Neuroscience is developing rapidly by providing a variety of modern tools for analyzing the functional interactions of the brain and detection of pathological deviations due to neurodegeneration. The ...present study argues that the induction of neuroplasticity of the mature human brain leads to the prevention of dementia. Promising solution seems to be the dance programs because they combine cognitive and physical activity in a pleasant way. So, we investigated whether the traditional Greek dances can improve the cognitive, physical and functional status of the elderly always aiming at promoting active and healthy aging. Forty-four participants were randomly assigned equally to the training group and an active control group. The duration of the program was 6 months. Also, the participants were evaluated for their physical status and through an electroencephalographic (EEG) examination at rest (eyes-closed condition). The EEG testing was performed 1-14 days before (pre) and after (post) the training. Cortical network analysis was applied by modeling the cortex through a generic anatomical model of 20,000 fixed dipoles. These were grouped into 512 cortical regions of interest (ROIs). High quality, artifact-free data resulting from an elaborate pre-processing pipeline were segmented into multiple, 30 s of continuous epochs. Then, functional connectivity among those ROIs was performed for each epoch through the relative wavelet entropy (RWE). Synchronization matrices were computed and then thresholded in order to provide binary, directed cortical networks of various density ranges. The results showed that the dance training improved optimal network performance as estimated by the small-world property. Further analysis demonstrated that there were also local network changes resulting in better information flow and functional re-organization of the network nodes. These results indicate the application of the dance training as a possible non-pharmacological intervention for promoting mental and physical well-being of senior citizens. Our results were also compared with a combination of computerized cognitive and physical training, which has already been demonstrated to induce neuroplasticity (LLM Care).
Previous neuroimaging studies have shown that sounds can be discriminated due to living-related or man-made-related characteristics and involve different brain regions. However, these studies have ...mainly provided source space analyses, which offer simple maps of activated brain regions but do not explain how regions of a distributed system are functionally organized under a specific task. In the present study, we aimed to further examine the functional connectivity of the auditory processing pathway across different categories of non-speech sounds in healthy adults, by means of MEG. Our analyses demonstrated significant activation and interconnection differences between living and man-made object sounds, in the prefrontal areas, anterior-superior temporal gyrus (aSTG), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and supramarginal gyrus (SMG), occurring within 80-120 ms post-stimulus interval. Current findings replicated previous ones, in that other regions beyond the auditory cortex are involved during auditory processing. According to the functional connectivity analysis, differential brain networks across the categories exist, which proposes that sound category discrimination processing relies on distinct cortical networks, a notion that has been strongly argued in the literature also in relation to the visual system.
Investigations of biofeedback (BF) and neurofeedback (NF) training for nicotine addiction have been long documented to lead to positive gains in smoking status, behavior and to changes in brain ...activity. We aimed to: (a) evaluate a multi-visit combined BF/NF intervention as an alternative smoking cessation approach, (b) validate training-induced feedback learning, and (c) document effects on resting-state functional connectivity networks (rsFCN); considering gender and degree of nicotine dependence in a longitudinal design.
We analyzed clinical, behavioral, and electrophysiological data from 17 smokers who completed five BF and 20 NF sessions and three evaluation stages. Possible neuroplastic effects were explored comparing whole-brain rsFCN by phase-lag index (PLI) for different brain rhythms. PLI connections with significant change across time were investigated according to different resting-state networks (RSNs).
Improvements in smoking status were observed as exhaled carbon monoxide levels, Total Oxidative Stress, and Fageström scores decreased while Vitamin E levels increased across time. BF/NF promoted gains in anxiety, self-esteem, and several aspects of cognitive performance. BF learning in temperature enhancement was observed within sessions. NF learning in theta/alpha ratio increase was achieved across baselines and within sessions. PLI network connections significantly changed across time mainly between or within visual, default mode and frontoparietal networks in theta and alpha rhythms, while beta band RSNs mostly changed significantly after BF sessions.
Combined BF/NF training positively affects the clinical and behavioral status of smokers, displays benefit in smoking harm reduction, plays a neuroprotective role, leads to learning effects and to positive reorganization of RSNs across time.
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02991781.
