversed if the meaning of the stimulus (i.e. whether it was food or aversive) was changed, even though its physical appearance remained identical. Further, some bimodal neurons received convergent visual and gustatory inputs, with matching selectivity for the same stimulus in both modalities, again suggesting that an explanation in terms of simple sensory features is inadequate.
Neurons were also studied during the performance of tasks known to be disrupted by orbitofrontal lesions, including a go/no go visual discrimination task and its reversal. 8.6% of neurons had differential responses to the two discriminative stimuli in the task, one of which indicated that reward was available and the other saline. Reversing the meaning of the two stimuli showed that whereas some differential units were closely linked to the sensory features of the stimuli, and some to their behavioural significance, others were conditional, in that they would only respond if a particular stimulus was present, and if it was the one being currently rewarded. Other neurons had activity related to the outcome of the animal's response, with some indicating that reinforcement had been received and others, that an error had been made and that a reversal was required.
Thus, neurons in the orbitofrontal cortex possess highly coded information about which stimuli are present, as well as information about the consequences of the animal's own responses. It is suggested that together they may constitute a neuronal mechanism for determining whether particular visual stimuli continue to be associated with reinforcement, as well as providing for the modification of the animal's behavioural responses to such stimuli when those responses are no longer appropriate.
Tasks requiring the subject to tap in synchrony to a regular sequence of stimulus events (e.g., clicks) usually elicit a response pattern in which the tap precedes the click by about 30-50 msec. This "negative asynchrony" was examined, first, by instructing subjects to use different effectors for tapping (hand vs. foot; Experiments 1 and 2), and second, by administering extrinsic auditory feedback in addition to the intrinsic tactile/kinesthetic feedback (Experiment 2). Experiment 3 controlled whether the results observed in Experiment 2 were due to purely sensory factors within the auditory modality. Results suggest that taps are synchronized with clicks at the central level by superimposing two sensory codes in time: the tactile/kinesthetic code that represents the tap (the afferent movement code) and the auditory code that represents the click (the afferent code that results from the guiding signal). Because the processing times involved in code generation are different for these two central codes, the tap has to lead over the click.
In the present study temporal control of movement was systematically analysed in patients with unilateral lesions of the lateral or medial premotor cortex (PMC) or supplementary motor area (SMA) and in age-matched controls. The ability to learn new temporal adjustments was evaluated by examining rhythm reproduction using either the left or right hand or both hands in an alternating manner. A severe impairment in rhythm reproduction was found after lateral or medial PMC lesions; the deficit was most pronounced when our patients were required to use both hands in an alternating manner. The impairment occurred in the absence of difficulties in manual dexterity or impairments in discriminating the rhythm patterns. In a second series of experiments the contribution of the SMA in organizing movements in the time domain was examined. In this series, two patients with left-sided lesions, including the SMA but sparing tissue from the lateral hemispheric surface, and seven age-matched controls were requested to reproduce rhythm constellations in the presence of a sound signal and from memory. Results reveal that patients with left medial lesions involving the SMA had most severe difficulties to produce any rhythms from memory, though they were able to produce the rhythms under auditory pacing. This deficit in programming sequential patterns from memory in the time domain should be interpreted in the context of a decline in the ability to benefit from previous stimulus presentation, which prevents an effective later programming of these sequences when they have to be rehearsed from memory. It was found that patients with left SMA lesions had an increase in reaction time on a sequential digit task when sequences had to be produced under delayed conditions; by contrast, the controls showed a decrease of reaction time after previous stimulus presentation. The present findings extend previous knowledge on sequential motor tasks and argue for a critical role for both the SMA and the premotor cortex in the generation of sequences from memory that fit into a precise timing plan.
Many patients with schizophrenia report hallucinations in which they hear voices talking to them or about them. Behavioural and physiological studies show that this experience is associated with processes occurring in auditory language systems associated with both the production and the reception of speech. I propose that hallucinations are experienced because patients have difficulty in distinguishing sensations caused by their own actions from those that arise from external influences. This distinction can be made by predicting the sensations that will result from executive commands (forward modelling). If the predicted sensation matches the actual sensation then no outside influences have occurred and perception of change can be 'cancelled'. At the physiological level this mechanism depends upon interactions between the prefrontal areas where the executive commands originate and posterior brain regions concerned with the resultant sensations. Evidence from functional brain imaging confirms that interactions between prefrontal (executive) areas and auditory association areas are abnormal in schizophrenia. However, this account needs to be extended before we can understand why patients experience the voices as emanating, not just from an external source, but from agents who are trying to influence their behaviour. Recent imaging studies suggest that medial prefrontal cortex is engaged when we think about other people, but the precise nature of the interaction of this brain area with other regions remains to be established.
