scholarly journals Fusing Mobile Phone Sensing and Brain Imaging to Assess Depression in College Students

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy F. Huckins ◽  
Alex W. daSilva ◽  
Rui Wang ◽  
Weichen Wang ◽  
Elin L. Hedlund ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Antidepressant Treatment ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽  
Neuroscience Research ◽  
Affective Processes ◽  
Usage Patterns ◽  
Mobile Phone Sensing ◽  
Functional Brain Activity

AbstractAs smartphone usage has become increasingly prevalent in our society, so have rates of depression, particularly among young adults. Individual differences in smartphone usage patterns have been shown to reflect individual differences in underlying affective processes such as depression (Wang et al., 2018). In the current study, we identified a positive relationship between smartphone screen time (e.g. phone unlock duration) and resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) between the subgenual cingulate cortex (sgCC), a brain region implicated in depression and antidepressant treatment response, and regions of the ventromedial/orbitofrontal cortex, such that increased phone usage was related to stronger connectivity between these regions. We then used this cluster to constrain subsequent analyses looking at depressive symptoms in the same cohort and observed partial replication in a separate cohort. We believe the data and analyses presented here provide relatively simplistic initial analyses which replicate and provide a first step in combining functional brain activity and smartphone usage patterns to better understand issues related to mental health. Smartphones are a prevalent part of modern life and the usage of mobile sensing data from smartphones promises to be an important tool for mental health diagnostics and neuroscience research.

scholarly journals Brain connectivity at rest predicts individual differences in normative activity during movie watching

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C Gruskin ◽  
Gaurav H Patel
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
Brain Connectivity ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽  
Similar Region ◽  
Human Connectome Project

When multiple individuals are exposed to the same sensory event, some are bound to have less typical experiences than others. These atypical experiences are underpinned by atypical stimulus-evoked brain activity, the extent of which is often indexed by intersubject correlation (ISC). Previous research has attributed individual differences in ISC to variation in trait-like behavioral phenotypes. Here, we extend this line of work by showing that an individual's degree and spatial distribution of ISC are closely related to their brain's intrinsic functional architecture. Using resting state and movie watching fMRI data from 176 Human Connectome Project participants, we reveal that resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) profiles can be used to predict cortex-wide ISC with considerable accuracy. Similar region-level analyses demonstrate that the amount of ISC a brain region exhibits during movie watching is associated with its connectivity to others at rest, and that the nature of these connectivity-activity relationships varies as a function of the region's role in sensory information processing. Finally, we show that an individual's unique spatial distribution of ISC, independent of its magnitude, is also related to their RSFC profile. These findings suggest that the brain's ability to process complex sensory information is tightly linked to its baseline functional organization and motivate a more comprehensive understanding of individual responses to naturalistic stimuli.

scholarly journals Resting-state functional connectivity relates to interindividual variations in positive memory

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayako Isato ◽  
Tetsuya Suhara ◽  
Makiko Yamada
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Region Of Interest ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽  
Interindividual Variations ◽  
Frontal Operculum

Individual differences in positive memory recollection are of interest in mental health, as positive memories can help protect people against stress and depression. However, it is unclear how individual differences in positive memory recollection are reflected in brain activity in the resting state. Here, we investigate the resting-state functional connectivity (FC) associated with interindividual variations in positive memory by employing cluster-level inferences based on randomization/permutation region of interest (ROI)-to-ROI analyses. We identified a cluster of FCs that was positively associated with positive memory performance, including the frontal operculum, central operculum, parietal operculum, Heschl's gyrus, and planum temporale. The current results suggest that positive memory is innervated by frontotemporal network connectivity, which may have implications for future investigations of vulnerability to stress and depression.

