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This integrative review rearticulates the notion of human aesthetics by critically appraising the conventional definitions, offerring a new, more comprehensive definition, and identifying the fundamental components associated with it. It intends to advance holistic understanding of the notion by differentiating aesthetic perception from basic perceptual recognition, and by characterizing these concepts from the perspective of information processing in both visual and nonvisual modalities. To this end, we analyze the dissociative nature of information processing in the brain, introducing a novel local-global integrative model that differentiates aesthetic processing from basic perceptual processing. This model builds on the current state of the art in visual aesthetics as well as newer propositions about nonvisual aesthetics. This model comprises two analytic channels: aesthetics-only channel and perception-to-aesthetics channel. The aesthetics-only channel primarily involves restricted local processing for quality or richness (e.g., attractiveness, beauty/prettiness, elegance, sublimeness, catchiness, hedonic value) analysis, whereas the perception-to-aesthetics channel involves global/extended local processing for basic feature analysis, followed by restricted local processing for quality or richness analysis. We contend that aesthetic processing operates independently of basic perceptual processing, but not independently of cognitive processing. We further conjecture that there might be a common faculty, labeled as aesthetic cognition faculty, in the human brain for all sensory aesthetics albeit other parts of the brain can also be activated because of basic sensory processing prior to aesthetic processing, particularly during the operation of the second channel. This generalized model can account not only for simple and pure aesthetic experiences but for partial and complex aesthetic experiences as well.

This project contains materials (supplementary materials, code and data) relating to the following article: Fiske, A., de Klerk, C., Lui, K. Y. K., Collins-Jones, L. H., Hendry, A., Greenhalgh, I., Hall, A., Scerif, G., Dvergsdal, H., & Holmboe, K. (2022). The neural correlates of inhibitory control in 10-month-old infants: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study. NeuroImage. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119241. The materials in this project are under a CC-By Attribution 4.0 International license. Please cite the original article if using any of these materials.

This paper aims to discuss old and contemporary perspectives in understanding language acquisition taking into account the neural theory of language. Discussing a recent theory by Kuhl (2010), neural substrates of first language learning will be put forward (Berwick et al., 2013). Neural substrates of phonetic learning, word learning, sentence processing, and syntax development are separately discussed. As a novel window to look into language learning in a greater detail, second language learning in relation to the theories of language acquisition is further discussed. Second language learning and dual vs. single coding structure relating to language acquisition are discussed in relation to the theories that have previously been explained. Finally, a discussion of contemporary issues in understanding both first and second language acquisition in relation to bilingualism is presented. In sum, investigating language acquisition requires a multi-disciplinary approach taking psychology, linguistics, and cognitive neuroscience of language into account is necessary.Â

Mindfulness is a multi-faceted construct that involves paying attention to thoughts and emotions without automatically reacting and being critical of them. Recent research has suggested that mindfulness might play an important role in reducing problematic alcohol use. Further, Readiness to Change (RTC) is related to motivation to change drinking behaviours. The RTC scale identifies motivation to change drinking behaviours including Precontemplation, Contemplation, and Action stages. The current study investigated, for the first time, the relationship between mindfulness (and its facets) and RTC in relation to drinking behaviours. Undergraduate students from Western Sydney University (N = 279) were screened for drinking levels using the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) and then completed the Readiness to Change Questionnaire (RCT) and the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), which includes the following facets: Acting with Awareness, Non-Judging of Inner Experience, Non-Reactivity to Inner Experience, Describing, and Observing. Results show that overall, mindfulness and its facets negatively correlated with RTC. Multiple regression analysis further showed that Awareness and Non-Judgement facets negatively predicted RTC. These findings provide insight into how the facets of mindfulness interact with the drinking motives of individuals and their intentions to change drinking behaviours. Based on these findings, we recommend the incorporation of mindfulness techniques in interventions targeting problematic drinking.