PET revealed the effects of stimulus characteristics on the neural substrate of motor learning. Right-handed subjects performed a serial reaction time task with colour-coded stimuli to eliminate the potential for learned eye-movements. The task was performed with the right hand under two different conditions. In one condition, subjects simultaneously performed a distractor task. Although they did show behavioural evidence of learning, they were not explicitly aware of the stimulus-response sequence. In the second condition, there was no distractor task, and seven out of the 11 subjects then became explicitly aware of the stimulus sequence. Metabolic correlates of learning were distinct in the two conditions. When learning was implicit under dual-task conditions, learning-related changes were observed in left motor and supplementary motor cortex as well as in the putamen. These regions are similar to those observed in a previous study in which the stimuli were cued by spatial position. Under single-task conditions, metabolic changes were found in the right prefrontal cortex and premotor cortex, as well as in the temporal lobe. A similar shift to the right hemisphere was observed in the spatial study during single-task learning. However, explicit learning of the task with colour stimuli activated more ventral regions. The areas supporting motor-sequence learning are contingent on both stimulus properties and attentional constraints.
This study evaluates the performance of the newly developed high-resolution whole-body PET scanner ECAT EXACT HR+.
The scanner consists of four rings of 72 bismuth germanate block detectors each, covering an axial field of view of 15.5 cm with a patient port of 56.2 cm. A single block detector is divided into an 8 x 8 matrix, giving a total of 32 rings with 576 detectors each. The dimensions of a single detector element are 4.39 x 4.05 x 30 mm3. The scanner is equipped with extendable tungsten septa for two-dimensional two-dimensional measurements, as well as with three 68Ge line sources for transmission scans and daily quality control. The spatial resolution, scatter fraction, count rate, sensitivity, uniformity and accuracy of the implemented correction algorithms were evaluated after the National Electrical Manufacturers Association protocol using the standard acquisition parameters.
The transaxial resolution in the two-dimensional mode is 4.3 mm (4.4 mm) in the center and increases to 4.7 mm (4.8 mm) tangential and to 8.3 mm (8.0 mm) radial at a distance of r = 20 cm from the center. The axial slice width measured in the two-dimensional mode varies between 4.2 and 6.6 mm FWHM over the transaxial field of view. In the three-dimensional mode the average axial resolution varies between 4.1 mm FWHM in the center and 7.8 mm at r = 20 cm. The scatter fraction is 17.1% (32.5%) for a lower energy discriminator level of 350 keV. The maximum true event count rate of 263 (345) kcps was measured at an activity concentration of 142 (26.9) kBq/ml. The total system sensitivity for true events is 5.7 (27.7) cps/Bq/ml. From the uniformity measurements, we obtained a volume variance of 3.9% (5.0%) and a system variance of 1.6% (1.7%). The implemented three-dimensional scatter correction algorithm reveals very favorable properties, whereas the three-dimensional attenuation correction yields slightly inaccurate results in low- and high-density regions.
The ECAT EXACT HR+ has an excellent, nearly isotropic spatial resolution, which is advantageous for brain and small animal studies. While the relatively low slice sensitivity may hamper the capability for performing fast dynamic two-dimensional studies, the scanner offers a sufficient sensitivity and count rate capacity for fully three-dimensional whole-body imaging.
Functional neuroimaging studies of memory retrieval show consistent activation of the right prefrontal and superior parietal cortex. We examined the specific role of the prefrontal cortex during retrieval with the hypothesis that this region mediates monitoring processes necessary for optimal recall. During functional neuroimaging with PET, subjects retrieved verbal material under two conditions. In the first, an organizational structure had been provided, prior to scanning, and this formed the basis for a monitored memory search while the scan took place. A comparison condition did not require a monitored search because recall was externally cued. In both conditions, when compared with baseline tasks prefrontal cortex and medial parietal activation was observed. Within the right prefrontal cortex activation an anatomical dissociation was seen between the dorsal and ventral prefrontal cortex. The dorsal region showed greater activation when monitoring demands were emphasized, while the ventral region showed greater activation when external cueing was emphasized. An unpredicted dissociation within the superior parietal activation was also observed, a dorsal region showing activation during the monitored search task and a more ventral region showing activation under the externally cued condition. The results provide evidence for functional specialization of the right prefrontal cortex for discrete cognitive processes during episodic memory retrieval.
