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Neurology Mar 2018To identify the prefrontal cortical structures causally involved in verbal and nonverbal semantic cognition in both cerebral hemispheres.
OBJECTIVE
To identify the prefrontal cortical structures causally involved in verbal and nonverbal semantic cognition in both cerebral hemispheres.
METHODS
We retrospectively screened the intraoperative brain mapping data of 584 patients who underwent neurosurgery for neoplastic tumor under local anesthesia with direct cortical electrostimulation. Patients were included if they were right-handed, recently diagnosed with a diffuse low-grade glioma, and had a positive language mapping for verbal (naming task) and nonverbal (visual semantic association task) semantic cognition in the prefrontal cortex (n = 49). Among these, 30 were tested intraoperatively with both the naming and the semantic association tasks, while 19 were tested with the naming task only. Subsequently, each semantic site (n = 85) was plotted individually onto a common stereotaxic space for detailed analyses.
RESULTS
The cortical sites associated with verbal semantic disturbances (n = 45) were distributed in the pars opercularis (n = 14) and pars triangularis (n = 19) of the left inferior frontal gyrus, and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC, n = 12); only 2 sites were observed in the right dlPFC. In contrast, all but one cortical site associated with nonverbal semantic disturbances were observed in the left dorsolateral cortex (n = 8). In the right hemisphere, the same disturbances were found in the dlPFC (n = 14) and pars opercularis (n = 2).
CONCLUSION
The present study demonstrated the critical role of the dlPFC in the semantic network, and indicated its specific and bilateral involvement in nonverbal semantic cognition in right-handers.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Association; Brain Mapping; Brain Neoplasms; Cognition; Electric Stimulation; Female; Glioma; Humans; Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring; Male; Middle Aged; Prefrontal Cortex; Retrospective Studies; Semantics; Speech; Visual Perception; Young Adult
PubMed: 29444964
DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000005174 -
The European Journal of Neuroscience Mar 2019Considerable evidence suggests that the learning and performance of instrumental actions depend on activity in basal ganglia circuitry; however, these two functions have... (Review)
Review
Considerable evidence suggests that the learning and performance of instrumental actions depend on activity in basal ganglia circuitry; however, these two functions have generally been considered independently. Whereas research investigating the associative mechanisms underlying instrumental conditioning has identified critical cortical and limbic input pathways to the dorsal striatum, the performance of instrumental actions has largely been attributed to activity in the dorsal striatal output pathways, with direct and indirect pathway projection neurons mediating action initiation, perseveration and cessation. Here, we discuss evidence that the dorsal striatal input and basal ganglia output pathways mediate the learning and performance of instrumental actions, respectively, with the dorsal striatum functioning as a transition point. From this perspective, the issue of how multiple striatal inputs are integrated at the level of the dorsal striatum and converted into relatively restricted outputs becomes one of critical significance for understanding how learning is translated into action. So too does the question of how learning signals are modulated by recent experience. We propose that this occurs through recurrent corticostriatothalamic feedback circuits that serve to integrate performance signals by updating ongoing action-related learning.
Topics: Animals; Association Learning; Cerebral Cortex; Conditioning, Operant; Motor Activity; Neostriatum; Nerve Net; Neural Pathways; Thalamus
PubMed: 29791051
DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13964 -
The Journal of Neuroscience : the... Apr 2015Auditory learning is associated with an enhanced representation of acoustic cues in primary auditory cortex, and modulation of inhibitory strength is causally involved...
