scholarly journals Eye-movement intervention enhances extinction via amygdala deactivation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lycia D. de Voogd ◽  
Jonathan W. Kanen ◽  
David A. Neville ◽  
Karin Roelofs ◽  
Guillén Fernández ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Eye Movement ◽  
Effective Connectivity ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Fear Learning ◽  
Extinction Learning ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Behavioral Studies ◽  
Traumatic Symptoms

AbstractImproving extinction learning is essential to optimize psychotherapy for persistent fear-related disorders. In two independent studies (both n=24), we found that goal-directed eye movements activate a dorsal fronto-parietal network and transiently deactivate the amygdala. Connectivity analyses revealed this down-regulation engages a ventromedial prefrontal pathway known to be involved in cognitive regulation of emotion. Critically, when eye movements followed memory reactivation during extinction learning, this reduced spontaneous fear recovery 24 hours later. Stronger amygdala deactivation furthermore predicted a stronger reduction in subsequent fear recovery after reinstatement. In conclusion, we show that extinction learning can be improved with a non-invasive eye-movement intervention that triggers a transient suppression of the amygdala. Our finding that another task which taxes working memory leads to a similar amygdala suppression furthermore indicates that this effect is likely not specific to eye movements, which is in line with a large body of behavioral studies. This study contributes to the understanding of a widely used treatment for traumatic symptoms by providing a parsimonious account for how working memory tasks and goal-directed eye movements can enhance extinction-based psychotherapy, namely through neural circuits similar to those that support cognitive control of emotion.Significant statementFear-related disorders represent a significant burden on individual sufferers and society. There is a high need to optimize treatment, in particular via non-invasive means. One potentially effective intervention is execution of eye movements following trauma recall. However, a neurobiological understanding of how eye movements can reduce traumatic symptoms is lacking. We demonstrate that goal-directed eye-movements, like working memory tasks, deactivate the amygdala, the core neural substrate of fear learning. Effective connectivity analyses revealed amygdala deactivation engaged dorsolateral and ventromedial prefrontal pathways. When applied during safety learning, this deactivation predicts a reduction in later fear recovery. These findings provide a parsimonious and mechanistic account of how behavioral manipulations taxing working memory and suppress amygdala activity can alter retention of emotional memories.

scholarly journals Working Memory and Cross-Frequency Coupling of Neuronal Oscillations

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Abubaker ◽  
Wiam Al Qasem ◽  
Eugen Kvašňák
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Cognitive Outcomes ◽  
Essential Component ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation ◽  
Frequency Coupling ◽  
Cross Frequency Coupling

Working memory (WM) is the active retention and processing of information over a few seconds and is considered an essential component of cognitive function. The reduced WM capacity is a common feature in many diseases, such as schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and Alzheimer's disease (AD). The theta-gamma neural code is an essential component of memory representations in the multi-item WM. A large body of studies have examined the association between cross-frequency coupling (CFC) across the cerebral cortices and WM performance; electrophysiological data together with the behavioral results showed the associations between CFC and WM performance. The oscillatory entrainment (sensory, non-invasive electrical/magnetic, and invasive electrical) remains the key method to investigate the causal relationship between CFC and WM. The frequency-tuned non-invasive brain stimulation is a promising way to improve WM performance in healthy and non-healthy patients with cognitive impairment. The WM performance is sensitive to the phase and rhythm of externally applied stimulations. CFC-transcranial-alternating current stimulation (CFC-tACS) is a recent approach in neuroscience that could alter cognitive outcomes. The studies that investigated (1) the association between CFC and WM and (2) the brain stimulation protocols that enhanced WM through modulating CFC by the means of the non-invasive brain stimulation techniques have been included in this review. In principle, this review can guide the researchers to identify the most prominent form of CFC associated with WM processing (e.g., theta/gamma phase-amplitude coupling), and to define the previously published studies that manipulate endogenous CFC externally to improve WM. This in turn will pave the path for future studies aimed at investigating the CFC-tACS effect on WM. The CFC-tACS protocols need to be thoroughly studied before they can be considered as therapeutic tools in patients with WM deficits.