Functional neuroimaging studies of episodic memory consistently report an association between memory encoding operations and left prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation. Encoding-related activation has been described in dorsolateral, ventrolateral and anterior prefrontal regions. We tested the hypothesis that a specific component of this left PFC activation reflects organizational processes necessary for optimal memory encoding. Subjects underwent PET scans while learning auditorily presented word lists under dual task conditions. The degree to which they were required to organize word lists semantically was systematically varied across three experimental conditions. A task in which words were already organized produced the least degree of left PFC activity whereas a task requiring subjects to generate an organizational structure was associated with maximal activity in this region. This activation was localized to a region just above the inferior frontal sulcus. The functional specificity of this increased activity for organizational processes was tested using a concurrent distracting task known to disrupt these processes. Distraction resulted in a significant attenuation of this activation during the task emphasizing organizational processes but not other encoding tasks. In contrast, the distraction task resulted in reduced activity in a more ventral/anterior PFC region expressed equally for all memory tasks. The findings indicate that a key function of left dorsolateral PFC at encoding relates specifically to the use of executive processes necessary for the creation of an organizational structure. Activity in more ventral and anterior left PFC regions would appear to reflect a less specific component of episodic memory encoding.
Functional neuroimaging studies of memory retrieval show consistent activation of the right prefrontal and superior parietal cortex. We examined the specific role of the prefrontal cortex during retrieval with the hypothesis that this region mediates monitoring processes necessary for optimal recall. During functional neuroimaging with PET, subjects retrieved verbal material under two conditions. In the first, an organizational structure had been provided, prior to scanning, and this formed the basis for a monitored memory search while the scan took place. A comparison condition did not require a monitored search because recall was externally cued. In both conditions, when compared with baseline tasks prefrontal cortex and medial parietal activation was observed. Within the right prefrontal cortex activation an anatomical dissociation was seen between the dorsal and ventral prefrontal cortex. The dorsal region showed greater activation when monitoring demands were emphasized, while the ventral region showed greater activation when external cueing was emphasized. An unpredicted dissociation within the superior parietal activation was also observed, a dorsal region showing activation during the monitored search task and a more ventral region showing activation under the externally cued condition. The results provide evidence for functional specialization of the right prefrontal cortex for discrete cognitive processes during episodic memory retrieval.
This study investigated the effects of different types of neurological deficits on timing functions. The performance of Parkinson, cerebellar, cortical, and peripheral neuropathy patients was compared to age-matched control subjects on two separate measures of timing functions. The first task involved the production of timed intervals in which the subjects attempted to maintain a simple rhythm. The second task measured the subjects' perceptual ability to discriminate between small differences in the duration of two intervals.
The primacy of the cerebellum in timing functions was demonstrated by the finding that these were the only patients who showed a deficit in both the production and perception of timing tasks. The cerebellar group was found to have increased variability in performing rhythmic tapping and they were less accurate than the other groups in making perceptual discriminations regarding small differences in duration. Critically, this perceptual deficit appears to be specific to the perception of time since the cerebellar patients were unaffected in a control task measuring the perception of loudness.
It is argued that the operation of a timing mechanism can be conceptualized as an isolable component of the motor control system. Furthermore, the results suggest that the domain of the cerebellar timing process is not limited to the motor system, but is employed by other perceptual and cognitive systems when temporally predictive computations are needed.
Neuropsychological results are increasingly cited in cognitive theories although their methodology has been severely criticised. The book argues for an eclectic approach but particularly stresses the use of single-case studies. A range of potential artifacts exists when inferences are made from such studies to the organisation of normal function – for example, resource differences among tasks, premorbid individual differences, and reorganisation of function. The use of “strong” and “classical” dissociations minimises potential artifacts. The theoretical convergence between findings from fields where cognitive neuropsychology is well developed and those from the normal literature strongly suggests that the potential artifacts are not critical. The fields examined in detail in this respect are short-term memory, reading, writing, the organisation of input and output speech systems, and visual perception. Functional dissociation data suggest that not only are input systems organised modularly, but so are central systems. This conclusion is supported by findings on impairment of knowledge, visual attention, supervisory functions, memory, and consciousness.