In cueing tasks, predictive and non-predictive exogenous spatial cues produce distinct patterns of behavioral effects. Although both cues initially attract attention, only non-predictive cues lead to ...inhibitory effects (worse performance at the cued location as compared to the uncued location) if the time elapsed between the cue and the target is long enough. However, the process/processes leading to the later inhibitory effect, named inhibition of return (IOR), are still under debate. In the present study, we used cue-elicited EEG activations from predictive and non-predictive exogenous spatial cues to further investigate the neural processes involved in IOR. Unlike previous similar studies, we intermixed both types of cues in a block of trials, in an attempt to identify the unique neurophysiological activations associated with the generation of IOR. We found that predictive and non-predictive cues significantly differed in activation just at 400-470 ms post-cue window. Activation was greater for non-predictive cues in the intraparietal sulcus (IPS), and this activation correlated significantly with IOR effects. These findings support the hypothesis that the posterior parietal cortex plays a crucial role in the generation of IOR.
Despite good agreement of national guidelines for the assessment and treatment of tinnitus, there is still substantial variation regarding tinnitus-related healthcare across Europe. In contrast to ...previous work, which has mainly focussed on the perspective of healthcare professionals, we here report the results of separate web-based surveys conducted with clinicians and researchers as well as tinnitus patients. These surveys were devised to obtain information about their respective attitudes and needs with respect to tinnitus healthcare, and to reveal possible interdisciplinary inconsistencies among clinicians and researchers. We mainly targeted participants from Germany, Cyprus, and Greece, the countries in which the institutions of the researchers involved in this project are based. Results showed, firstly, that the treatment satisfaction of the patients was overall more negative than that of the clinicians and researchers, and that the patients' treatment satisfaction did not depend on the number of different treatments they had received. Secondly, patients as well as clinicians and researchers indicated that they were interested in learning more about a variety of tinnitus-related topics, especially treatment strategies, with no marked differences between clinicians from different professional disciplines. This suggests similar tinnitus-specific educational needs in patients and healthcare professionals.
Understanding the neuroplastic capacity of people with Down syndrome (PwDS) can potentially reveal the causal relationship between aberrant brain organization and phenotypic characteristics. We used ...resting-state EEG recordings to identify how a neuroplasticity-triggering training protocol relates to changes in the functional connectivity of the brain’s intrinsic cortical networks. Brain activity of 12 PwDS before and after a 10-week protocol of combined physical and cognitive training was statistically compared to quantify changes in directed functional connectivity in conjunction with psychosomatometric assessments. PwDS showed increased connectivity within the left hemisphere and from left-to-right hemisphere, as well as increased physical and cognitive performance. Our findings reveal a strong adaptive neuroplastic reorganization as a result of the training that leads to a less-random network with a more pronounced hierarchical organization. Our results go beyond previous findings by indicating a transition to a healthier, more efficient, and flexible network architecture, with improved integration and segregation abilities in the brain of PwDS. Resting-state electrophysiological brain activity is used here for the first time to display meaningful relationships to underlying Down syndrome processes and outcomes of importance in a translational inquiry. This trial is registered with
Identifier NCT04390321.
The effects of cognitive and physical training on the neuroplasticity attributes of people with and without cognitive impairment have been well documented via neurophysiological evaluations and network science indices. However, there is still insufficient evidence for people with Down syndrome (PwDS). We investigated the effects of a combinational training protocol on the brain network organization of 12 adult PwDS by using EEG and network indices coupled with tests assessing their cognitive and physical capacity. We report evidence of adaptational neuroplastic effects, pointing to a transitional state toward a healthier organization with an increased ability to integrate and segregate information. Our findings underline the ability of the Down syndrome brain to respond to the cognitive demands of external stimuli, reflecting the possibility of developing independent-living skills.
Background. The generation and maintenance of tinnitus are assumed to be based on maladaptive functional cortical reorganization. Listening to modified music, which contains no energy in the range of ...the individual tinnitus frequency, can inhibit the corresponding neuronal activity in the auditory cortex. Music making has been shown to be a powerful stimulator for brain plasticity, inducing changes in multiple sensory systems. Using magnetoencephalographic (MEG) and behavioral measurements we evaluated the cortical plasticity effects of two months of (a) active listening to (unisensory) versus (b) learning to play (multisensory) tailor-made notched music in nonmusician tinnitus patients. Taking into account the fact that uni- and multisensory trainings induce different patterns of cortical plasticity we hypothesized that these two protocols will have different affects. Results. Only the active listening (unisensory) group showed significant reduction of tinnitus related activity of the middle temporal cortex and an increase in the activity of a tinnitus-coping related posterior parietal area. Conclusions. These findings indicate that active listening to tailor-made notched music induces greater neuroplastic changes in the maladaptively reorganized cortical network of tinnitus patients while additional integration of other sensory modalities during training reduces these neuroplastic effects.
Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), we investigated the influence of long term musical training on the processing of partly imagined tone patterns (imagery condition) compared to the same perceived ...patterns (perceptual condition). The magnetic counterpart of the mismatch negativity (MMNm) was recorded and compared between musicians and non-musicians in order to assess the effect of musical training on the detection of deviants to tone patterns. The results indicated a clear MMNm in the perceptual condition as well as in a simple pitch oddball (control) condition in both groups. However, there was no significant mismatch response in either group in the imagery condition despite above chance behavioral performance in the task of detecting deviant tones. The latency and the laterality of the MMNm in the perceptual condition differed significantly between groups, with an earlier MMNm in musicians, especially in the left hemisphere. In contrast the MMNm amplitudes did not differ significantly between groups. The behavioral results revealed a clear effect of long-term musical training in both experimental conditions. The obtained results represent new evidence that the processing of tone patterns is faster and more strongly lateralized in musically trained subjects, which is consistent with other findings in different paradigms of enhanced auditory neural system functioning due to long-term musical training.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Smoking and stress cooccur in different stages of a nicotine addiction cycle, affecting brain function and showing additive impact on different physiological responses. Resting-state functional ...connectivity has shown potential in identifying these alterations. Nicotine addiction has been associated with detrimental effects on functional integrity of the central nervous system, including the organization of resting-state networks. Prolonged stress may result in enhanced activation of the default mode network (DMN). Considering that biofeedback has shown promise in alleviating physiological manifestations of stress, we aimed to explore the possible neuroplastic effects of biofeedback training on smokers. Clinical, behavioral, and neurophysiological (resting-state EEG) data were collected from twenty-seven subjects before and after five sessions of skin temperature training. DMN functional cortical connectivity was investigated. While clinical status remained unaltered, the degree of nicotine dependence and psychiatric symptoms were significantly improved. Significant changes in DMN organization and network properties were not observed, except for a significant increase of information flow from the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and right temporal pole cortex towards other DMN components. Biofeedback aiming at stress alleviation in smokers could play a protective role against maladaptive plasticity of connectivity. Multiple sessions, individualized interventions and more suitable methods to promote brain plasticity, such as neurofeedback training, should be considered.
This exploratory single session-study presents a multimodal, mixed-method description of a session of psychoanalytic psychotherapy and illustrates an in-session "failure", defined in terms of rupture ...in the therapeutic alliance and the process of its repair. It aims to enhance our understanding of the mechanisms implicated in therapeutic change. The research materialcomprises session's video-recording, transcript, and measurements of participants'physiological arousal, as reflected in their heart rate in the session. The analysis consisted of an iterative, multi-layered process that combines observations from verbal and nonverbal modalities of interaction for the identification of significant in-session moments. We applied quantitative descriptive analysis on participants' physiological arousal and synchronization, qualitative analysis of the clinical dialogue, and coded the in-session fluctuations in the therapeutic alliance,using the Rupture Resolution Rating System. The detailed analysis of specific interactive events in the session illustrates the shift from a "failure" in therapeutic collaboration to gradual repair; this shift entailed increased relatedness and physiological synchronization, and on a semantic level, co-created, reflective meanings in the here-and-now of the therapeutic interaction. The findings highlight ruptures as important in-session events and suggest that the therapist's empathic oscillation between interpretative and metacommunication strategies can be mutative during moments of relational rupture.
Practical Implications
Negotiation and resolution of in-session therapeutic ruptures may provide opportunities for therapeutic growth in terms of increased relatedness and reflectiveness.
The therapist's flexible shifts between using interpretative interventions and immediate collaborative explorations in the here-and-now, in the form of metacommunication, seem to facilitate the repair of alliance rupture.
Multimodal methodologies and multi-layered analyses, integrating verbal and nonverbal, physiological data in the study of therapeutic interaction can shed light on significant in-session events and mechanisms of the change process.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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