Making social neuroscience less WEIRD: Using fNIRS to measure neural signatures of persuasive influence in a Middle East participant sample

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon Burns ◽  
Lianne N. Barnes ◽  
Ian A. McCulloh ◽  
Munqith M. Dagher ◽  
Emily B. Falk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Social Neuroscience ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Neuroscience Research ◽  
Neuropsychological Functions ◽  
Arabic Speaking

The large majority of social neuroscience research uses WEIRD populations – participants from Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic locations. This makes it difficult to claim whether neuropsychological functions are universal or culture specific. In this study, we demonstrate one approach to addressing the imbalance by using portable neuroscience equipment in a study of persuasion conducted in Jordan with an Arabic-speaking sample. Participants were shown persuasive videos on various health and safety topics while their brain activity was measured using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Self-reported persuasiveness ratings for each video were then recorded. Consistent with previous research conducted with American subjects, this work found that activity in the dorsomedial and ventromedial prefrontal cortex predicted how persuasive participants found the videos and how much they intended to engage in the messages’ endorsed behaviors. Further, activity in the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex was associated with persuasiveness ratings, but only in participants for whom the message was personally relevant. Implications for these results on the understanding of the brain basis of persuasion and on future directions for neuroimaging in diverse populations are discussed.

Permanently Online—Always Stressed Out? The Effects of Permanent Connectedness on Stress Experiences

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Freytag ◽  
Katharina Knop-Huelss ◽  
Adrian Meier ◽  
Leonard Reinecke ◽  
Dorothée Hefner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Media Multitasking ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Cognitive Orientation ◽  
Usage Patterns ◽  
Cognitive Salience

Abstract Concerns have been expressed that permanent online connectedness might negatively affect media user’s stress levels. Most research has focused on negative effects of specific media usage patterns, such as media multitasking or communication load. In contrast, users’ cognitive orientation toward online content and communication has rarely been investigated. Against this backdrop, we examined whether this cognitive orientation (i.e., online vigilance with its three dimensions salience, reactibility, monitoring) is related to perceived stress at different timescales (person, day, and situation level), while accounting for the effects of multitasking and communication load. Results across three studies showed that, in addition to multitasking (but not communication load), especially the cognitive salience of online communication is positively related to stress. Our findings are discussed regarding mental health implications and the origins of stress.

scholarly journals Task-Modulated Brain Activity Predicts Antidepressant Responses of Prefrontal Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: A Randomized Sham-Control Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 247054702110068
Author(s):  
Cheng-Ta Li ◽  
Chih-Ming Cheng ◽  
Chi-Hung Juan ◽  
Yi-Chun Tsai ◽  
Mu-Hong Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Antidepressant Treatment ◽  
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Characteristic Curve ◽  
Depression Score ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Antidepressant Efficacy ◽  
Group B

Background Prolonged intermittent theta-burst stimulation (piTBS) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) are effective antidepressant interventions for major depressive disorder (MDD). Cognition-modulated frontal theta (frontalθ) activity had been identified to predict the antidepressant response to 10-Hz left prefrontal rTMS. However, whether this marker also predicts that of piTBS needs further investigation. Methods The present double-blind randomized trial recruited 105 patients with MDD who showed no response to at least one adequate antidepressant treatment in the current episode. The recruited patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups: group A received piTBS monotherapy; group B received rTMS monotherapy; and group C received sham stimulation. Before a 2-week acute treatment period, electroencephalopgraphy (EEG) and cognition-modulated frontal theta changes (Δfrontalθ) were measured. Depression scores were evaluated at baseline, 1 week, and 2 weeks after the initiation of treatment. Results The Δfrontalθ at baseline was significantly correlated with depression score changes at week 1 (r = −0.383, p = 0.025) and at week 2 for rTMS group (r = −0.419, p = 0.014), but not for the piTBS and sham groups. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for Δfrontalθ was 0.800 for the rTMS group (p = 0.003) and was 0.549 for the piTBS group (p = 0.619). Conclusion The predictive value of higher baseline Δfrontalθ for antidepressant efficacy for rTMS not only replicates previous results but also implies that the antidepressant responses to rTMS could be predicted reliably at baseline and both piTBS and rTMS could be effective through different neurobiological mechanisms.

