scholarly journals The Paternal Transition Entails Neuroanatomic Adaptations that are Associated with the Father’s Brain Response to his Infant Cues

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
María Paternina-Die ◽  
Magdalena Martínez-García ◽  
Clara Pretus ◽  
Elseline Hoekzema ◽  
Erika Barba-Müller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Brain Response ◽  
Paternal Behavior ◽  
Cortical Volume ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
First Time ◽  
Infant Cues ◽  
Parental Brain

Abstract The transition into fatherhood is a life-changing event that requires substantial psychological adaptations. In families that include a father figure, sensitive paternal behavior has been shown to positively impact the infant’s development. Yet, studies exploring the neuroanatomic adaptations of men in their transition into fatherhood are scarce. The present study used surface-based methods to reanalyze a previously published prospective magnetic resonance imaging dataset comprised of 20 first-time fathers (preconception-to-postpartum) and 17 childless men. We tested if the transition into fatherhood entailed changes in cortical volume, thickness, and area and whether these changes were related to 2 indicators of paternal experience. Specifically, we tested if such changes were associated with (1) the baby’s age and/or (2) the fathers’ brain activity in response to pictures of their babies compared with an unknown baby. Results indicated that first-time fathers exhibited a significant reduction in cortical volume and thickness of the precuneus. Moreover, higher volume reduction and cortical thinning were associated with stronger brain responses to pictures of their own baby in parental brain regions. This is the first study showing preconception-to-postpartum neuroanatomical adaptations in first-time fathers associated with the father’s brain response to cues of his infant.

scholarly journals The Effects of Kisspeptin on Brain Response to Food Images and Psychometric Parameters of Appetite in Healthy Men

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Yang ◽  
Lysia Demetriou ◽  
Matthew B Wall ◽  
Edouard G Mills ◽  
Victoria C Wing ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Metabolic Effects ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Brain Response ◽  
Healthy Men ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
Double Blinded

Abstract Context The hormone kisspeptin has crucial and well-characterized roles in reproduction. Emerging data from animal models also suggest that kisspeptin has important metabolic effects including modulation of food intake. However, to date there have been no studies exploring the effects of kisspeptin on brain responses to food stimuli in humans. Objective This work aims to investigate the effects of kisspeptin administration on brain responses to visual food stimuli and psychometric parameters of appetite, in healthy men. Design A double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover study was conducted. Participants Participants included 27 healthy, right-handed, eugonadal men (mean ± SEM: age 26.5 ± 1.1 years; body mass index 23.9 ± 0.4 kg/m2). Intervention Participants received an intravenous infusion of 1 nmol/kg/h of kisspeptin or rate-matched vehicle over 75 minutes. Main Outcome Measures Measurements included change in brain activity on functional magnetic resonance imaging in response to visual food stimuli and change in psychometric parameters of appetite, during kisspeptin administration compared to vehicle. Results Kisspeptin administration at a bioactive dose did not affect brain responses to visual food stimuli or psychometric parameters of appetite compared to vehicle. Conclusions This is the first study in humans investigating the effects of kisspeptin on brain regions regulating appetite and demonstrates that peripheral administration of kisspeptin does not alter brain responses to visual food stimuli or psychometric parameters of appetite in healthy men. These data provide key translational insights to further our understanding of the interaction between reproduction and metabolism.

Building the Arrow of Time… Over Time: A Sequence of Brain Activity Mapping Imagined Events in Time and Space

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (10) ◽  
pp. 4398-4414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baptiste Gauthier ◽  
Karin Pestke ◽  
Virginie van Wassenhove
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Spatial Task ◽  
Brain Response ◽  
Time And Space ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
The Future ◽  
Spatial Dimensions ◽  
Future Events ◽  
Neural Signatures