scholarly journals Time course of spatiotopic updating across saccades

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (6) ◽  
pp. 2027-2032 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasper H. Fabius ◽  
Alessio Fracasso ◽  
Tanja C. W. Nijboer ◽  
Stefan Van der Stigchel
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Visual System ◽  
Eye Movement ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Saccadic Eye Movements ◽  
Oculomotor System ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Oculomotor Behavior ◽  
Behavioral Studies ◽  
The Brain

Humans move their eyes several times per second, yet we perceive the outside world as continuous despite the sudden disruptions created by each eye movement. To date, the mechanism that the brain employs to achieve visual continuity across eye movements remains unclear. While it has been proposed that the oculomotor system quickly updates and informs the visual system about the upcoming eye movement, behavioral studies investigating the time course of this updating suggest the involvement of a slow mechanism, estimated to take more than 500 ms to operate effectively. This is a surprisingly slow estimate, because both the visual system and the oculomotor system process information faster. If spatiotopic updating is indeed this slow, it cannot contribute to perceptual continuity, because it is outside the temporal regime of typical oculomotor behavior. Here, we argue that the behavioral paradigms that have been used previously are suboptimal to measure the speed of spatiotopic updating. In this study, we used a fast gaze-contingent paradigm, using high phi as a continuous stimulus across eye movements. We observed fast spatiotopic updating within 150 ms after stimulus onset. The results suggest the involvement of a fast updating mechanism that predictively influences visual perception after an eye movement. The temporal characteristics of this mechanism are compatible with the rate at which saccadic eye movements are typically observed in natural viewing.

scholarly journals Eye-Movement does not reduce ratings of vividness and emotionality or the number of intrusive thoughts of unpleasant memories: Implications for Eye-Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Nicholas Arnott-Steel
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Eye Movement ◽  
Alternative Explanation ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Intrusive Thoughts ◽  
Saccadic Eye Movements ◽  
Line Treatment ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Traumatic Memories

<p>Eye-Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy that incorporates the use of saccadic Eye-Movements (EM) to alleviate distress caused by traumatic memories. Although EMDR is recognised as a front-line treatment for individuals suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the mechanisms underlying the efficacy of the EM component remain a point of contention. The aim of the current research was to investigate first, whether EM reduced ratings of memory vividness and emotionality by taxing Working Memory (WM) capacity, and second, to examine whether EM lowered the number of intrusive thoughts under two opposing suppression conditions. In two experiments, 244 non-clinical participants were asked to recall an unpleasant memory while simultaneously engaging in fast-EM, slow-EM or a no-EM control. Participants then received an instruction to intentionally avoid thinking about the memory, or to think about whatever came to mind. Relative to no-EM, fast-EM and slow-EM had no significant effect on vividness and emotionality ratings, nor did they influence the number of intrusive thoughts. In addition, the level of suppression intent had no impact on memory outcomes. Overall, the results from these two experiments oppose earlier findings in support of WM theory, and a significant body of research that has demonstrated the efficacy of the EM component. Implications for the EM component in EMDR are discussed, and an alternative explanation for EM is offered.</p>

A Working Memory Explanation for the Effects of Eye Movements in EMDR

2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 247-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Maxfield ◽  
William T. Melnyk ◽  
Gordon C. A. Hayman
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Eye Movement ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Mechanisms Of Action ◽  
Emotional Intensity ◽  
Attention Tasks ◽  
Memory Resources ◽  
Negative Memories

Research has consistently demonstrated that performance is degraded when participants engage in two simultaneous tasks that require the same working memory resources. This study tested predictions from working memory theory to investigate the effects of eye movement (EM) on the components of autobiographical memory. In two experiments, 24 and 36 participants, respectively, focused on negative memories while engaging in three dual-attention EM tasks of increasing complexity. Compared to No-EM, Slow-EM and Fast-EM produced significantly decreased ratings of image vividness, thought clarity, and emotional intensity, and the more difficult Fast-EM resulted in larger decreases than did Slow-EM. The effects on emotional intensity were not consistent, with some preliminary evidence that a focus on memory-related thought might maintain emotional intensity during simple dual-attention tasks (Slow-EM, No-EM). The findings of our experiments support a working memory explanation for the effects of EM dual-attention tasks on autobiographical memory. Implications for understanding the mechanisms of action in EMDR are discussed.

