scholarly journals Enhanced habit formation in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome

Brain ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 139 (2) ◽  
pp. 605-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cécile Delorme ◽  
Alexandre Salvador ◽  
Romain Valabrègue ◽  
Emmanuel Roze ◽  
Stefano Palminteri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tourette Syndrome ◽  
Habit Formation ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Instrumental Learning ◽  
Behavioural Control ◽  
Stimulus Response ◽  
Supplementary Motor Cortex ◽  
Habitual Responding ◽  
The Right

Abstract Tics are sometimes described as voluntary movements performed in an automatic or habitual way. Here, we addressed the question of balance between goal-directed and habitual behavioural control in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome and formally tested the hypothesis of enhanced habit formation in these patients. To this aim, we administered a three-stage instrumental learning paradigm to 17 unmedicated and 17 antipsychotic-medicated patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome and matched controls. In the first stage of the task, participants learned stimulus-response-outcome associations. The subsequent outcome devaluation and ‘slip-of-action’ tests allowed evaluation of the participants’ capacity to flexibly adjust their behaviour to changes in action outcome value. In this task, unmedicated patients relied predominantly on habitual, outcome-insensitive behavioural control. Moreover, in these patients, the engagement in habitual responses correlated with more severe tics. Medicated patients performed at an intermediate level between unmedicated patients and controls. Using diffusion tensor imaging on a subset of patients, we also addressed whether the engagement in habitual responding was related to structural connectivity within cortico-striatal networks. We showed that engagement in habitual behaviour in patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome correlated with greater structural connectivity within the right motor cortico-striatal network. In unmedicated patients, stronger structural connectivity of the supplementary motor cortex with the sensorimotor putamen predicted more severe tics. Overall, our results indicate enhanced habit formation in unmedicated patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. Aberrant reinforcement signals to the sensorimotor striatum may be fundamental for the formation of stimulus-response associations and may contribute to the habitual behaviour and tics of this syndrome.

scholarly journals Stress diminishes outcome but enhances response representations during instrumental learning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Katharina Meier ◽  
Bernhard P. Staresina ◽  
Lars Schwabe
Keyword(s):  
Pattern Analysis ◽  
Instrumental Learning ◽  
Fundamental Question ◽  
Behavioural Control ◽  
Multivariate Pattern Analysis ◽  
Stimulus Response ◽  
Directed System ◽  
Habitual Responding ◽  
Multivariate Pattern

AbstractStress may shift behavioural control from a goal-directed system that encodes action-outcome relationships to a habit system that learns stimulus-response associations. Although this shift to habits is highly relevant for stress-related psychopathologies, limitations of existing behavioural paradigms hindered previous research to answer the fundamental question of whether the stress-induced bias to habits is due to impaired goal-directed or enhanced habitual processing (or both). Here, we leveraged EEG-based multivariate pattern analysis to decode neural outcome representations, crucial for goal-directed control, and response representations, essential for habitual responding, during instrumental learning. We show that stress reduces outcome representations but enhances response representations, both of which were directly associated with a behavioural index of habitual responding. Further, changes in outcome and response representations were uncorrelated, suggesting that these may reflect distinct processes. Our findings indicate that habit behaviour under stress is the result of both enhanced habitual and diminished goal-directed processing.

scholarly journals Brain Structural Changes in Regions Within the Salience Network in Patients with Functional Constipation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhenzhen Jia ◽  
Guanya Li ◽  
Yang Hu ◽  
Hao Li ◽  
Wenchao Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Negative Correlation ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Functional Constipation ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Salience Network ◽  
Abdominal Symptoms ◽  
The Right

Abstract Functional constipation (FCon) is one of the common functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID). Previous studies reported alterations in cortical morphometry as well as changes in white matter (WM) fiber tracts and thalamo-limbic/parietal structural connectivity (SC). However, whether patients with FCon are implicated in changes in gray matter (GM) volume and associated SC remains unclear. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was first employed to examine differences in GM volume between 48 patients with FCon and 52 healthy controls (HC). Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) with probabilistic tractography analysis was then employed to explore alterations in SC of these regions. Compared with the HC, patients with FCon showed decreased GM volumes in the right middle frontal gyrus (MFG_R), left insula (INS_L), and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC, PFWE < 0.05) which had a negative correlation with abdominal symptoms and difficulty of defecation respectively. Seed-based SC showed patients with FCon had decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) of bilateral INS-ACC, bilateral ACC-MFG, bilateral INS-MFG, increased axial diffusivity (AD) of bilateral ACC-MFG, and decreased radial diffusivity (RD) of bilateral INS-ACC, bilateral ACC-MFG tracts. FA of the right INS-ACC tract had a negative correlation with difficulty of defecation and AD of the ACC-left MFG tract had a negative correlation with stool symptoms. These findings reflect patients with FCon are implicated in changes in GM volumes and corresponding SC in brain regions within the salience network.

