Brain Activation During Singing: “Clef de Sol Activation” Is the “Concert” of the Human Brain

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioannis N Mavridis ◽  
Efstratios-Stylianos Pyrgelis
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Functional Anatomy ◽  
Musical Instrument ◽  
Cortical Activation ◽  
Activation Process ◽  
Human Communication ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
Topographical Distribution

Humans are the most complex singers in nature, and the human voice is thought by many to be the most beautiful musical instrument. Aside from spoken language, singing represents a second mode of acoustic communication in humans. The purpose of this review article is to explore the functional anatomy of the “singing” brain. Methodologically, the existing literature regarding activation of the human brain during singing was carefully reviewed, with emphasis on the anatomic localization of such activation. Relevant human studies are mainly neuroimaging studies, namely functional magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography studies. Singing necessitates activation of several cortical, subcortical, cerebellar, and brainstem areas, served and coordinated by multiple neural networks. Functionally vital cortical areas of the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes bilaterally participate in the brain’s activation process during singing, confirming the latter’s role in human communication. Perisylvian cortical activity of the right hemisphere seems to be the most crucial component of this activation. This also explains why aphasic patients due to left hemispheric lesions are able to sing but not speak the same words. The term clef de sol activation is proposed for this crucial perisylvian cortical activation due to the clef de sol shape of the topographical distribution of these cortical areas around the sylvian fissure. Further research is needed to explore the connectivity and sequence of how the human brain activates to sing.

Preparatory Set Associated With Pro-Saccades and Anti-Saccades in Humans Investigated With Event-Related fMRI

2003 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 1016-1023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph F. X. DeSouza ◽  
Ravi S. Menon ◽  
Stefan Everling
Keyword(s):  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Cortical Activation ◽  
Peripheral Stimulus ◽  
Fixation Stimulus ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
Preparatory Set ◽  
Motor Signal ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
Anti Saccades

Previous studies have shown that the BOLD functional MRI (fMRI) signal is increased in several cortical areas when subjects perform anti-saccades compared with pro-saccades. It remains unknown, however, whether this increase is due to an increased cortical motor signal for anti-saccades or due to differences in preparatory set between pro- and anti-saccade trials. To address this question, we measured event-related fMRI in a paradigm that allowed us to separate instruction-related brain activity from saccade-related brain activity. In this paradigm, the instruction to either generate a pro-saccade or an anti-saccade was conveyed by a switch in the color of the central fixation stimulus and preceded the presentation of a peripheral stimulus by either 6, 10, or 14 s. Cortical areas were functionally mapped using the general linear model comparing standard pro- and anti-saccade blocks with fixation blocks. When the trials were aligned on the onset of the instruction stimulus, bilateral frontal eye fields and right hemisphere dorsolateral prefrontal cortex showed an increased signal during the instruction period on anti-saccade trials as compared with pro-saccade trials. When the trials were aligned on the movement stimulus and the instruction period activity was subtracted, there were no differences between pro- and anti-saccades. This finding suggests that the increased cortical activation found in previous blocked designs originates predominately from differences in preparatory set and not from differences in the motor signal between pro- and anti-saccades.

Functional anatomy of taste perception in the human brain studied with positron emission tomography

1994 ◽  
Vol 659 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 263-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shigeo Kinomura ◽  
Ryuta Kawashima ◽  
Kenji Yamada ◽  
Shuichi Ono ◽  
Masatoshi Itoh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Positron Emission Tomography ◽  
Human Brain ◽  
Functional Anatomy ◽  
Taste Perception ◽  
Emission Tomography ◽  
Positron Emission

Toward a neuroscope: An application of high-performance computing for real-time evaluation of brain function using MRI

1994 ◽  
Vol 52 ◽  
pp. 922-923
Author(s):  
C. S. Potter ◽  
C. D. Gregory ◽  
H. D. Morris ◽  
Z.-P. Liang ◽  
P. C. Lauterbur
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Brain Function ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Complex Signal ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Brain Organization ◽  
Cognitive Studies ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
Imaging And Spectroscopy ◽  
3D Anatomy

Over the past few years, several laboratories have demonstrated that changes in local neuronal activity associated with human brain function can be detected by magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy. Using these methods, the effects of sensory and motor stimulation have been observed and cognitive studies have begun. These new methods promise to make possible even more rapid and extensive studies of brain organization and responses than those now in use, such as positron emission tomography.Human brain studies are enormously complex. Signal changes on the order of a few percent must be detected against the background of the complex 3D anatomy of the human brain. Today, most functional MR experiments are performed using several 2D slice images acquired at each time step or stimulation condition of the experimental protocol. It is generally believed that true 3D experiments must be performed for many cognitive experiments. To provide adequate resolution, this requires that data must be acquired faster and/or more efficiently to support 3D functional analysis.

