BrainBlog

Training-induced neural plasticity in golf novices Journal of Neuroscience. 2011 Aug 31; 31(35): 12444-8. Authors: Bezzola L, Mérillat S, Gaser C, Jäncke L Abstract Previous neuroimaging studies in the field of motor learning have shown that learning a new skill induces specific changes of neural gray and white matter in human brain areas necessary to control the practiced task. Former longitudinal studies investigating motor skill learning have used strict training protocols with little ecological validity rather than physical leisure activities, although there are several retrospective and cross-sectional studies suggesting neuroprotective effects of physical leisure activities. In the present longitudinal MRI study, we used voxel-based morphometry to investigate training-induced gray matter changes in golf novices between the age of 40 and 60 years, an age period when an active life style is assumed to counteract cognitive decline. As a main result, we demonstrate that 40 h of golf ...

Brain regions with mirror properties: A meta-analysis of 125 human fMRI studies Neuroscience Biobehavioral Rev . 2011 Jul 18. [Epub ahead of print] Molenberghs P, Cunnington R, Mattingley JB. Abstract Mirror neurons in macaque area F5 fire when an animal performs an action, such as a mouth or limb movement, and also when the animal passively observes an identical or similar action performed by another individual. Brain-imaging studies in humans conducted over the last 20 years have repeatedly attempted to reveal analogous brain regions with mirror properties in humans, with broad and often speculative claims about their functional significance across a range of cognitive domains, from language to social cognition. Despite such concerted efforts, the likely neural substrates of these mirror regions have remained controversial, and indeed the very existence of a distinct subcategory of human neurons with mirroring properties has been questioned. Here we used activation likelihood estimat...

Revealing the Functional Neuroanatomy of Intrinsic Alertness Using fMRI: Methodological Peculiarities PLoS One. 2011; 6(9): e25453 Clemens B, Zvyagintsev M, Sack A, Heinecke A, Willmes K, Sturm W Abstract Clinical observations and neuroimaging data revealed a right-hemisphere fronto-parietal-thalamic-brainstem network for intrinsic alertness, and additional left fronto-parietal activity during phasic alertness. The primary objective of this fMRI study was to map the functional neuroanatomy of intrinsic alertness as precisely as possible in healthy participants, using a novel assessment paradigm already employed in clinical settings. Both the paradigm and the experimental design were optimized to specifically assess intrinsic alertness, while at the same time controlling for sensory-motor processing. The present results suggest that the processing of intrinsic alertness is accompanied by increased activity within the brainstem, thalamus, anterior cingulate gyrus, right insula, and right...

The following paper is available as an open full-download from PLoS. It provides an interesting example of the use of stop-signal tasks in pursuing a better understanding of executive functioning and its neuroanatomical correlates: Full publication Rule-guided executive control of response inhibition: functional topography of the inferior frontal cortex. PLoS One . 2011;6(6):e20840 Cai W, Leung HC Abstract BACKGROUND: The human inferior frontal cortex (IFC) is a large heterogeneous structure with distinct cytoarchitectonic subdivisions and fiber connections. It has been found involved in a wide range of executive control processes from target detection, rule retrieval to response control. Since these processes are often being studied separately, the functional organization of executive control processes within the IFC remains unclear. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We conducted an fMRI study to examine the activities of the subdivisions of IFC during the presentation of a task cue (ru...

Tam F, Churchill NW, Strother SC, & Graham SJ. A new tablet for writing and drawing during functional MRI. Human Brain Mapping. 2010 Mar 24. Writing and drawing are understudied with fMRI, partly for lack of a device that approximates these behaviors well while supporting task feedback and quantitative behavioral logging in the confines of the magnet. Consequently, we developed a tablet based on touchscreen technology that is accurate, reliable, relatively inexpensive, and fMRI compatible. After confirming fMRI compatibility, we conducted preliminary fMRI experiments examining the neural correlates of a widely used pen-and-paper neuropsychological assessment, the trail making test. In two subjects, we found left hemisphere frontal lobe activations similar to the major results of a previous group study, and we also noted individual differences mostly in the right hemisphere. These results demonstrate the utility of the new tablet for adaptations of pen-and-paper tests and suggest p...