Abstract When moving, the spatiotemporal unfolding of events is bound to our physical trajectory, and time and space become entangled in episodic memory. When imagining past or future events, or being in different geographical locations, the temporal and spatial dimensions of mental events can be independently accessed and manipulated. Using time-resolved neuroimaging, we characterized brain activity while participants ordered historical events from different mental perspectives in time (e.g., when imagining being 9 years in the future) or in space (e.g., when imagining being in Cayenne). We describe 2 neural signatures of temporal ordinality: an early brain response distinguishing whether participants were mentally in the past, the present or the future (self-projection in time), and a graded activity at event retrieval, indexing the mental distance between the representation of the self in time and the event. Neural signatures of ordinality and symbolic distances in time were distinct from those observed in the homologous spatial task: activity indicating spatial order and distances overlapped in latency in distinct brain regions. We interpret our findings as evidence that the conscious representation of time and space share algorithms (egocentric mapping, distance, and ordinality computations) but different implementations with a distinctive status for the psychological “time arrow.”

scholarly journals Humans with obesity have disordered brain responses to food images during physiological hyperglycemia

2018 ◽  
Vol 314 (5) ◽  
pp. E522-E529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata Belfort-DeAguiar ◽  
Dongju Seo ◽  
Cheryl Lacadie ◽  
Sarita Naik ◽  
Christian Schmidt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level Dependent ◽  
Normal Weight ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Food Cues ◽  
Brain Response ◽  
Glucose Levels ◽  
Hyperglycemic Clamp ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
Food Images

Blood glucose levels influence brain regulation of food intake. This study assessed the effect of mild physiological hyperglycemia on brain response to food cues in individuals with obesity (OB) versus normal weight individuals (NW). Brain responses in 10 OB and 10 NW nondiabetic healthy adults [body mass index: 34 (3) vs. 23 (2) kg/m2, means (SD), P < 0.0001] were measured with functional MRI (blood oxygen level-dependent contrast) in combination with a two-step normoglycemic-hyperglycemic clamp. Participants were shown food and nonfood images during normoglycemia (~95 mg/dl) and hyperglycemia (~130 mg/dl). Plasma glucose levels were comparable in both groups during the two-step clamp ( P = not significant). Insulin and leptin levels were higher in the OB group compared with NW, whereas ghrelin levels were lower (all P < 0.05). During hyperglycemia, insula activity showed a group-by-glucose level effect. When compared with normoglycemia, hyperglycemia resulted in decreased activity in the hypothalamus and putamen in response to food images ( P < 0.001) in the NW group, whereas the OB group exhibited increased activity in insula, putamen, and anterior and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (aPFC/dlPFC; P < 0.001). These data suggest that OB, compared with NW, appears to have disruption of brain responses to food cues during hyperglycemia, with reduced insula response in NW but increased insula response in OB, an area involved in food perception and interoception. In a post hoc analysis, brain activity in obesity appears to be associated with dysregulated motivation (striatum) and inappropriate self-control (aPFC/dlPFC) to food cues during hyperglycemia. Hyperstimulation for food and insensitivity to internal homeostatic signals may favor food consumption to possibly play a role in the pathogenesis of obesity.

scholarly journals Globally conditioned Granger causality in brain–brain and brain–heart interactions: a combined heart rate variability/ultra-high-field (7 T) functional magnetic resonance imaging study

2016 ◽  
Vol 374 (2067) ◽  
pp. 20150185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Duggento ◽  
Marta Bianciardi ◽  
Luca Passamonti ◽  
Lawrence L. Wald ◽  
Maria Guerrisi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Resting State ◽  
High Field ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Sympathovagal Balance ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Ultra High Field ◽  
Conditioned Approach