Modeling the Effects of Time pressure and Feedback on Eye movements and Learning Performance

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 671-675
Author(s):  
Ji-Eun Kim ◽  
David A. Nembhard
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Eye Movement ◽  
Time Pressure ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Task Completion ◽  
Individualized Learning ◽  
Fully Integrated ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
The Relationship

Eye movement measurement is both non-invasive to the learner, and available at a cost that is steadily decreasing. There are currently several mainstream laptop computers on the market that ship with fully integrated eye-tracking. Eye movements will take on a role as inputs to predict individualized learning performance. In response to the increased usage of this tool, this study uses eye-tracking technology to investigate the effects of time pressure and feedback on changes in eye movement by generating structural models. We tracked participants’ eye movement, and to relate this eye movement to human learning behaviors while participants were asked to complete online training for a Project Management task. The study measured participants’ eye-movements in response to the amount of time to deadlines and feedback updating the remaining time. Results showed that eye movement partially mediated the relationship between time to deadline and task completion time. The results of the study will be advantageous in predicting individualized learning performance based on eye movements.

Distribution of Targets in 400 Eye-Movement Desensitization Cases

2003 ◽  
Vol 92 (3) ◽  
pp. 717-722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Hassard
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Eye Movement ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Cognitive Change ◽  
Memory Recovery ◽  
Dose Effects

In a series of 400 patients undergoing Eye-movement Desensitization (EMD), patients rarely reported more than nine flashbacks or other focal targets, which may indicate the working memory limit. Eye-movement desensitization may operate by freeing working memory capacity, enabling cognitive change and memory recovery to occur. Complete EMD treatment may require sufficient eye movements to free up working memory capacity. Patients given less than this requirement may not be adequately treated. This may account for variable results in evaluations of eye-movement desensitization. Such possible dose effects may be important in this therapy.

Interference with Rehearsal in Spatial Working Memory in the Absence of Eye Movements

1996 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 940-949 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary M. Smyth
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Eye Movement ◽  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Spatial Encoding ◽  
Rehearsal Strategy ◽  
The Right ◽  
Attention Shifts

We have previously argued that rehearsal in spatial working memory is interfered with by spatial attention shifts rather than simply by movements to locations in space (Smyth & Scholey, 1994). It is possible, however, that the stimuli intended to induce attention shifts in our experiments also induced eye movements and interfered either with an overt eye movement rehearsal strategy or with a covert one. In the first experiment reported here, subjects fixated while they maintained a sequence of spatial items in memory before recalling them in order. Fixation did not affect recall, but auditory spatial stimuli presented during the interval did decrease performance, and it was further decreased if the stimuli were categorized as coming from the right or the left. A second experiment investigated the effects of auditory spatial stimuli to which no response was ever required and found that these did not interfere with performance, indicating that it is the spatial salience of targets that leads to interference. This interference from spatial input in the absence of any overt movement of the eyes or limbs is interpreted in terms of shifts of spatial attention or spatial monitoring, which Morris (1989) has suggested affects spatial encoding and which our findings suggest also affects reactivation in rehearsal.

scholarly journals Extraction of saccades from eye movements triggered by reflex blinks

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uday K. Jagadisan ◽  
Neeraj J. Gandhi
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Eye Movement ◽  
Mathematical Formulation ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Motor Preparation ◽  
Blink Reflex ◽  
Eyelid Closure ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Saccadic System ◽  
Neural Signatures

