scholarly journals The Affective Core of Emotion: Linking Pleasure, Subjective Well-Being, and Optimal Metastability in the Brain

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morten L. Kringelbach ◽  
Kent C. Berridge
Keyword(s):  
Affective Disorders ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Brain Networks ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Whole Brain ◽  
Small Set ◽  
The Brain

Arguably, emotion is always valenced—either pleasant or unpleasant—and dependent on the pleasure system. This system serves adaptive evolutionary functions; relying on separable wanting, liking, and learning neural mechanisms mediated by mesocorticolimbic networks driving pleasure cycles with appetitive, consummatory, and satiation phases. Liking is generated in a small set of discrete hedonic hotspots and coldspots, while wanting is linked to dopamine and to larger distributed brain networks. Breakdown of the pleasure system can lead to anhedonia and other features of affective disorders. Eudaimonia and well-being are difficult to study empirically, yet whole-brain computational models could offer novel insights (e.g., routes to eudaimonia such as caregiving of infants or music) potentially linking eudaimonia to optimal metastability in the pleasure system.

scholarly journals Focused attention meditation changes the boundary and configuration of functional networks in the brain

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shogo Kajimura ◽  
Naoki Masuda ◽  
Johnny King L. Lau ◽  
Kou Murayama
Keyword(s):  
Network Architecture ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Brain Networks ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
Community Size ◽  
Whole Brain ◽  
Motor Network ◽  
Functional Brain Networks ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Research has shown that focused attention meditation not only improves our cognitive and motivational functioning (e.g., attention, mental health), it influences the way our brain networks [e.g., default mode network (DMN), fronto-parietal network (FPN), and sensory-motor network (SMN)] function and operate. However, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the possibility that meditation alters the architecture (composition) of these functional brain networks. Here, using a single-case experimental design with intensive longitudinal data, we examined the effect of mediation practice on intra-individual changes in the composition of whole-brain networks. The results showed that meditation (1) changed the community size (with a number of regions in the FPN being merged into the DMN after meditation) and (2) led to instability in the community allegiance of the regions in the FPN. These results suggest that, in addition to altering specific functional connectivity, meditation leads to reconfiguration of whole-brain network architecture. The reconfiguration of community architecture in the brain provides fruitful information about the neural mechanisms of meditation.

scholarly journals Somatic influences on subjective well-being and affective disorders: the convergence of thermosensory and central serotonergic systems

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles L. Raison ◽  
Matthew W. Hale ◽  
Lawrence E. Williams ◽  
Tor D. Wager ◽  
Christopher A. Lowry
Keyword(s):  
Affective Disorders ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being

scholarly journals Quantification and selection of ictogenic zones in epilepsy surgery

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petroula Laiou ◽  
Eleftherios Avramidis ◽  
Marinho A. Lopes ◽  
Eugenio Abela ◽  
Michael Müller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Computational Models ◽  
Brain Networks ◽  
Network Models ◽  
Combinatorial Problem ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Potential Applicability ◽  
Healthy Functioning ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Selection Of

AbstractNetwork models of brain dynamics provide valuable insight into the healthy functioning of the brain and how this breaks down in disease. A pertinent example is the use of network models to understand seizure generation (ictogenesis) in epilepsy. Recently, computational models have emerged to aid our understanding of seizures and to predict the outcome of surgical perturbations to brain networks. Such approaches provide the opportunity to quantify the effect of removing regions of tissue from brain networks and thereby search for the optimal resection strategy.Here, we use computational models to elucidate how sets of nodes contribute to the ictogenicity of networks. In small networks we fully elucidate the ictogenicity of all possible sets of nodes and demonstrate that the distribution of ictogenicity across sets depends on network topology. However, the full elucidation is a combinatorial problem that becomes intractable for large networks. Therefore, we develop a global optimisation approach to search for minimal sets of nodes that contribute significantly to ictogenesis. We demonstrate the potential applicability of these methods in practice by identifying optimal sets of nodes to resect in networks derived from 20 individuals who underwent resective surgery for epilepsy.

scholarly journals Cholinergic neuromodulation of inhibitory interneurons facilitates functional integration in whole-brain models

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Coronel-Oliveros ◽  
Rodrigo Cofré ◽  
Patricio Orio
Keyword(s):  
Computational Models ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Functional Integration ◽  
Whole Brain ◽  
Inhibitory Circuits ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Inhibitory Feedback ◽  
Noradrenergic Modulation ◽  
The Brain

AbstractSegregation and integration are two fundamental principles of brain structural and functional organization. Neuroimaging studies have shown that the brain transits between different functionally segregated and integrated states, and neuromodulatory systems have been proposed as key to facilitate these transitions. Although computational models have reproduced the effect of neuromodulation at the whole-brain level, the role of local inhibitory circuits and their cholinergic modulation has not been studied. In this article, we consider a Jansen & Rit whole-brain model in a network interconnected using a human connectome, and study the influence of the cholinergic and noradrenergic neuromodulatory systems on the segregation/integration balance. In our model, a newly introduced local inhibitory feedback enables the integration of whole-brain activity, and its modulation interacts with the other neuromodulatory influences to facilitate the transit between different functional states. Moreover, the new proposed model is able to reproduce an inverted-U relationship between noradrenergic modulation and network integration. Our work proposes a new possible mechanism behind segregation and integration in the brain.