scholarly journals Neonatal Functional and Structural Connectivity Are Associated with Cerebral Palsy at Two Years of Age

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (02) ◽  
pp. 137-145
Author(s):  
Stephanie L. Merhar ◽  
Elveda Gozdas ◽  
Jean A. Tkach ◽  
Nehal A. Parikh ◽  
Beth M. Kline-Fath ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Palsy ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Motor Task ◽  
Structural Mri ◽  
Perinatal Brain Injury ◽  
The Right ◽  
Almost All

Objective The accuracy of structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to predict later cerebral palsy (CP) in newborns with perinatal brain injury is variable. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and task-based functional MRI (fMRI) show promise as predictive tools. We hypothesized that infants who later developed CP would have reduced structural and functional connectivity as compared with those without CP. Study Design We performed DTI and fMRI using a passive motor task at 40 to 48 weeks' postmenstrual age in 12 infants with perinatal brain injury. CP was diagnosed at age 2 using a standardized examination. Results Five infants had CP at 2 years of age, and seven did not have CP. Tract-based spatial statistics showed a widespread reduction of fractional anisotropy (FA) in almost all white matter tracts in the CP group. Using the median FA value in the corticospinal tracts as a cutoff, FA was 100% sensitive and 86% specific to predict CP compared with a sensitivity of 60 to 80% and a specificity of 71% for structural MRI. During fMRI, the CP group had reduced functional connectivity from the right supplemental motor area as compared with the non-CP group. Conclusion DTI and fMRI obtained soon after birth are potential biomarkers to predict CP in newborns with perinatal brain injury.

Sex Differences in Anatomical Rich-Club and Structural–Functional Coupling in the Human Brain Network

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuo Zhao ◽  
Gongshu Wang ◽  
Ting Yan ◽  
Jie Xiang ◽  
Xuexue Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Parietal Lobe ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Parahippocampal Gyrus ◽  
Functional Coupling ◽  
Rich Club ◽  
The Right

Abstract Structural and functional differences between the brains of female and male adults have been well documented. However, potential sex differences in the patterns of rich-club organization and the coupling between their structural connectivity (SC) and functional connectivity (FC) remain to be determined. In this study, functional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging techniques were combined to examine sex differences in rich-club organization. Females had a stronger SC-FC coupling than males. Moreover, stronger SC-FC coupling in the females was primarily located in feeder connections and non–rich-club nodes of the left inferior frontal gyrus and inferior parietal lobe and the right superior frontal gyrus and superior parietal gyrus, whereas higher coupling strength in males was primarily located in rich-club connections and rich-club node of the right insula, and non-rich-club nodes of the left hippocampus and the right parahippocampal gyrus. Sex-specific patterns in correlations were also shown between SC-FC coupling and cognitive function, including working memory and reasoning ability. The topological changes in rich-club organization provide novel insight into sex-specific effects on white matter connections that underlie a potential network mechanism of sex-based differences in cognitive function.

scholarly journals White Matter Abnormalities in Body Integrity Dysphoria

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianluca Saetta ◽  
Kathy Ruddy ◽  
Laura Zapparoli ◽  
Martina Gandola ◽  
Gerardo Salvato ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
The Body ◽  
Limb Amputation ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Imaging Data ◽  
Severe Condition ◽  
The Right