A major contribution to the neuropsychology of man. The first half is a review of theory and data, and the second half describes methods, chiefly developed by the author, for studying changes in behavior after brain damage in man. Translated from the Russian. Harvard Book List (edited) 1971 #152 (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The sections in this article are:
Statistical parametric maps are spatially extended statistical processes that are used to test hypotheses about regionally specific effects in neuroimaging data. The most established sorts of statistical parametric maps (e.g., Friston et al. [1991]: J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 11:690–699; Worsley et al. [1992]: J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 12:900–918) are based on linear models, for example ANCOVA, correlation coefficients and t tests. In the sense that these examples are all special cases of the general linear model it should be possible to implement them (and many others) within a unified framework. We present here a general approach that accomodates most forms of experimental layout and ensuing analysis (designed experiments with fixed effects for factors, covariates and interaction of factors). This approach brings together two well established bodies of theory (the general linear model and the theory of Gaussian fields) to provide a complete and simple framework for the analysis of imaging data.
The importance of this framework is twofold: (i) Conceptual and mathematical simplicity, in that the same small number of operational equations is used irrespective of the complexity of the experiment or nature of the statistical model and (ii) the generality of the framework provides for great latitude in experimental design and analysis.
In a previous study (Ivry and Keele, in press), cerebellar patients were found to be impaired on both a motor and a perceptual task which required accurate timing. This report presents case study analyses of seven patients with focal lesions in the cerebellum. The lesions were predominantly in the lateral, hemispheric regions for four of the patients. For the remaining three patients, the lesions were centered near the medial zone of the cerebellum. The clinical evaluation of the patients also was in agreement with the different lesion foci: lateral lesions primarily impaired fine motor coordination, especially apparent in movements with the distal extremities and medial lesions primarily disturbed balance and gait. All of the patients were found to have increased variability in performing rhythmic tapping when tapping with an effector (finger or foot) ipsilateral to the lesion in comparison to their performance with a contralateral effector. Separable estimates of a central timekeeper component and an implementation component were derived from the total variability scores following a model developed by Wing and Kristofferson (1973). This analysis indicated that the poor performance of patients with lateral lesions can be attributed to a deficit in the central timing process. In contrast, patients with medial lesions are able to accurately determine when to make a response, but are unable to implement the response at the desired time. A similar dissociation between the lateral and medial regions has been observed on a time perception task in patients with cerebellar atrophy. It is concluded that the lateral regions of the cerebellum are critical for the accurate functioning of an internal timing system.
Monkeys with lesions of the mid-dorsal part of the lateral frontal cortex, which extends above the sulcus principalis as far as the midline (MDL lesions), were shown to exhibit severe and long-lasting impairments on certain nonspatial working memory tasks: the self-ordered and externally ordered tasks (experiments 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8). These tasks, which were modeled on similar ones previously used with patients, measure the capacity to monitor, within working memory, self-generated choices and the occurrence of externally ordered stimuli. Monkeys with lesions of the adjacent posterior dorsolateral frontal cortex, which surrounds the arcuate sulcus (PA lesions), performed as well as the normal control animals on these tasks. Experiments 4 and 5 showed that the critical variable accounting for the impairment on the self-ordered and externally ordered working memory tasks by monkeys with MDL lesions is the size of the set of stimuli that must be monitored. Furthermore, the MDL lesions did not affect basic recognition memory (experiment 6), or primacy and recency mnemonic effects [i.e., the capacity to discriminate between the initial (or final) items and other items in a list of stimuli (experiments 4 and 7), or the capacity to select from a set of stimuli on the basis of a learned fixed sequence (experiment 9)]. Thus, lesions of the mid-dorsal part of the lateral frontal cortex give rise to an impairment in working memory that depends on the size of the set of the stimuli that have to be monitored.
It is widely held that conscious recall of past experiences involves a specific system--episodic memory. Patients with amnesia have gross impairments of episodic memory while other kinds of memory remain intact, suggesting that a separable brain system underlies episodic memory. We have used positron emission tomography (PET) to identify components of this system in normal volunteers. A dual-task interference paradigm was used to isolate brain areas associated with acquisition, and a cueing paradigm to isolate the areas concerned with retrieval from verbal episodic memory. Acquisition was associated with activity in the left prefrontal cortex and the retrosplenial area, whereas retrieval was associated with activity in right prefrontal cortex and the precuneus. Our results provide clear evidence that episodic memory involves a network of specific prefrontal and posterior structures which can be fractionated into different component processes.