AbstractThe trigeminal blink reflex can be evoked by delivering an air puff to the eye. If timed appropriately, e.g., during motor preparation, the small, loopy blink-related eye movement (BREM) associated with eyelid closure disinhibits the saccadic system and reduces the reaction time of planned eye movements. The BREM and intended eye movement overlap temporally, thus a mathematical formulation is required to objectively extract saccade features – onset time and velocity profile – from the combined movement. While it has been assumed that the interactions are nonlinear, we show that blink-triggered movements can be modeled as a linear combination of a typical BREM and a normal saccade, crucially, with an imposed delay between the two components. Saccades reconstructed with this approach are largely similar to control movements in their temporal and spatial profiles. Furthermore, activity profiles of saccade-related bursts in superior colliculus neurons for the recovered saccades closely match those for normal saccades. Thus, blink perturbations, if properly accounted for, offer a non-invasive tool to probe the behavioral and neural signatures of sensory-to-motor transformations.New and noteworthyThe trigeminal blink reflex is a brief noninvasive perturbation that disinhibits the saccadic system and provides a behavioral readout of the latent motor preparation process. The saccade, however, is combined with a loopy blink related eye movement. Here, we provide a mathematical formulation to extract the saccade from the combined movement. Thus, blink perturbations, when properly accounted for, offer a non-invasive tool to probe the behavioral and neural signatures of sensory-to-motor transformations.

scholarly journals Eye movement-related confounds in neural decoding of visual working memory representations

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pim Mostert ◽  
Anke Marit Albers ◽  
Loek Brinkman ◽  
Larisa Todorova ◽  
Peter Kok ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Eye Movement ◽  
Visual Working Memory ◽  
Delay Period ◽  
Imagery Task ◽  
Neural Decoding ◽  
Neural Signals ◽  
Stable Representation ◽  
Neural Underpinnings

AbstractThe study of visual working memory (VWM) has recently seen revitalization with the emergence of new insights and theories regarding its neural underpinnings. One crucial ingredient responsible for this progress is the rise of neural decoding techniques. These techniques promise to uncover the representational contents of neural signals, as well as the underlying code and the dynamic profile thereof. Here, we aimed to contribute to the field by subjecting human volunteers to a combined VWM/imagery task, while recording and decoding their neural signals as measured by MEG. At first sight, the results seem to provide evidence for a persistent, stable representation of the memorandum throughout the delay period. However, control analyses revealed that these findings can be explained by subtle, VWM-specific eye movements. As a potential remedy, we demonstrate the use of a functional localizer, which was specifically designed to target bottom-up sensory signals and as such avoids eye movements, to train the neural decoders. This analysis revealed a sustained representation for approximately 1 second, but no longer throughout the entire delay period. We conclude by arguing for more awareness of the potentially pervasive and ubiquitous effects of eye movement-related confounds.Significance statementVisual working memory is an important aspect of higher cognition and has been subject of much investigation within the field of cognitive neuroscience. Over recent years, these studies have increasingly relied on the use of neural decoding techniques. Here, we show that neural decoding may be susceptible to confounds induced by stimulus-specific eye movements. Such eye movements during working memory have been reported before, and may in fact be a common phenomenon. Given the widespread use of neural decoding and the potentially contaminating effects of eye movements, we therefore believe that our results are of significant relevance for the field.

The Search for Oculomotor Inhibition

2010 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 429-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Van der Stigchel
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Eye Movement ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Saccadic Target

When a saccadic target is presented simultaneously with a distractor, the distractor has to be inhibited in order to successfully perform an eye movement to the target. Insufficient inhibition results in an erroneous eye movement to the distractor. This study investigated whether the influence of a distractor on eye movements is mediated by working memory. A working memory task was added to a saccadic paradigm in which an irrelevant element had to be inhibited. Results show that participants made more erroneous saccades to the distractor when working memory was occupied. This suggests that working memory is involved in the oculomotor inhibition of saccadic distractors.

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