Auditory learning is associated with an enhanced representation of acoustic cues in primary auditory cortex, and modulation of inhibitory strength is causally involved in learning. If this inhibitory plasticity is associated with task learning and improvement, its expression should emerge and persist until task proficiency is achieved. We tested this idea by measuring changes to cortical inhibitory synaptic transmission as adult gerbils progressed through the process of associative learning and perceptual improvement. Using either of two procedures, aversive or appetitive conditioning, animals were trained to detect amplitude-modulated noise and then tested daily. Following each training session, a thalamocortical brain slice was generated, and inhibitory synaptic properties were recorded from layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons. Initial associative learning was accompanied by a profound reduction in the amplitude of spontaneous IPSCs (sIPSCs). However, sIPSC amplitude returned to control levels when animals reached asymptotic behavioral performance. In contrast, paired-pulse ratios decreased in trained animals as well as in control animals that experienced unpaired conditioned and unconditioned stimuli. This latter observation suggests that inhibitory release properties are modified during behavioral conditioning, even when an association between the sound and reinforcement cannot occur. These results suggest that associative learning is accompanied by a reduction of postsynaptic inhibitory strength that persists for several days during learning and perceptual improvement.
Topics: Animals; Association Learning; Auditory Cortex; Auditory Perception; Conditioning, Classical; Gerbillinae; Inhibitory Postsynaptic Potentials; Male; Neural Inhibition; Pyramidal Cells; Synaptic Transmission
PubMed: 25904785
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4051-14.2015 -
Current Biology : CB Dec 2016Extinction involves altering a previously established predictive relationship between a cue and its outcome by repeatedly presenting that cue alone. Although it is...
Extinction involves altering a previously established predictive relationship between a cue and its outcome by repeatedly presenting that cue alone. Although it is widely accepted that extinction generates some form of inhibitory learning [1-4], direct evidence for this claim has been lacking, and the nature of the associative changes induced by extinction have, therefore, remained a matter of debate [5-8]. In the current experiments, we used a novel behavioral approach that we recently developed and that provides a direct measure of conditioned inhibition [9] to compare the influence of extinguished and non-extinguished cues on choice between goal-directed actions. Using this approach, we provide direct evidence that extinction generates outcome-specific conditioned inhibition. Furthermore, we demonstrate that this inhibitory learning is controlled by the infralimbic cortex (IL); inactivation of the IL using M4 DREADDs abolished outcome-specific inhibition and rendered the cue excitatory. Importantly, we found that context modulated this inhibition. Outside its extinction context, the cue was excitatory and functioned as a specific predictor of its previously associated outcome, biasing choice toward actions earning the same outcome. In its extinction context, however, the cue acted as a specific inhibitor and biased choice toward actions earning different outcomes. Context modulation of these excitatory and inhibitory memories was mediated by the dorsal hippocampus (HPC), suggesting that the HPC and IL act in concert to control the influence of conditioned inhibitors on choice. These findings demonstrate for the first time that extinction turns a cue into a net inhibitor that can influence choice via counterfactual action-outcome associations.
Topics: Animals; Association Learning; Cerebral Cortex; Conditioning, Psychological; Extinction, Psychological; Inhibition, Psychological; Rats
PubMed: 28094035
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.09.021 -
Current Biology : CB Jan 2015The frontal association cortex (FrA) is implicated in higher brain function. Aberrant FrA activity is likely to be involved in dementia pathology. However, the...
The frontal association cortex (FrA) is implicated in higher brain function. Aberrant FrA activity is likely to be involved in dementia pathology. However, the functional circuits both within the FrA and with other regions are unclear. A recent study showed that inactivation of the FrA impairs memory consolidation of an auditory fear conditioning in young mice. In addition, dendritic spine remodeling of FrA neurons is sensitive to paired sensory stimuli that produce associative memory. These findings suggest that the FrA is engaged in neural processes critical to associative learning. Here we characterize stimulus integration in the mouse FrA during associative learning. We experimentally separated contextual fear conditioning into context exposure and shock, and found that memory formation requires protein synthesis associated with both context exposure and shock in the FrA. Both context exposure and shock trigger Arc, an activity-dependent immediate-early gene, expression in the FrA, and a subset of FrA neurons was dually activated by both stimuli. In addition, we found that the FrA receives projections from the perirhinal (PRh) and insular (IC) cortices and basolateral amygdala (BLA), which are implicated in context and shock encoding. PRh and IC neurons projecting to the FrA were activated by context exposure and shock, respectively. Arc expression in the FrA associated with context exposure and shock depended on PRh activity and both IC and BLA activities, respectively. These findings indicate that the FrA is engaged in stimulus integration and contributes to memory formation in associative learning.