Body integrity dysphoria (BID) is a severe condition affecting non-psychotic individuals where a limb may be experienced as non-belonging, despite normal anatomical development and intact sensorimotor functions. Limb amputation is desired for restoring their own identity. We previously demonstrated altered brain structural (gray matter) and functional connectivity in 16 men with a long-lasting and exclusive desire for left leg amputation. Here we aimed to identify in the same sample altered patterns of white matter structural connectivity. Fractional anisotropy (FA), derived from Diffusion Tensor Imaging data, was considered as a measure of structural connectivity. Results showed reduced structural connectivity of: i) the right superior parietal lobule (rSPL) with the right cuneus, superior occipital and posterior cingulate gyri, and cuneus, ii) the pars orbitalis of the right middle frontal gyrus (rMFGOrb) with the putamen iii) the left middle temporal gyrus (lMTG) with the pars triangularis of the left inferior frontal gyrus. Increased connectivity was observed between the right paracentral lobule (rPLC) and the right caudate nucleus. By using a complementary method of investigation, we confirmed and extended previous results showing alterations in areas tuned to the processing of the sensorimotor representations of the affected leg (rPCL), and to higher-order components of bodily representation such as the body image (rSPL). Alongside this network for bodily awareness, other networks such as the limbic (rMFGOrb) and the mirror (lMTG) systems showed structural alterations as well. These findings consolidate current understanding of the neural correlates of BID, which might in turn guide diagnostics and rehabilitative treatments.

scholarly journals Balancing Between Goal-Directed and Habitual Responding Following Acute Stress

2020 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-111
Author(s):  
Bart Hartogsveld ◽  
Peter van Ruitenbeek ◽  
Conny W. E. M. Quaedflieg ◽  
Tom Smeets
Keyword(s):  
Acute Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Instrumental Learning ◽  
Memory Systems ◽  
Neutral Stimulus ◽  
Reward Contingency ◽  
Stimulus Response ◽  
Habitual Responding ◽  
Pressure Stress ◽  
Outcome Devaluation

Abstract. Instrumental learning is regulated by two memory systems: a relatively rigid but efficient habit system and a flexible but resource-demanding goal-directed system. Previous work has demonstrated that exposure to acute stress may shift the balance between these systems toward the habitual system. In the current study, we used a 2-day outcome devaluation paradigm with a 75% reward contingency rate and altered food reward categories to replicate and extend our previous findings. Participants learned neutral stimulus–response–reward associations on the first day. On the second day, rewards were devalued by eating to satiety. Subsequently, acute stress was induced in half of the participants using the Maastricht Acute Stress Test, while the other half engaged in a nonstressful control task. Finally, relative goal-directed versus habitual behavior was evaluated in a slips-of-action phase, where more slips-of-action indicate a shift toward the habitual system. Results showed that participants successfully acquired the stimulus–response–reward associations, that devaluation was effective, and that stressed participants displayed significant increases in cortisol and blood pressure. Stress led participants to commit more slips-of-action compared with nonstressed controls. The current study extends previous work, showing that the employed paradigm and outcome devaluation procedure are boundary conditions to the stress-induced shift in instrumental responding.

scholarly journals White Matter Integrity Correlates of the Reading Span

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekaterina V. Pechenkova ◽  
Yana R. Panikratova ◽  
Maria A. Fomina ◽  
Elena A. Mershina ◽  
Daria A. Bazhenova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
White Matter ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
The Body ◽  
White Matter Integrity ◽  
Reading Span ◽  
The Right

Although working memory (WM) is crucial for intellectual abilities, not much is known about its brain underpinnings, especially the structural connectivity. We used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to look across the whole brain for the white matter integrity correlates of the individual differences in the reading span (verbal WM capacity during reading) in healthy adults. Right-handed healthy native Russian speakers (N = 67) underwent DTI on a 3T Philips Ingenia scanner. Verbal WM was assessed with the Daneman-Carpenter reading span test (Russian version). Fractional anisotropy maps from each participant were entered into the group tract-based spatial statistics analysis with the reading span as a covariate; the results were TFCE-corrected. After taking into account effects of age, sex, education and handedness, reading span positively correlated with the white matter integrity in multiple sites: the body, the genu and the splenium of corpus callosum; bilateral corona radiata (anterior, posterior, and superior); bilateral superior longitudinal fasciculus; several tracts in the right hemisphere only, including the internal and external capsule; bilateral superior parietal and frontal white matter. Although the left hemisphere is central for verbal processing, we revealed the important role of the right hemisphere white matter for the verbal WM capacity. Our finding indicates that larger verbal working memory span may originate from additional processing resources of the right hemisphere.

scholarly journals State-Independent and -Dependent Structural Connectivity Alterations in Depression

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiming Fan ◽  
Jin Liu ◽  
Ling-Li Zeng ◽  
Qiangli Dong ◽  
Jianpo Su ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Antidepressant Treatment ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Posterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
State Dependent ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Right