Background: Wilson’s disease manifests as neuro-psychological or psychiatric symptoms along with neurological and liver disease. The present study aimed to probe into the declarative and non-declarative memory profile of Wilson’s disease patients from a neurocognitive perspective. Methods: The study involved a sample of 12 Wilson’s disease patients and 12 matched non-patient individuals who were assessed on Global Assessment Scale for Wilson’s disease, the Edinburgh handedness inventory, memory scales from PGI Battery of Brain Dysfunction, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, and mirror tracing task. Results: The overall result indicated that the Wilson’s disease patient group differed with their non-patient counterparts with respect to immediate memory, recall, recognition, semantic memory, and procedural learning. Conclusion: The neural substrates related to the neuro-psychological symptoms of Wilson’s disease patients are found to be a neural network involving basal ganglia, fronto-striatal circuits, and cerebellar region.

Selective attention, the ability to filter relevant from a sea of sensory information, relies on the prioritization of goal-relevant information (target facilitation) and the suppression of goal-irrelevant information (distractor suppression). Although several lines of evidence have shown that target facilitation and distractor suppression were mediated by distinct mechanisms, the underlying neural substrates remain unclear. To address this question, we acquired structural and resting-state magnetic resonance imaging scans, as well as behavioral data from a modified Posner cueing task. Specifically, the location of a target (Target Cue, TC) and a distractor (Distractor Cue, DC) was either cued in advance to separately trigger target facilitation and distractor suppression, or no predictive information was provided, serving as a baseline. We combined voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) analyses to explore the neural correlates of behavioral benefits, yielding the following results. First, behavioral data showed faster responses to TC and DC conditions compared to baseline, the benefits of which were named TC-benefit and DC-benefit. Second, the VBM analysis revealed that the gray matter volume (GMV) in the superior frontal (SFG) and postcentral gyrus inversely correlated with individual TC-benefit, while the GMV in the superior parietal lobe, middle frontal gyrus, and angular gyrus inversely correlated with individual DC-benefit, indicating that target facilitation and distractor suppression was associated with the GMV of distinct and distributed regions in the frontoparietal cortex. Third, the rsFC analysis with the SFG as a seed region further found distinct patterns of rsFC for target facilitation and distractor suppression. Specifically, individual TC-benefit were positively correlated with distributed connections between the SFG and brain regions, mainly within the ventral attention and somato-motor network; but individual DC-benefit were positively correlated with centralized connections between the SFG and brain regions, mainly within the frontoparietal, dorsal attention and ventral attention network. Finally, a multiple linear regression analysis showed that the GMV and rsFC could jointly explain individual differences in TC- and DC-benefit. Taken together, these results provided neural evidence for different structural and functional substrates underlying target facilitation and distractor suppression.

International audience; Animals use sensory information to move toward more favorable conditions. Drosophila larvae can move up or down gradients of odors (chemotax), light (phototax), and temperature (thermotax) by modulating the probability, direction, and size of turns based on sensory input. Whether larvae can anemotax in gradients of mechanosensory cues is unknown. Further, although many of the sensory neurons that mediate taxis have been described, the central circuits are not well understood. Here, we used high-throughput, quantitative behavioral assays to demonstrate Drosophila larvae anemotax in gradients of wind speeds and to characterize the behavioral strategies involved. We found that larvae modulate the probability, direction, and size of turns to move away from higher wind speeds. This suggests that similar central decision-making mechanisms underlie taxis in somatosensory and other sensory modalities. By silencing the activity of single or very few neuron types in a behavioral screen, we found two sensory (chordotonal and multidendritic class III) and six nerve cord neuron types involved in anemotaxis. We reconstructed the identified neurons in an electron microscopy volume that spans the entire larval nervous system and found they received direct input from the mechanosensory neurons or from each other. In this way, we identified local interneurons and first- and second-order subesophageal zone (SEZ) and brain projection neurons. Finally, silencing a dopaminergic brain neuron type impairs anemotaxis. These findings suggest that anemotaxis involves both nerve cord and brain circuits. The candidate neurons and circuitry identified in our study provide a basis for future detailed mechanistic understanding of the circuit principles of anemotaxis.