A computer model is presented that performs 4 tasks sometimes impaired by frontal damage: motor sequencing, the Stroop task, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and a context memory task. In each task, patterns of performance typical of frontal-damaged patients are shown to result from the same type of damage to the model, specifically, weakening of associations among elements in working memory. The simulation shows how a single underlying type of damage could result in impairments on a variety of seemingly distinct tasks. Furthermore, the hypothesized damage affects the processing components that carry out the task rather than a distinct central executive.
The lateral frontal cortex is involved in various aspects of executive processing within short- and long-term memory. It is argued that the different parts of the lateral frontal cortex make distinct contributions to memory that differ in terms of the level of executive processing that is carried out in interaction with posterior cortical systems. According to this hypothesis, the mid-dorsolateral frontal cortex (areas 46 and 9) is a specialized system for the monitoring and manipulation of information within working memory, whereas the mid-ventrolateral frontal cortex (areas 47/12 and 45) is involved in the active retrieval of information from the posterior cortical association areas. Data are presented which support this two-level hypothesis that posits two distinct levels of interaction of the lateral frontal cortex with posterior cortical association areas. Functional activation studies with normal human subjects have demonstrated specific activity within the mid-dorsolateral region of the frontal cortex during the performance of tasks requiring monitoring of self-generated and externally generated sequences of responses. In the monkey, lesions restricted to this region of the frontal cortex yield a severe impairment in performance of the above tasks, this impairment appearing against a background of normal performance on several basic mnemonic tasks. By contrast, a more severe impairment follows damage to the mid-ventrolateral frontal region and functional activation studies have demonstrated specific changes in activity in this region in relation to the active retrieval of information from memory.
A major problem in analysing the executive processes that seem to depend upon the prefrontal cortex stems from the absence of a well developed cognitive model of such processes. It is suggested that the central executive component of an earlier model of working memory might provide a suitable framework for such an analysis. The approach is illustrated using one proposed component of executive control, namely the capacity to combine two concurrent tasks. The application of the approach to patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease, and patients with acquired brain damage is discussed. Finally, a study is described in which the dual task performance of patients with known frontal lesions is shown to be associated with observed behavioural problems. The paper concludes with the discussion of the prospects for extending the approach to include a range of other executive processes, and to the way in which such an analysis may subsequently lead to a more integrated model of the central executive, and a better understanding of its relationship to the prefrontal cortex.
Cognitive neuroscience approaches to memory attempt to elucidate the brain processes and systems that are involved in different forms of memory and learning. This paper examines recent research from brain-damaged patients and neuroimaging studies that bears on the distinction between explicit and implicit forms of memory. Explicit memory refers to conscious recollection of previous experiences, whereas implicit memory refers to the non-conscious effects of past experiences on subsequent performance and behaviour. Converging evidence suggests that an implicit form of memory known as priming is associated with changes in posterior cortical regions that are involved in perceptual processing; some of the same regions may contribute to explicit memory. The hippocampal formation and prefrontal cortex also play important roles in explicit memory. Evidence is presented from recent PET scanning studies that suggests that frontal regions are associated with intentional strategic efforts to retrieve recent experiences, whereas the hippocampal formation is associated with some aspect of the actual recollection of an event.
To characterize synchronisation strategies in the tracking of auditory rhythm with rhythmic finger tapping, the adaptation process after unexpected step changes of an interstimulus interval (ISI) of 500 ms was investigated. Step changes of 2% (10 ms), 4% (20 ms), and 10% (50 ms) of ISI were applied to the stimulus sequence. Synchronisation patterns of 5 subjects were analyzed based on synchronisation error (SE) and interresponse intervals (IRI). A strategy shift contigent upon the size of the introduced step change was detected. After small ISI changes, rapid IRI matching to the new ISI was accompanied by temporarily enlarged SE values, which slowly returned to preferred SE values before the step change. Large ISI changes showed quick SE adaptations accompanied by a temporary overcorrection of IRI. Response asymmetry between ISI decreases and increases emerged, showing a stronger adaptation during ISI increases. A two-dimensional difference equation was formulated to simulate the time series of intertap intervals and explain the control process during IRI and SE adjustments. The system constants were optimized to minimalize the deviations between the computed and the observed response trajectories, consisting of the time series of SE and IRI. It was shown that a successful model fit using a linear two-dimensional difference equation was based on the size and direction of the ISI changes. MANOVA procedures showed that differences in equation parameters during small and large step changes were statistically significant (P < 0.05). It is therefore suggested that a uniform model accounting for synchronization responses to all step changes would require the introduction of nonlinear system properties.
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