Lifespan change in grammaticalisation as frequency-sensitive automation: William Faulkner and the let alone construction

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 339-365
Author(s):  
Jakob Neels
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
William Faulkner ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Feeding Cycle ◽  
Usage Patterns ◽  
Cognitive Automation ◽  
Community Data ◽  
Syntactic Context

AbstractThis paper explores the added value of studying intra- and inter-speaker variation in grammaticalisation based on idiolect corpora. It analyses the usage patterns of the English let alone construction in a self-compiled William Faulkner corpus against the backdrop of aggregated community data. Vast individual differences (early Faulkner vs. late Faulkner vs. peers) in frequencies of use are observed, and these frequency differences correlate with different degrees of grammaticalisation as measured in terms of host-class and syntactic context expansion. The corpus findings inform general issues in current cognitive-functional research, such as the from-corpus-to-cognition issue and the cause/consequence issue of frequency. They lend support to the usage-based view of grammaticalisation as a lifelong, frequency-sensitive process of cognitive automation. To substantiate this view, this paper proposes a self-feeding cycle of constructional generalisation that is driven by the interplay of frequency, entrenchment, partial sanction and habituation.

Sensory Processing Sensitivity Predicts Individual Differences in Resting-State Functional Connectivity Associated with Depth of Processing

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Bianca P. Acevedo ◽  
Tyler Santander ◽  
Robert Marhenke ◽  
Arthur Aron ◽  
Elaine Aron
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Brain Connectivity ◽  
Region Of Interest ◽  
Central Feature ◽  
Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽  
Depth Of Processing ◽  
Sensory Processing Sensitivity

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is a biologically based temperament trait associated with enhanced awareness and responsivity to environmental and social stimuli. Individuals with high SPS are more affected by their environments, which may result in overarousal, cognitive depletion, and fatigue. <b><i>Method:</i></b> We examined individual differences in resting-state (rs) brain connectivity (using functional MRI) as a function of SPS among a group of adults (<i>M</i> age = 66.13 ± 11.44 years) immediately after they completed a social affective “empathy” task. SPS was measured with the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) Scale and correlated with rs brain connectivity. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Results showed enhanced rs brain connectivity within the ventral attention, dorsal attention, and limbic networks as a function of greater SPS. Region of interest analyses showed increased rs brain connectivity between the hippocampus and the precuneus (implicated in episodic memory); while weaker connectivity was shown between the amygdala and the periaqueductal gray (important for anxiety), and the hippocampus and insula (implicated in habitual cognitive processing). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> The present study showed that SPS is associated with rs brain connectivity implicated in attentional control, consolidation of memory, physiological homeostasis, and deliberative cognition. These results support theories proposing “depth of processing” as a central feature of SPS and highlight the neural processes underlying this cardinal feature of the trait.

Error-related Persistence of Motor Activity in Resting-state Networks

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (12) ◽  
pp. 1883-1901 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolò F. Bernardi ◽  
Floris T. Van Vugt ◽  
Ricardo Ruy Valle-Mena ◽  
Shahabeddin Vahdat ◽  
David J. Ostry
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Brain Connectivity ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Brain Networks ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽  
Movement Training ◽  
Movement Error ◽  
Human Participants

The relationship between neural activation during movement training and the plastic changes that survive beyond movement execution is not well understood. Here we ask whether the changes in resting-state functional connectivity observed following motor learning overlap with the brain networks that track movement error during training. Human participants learned to trace an arched trajectory using a computer mouse in an MRI scanner. Motor performance was quantified on each trial as the maximum distance from the prescribed arc. During learning, two brain networks were observed, one showing increased activations for larger movement error, comprising the cerebellum, parietal, visual, somatosensory, and cortical motor areas, and the other being more activated for movements with lower error, comprising the ventral putamen and the OFC. After learning, changes in brain connectivity at rest were found predominantly in areas that had shown increased activation for larger error during task, specifically the cerebellum and its connections with motor, visual, and somatosensory cortex. The findings indicate that, although both errors and accurate movements are important during the active stage of motor learning, the changes in brain activity observed at rest primarily reflect networks that process errors. This suggests that error-related networks are represented in the initial stages of motor memory formation.

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