Topics: Animals; Association Learning; Conditioning, Psychological; Fear; Frontal Lobe; Male; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Neurons; Protein Biosynthesis
PubMed: 25496961
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.10.078 -
NeuroImage Aug 2021The flexible retrieval of knowledge is critical in everyday situations involving problem solving, reasoning and social interaction. Current theories emphasise the...
The flexible retrieval of knowledge is critical in everyday situations involving problem solving, reasoning and social interaction. Current theories emphasise the importance of a left-lateralised semantic control network (SCN) in supporting flexible semantic behaviour, while a bilateral multiple-demand network (MDN) is implicated in executive functions across domains. No study, however, has examined whether semantic and non-semantic demands are reflected in a common neural code within regions specifically implicated in semantic control. Using functional MRI and univariate parametric modulation analysis as well as multivariate pattern analysis, we found that semantic and non-semantic demands gave rise to both similar and distinct neural responses across control-related networks. Though activity patterns in SCN and MDN could decode the difficulty of both semantic and verbal working memory decisions, there was no shared common neural coding of cognitive demands in SCN regions. In contrast, regions in MDN showed common patterns across manipulations of semantic and working memory control demands, with successful cross-classification of difficulty across tasks. Therefore, SCN and MDN can be dissociated according to the information they maintain about cognitive demands.
Topics: Adult; Association; Brain Mapping; Cerebral Cortex; Executive Function; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Memory, Short-Term; Nerve Net; Pattern Recognition, Visual; Reading; Semantics; Support Vector Machine; Verbal Learning; Young Adult
PubMed: 34089873
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118230 -
Genes, Brain, and Behavior Jan 2016Pavlovian fear or threat conditioning, where a neutral stimulus takes on aversive properties through pairing with an aversive stimulus, has been an important tool for... (Review)
Review
Pavlovian fear or threat conditioning, where a neutral stimulus takes on aversive properties through pairing with an aversive stimulus, has been an important tool for exploring the neurobiology of learning. In the past decades, this neurobehavioral approach has been expanded to include the developing infant. Indeed, protracted postnatal brain development permits the exploration of how incorporating the amygdala, prefrontal cortex and hippocampus into this learning system impacts the acquisition and expression of aversive conditioning. Here, we review the developmental trajectory of these key brain areas involved in aversive conditioning and relate it to pups' transition to independence through weaning. Overall, the data suggests that adult-like features of threat learning emerge as the relevant brain areas become incorporated into this learning. Specifically, the developmental emergence of the amygdala permits cue learning and the emergence of the hippocampus permits context learning. We also describe unique features of learning in early life that block threat learning and enhance interaction with the mother or exploration of the environment. Finally, we describe the development of a sense of time within this learning and its involvement in creating associations. Together these data suggest that the development of threat learning is a useful tool for dissecting adult-like functioning of brain circuits, as well as providing unique insights into ecologically relevant developmental changes.
Topics: Amygdala; Animals; Association Learning; Child Development; Fear; Humans; Infant; Neurogenesis
PubMed: 26534899
DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12261 -
Developmental Neuropsychology 2016In this article, we describe behavioral and neurophysiological evidence for infants' multimodal face-voice perception. We argue that the behavioral development of... (Review)
Review
In this article, we describe behavioral and neurophysiological evidence for infants' multimodal face-voice perception. We argue that the behavioral development of face-voice perception, like multimodal perception more broadly, is consistent with the intersensory redundancy hypothesis (IRH). Furthermore, we highlight that several recently observed features of the neural responses in infants converge with the behavioral predictions of the intersensory redundancy hypothesis. Finally, we discuss the potential benefits of combining brain and behavioral measures to study multisensory processing, as well as some applications of this work for atypical development.