Functional Anatomy of Intensity Aspects of Attention

2003 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Sturm
Keyword(s):  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Functional Anatomy ◽  
Fmri Data ◽  
Functional Networks ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Stimulus Modality ◽  
Spatial Orienting ◽  
Phasic Alertness ◽  
Co Activation ◽  
Attention System

Abstract: Behavioral and PET/fMRI-data are presented to delineate the functional networks subserving alertness, sustained attention, and vigilance as different aspects of attention intensity. The data suggest that a mostly right-hemisphere frontal, parietal, thalamic, and brainstem network plays an important role in the regulation of attention intensity, irrespective of stimulus modality. Under conditions of phasic alertness there is less right frontal activation reflecting a diminished need for top-down regulation with phasic extrinsic stimulation. Furthermore, a high overlap between the functional networks for alerting and spatial orienting of attention is demonstrated. These findings support the hypothesis of a co-activation of the posterior attention system involved in spatial orienting by the anterior alerting network. Possible implications of these findings for the therapy of neglect are proposed.

scholarly journals The Right Hemisphere Is Responsible for the Greatest Differences in Human Brain Response to High-Arousing Emotional versus Neutral Stimuli: A MEG Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 960
Author(s):  
Mina Kheirkhah ◽  
Philipp Baumbach ◽  
Lutz Leistritz ◽  
Otto W. Witte ◽  
Martin Walter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Emotional Stimuli ◽  
Brain Response ◽  
Whole Brain ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
Cortical Regions ◽  
The Right ◽  
Healthy Participants

Studies investigating human brain response to emotional stimuli—particularly high-arousing versus neutral stimuli—have obtained inconsistent results. The present study was the first to combine magnetoencephalography (MEG) with the bootstrapping method to examine the whole brain and identify the cortical regions involved in this differential response. Seventeen healthy participants (11 females, aged 19 to 33 years; mean age, 26.9 years) were presented with high-arousing emotional (pleasant and unpleasant) and neutral pictures, and their brain responses were measured using MEG. When random resampling bootstrapping was performed for each participant, the greatest differences between high-arousing emotional and neutral stimuli during M300 (270–320 ms) were found to occur in the right temporo-parietal region. This finding was observed in response to both pleasant and unpleasant stimuli. The results, which may be more robust than previous studies because of bootstrapping and examination of the whole brain, reinforce the essential role of the right hemisphere in emotion processing.

scholarly journals Acute acetate administration increases endogenous opioid levels in the human brain: A [11C]carfentanil molecular imaging study

2021 ◽  
pp. 026988112096591
Author(s):  
Abhishekh H Ashok ◽  
Jim Myers ◽  
Gary Frost ◽  
Samuel Turton ◽  
Roger N Gunn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Sodium Acetate ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Imaging Study ◽  
Pet Scan ◽  
Endogenous Opioid ◽  
Reference Tissue ◽  
Healthy Human ◽  
Fourfold Increase ◽  
Positron Emission

Introduction: A recent study has shown that acetate administration leads to a fourfold increase in the transcription of proopiomelanocortin (POMC) mRNA in the hypothalamus. POMC is cleaved to peptides, including β-endorphin, an endogenous opioid (EO) agonist that binds preferentially to the µ-opioid receptor (MOR). We hypothesised that an acetate challenge would increase the levels of EO in the human brain. We have previously demonstrated that increased EO release in the human brain can be detected using positron emission tomography (PET) with the selective MOR radioligand [11C]carfentanil. We used this approach to evaluate the effects of an acute acetate challenge on EO levels in the brain of healthy human volunteers. Methods: Seven volunteers each completed a baseline [11C]carfentanil PET scan followed by an administration of sodium acetate before a second [11C]carfentanil PET scan. Dynamic PET data were acquired over 90 minutes, and corrected for attenuation, scatter and subject motion. Regional [11C] carfentanil BPND values were then calculated using the simplified reference tissue model (with the occipital grey matter as the reference region). Change in regional EO concentration was evaluated as the change in [11C]carfentanil BPND following acetate administration. Results: Following sodium acetate administration, 2.5–6.5% reductions in [11C]carfentanil regional BPND were seen, with statistical significance reached in the cerebellum, temporal lobe, orbitofrontal cortex, striatum and thalamus. Conclusions: We have demonstrated that an acute acetate challenge has the potential to increase EO release in the human brain, providing a plausible mechanism of the central effects of acetate on appetite in humans.

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