The causal, directed interactions between brain regions at rest (brain–brain networks) and between resting-state brain activity and autonomic nervous system (ANS) outflow (brain–heart links) have not been completely elucidated. We collected 7 T resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data with simultaneous respiration and heartbeat recordings in nine healthy volunteers to investigate (i) the causal interactions between cortical and subcortical brain regions at rest and (ii) the causal interactions between resting-state brain activity and the ANS as quantified through a probabilistic, point-process-based heartbeat model which generates dynamical estimates for sympathetic and parasympathetic activity as well as sympathovagal balance. Given the high amount of information shared between brain-derived signals, we compared the results of traditional bivariate Granger causality (GC) with a globally conditioned approach which evaluated the additional influence of each brain region on the causal target while factoring out effects concomitantly mediated by other brain regions. The bivariate approach resulted in a large number of possibly spurious causal brain–brain links, while, using the globally conditioned approach, we demonstrated the existence of significant selective causal links between cortical/subcortical brain regions and sympathetic and parasympathetic modulation as well as sympathovagal balance. In particular, we demonstrated a causal role of the amygdala, hypothalamus, brainstem and, among others, medial, middle and superior frontal gyri, superior temporal pole, paracentral lobule and cerebellar regions in modulating the so-called central autonomic network (CAN). In summary, we show that, provided proper conditioning is employed to eliminate spurious causalities, ultra-high-field functional imaging coupled with physiological signal acquisition and GC analysis is able to quantify directed brain–brain and brain–heart interactions reflecting central modulation of ANS outflow.

scholarly journals Integrating TMS, EEG, and MRI as an Approach for Studying Brain Connectivity

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 471-486
Author(s):  
Romina Esposito ◽  
Marta Bortoletto ◽  
Carlo Miniussi
Keyword(s):  
Brain Function ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Brain Connectivity ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Neural Communication ◽  
Neural Interactions

The human brain is a complex network in which hundreds of brain regions are interconnected via thousands of axonal pathways. The capability of such a complex system emerges from specific interactions among smaller entities, a set of events that can be described by the activation of interconnections between brain areas. Studies that focus on brain connectivity have the aim of understanding and modeling brain function, taking into account the spatiotemporal dynamics of neural communication between brain regions. Much of the current knowledge regarding brain connectivity has been obtained from stand-alone neuroimaging methods. Nevertheless, the use of a multimodal approach seems to be a powerful way to investigate effective brain connectivity, overcoming the limitations of unimodal approaches. In this review, we will present the advantages of an integrative approach in which transcranial magnetic stimulation–electroencephalography coregistration is combined with magnetic resonance imaging methods to explore effective neural interactions. Moreover, we will describe possible implementations of the integrative approach in open- and closed-loop frameworks where real-time brain activity becomes a contributor to the study of cognitive brain networks.

scholarly journals How Does Our Brain Process Sugars and Non-Nutritive Sweeteners Differently: A Systematic Review on Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Studies

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 3010
Author(s):  
Andy Wai Kan Yeung ◽  
Natalie Sui Miu Wong
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Imaging Studies ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
Fasting Duration

This systematic review aimed to reveal the differential brain processing of sugars and sweeteners in humans. Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies published up to 2019 were retrieved from two databases and were included into the review if they evaluated the effects of both sugars and sweeteners on the subjects’ brain responses, during tasting and right after ingestion. Twenty studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The number of participants per study ranged from 5 to 42, with a total number of study participants at 396. Seven studies recruited both males and females, 7 were all-female and 6 were all-male. There was no consistent pattern showing that sugar or sweeteners elicited larger brain responses. Commonly involved brain regions were insula/operculum, cingulate and striatum, brainstem, hypothalamus and the ventral tegmental area. Future studies, therefore, should recruit a larger sample size, adopt a standardized fasting duration (preferably 12 h overnight, which is the most common practice and brain responses are larger in the state of hunger), and reported results with familywise-error rate (FWE)-corrected statistics. Every study should report the differential brain activation between sugar and non-nutritive sweetener conditions regardless of the complexity of their experiment design. These measures would enable a meta-analysis, pooling data across studies in a meaningful manner.