Topics: Age Factors; Association Learning; Attention; Brain Mapping; Cerebral Cortex; Cognition; Communication; Evoked Potentials; Facial Recognition; Humans; Infant; Language Development; Speech Acoustics; Speech Perception; Voice
PubMed: 28059567
DOI: 10.1080/87565641.2016.1255744 -
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory May 2017Associative learning can enable environmental cues to signal food and stimulate feeding, independent of physiological hunger. Two forebrain regions necessary in cue...
Associative learning can enable environmental cues to signal food and stimulate feeding, independent of physiological hunger. Two forebrain regions necessary in cue driven feeding, the basolateral area of the amygdala and the medial prefrontal cortex, communicate via extensive, topographically organized connections. The basolateral nucleus (BLA) sends extensive projections to the prelimbic cortex (PL), and our aim here was to determine if this pathway was selectively recruited during cue-food associative learning. The anterior and posterior basolateral nuclei are recruited during different phases of cue-food learning, and thus we examined whether distinct pathways that originate in these nuclei and project to the PL are differently recruited during early and late stages of learning. To accomplish this we used neuroanatomical tract tracing combined with the detection of Fos induction. To identify projecting neurons within the BLA, prior to training, rats received a retrograde tracer, Fluoro-Gold (FG) into the PL. Rats were given either one or ten sessions of tone-food presentations (Paired group) or tone-only presentations (Control group). The Paired group learned the tone-food association quickly and robustly and had greater Fos induction within the anterior and posterior BLA during early and late learning compared to the Control group. Notably, the Paired group had more double-labeled neurons (FG + Fos) during late training compared to the Control group, specifically in the anterior BLA. This demonstrates selective recruitment of the anterior BLA-PL pathway by late cue-food learning. These findings indicate plasticity and specificity in the BLA-PL pathways across cue-food associative learning.
Topics: Acoustic Stimulation; Animals; Association Learning; Basolateral Nuclear Complex; Conditioning, Classical; Cues; Food; Neural Pathways; Neuroanatomical Tract-Tracing Techniques; Neurons; Prefrontal Cortex; Rats
PubMed: 28288832
DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2017.03.006 -
Psychophysiology Aug 2021Existing studies have identified crucial roles for the hippocampus and a distributed set of cortical regions (e.g., the inferior parietal cortex) in learning novel...
Existing studies have identified crucial roles for the hippocampus and a distributed set of cortical regions (e.g., the inferior parietal cortex) in learning novel words. Nevertheless, researchers have not clearly determined how the hippocampus and cortical regions dynamically interact during novel word learning, especially during form-meaning associative learning. As a method to address this question, we used an online learning paradigm and representational similarity analysis to explore the contributions of the hippocampus and neocortex to form-meaning associative learning. Twenty-nine native Chinese college students were recruited to learn 30 form-meaning pairs, which were repeated 7 times during fMRI scan. Form-meaning associative learning elicited activations in a wide neural network including regions required for word processing (i.e., the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus and the occipitotemporal cortex), regions required for encoding (i.e., the bilateral parahippocampus and hippocampus), and regions required for cognitive control (i.e., the anterior cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex). More importantly, our study revealed the differential roles of the left hippocampus and bilateral inferior parietal lobule (IPL) in form-meaning associative learning. Specifically, higher pattern similarity in the bilateral IPL in the early learning phase (repetitions 1 to 3) was related to better learning performance, while higher pattern similarity in the left hippocampus in the late learning phase (repetitions 5 to 7) was associated with better learning performance. These findings indicate that the hippocampus and cortical regions (e.g., the IPL) contribute to form-meaning learning in different stages.
Topics: Adult; Association Learning; Brain Mapping; Female; Hippocampus; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Parietal Lobe; Pattern Recognition, Visual; Psycholinguistics; Reading; Young Adult
PubMed: 33949705
DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13834