scholarly journals Functional Connectivity within and beyond the Face Network Is Related to Reduced Discrimination of Degraded Faces in Young and Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (12) ◽  
pp. 6206-6223
Author(s):  
Cheryl L Grady ◽  
Jenny R Rieck ◽  
Daniel Nichol ◽  
Douglas D Garrett
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Brain Networks ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Whole Brain ◽  
The Face ◽  
Brain Correlates ◽  
Brain And Behavior ◽  
Face Stimuli ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Degrading face stimuli reduces face discrimination in both young and older adults, but the brain correlates of this decline in performance are not fully understood. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the effects of degraded face stimuli on face and nonface brain networks and tested whether these changes would predict the linear declines seen in performance. We found decreased activity in the face network (FN) and a decrease in the similarity of functional connectivity (FC) in the FN across conditions as degradation increased but no effect of age. FC in whole-brain networks also changed with increasing degradation, including increasing FC between the visual network and cognitive control networks. Older adults showed reduced modulation of this whole-brain FC pattern. The strongest predictors of within-participant decline in accuracy were changes in whole-brain network FC and FC similarity of the FN. There was no influence of age on these brain-behavior relations. These results suggest that a systems-level approach beyond the FN is required to understand the brain correlates of performance decline when faces are obscured with noise. In addition, the association between brain and behavior changes was maintained into older age, despite the dampened FC response to face degradation seen in older adults.

Polygenic Score of Subjective Well-Being Is Associated with the Brain Morphology in Superior Temporal Gyrus and Insula

Neuroscience ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 414 ◽  
pp. 210-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Song ◽  
Jie Meng ◽  
Qiang Liu ◽  
Tengbin Huo ◽  
Xingxing Zhu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Superior Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Brain Morphology ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Polygenic Score ◽  
The Brain

scholarly journals Impaired subjective well-being in schizophrenia is associated with reduced anterior cingulate activity during reward processing

2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 589-600 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Gilleen ◽  
S. S. Shergill ◽  
S. Kapur
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Reward Processing ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Whole Brain ◽  
Reward Anticipation ◽  
Reward Network ◽  
Healthy Participants

BackgroundPatients with schizophrenia have substantially reduced subjective well-being (SW) compared to healthy individuals. It has been suggested that diminished SW may be related to deficits in the neural processing of reward but this has not been shown directly. We hypothesized that, in schizophrenia, lower SW would be associated with attenuated reward-related activation in the reward network.MethodTwenty patients with schizophrenia with a range of SW underwent a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) reward task. The brain activity underlying reward anticipation and outcome in schizophrenia was examined and compared to that of 12 healthy participants using a full factorial analysis. Region of interest (ROI) analyses of areas within the reward network and whole-brain analyses were conducted to reveal neural correlates of SW.ResultsReward-related neural activity in schizophrenia was not significantly different from that of healthy participants; however, the patients with schizophrenia showed significantly diminished SW. Both ROI and whole-brain analyses confirmed that SW scores in the patients correlated significantly with activity, specifically in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), during both reward anticipation and reward outcome. This association was not seen in the healthy participants.ConclusionsIn patients with schizophrenia, reduced activation of the dACC during multiple aspects of reward processing is associated with lower SW. As the dACC has been widely linked to coupling of reward and action, and the link to SW is apparent over anticipation and outcome, these findings suggest that SW deficits in schizophrenia may be attributable to reduced integration of environmental rewarding cues, motivated behaviour and reward outcome.

Neural mechanisms underlying the higher levels of subjective well-being in extraverts: Pleasant bias and unpleasant resistance

2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiajin Yuan ◽  
Jinfu Zhang ◽  
Xiaolin Zhou ◽  
Jiemin Yang ◽  
Xianxin Meng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Subjective Well Being

scholarly journals Focused attention meditation changes the boundary and configuration of functional networks in the brain

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shogo Kajimura ◽  
Naoki Masuda ◽  
Johnny King Lau ◽  
Kou Murayama
Keyword(s):  
Single Case ◽  
Brain Networks ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Health It ◽  
Community Size ◽  
Whole Brain ◽  
Motor Network ◽  
Functional Brain Networks ◽  
The Brain

AbstractResearch has shown that meditation not only improves our cognitive and motivational functioning (e.g., attention, mental health), it influences the way how our brain networks [e.g., default mode network (DMN), fronto-parietal network (FPN), and sensory-motor network (SMN)] function and operate. However, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the possibility that meditation alters the structure (composition) of these functional brain networks. Here, using a single-case experimental design with longitudinal intensive data, we examined the effect of mediation practice on intra-individual changes in the composition of whole-brain networks. The results showed that meditation (1) changed the community size (with a number of regions in the FPN being merged into the DMN after meditation), (2) changed the brain regions composing the SMN community without changing its size, and (3) led to instability in the community allegiance of the regions in the FPN. These results suggest that, in addition to altering specific functional connectivity, meditation leads to reconfiguration of whole-brain network structure. The reconfiguration of community structure in the brain provides fruitful information about the neural mechanisms of meditation.

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