Inside the mind of an actor (literally) How does an actor engage with the part they are playing? Fiona Shaw undergoes a brain scan while reciting TS Eliot to help shed some light on the mystery Stuart Jeffries The Guardian Tuesday 24 November 2009 [snip] The experiment is the latest in which Scott has explored the different ways our brains control our voices. "In the past, I've worked with impressionists to see what happens in their brains when they impersonate people's voices. The literature in psychology on faces is huge, but there's a lot less work on voices – partly because when we talk about speech, we go straight to focusing on language itself. "Fiona is going to perform some lines from a text she's familiar with [Shaw performed Eliot's epic poem 13 years ago in a production directed by Deborah Warner, and will reprise that performance at Wilton's music hall in London next month]. She's conveying different people by the way they speak, and we...

Neuropsychologist Stephen Rao is in the news, with a recent publication in the journal Neurology looking at fMRI of individuals who had frisk factors for Alzheimer's disease and normal contols as they identify famous faces. Here is a report from Time magazine's website: What Britney Spears Can Reveal About Alzheimer's By ALICE PARK Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009 Read article

Usui N, Haji T, Maruyama M, Katsuyama N, Uchida S, Hozawa A, Omori K, Tsuji I, Kawashima R, & Taira M. (2009). Cortical areas related to performance of WAIS Digit Symbol Test: a functional imaging study. Neurosci Lett. Jul 21. Many neuropsychological studies have shown that the Digit Symbol Test (DST) of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) is useful for screening for dysfunctions of the brain. However, it remains unclear which brain areas are actually involved in the performance of DST and what brain functions are used for executing this test. In this study, we examined the cortical areas related to cognitive aspects of DST using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and determined executive brain functions involved in this test on the basis of fMRI results. Eleven healthy young adults (mean=21.6 years) performed a modified DST (mDST) task and its control task, which required a simple graphomotor response during fMRI data acquisition. The direct comparison of bra...

medGadget presents and links to a new fMRI report on 'mind-reading': Can Neuroscientists Read Your Mind with fMRI? Read post here

Diamond EL, Miller S, Dickerson BC, Atri A, Depeau K, Fenstermacher E, Pihlajamäki M, Celone K, Salisbury S, Gregas M, Rentz D, & Sperling RA. Relationship of fMRI activation to clinical trial memory measures in Alzheimer disease. Neurology. 2007 Sep 25; 69(13): 1331-1341. Memory Disorders Unit, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 221 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115 BACKGROUND: Functional MRI (fMRI) has shown promise as a tool to characterize altered brain function in Alzheimer disease (AD) and for use in proof of concept clinical trials. FMRI studies of subjects with AD have demonstrated altered hippocampal and neocortical activation while encoding novel stimuli compared to older controls. However, the relationship between fMRI activation and performance on standardized clinical trial memory measures has not been fully investigated. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether patterns of activation during an associative-memory fMRI paradigm correlate with performance on memory measures used in A...

From today's New York Times : Mind Over Matter, With a Machine’s Help By JASON PONTIN Published: August 26, 2007 [snip] Omneuron is one of a number of new companies that are commercializing a brain-scanning technology called real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI. Using large scanners to measure blood flow to different parts of the brain, the technology makes the brain’s activity visible by revealing which of its parts are busiest when we perform different tasks. While fMRI dates back to the early 1990s, hitherto it has been used mainly by doctors in hospitals to make diagnoses. The commercialization of brain scanning is a recent development, spurred by the refinement of the technology. Omneuron , which Dr. deCharms founded in 2001 and whose research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, uses fMRI to teach people how to play with their own heads. Other entrepreneurs are working on ways to deploy fMRI as a lie detector, a tool for conducting market...