La majoria de les persones escoltem música voluntàriament gairebé cada dia donada la seva capacitat per modificar els estats afectius. És capaç de fer-nos sentir tristos, alegres, relaxats o tensos. Alguns estudis han intentat explicar quins mecanismes psicològics operen en l'emoció provocada per la música. D'altres, s'han focalitzat a desxifrar-ne les bases neurals. Aquest treball pretén fer-ne una revisió tot integrant ambdós punts de vista, així posant sobre la taula les principals estructures neurals implicades en l'emoció musical. Algunes d'aquestes estructures són l'amígdala, l'hipocamp, l'estriat ventral o l'escorça frontal. La capacitat de la música per activar el substrat neural de l'emoció dóna suport a l'ús de la musicoteràpia per alguns trastorns mentals. Most people listen to music almost every day owing to its ability to modify affective states. It can make us feel happy, sad, relaxed or uptight. Some studies have attempted to explain the psychological mechanisms underlying musical emotion. Others have focused on its neural substrates. This study reviews both perspectives and tries to integrate them, thus putting spotlight on the main neural structures involved in musical emotion. Some of these are the amygdala, the hippocampus, the ventral striatum and the frontal cortex. The ability of music to activate the neural substrate of emotion supports the use of music therapy for some mental disorders.

Inhibition of action is involved in stopping a movement, as well as terminating unnecessary movement during performance of a behavior. The inhibition of single actions, known as response inhibition, (Inhibition of the urge to respond before or after actions) has been widely investigated using the go/no-go task and stop signal task. However, few studies focused on phase and volition-related inhibition after an action has been initiated. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neural correlates of planning and execution underlying the voluntary inhibition of ongoing action. We collected fMRI data while participants performed a continuous finger-tapping task involving voluntary and involuntary (externally directed) inhibition, and during the initiation of movement. The results revealed areas of significantly greater activation during the preparation of inhibition of an ongoing action during voluntary inhibition, compared with involuntary inhibition, in the supplementary (SMA) and pre-supplementary motor areas, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), inferior parietal lobe, bilateral globus pallidus/putamen, bilateral insula and premotor cortex. Focusing on the period of execution of inhibition of ongoing actions, an event-related fMRI analysis revealed significant activation in the SMA, middle cingulate cortex, bilateral insula, right IFG and inferior parietal cortex. Additional comparative analyses suggested that brain activation while participants were planning to inhibit an ongoing action was similar to that during planning to start an action, indicating that the same neural substrates of motor planning may be recruited even when an action is ongoing. The present finding that brain activation associated with inhibiting ongoing actions was compatible with that seen in response inhibition (urge to stop before/after actions) suggests that common inhibitory mechanisms for motor movement are involved in both actual and planned motor action, which may be beneficial to keep behavior resiliently.

Background: Despite our distinct impression to the contrary, we are only conscious of a fraction of all the neural activity underlying our thoughts and behavior. Most neural processes occur non-consciously, and in parallel with our conscious experience. However, it is still unclear what the limits of non-conscious processes are in terms of higher cognitive functions. Many recent studies have shown that increasingly more advanced functions can operate non-consciously, but non-conscious information is still thought to be fleeting and undetectable within 500 milliseconds. Here we used various techniques to render information non-conscious, together with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), to investigate if non-consciously presented information can be retained for several seconds, what the neural substrates of such retention are, and if it is consistent with working memory maintenance. Results: In Study I we used an attentional blink paradigm to render stimuli (single letters) non-conscious, and a variable delay period (5 – 15 s) prior to memory test. It was found that non-conscious memory performance was above chance after all delay durations, and showed no signs of decline over time. Univariate fMRI analysis showed that the durable retention was associated with sustained BOLD signal change in the prefrontal cortex and cerebellum during the delay period. In Study II we used continuous flash suppression (CFS) to render stimuli (faces and tools) non-conscious, and a variable delay period (5 or 15 s) prior to memory test. The durable retention of up to 15 s was replicated, and it was found that stimuli identity and spatial position was retained until prospective use. In Study III we used CFS to render tools non-conscious, and a variable delay period (5 – 15 s) prior to memory test. It was found that memory performance was not better than chance. However, by using multi-voxel pattern analysis it was nonetheless possible to detect the presence vs. absence of non-conscious stimuli in the frontal cortex,and their spatial position (left vs. right) in the occipital cortex during the delay. Conclusions: Overall these findings suggest that non-consciously presented information (identity and/or position) can be retained for several seconds,and is associated with BOLD signal in frontal and posterior regions. These findings are consistent with working memory maintenance of non-consciously presented information, and thereby constrain models of working memory and theories of consciousness.