Baby smile response circuits of the parental brain

2010 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 460-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
James E. Swain ◽  
S. Shaun Ho
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
Parental Brain

AbstractThe parent-infant dyad, characterized by contingent social interactions that develop over the first three months postpartum, may depend heavily on parental brain responses to the infant, including the capacity to smile. A range of brain regions may subserve this social key function in parents and contribute to similar capacities in normal infants, capacities that may go awry in circumstances of reduced care.

scholarly journals GPT-2’s activations predict the degree of semantic comprehension in the human brain

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Caucheteux ◽  
Alexandre Gramfort ◽  
Jean-Rémi King
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Planum Temporale ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Semantic Comprehension ◽  
Empirical Framework ◽  
Superior Frontal Cortex ◽  
Language Network

Language transformers, like GPT-2, have demonstrated remarkable abilities to process text, and now constitute the backbone of deep translation, summarization and dialogue algorithms. However, whether these models actually understand language is highly controversial. Here, we show that the representations of GPT-2 not only map onto the brain responses to spoken stories, but also predict the extent to which subjects understand the narratives. To this end, we analyze 101 subjects recorded with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging while listening to 70 min of short stories. We then fit a linear model to predict brain activity from GPT-2 activations, and correlate this mapping with subjects’ comprehension scores as assessed for each story. The results show that GPT-2’s brain predictions significantly correlate with semantic comprehension. These effects are bilaterally distributed in the language network and peak with a correlation above 30% in the infero-frontal and medio-temporal gyri as well as in the superior frontal cortex, the planum temporale and the precuneus. Overall, this study provides an empirical framework to probe and dissect semantic comprehension in brains and deep learning algorithms.

scholarly journals Concurrent MEG-articulography for investigating neuromotor control of speech articulation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blake Johnson ◽  
Qinqing Meng ◽  
Ioanna Anastasopoulou ◽  
Louise Ratko ◽  
Tunde Szalay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Speech Production ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Facial Movements ◽  
Electromagnetic Articulography ◽  
Neuromotor Control ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
First Time ◽  
Speech Kinematics

AbstractArticulography and functional neuroimaging are two major tools for studying the neurobiology of speech production. Until now, however, it has generally not been possible to use both in the same experimental setup because of technical incompatibilities between the two methodologies. Here we describe results from a novel articulography system dubbed Magneto-articulography for the Assessment of Speech Kinematics (MASK), used for the first time to obtain kinematic profiles of oro-facial movements during speech together with concurrent magnetoencephalographic (MEG) measurements of neuromotor brain activity. MASK was used to characterise speech kinematics in a healthy adult, and the results were compared to measurements from the same participant with a conventional electromagnetic articulography (EMA) setup. We also characterised speech movement kinematics with MASK in a group of ten typically developing children, aged 8-12 years. Analyses targeted the gestural landmarks of the utterances /ida/, /ila/ and reiterated productions of /pataka/. These results demonstrate that the MASK technique can be used to reliably characterise movement profiles and kinematic parameters that reflect development of speech motor control, together with MEG measurements of brain responses from speech sensorimotor cortex. This new capability sets the stage for cross-disciplinary efforts to understand the developmental neurobiology of human speech production.

scholarly journals Analysis of Brain Activity Changes in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease Based on Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

2022 ◽  
Vol 2022 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Juan Shen ◽  
Chao Xu
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
The Right ◽  
Abnormal Brain

This paper uses resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to observe the changes in local consistency of brain activity in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Both healthy volunteers and Parkinson’s disease patients were scanned for resting brain functional imaging, and the collected raw data were processed using resting functional magnetic resonance data processing toolkit software. This study adopted the use of Regional Homogeneity (ReHo). The postprocessing method of RS-fMRI is to study the spontaneous brain activity changes of patients with Parkinson’s disease and cognitive impairment and to explore the changes in the function of their brain regions in the hope of providing help for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease cognitive impairment. The results showed that, compared with the normal control group, the brain regions with increased ReHo values in the PD group were the right central anterior gyrus, the right lingual gyrus, the left middle occipital gyrus, and the bilateral anterior cuneiform lobes. The results show that PD patients have abnormal brain nerve activities in the resting state, and these abnormal brain nerve activities may be related to PD cognitive and behavioral dysfunction.

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