Some brain abnormalities persist at the remission phase, that is, the state-independent abnormalities, which may be one of the reasons for the high recurrence of major depressive disorder (MDD). Hence, it is of great significance to identify state-independent abnormalities of MDD through longitudinal investigation. Ninety-nine MDD patients and 118 healthy controls (HCs) received diffusion tensor imaging scanning at baseline. After 6-month antidepressant treatment, 68 patients received a second scan, among which 59 patients achieved full clinical remission. Differences in whole-brain structural connectivity (SC) between patients with MDD at baseline and HCs were estimated by two-sample t-tests. Masked with significantly changed SCs in MDD, two-sample t-tests were conducted between the remitted MDD subgroup at follow-up and HCs, and paired t-tests were implemented to compare the differences of SC in the remitted MDD subgroup before and after treatment. Significantly decreased SC between the right insula and the anterior temporal cortex (ATC), between the right ATC and the posterior temporal cortex (PTC), between the left ATC and the auditory cortex as well as increased connectivity between the right posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and the left medial parietal cortex (MPC) were observed in the MDD group compared with the HC group at baseline (p &lt; 0.05, FDR corrected). The decreased connectivity between the right insula and the ATC and increased connectivity between the right PCC and the left MPC persisted in the remitted MDD subgroup at follow-up (p &lt; 0.05, FDR corrected). The decreased SC between the right insula and the ATC and increased SC between the right PCC and left MPC showed state-independent characters, which may be implicated in the sustained negative attention bias and motor retardation in MDD. In contrast, the decreased SC between the right ATC and the PTC and between the left ATC and the auditory cortex seemed to be state-dependent.

scholarly journals Investigating the Relationship between White Matter Connectivity and Motivational Circuits in Subjects with Deficit Schizophrenia: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Giulia M. Giordano ◽  
Pasquale Pezzella ◽  
Mario Quarantelli ◽  
Paola Bucci ◽  
Anna Prinster ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Diffusion Tensor Imaging ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Insular Cortex ◽  
Deficit Syndrome ◽  
Deficit Schizophrenia ◽  
The Right ◽  
White Matter Connectivity ◽  
Diffusion Tensor Imaging Dti

Deficit schizophrenia is a subtype of schizophrenia presenting primary and enduring negative symptoms (NS). Although one of the most updated hypotheses indicates a relationship between NS and impaired motivation, only a few studies have investigated abnormalities of motivational circuits in subjects with deficit schizophrenia (DS). Our aim was to investigate structural connectivity within motivational circuits in DS. We analyzed diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data from 46 subjects with schizophrenia (SCZ) and 35 healthy controls (HCs). SCZ were classified as DS (n = 9) and non-deficit (NDS) (n = 37) using the Schedule for Deficit Syndrome. The connectivity index (CI) and the Fractional Anisotropy (FA) of the connections between selected brain areas involved in motivational circuits were examined. DS, as compared with NDS and HCs, showed increased CI between the right amygdala and dorsal anterior insular cortex and increased FA of the pathway connecting the left nucleus accumbens with the posterior insular cortex. Our results support previous evidence of distinct neurobiological alterations underlying different clinical subtypes of schizophrenia. DS, as compared with NDS and HCs, may present an altered pruning process (consistent with the hyperconnectivity) in cerebral regions involved in updating the stimulus value to guide goal-directed behavior.

scholarly journals White Matter Integrity in the Right Hemisphere Correlates with the Reading Span

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Pechenkova ◽  
Yana Panikratova ◽  
Maria Fomina ◽  
Elena Mershina ◽  
Daria Bazhenova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
White Matter ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
The Body ◽  
White Matter Integrity ◽  
Reading Span ◽  
The Right

Although working memory (WM) is crucial for intellectual abilities, not much is known about its brain underpinnings, especially the structural connectivity. We used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to look across the whole brain for the white matter integrity correlates of the individual differences in the reading span (verbal WM capacity during reading) in healthy adults. Right-handed healthy native Russian speakers (N = 47) underwent DTI on a 3T Philips Ingenia scanner. Verbal WM was assessed with the Daneman-Carpenter reading span test (Russian version). Fractional anisotropy maps from each participant were entered into the group tract-based spatial statistics analysis with the reading span as a covariate; the results were TFCE-corrected. Reading span positively correlated with the white matter integrity in several sites of the right hemisphere: the body and the splenium of corpus callosum; the posterior limb of internal capsule; posterior corona radiata; and superior parietal white matter. Although the left hemisphere is central for verbal processing, we revealed the important role of the right hemisphere white matter for the verbal WM capacity. Our finding indicates that larger verbal working memory span may originate from additional processing resources of the right hemisphere.

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