Assigning behavioral functions to neural structures has long been a central goal in neuroscience and is a necessary first step toward a circuit-level understanding of how the brain generates behavior. Here, we map the neural substrates of locomotion and social behaviors for Drosophila melanogaster using automated machine-vision and machine-learning techniques. From videos of 400,000 flies, we quantified the behavioral effects of activating 2,204 genetically targeted populations of neurons. We combined a novel quantification of anatomy with our behavioral analysis to create brain-behavior correlation maps, which are shared as browsable web pages and interactive software. Based on these maps, we generated hypotheses of regions of the brain causally related to sensory processing, locomotor control, courtship, aggression, and sleep. Our maps directly specify genetic tools to target these regions, which we used to identify a small population of neurons with a role in the control of walking.

The world is a dynamic environment hence it is important for the visual system to be able to deploy attention on moving objects and attentively track them. Psychophysical experiments indicate that processes of both attentional enhancement and inhibition are spatially focused on the moving objects; however the mechanisms of these processes are unknown. The studies indicate that the attentional selection of target objects is sustained via a feedforward-feedback loop in the visual cortical hierarchy and only the target objects are represented in attention-related areas. We suggest that feedback from the attention-related areas to early visual areas modulates the activity of neurons; establishes synchronization with respect to a common oscillatory signal for target items via excitatory feedback, and also establishes de-synchronization for distractor items via inhibitory feedback. A two layer computational neural network model with integrate-and-fire neurons is proposed and simulated for simple attentive tracking tasks. Consistent with previous modeling studies, we show that via temporal tagging of neural activity, distractors can be attentively suppressed from propagating to higher levels. However, simulations also suggest attentional enhancement of activity for distractors in the first layer which represents neural substrate dedicated for low level feature processing. Inspired by this enhancement mechanism, we developed a feature based object tracking algorithm with surround processing. Surround processing improved tracking performance by 57% in PETS 2001 dataset, via eliminating target features that are likely to suffer from faulty correspondence assignments. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Introduction In this systematic review, we aimed to evaluate the role of alexithymia in Parkinson's disease (PD) and its relationship to neurological, neuropsychiatric, cognitive, and neuroimaging correlates. Methods The database was selected using PubMed Services, Cochrane, PsycNET and Scopus and a number of key words. Further studies were sought by manually searching for secondary sources, including relevant journals and references in primary articles. The search was restricted to articles written in English between January 1980 and August 2015. Results Ten studies reported that alexithymia prevalence was about double in PD patients compared to control subjects and that specific dimensions of alexithymia might be related to depression, anxiety, apathy and impulsivity. Some studies investigated the relationship between alexithymia and neuropsychological symptoms and found correlations with frontal and parietal lobe functions. Two studies on neurological features reported a link between alexithymia and disease stage or a specific motor subtype of PD; the remaining studies found that alexithymia was independent from neurological symptoms, dopaminergic therapy and laterality of motor symptom onset. Data on neuroimaging correlates and therapeutic intervention on alexithymia in PD patients are still lacking. Conclusion Although results suggest that alexithymia is a primary characteristics of PD, further studies with larger patient samples are needed to definitively clarify the impact of alexithymia on the clinical features of PD patients.

L’origen ambiental i genètic de les diferències individuals en l’aprenentatge de paraules i regles gramaticals és desconegut. Per aquest motiu es van realitzar dos estudis. En el primer, dos grups de bessons, monozigòtics i dizigòtics, varen desenvolupar una tasca d’aprenentatge de paraules i regles. Es va mesurar la similitud entre bessons en l’activitat cerebral i els resultats indicaren que els factors genètics eren poc rellevants. En el segon estudi es va mesurar la diferència entre bessons monozigòtics en la integritat de la matèria blanca i en el nivell d’aprenentatge de paraules i es van correlacionar ambdues mesures. Els resultats mostraren que els factors ambientals que afecten als fascicles arcuat i front-occipital esquerres explicarien, en part, les diferències individuals en l’aprenentatge de paraules. Ambdós estudis suggereixen que les experiències juguen un paper central en el modelatge dels substrats neuronals associats a l’aprenentatge de paraules i regles., The genetic and environmental origin of individual differences in word and grammar learning is unknown. Two separate studies addressed this issue. In the first study, monozygotic and dizygotic twins were exposed to a word and rule learning task while event-related potentials were recorded. Brain signal similarity between twins was measured, and indicated a weak influence of genetics in both processes. In the second study, white matter integrity estimates were obtained for language-relevant connections in a sample of monozygotic twins that also underwent a statistical word learning task. Twin differences in both white matter integrity and word learning performance were computed and correlated. Significant results in the left arcuate and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus revealed that the environmental pressures affecting the integrity of these two structures partially explain individual differences in word learning. Taken together, both studies suggest that life experiences play a pivotal role in shaping the neural substrates of word and rule learning.

Face memory and emotional recognition are really important processes for contemporary psychology. Since Bruce and Young published their model of cognitive organization of face perception processes, in 1986, the knowledge about these two cognitive mechanisms has growth considerably. This knowledge has been enriched by the use of several approaches, for example, neuropsychological, cognitive, and the physiological one, using sometimes the presentation of pictures to recognition and neuroimaging techniques in other times. The knowledge reached in this field has been employed in different areas of psychological sciences like forensic psychology and neuropsychological rehabilitation, among others. The aim of this paper is to summarize the most significant facts reached in the field beginning with theory analysis of different approaches, and ending with the neuropsychological and neural substrates of each process. La memoria de rostros y el reconocimiento emocional son procesos de gran interés para la psicología contemporánea. Desde la aparición del modelo de Bruce y Young en 1986 se han realizados importantes avances en la comprensión de los mecanismos que determinan estos procesos; para ello los investigadores se han apoyado en herramientas como la neuroimagen funcional y el registro de potenciales evocados. Esto ha propiciado la existencia de un mayor conocimiento de la memoria de rostros y el reconocimiento de emociones, facilitando su utilización en diversas áreas aplicadas. Este trabajo sintetiza los principales avances en este campo y su importancia para la psicología contemporánea, transitando desde las distintas posturas teóricas existentes hasta las bases neurales implicadas en los procesos.

A range of emotional and motivation impairments have long been clinically documented in people with schizophrenia, and there has been a resurgence of interest in understanding the psychological and neural mechanisms of the so-called "negative symptoms" in schizophrenia, given their lack of treatment responsiveness and their role in constraining function and life satisfaction in this illness. Negative symptoms comprise two domains, with the first covering diminished motivation and pleasure across a range of life domains and the second covering diminished verbal and non-verbal expression and communicative output. In this review, we focus on four aspects of the motivation/pleasure domain, providing a brief review of the behavioral and neural underpinnings of this domain. First, we cover liking or in-the-moment pleasure: immediate responses to pleasurable stimuli. Second, we cover anticipatory pleasure or wanting, which involves prediction of a forthcoming enjoyable outcome (reward) and feeling pleasure in anticipation of that outcome. Third, we address motivation, which comprises effort computation, which involves figuring out how much effort is needed to achieve a desired outcome, planning, and behavioral response. Finally, we cover the maintenance emotional states and behavioral responses. Throughout, we consider the behavioral manifestations and brain representations of these four aspects of motivation/pleasure deficits in schizophrenia. We conclude with directions for future research as well as implications for treatment.

Objectives: An important subset of patients with schizophrenia present clinically significant persistent negative symptoms (PNS). Identifying the neural substrates of PNS could help improve our understanding and treatment of these symptoms. Methods: This study included 64 non-affective first-episode of psychosis (FEP) patients and 60 healthy controls; 16 patients displayed PNS (i.e., at least 1 primary negative symptom at moderate or worse severity sustained for at least 6 consecutive months). Using voxel-based morphometry (VBM), we explored for grey matter differences between PNS and non-PNS patients; patient groups were also compared to controls. All comparisons were performed at p

Significant advances in the understanding of processes involved in face perception have been achieved. This study aims to review the literature of face perception in neurobiological and social contexts. The review focused on the mechanisms of mediation of face perception by neural substrates, and discussed some of the social signals provided by faces. We showed that psychological, neurophysiological and neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that a dedicated neural system for face perception exists in primates, which includes the fusiform face area (FFA), anterior superior temporal sulcus (STS) and anterior inferior temporal gyrus (ITG). But it remains to be understood how the integration of face perception occurs in the neurobiological context and in the social context.